I am currently getting quotes for a Linux only laptop and one thing struck me is that if I don't have windows on it, I'll be stuck if I want to resell it. I will have to get Windows from somewhere, install it, and I will then be able to sell. Windows might cost me more than what I will be able to get for the machine....

The second hand linux laptop market doesn't seem to be too active ... Is it ?

I see no problem in reselling a linux laptop as long as you dont charge for any of the open source software. Now if you want to charge for support, time working on it, hardware, etc...thats legal as far as I know.

It can be, if you find the local Linux User Group.

How long are you planning to keep the laptop?

I've had my current one since '97 and it still does what I want (network / word processing / coding / music / etc) so I've no need or reason to change it (and when I do, it probably get turned into a terminal to view streaming video from my fileserver). I've got more than my moneys worth.

You could always sell it with a blank drive, but unfortunately the world is full of people who can't even install Windows. This state of affairs keeps a lot of people employed, however, so I'm not about to complain.

As much as I like linux, I think it wouldn't really act as a magnet to potential buyers..... That's what I mean.

You might be able to sell it to a company when you are done with it.They usually have their own software licenses.On the other hand they don't buy a lot of used equipment.

There are a lot of computers and laptop that are sold on ebay that do not have an operating system on it. All that the computer does is boot to a dos c: prompt. It usually will include the cdrom drivers. Most microsoft users have a old copy of 95, 98 or ME that they can use.

Just a thought.