What laptop do you recommend?

[Parv]

in message <20060314160031.8293145041 at ptavv.es.net>,
wrote Kevin Oberman thusly...
>
> > Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 01:07:32 -0500
> > From: Parv <parv at pair.com>
> > Sender: owner-freebsd-mobile at freebsd.org
> > 
> > in message <20060314113412.3470fde5 at localhost>,
> > wrote Norberto Meijome thusly...
> > >
> > > On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:32:40 -0300
> > > freebsd at meijome.net wrote:
> > > 
> > > > I'm looking for a new, gruntier laptop. What laptop is known
> > > > to work WELL with freeBSD? e.g.:
> > > > 
> > > > ACPI with no problems (and as many features as possible)
> > > > PATA / SATA with no problems
> > 
> > I don't think Thinkpad has [SP]ATA things (yet).
> 
> >From my T43:
> atapci0: <Intel ICH6 SATA150 controller> port 0x1f0-0x1f7,0x3f6,0x170-0x177,0x376,0x18c0-0x18cf at device 31.2 on pci0
> Since the drives are still PATA, I assume it uses a SATA/PATA chip
> for the internal drives, but it may make SATA available to a
> docking station.

Thanks for the correction.


> > > > all other basic stuff (graphics, NIC, Wireless g, sound,
...
> > If you can, try to get a laptop either without a 802.11g (so
> > that you can decide which one to buy) or buy one supported by
> > ath driver.  I have T42 w/ Intel 2200BG card, and it using w/
> > iwi driver (net/iwi-firmware port).  Here, connected w/ Linksys
> > WRT54G wireless router/switch/AP, iwi interface|driver needs to
> > be reset just about every two hours (when i start getting "TKIP
> > ICV mismatch on decrypt" message.
> 
> iwi (and its kin-folk) have been betting heavy work in HEAD over
> the past week or two and, hopefully, things will improve.

I think i did read something about that.  I hope the changes will be
show in 6-STABLE, assuming the work will finish well before
7 branch is tagged as STABLE.


> OTOH, I have two colleagues using this card with Windows and they
> complain that it locks up periodically and they have to disable
> and enable it to get it back, so this may not be just a FreeBSD
> thing.

I have not personally experienced problems in Windows for whatever
length i was using that OS.  Reading about others' trouble (in
Windows) dose give me some solace.


> There is also fairly new firmware out (V3.0) which MAY fix some of
> these problems.

That would be swell.


  - Parv

--