Choosing a new laptop

[knowtree at aloha.com]

On Tue, 08 Jul 2003 06:17:05 -0600 (MDT)
"M. Warner Losh" <imp at bsdimp.com> wrote:

> I'm very happy with my Casio Fiva MPC-205 in terms of portability.
> Its 600MHz transmeta cpu is a little slow, and I use an external
> keyboard for long hacking sessions, but it is one of the few laptops
> that fit easily on a tray table in coach in the US domestic
> flights...  With 7 hours of battery life with the extended life
> battery, I just wish they (a) had a newer model and (b) were more
> readily available in the US.

For over a year now I've been using a Sony SR7K compact laptop running Mandrake
Linux. Like the Fiva MPC-205 it lacks an on-board CD-ROM drive, and getting
Mandrake installed and the pc-card wi-fi working was quite a drill. I still use
it regularly, because it is light enough to carry in my backpack when I commute
by bike. Here are some of my complaints, which have held me back from installing
FreeBSD on it. How does the MPC-205 compare?

  o Battery life, Gnome 1.4, < 2 hrs, noticably less when using XEmacs.

  o Cannot adjust LCD brightness without Windows, so Win2K is still clogging up
the HD.

  o Hardware initiated suspend works, but pressing any key awakens. I have tried
to conserve battery by booting and going into suspend on A/C power, but while
riding bike, pressue on unit has caused it to wake up, so it arrives very hot
and tired.

  o No timeout initiated suspend, only HD and LCD power down.

  o WEP encryption does not work, a driver issue.

  o Hibernation does not work. 

Newer kernel may address some of these issues.

Is it possible to watch DVDs in FreeBSD, or is that another reason to keep the
Windows partition?

Can you recommend a supplier?


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