Linux laptops without paying for XP
 

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a new laptop, price isn't the most important factor (i'd rather have features) Though the most important bit is I don't want to support MS. Mostly because I'm never going to use Windows on it and I don't want to pay money for it.

I've been looking around the IBM/HP/DELL (all make lots of money off linux and invest a lot of money into it) and I haven't been able to find 1 laptop that comes without Windows. Do they sell any in Canada? (US is fine, I can have someone ship it to me) I'd rather not buy a dell (I don't really like the quality) but if need be I will do so instead of paying extra for Windows.

Are there any alternatives?

Thanks

I wouldn't turn totally away from dell

on most systems you can say if u want windows or not + their quality has gone up


the only problem with dell is their customer service is horrible

Most! Laptop suppliers will supply SANS OS if you ask and it will probably be cheaper too! There is a supplier in the UK that will probably ship to you by the name of eversham computers, or you could try Dabs.com eversham will happily supply I'm told without windows and they sell a preinstalled Linux distro on some of thier machines anyway if you look online you should be able to find them they have won loads of service awards in the UK, Hp would probably also supply without MS, have you looked at Walmart? they sell a range of computers with LINUX on - the options are getting better by the day. Just google and you wil find

I'll have to check Wal-mart..

I am certain, too, that Dell/IBM would sell a laptop without M$.

Take a look at this site. As I recall, it is about doing exactly what you want, if I understand exactly what you want. :-)

http://windowsrefund.net/index2.php

John

Not quite.

In that case you are given a refund (for OEM based on M$ cost) SO you may still be paying for windoze (albit less then before)

The package that the OS is on must remain unopened. Must be removed from the machine (if it is still there as is the case for most) and not used/registered anywhere.

yea i wanna say i read somewhere awhile ago that walmart had wanted to leave an OS off of their PC's, however, microsoft decided that it supported piracy, so i am pretty sure that they have to put lindows on their computers



yea i found this....

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...&xsell=2592736

there is some other options there too....like a sun OS

also, i seem to recall that HP will ship with mandrake on it

I Like how Wal-Mart is complying with M$ by putting SUSE on it. :)

:P in your face M$ !! :)

Switching from one of the most anti-competetive companies in the US to the other :rolleyes:

in the US things like this suck. you will never find such a system at a retail store, while some will work flawlessly with linux, they all come with XP home. i dont know of any retail store that gives an OS option. IBM would be better, i have had bad luck with both dell and HP. i dont know how sony and e-machiens would fair. however E-Machiens seem to use fairly kosher parts, and buddies at work say are great for linux. however htese all do come with XP home

i have heard toshiba is good, and i have had alot of luck with older modles, pentium, P2 and early P3. yet have never tried any newer ones.
Aviod compaq!!!!! i have had little to know luck with them.
ironicly i have seen a few compaq PDA's running linux

i have never checked but IBM may even sell linux laptops, with linux installed.

ming0: But it's not M$ :)

I've got a different take on this from most. I hope it helps.
Buy a refurbished machine. I have an IBM 600X and a newly purchased T22 that were leased machines. I have installed Mandrake 9.1 on them and they work like a charm. Both machines came with Windows 98SE. If there was any money going to M$ for that it must have been small, given what I paid for them. :)
You say you want features. Well, what features? The only thing I'm missing on these machines is a DVD drive on the 600X and a CD burner on both. The USB ports ( one on each of the machines ) are not USB 2, but that hasn't stopped me from doing what I want. The T22 has a 900MHz processor which is sufficient to play DVDs and anything else I want without scorching my lap.
Unless you're looking to do video editing I think your needs may be served by an older refurbished machine.

i asked IBM when i bought my thinkpad a few weeks ago, and they said they wouldn't sell without XP, fwiw. maybe someone knows ways to get around that, but i didn't find any.

there are places that sell linux-only laptops. not sure how good they are, but they might be worth checking out. otherwise, i think the refurbished idea is a good one. you might even find a good deal on a notebook without a hard drive, and then you could put in a faster 5400 or 7200 rpm HDD than most come with (4200 rpm, ugh). i saw some of those in the IBM certified resellers or whatever they are at ebay -- nice deals on factory refurbs with no hdd or optical drive.

I would like to get a decent laptop as well. Even if I endup using XP or what-have-you.. I shouldn't have to pay for it (M$ o/s) EVERY.. FREEKING.. time.. I have one machine that due to a ..wierd way it was leased.. that I have 2 legitamite copies. Originally the machine was with ME, but the person that had the lease had XP installed. The store that I purchaced the machine from had to give me the install disk for XP as well as the original package for the machine.. atleast they saw it that way. I guess they thought that I wouldn't buy it or something.. but there was no way for me to fix the bad install either. It cost THEM the 300$ for the OS. due to their mistake. Not often one is made in your favor. I ended up purchacing XP for a second machine. As the duplicate tat I had that I should have been able to use was OEM. My new machine that I purchaced without a OS was not the same as what the OEM had their's configured to. Oh well.

Second HD has RH9 on it. I haven't had much time to explore Linux as I had hoped. bearly enough as a refreasher from ..20 years back!? Ack!.. As can be seen from my innumerous visits here; over the past year.

Have I broken 50 posts yet?

...Who will give me 20?

That's sad.