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    Which notebook for Ubuntu?

    Discussion in 'Linux Compatibility and Software' started by eKrzys, Aug 18, 2009.

  1. eKrzys

    eKrzys Notebook Enthusiast

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    I am thinking about buying one of those small/portable notebooks with very (very!!!) long battery life and install ubuntu. One of my choices are Asus 1005HA-P or Toshiba mini NB205, as they are listed as a 8+ or 9+ hrs of battery life. Any ideas/feedback from forum members?
     
    eKrzys, Aug 18, 2009
    #1
  2. Gintoki

    Gintoki Notebook Prophet

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    Gintoki, Aug 18, 2009
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  3. The Fire Snake

    The Fire Snake Notebook Virtuoso

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    Ubuntu will give you less battery life than windows. Thats why I am sticking with Vista on my laptop.
     
    The Fire Snake, Aug 18, 2009
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  4. Gintoki

    Gintoki Notebook Prophet

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    Huh? Citation needed.
     
    Gintoki, Aug 18, 2009
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  5. neilnat

    neilnat Notebook Evangelist

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    neilnat, Aug 18, 2009
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  6. steve p

    steve p Notebook Evangelist

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    Just Google it. It seems like most everyone in the various forums is reporting better battery life under Windows.

    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=333067

    EDIT: it seems I was a bit slow!
     
    steve p, Aug 18, 2009
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  7. Gintoki

    Gintoki Notebook Prophet

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    Citation confirmed, statement is valid.
     
    Gintoki, Aug 18, 2009
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  8. pixelot

    pixelot Notebook Acolyte

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    Dells and Thinkpads are good... either of those would be a good choice if you need to install it yourself.

    Cheers... :)
     
    pixelot, Aug 18, 2009
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  9. joeelmex

    joeelmex Notebook Evangelist

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    Asus are good too.
     
    joeelmex, Aug 18, 2009
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  10. Th3_uN1Qu3

    Th3_uN1Qu3 Notebook Deity

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    Yeah, if you'd ask me now, i'd go with Asus.

    As for the battery life thing, it depends how much time are you willing to spend to get it right. My DV5 lasted the same under Ubuntu and Windows, but it did take a day to configure properly. Also HD Video was much better under Ubuntu and it took less CPU resources, thus i could watch a whole movie on the measly 6-cell. However i went back to Windows due to a bunch of other issues.
     
    Th3_uN1Qu3, Aug 18, 2009
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  11. zephyrus17

    zephyrus17 Notebook Deity

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    Yeap. I'd support Asus or Thinkpads (*hugs* T61p)

    In general, though. I think all modern notebooks WITHOUT broadcom wireless chips are pretty easy to set up. Broadcom isn't bad, it's just a bit tedious to get it working.
     
    zephyrus17, Aug 18, 2009
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  12. pixelot

    pixelot Notebook Acolyte

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    Actually, I've really had it quite easy with Broadcom, but yeah... maybe not optimal. :p
     
    pixelot, Aug 18, 2009
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  13. zephyrus17

    zephyrus17 Notebook Deity

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    You've had to use that ndiswrapper thing? Well it's certainly not as easy as just downloading an intel "iwlwifi-4965-ucode" driver and that's it.
     
    zephyrus17, Aug 18, 2009
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  14. pixelot

    pixelot Notebook Acolyte

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    Nope. :)

    It's a proprietary driver. In earlier versions I had to manually choose to use it, but it was already downloaded. In Jaunty it's in use by default. Really quite simple. :rolleyes:

    Now I'd prefer it were a better card, from Intel or Cisco or so on, but this particular card is actually even supposed to support packet injection and the like. So I can't complain too much about having to use Broadcom. :D
     
    pixelot, Aug 19, 2009
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  15. archer7

    archer7 Notebook Evangelist

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    Mmmmm... aircrack + hping = happy me
     
    archer7, Aug 19, 2009
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  16. zephyrus17

    zephyrus17 Notebook Deity

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    Wow.. Broadcom really responded to the negative response. I like that in a company. Public awareness.
     
    zephyrus17, Aug 19, 2009
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  17. Th3_uN1Qu3

    Th3_uN1Qu3 Notebook Deity

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    Yeah, i tried Ubuntu just for kicks on my dv9700 as well and the Broadcom wifi had exactly zero issues. It just worked out of the box. It's useful for a bit of aircrack every now and then... :D
     
    Th3_uN1Qu3, Aug 21, 2009
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  18. archer7

    archer7 Notebook Evangelist

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    You could just run BackTrack off live, you know. It has a boatload of ha- ehrm... security auditing tools. Plus it doesn't take up HDD space.
     
    archer7, Aug 21, 2009
    #18