Hi Guys,

I have $3500AU to spend, and I'm in the market for an ultralight portable notebook that will run ubuntu out of the box without too much messing around, i.e. I'm happy to get the sound working, and nvidia drivers installed, but I have work to do, and I can't be seen messing about with the O/S.

So here is what I'm after.

Small laptop, minimum 12" screen
+4 hours battery life
optical drive a bonus
hdd doesn't matter (I'm a developer and 80gb is overkill for what I need)
prefer dedicated video..
webcam preferable
something that is supported so I can hibernate and restore quite quickly (under 30 seconds)

Any ideas? If I can't find something I think I'm going to have to buy a mac, and ditch ubuntu. Since I really need the unix interface.

If you really need something small, I used a Fujitsu LifeBook 4 years ago. Check sites like http://www.tuxmobil.org for user reports on what hardware works well with which distros.

Otherwise, I find the HPs very nice and have no problems with anything but the WinModem (which I don't use anyway). You might do some research on accessories - years ago I used a Toshiba and one accessory was a battery the size of the computer - 11 hours play time. Otherwise see if 'Targus' (or was that 'Targa') have a suitable adapter: DCC for car battery or for aircraft use. One 'accessory' for the HP is a battery with a much higher capacity than the one provided at sale; I can't remember how much longer it's meant to run thoguh.