Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 20:01:28 -0700 From: Jake Hamby <jhamby@anobject.com> To: Kim Culhan <w8hdkim@yahoo.com> Cc: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Subject: Re: laptop for -current Message-ID: <40FF2E08.2040706@anobject.com> In-Reply-To: <20040721203620.72466.qmail@web50707.mail.yahoo.com> References: <20040721203620.72466.qmail@web50707.mail.yahoo.com>
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Kim Culhan wrote: > Anyone know a laptop they think is good for FreeBSd-current? I just bought a Fujitsu Lifebook N5010, not specifically to run FreeBSD, but as a desktop replacement for software development (I typically dual-boot between Windows and Linux or FreeBSD). The features unique to Fujitsu notebooks that I appreciated the most were: * exceptionally crisp and bright 16" display visible from all angles * one of the few brands to still include a built-in 3.5" floppy drive * exceptionally fast Radeon 9600 3-D chipset w/ 64MB. (1) * convenient, big rotary volume control knob with LED volume display. * very well-designed keyboard layout and keyboard feel * Built-in Atheros 802.11a/b/g (not yet supported by FreeBSD-current, but I have ported the latest version of the Linux driver). (2) (1) Unfortunately, the Radeon 9600 is not yet supported for 3-D acceleration by the free drivers in XFree86. It is supported by the proprietary ATI drivers for Linux which are not yet available for FreeBSD. (2) You can download it here: http://www.anobject.com/jehamby/atheros_driver.tar.bz2 Other than general instability of the current -current (random hard freezes during moderate to heavy system activity, which doesn't happen with the RELENG_5_2 kernel), the main features not currently supported by FreeBSD on this laptop are: * onboard 10/100 Ethernet not being detected (seems to be an issue with the PCI bus enumerator not seeing the card at all) * the laptop doesn't come back up after an ACPI suspend. If you can live without these two features until they get fixed, and are willing to lug around a 7 pound laptop w/ a 2-hour battery life, I think this is a stylish and high-quality machine for a reasonable price. -- Jake Hamby GoPix, Inc.
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