You should buy one with integrated Intel graphics, since Intel is the only manufacturer that releases free 3D-drivers for fairly modern chipsets (so you won't have to install any drivers manually, unlike with nVidia or ATi chips).
Also, take a look at this article:
desktoplinux.com/news/NS7778908329.html
(forum says I can't post URLs yet)
What you said you are looking for sounds pretty much like the discussed laptop to me.

Yes!!, it is very scarry!!

When I have dark background on the screen, you see the shadows of the icons that are on the desktop in Windows... It's like a night mare!!

But lately I'm been making her switch to Linux, and after 1 day of using Linux, the shadows are completely gone....it's like the anti-dote against Windows, hahaha.

hey ppl!

this is my very first post on this forum... very much liked the way ppl are sharing their experiences and helping the needy ones out...

so i need ur help now...
looking forward to buy a laptop....ended up in having to choose from
1. Acer AS5551AWXMi
2. Fujitsu LifeBook T4210

i really really liked that Fujitsu model and was about to book it when i stumbled upon this FAQ and i was kinda disappointed...
pc-ap.fujitsu.com/support/faq_lb/general/faq_system.html#faq17

but before completely dropping this Fujitsu idea i want to know if anyone has tried Linux on this piece... i will be making it(whichever i eventually buy) a dual boot system with WinXP and Linux so please drop in ur comments on the same.

also tell me if Fujitsu T4210 is a pain with Linux is this Acer ok for some release of Linux?

Thanks!
Amyl

Since Lenovo (the company that took over IBM laptops) is going to start offering a Linux laptop, and generally folks have had good success with Linux on IBM laptops, why not give them a try? I have an older DELL C600 that I have run several flavors of Linux on and they all worked great (I am currently running Kubuntu) on it, although I don't have a wireless card. You could also try Emporer Linux and see what they offer: http://www.emperorlinux.com/

One thing to keep in mind is that if you don't have to have the latest "cutting edge" hardware, you are more likely to have success with the tried and true hardware. Laptops that are popular are more likely to have drivers, etc. that will already be available for them. My experience is that because the hardware requirements for Linux are generally not as great as Microsofts, you don't need as much of a machine as you would if you intended to run Windows on it.

I just stumbled by this thread.. what choice did you end up making?

I understand your issue with the source of the device drivers... I have a LinuxCertified LC2464... it coat a pretty penny, but a year ago, it was the only 64-bit laptop I could find that supported Linux well.

"Well" is a subjective term... a year later, it has serious overheating problems, and the internal CF card reader never worked under Linux.

I give you the same recipe I give everyone who asks something about laptops ...

- select a couple of laptop models you might consider
- check http://www.linux-laptop.net/ and http://www.tuxmobil.org to see if someone has installed Linux on them and see what they have to say
- check if they have "lspci" outputs on those pages and check if there are Open Source drivers for all the components listed

well thanks for the replies but I finally ended up buying a Compaq(a very old one tho) for a couple of months' usage...that FujitSu man did not seem confident about the Linux support tho he said it wud take.
anyway working on boring Windows 2K now...but will try figure out the linux version for my the compaq but in the vacation, not now


Cheers,
Amyl