HP's Mini-Note computer runs SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 from Novell. If I eventually buy such a computer, it would be good for me to check that I can live with Linux -- ahead of laying down $550+tax.
My dad gave me one of his older notebook computers. How old? So old that this Compaq 3000-series doesn't have built-in wireless networking. So old that it runs an actual Pentium 4 CPU at 2.4GHz. Since Windows XP had gotten itself screwed up, he gave the hardware to me.
Since I had a copy of it laying around, I ran the Live CD version of Unbuntu Linux v9.1, and it worked just fine. That Compaq's 2.4GHz CPU runs Linux quickly, even though the code is running off a CD. Then I got a brainwave: I should run SuSE Linux on it and check whether the Mini-Note would work for me -- especially on the road, where one is far away from the support structure found at home.
First roadblock: I found that SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is not a free operating system, and you won't find out from Novell's Web site how much it costs. (You need to contact a local representative who'll quote you a price.) Thus, I was unable to download it to try it out (well, I could have: they have a sixty-day trial version).
After a Google search I found that the free version is called openSUSE 10.3 from en.opensuse.org. I downloaded the Live CD version, which lets me boot Linux from the CD drive without replacing the existing operating system.
Second roadblock: OpenSuSE doesn't work on the Compaq 3000. After it starts to boot, the screen goes black. That's too bad, so I went back to Ubuntu, and installed it on the hard drive -- wiping out Windows XP (so much for the possessive stickers that Microsoft demands be affixed to the bottoms of notebook computers).
From my experience, all variants of Linux are pretty much the same -- kind of like running Windows v3.1 or 95 or 98 or Me or 2000 or XP or Vista: they all look somewhat different, but Vista operates pretty much the same as v3.1 (both Vista and v3.1 make it really hard for you to access files on networked computers).
My primary concerns about getting the Mini-Note with Linux were: (1) being able to install software; and (2) being able to install software that I need. More about that in my next installment.
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