BSD support?

[Michael A. Smith]

 > I am patiently saving money to purchase a laptop, hopefully by the end
 > of this year. I would like to know if there are any laptop
 > manufacturers that specificially support BSD, and by supporting they
 > choose specific default hardware configurations that will give the
 > least problems on BSD.

I have a bottom-of-the-line Sony Vaio (PCG-FX101). I got it new a few 
years ago (it's a Celeron 600). I installed FreeBSD on it the day I 
brought it home and it's been great.

It was the cheapest Vaio I could get, and doesn't have too many bells 
and whistles (no memory stick, but it's got UBS and FireWire, etc...). 
Video was never a problem. Sound was supported in the FreeBSD version 
released just after I bought it. I'm running 4.9-STABLE on it now and 
everything's supported but the modem (it sees the FireWire bus, but I've 
never used it).

I'd suggest looking for slightly older hardware -- stuff that's in the 
middle of the price range or lower. It has a better chance of being 
supported, and is cheaper. I'd definitely recommend my Vaio.

-- 
Michael A. Smith <msmith at code-fu.com>
Programmer at Large