Laptop or desktop?

[linuxlover]

"Immediate Payment"? Does that mean he instantly charges your paypal?

[GX1_Man]

No, it means you must use PayPal to pay for the item right then when you bid and the auction closes. If not, then you run the risk of bad feedback for non-payment. This is not unusual for some sellers, as they don't have to worry if you are going to pay in a timely manner and if needed they can re-list the item.

Remember a seller gets charged a percentage of the final price from eBay when the auction closes (as well as a listing fee when it is originally posted).

[linuxlover]

I'm getting one that's "buyitnow". I don't wanna mess with auctioning. Is there any catch with buying a "buyitnow" item? How much is eBay registration? Are there any additional fees for the buyer?

[GX1_Man]

No fees are ever charged to the buyer (unless they renig on an auction payment). There is no registration fee for eBay.

Buy It Now just means a straight purchase so you don't have to worry about the price going up in an auction.

[linuxlover]

OK. Thanks My software says minimum graphics card: 8MB. Will it likely work? Other than that I'm positive about the T21 stuff. Thanx a bunch!

OK, I thought about a compaq. Will there likely be any compatibility problems with linux? Here's the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/LAPTOP-COMPAQ-ARMADA-E500-P3-900MHZ-256RAM-20GB-CD-R_W0QQitemZ300053790505QQihZ020QQcategoryZ140082QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[GX1_Man]

Absolutely NOT the same compatibility with a Compaq as compared to a Thinkpad. The T models have 8 meg graphics. If the software says you need 8 meg. you are good to go. It is dedicated video memory, not shared with the system which is another big plus.  

[linuxlover]

So, i'm good to go! Just get either a thinkpad T21 or an latitude C600.
Thanx a bunch!!!

[GX1_Man]

Either of those are good, but I lean toward the Thinkpads for Linux.

[linuxlover]

thanx everyone! Especialy GX1_man! One last question though. I thought you said that Dells were good for Linux? Are thinkpads better for linux than Latitudes? I was kind'of aiming for a C600 cuz' of the superior graphics. Linux compatibility is CRITICAL. I can't stand the Win2K GUI. OK, but aweful in comparison to KDE or XFCE.

[GX1_Man]

I have a Latitude 400 model (an earlier version with a 650 processor} which is flawless, THe 600's are good also I hear, but Id onot have first hand usage on them. The 610 are swerr but have the integrated Intel graphics as opposed to a discrete chip, so maybe yes, maybe no on problems with that. Dell is deeoply entrenched with Microsoft. Don't forget that.

I will boot my son's school's 610 up this weekend with a Linux Live CD and check on full compatibility, if you like.

Wireless cards are still problems with Linux as tha makers do NOT release the uinfo on the chip sets and they change the actual chips within the same model without telling anyone (even the consumer), The universal card for me in the Kinksys B card, rev 3. (Version 2 and 4 don't work, yet.) The version 3 works with everything I have tried.

[linuxlover]

OK. If it's not a problem that'd be nice if you'd try it. Thanx again!

[mcf747]

goog point about belkin tec support (signature)

[linuxlover]

thanx, mcf747.  I agree, the RMA process is the worst, and to further it, they didn't even figure out what was wrong. Instead they blamed the router company. (figures). Wonder if linksys is better...

[linuxlover]

I find that if you install the program on windoze XP, then transfer the .inf file to a drive and ndiswrapper-it, it works fine. (Sometimes better than with windoze!)