Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:12:19 +0200 From: herbert langhans <herbert.raimund@gmx.net> To: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> Cc: FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: IBM Thinkpad 755C and FreeBSD's minimal hardware requirements - still usable? Message-ID: <20091019111219.GA896@sandcat> In-Reply-To: <20091019064727.fc002b1f.freebsd@edvax.de> References: <20091019064727.fc002b1f.freebsd@edvax.de>
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Not a long time ago I got an old Thinkpad 600. With 300MHz and 165MB Ram. Also the same challenge - small and fast ports for daily work. I run X11 with fluxbox (installed without! hal support). Recommendable ports are: Opera (smaller then Firefox) or even Elinks (there is a setting 'graphic mode'). Mutt for e-mails, vim (also gvim) is my text editor - it replaces word processing software. Centerim for instant messaging (instead of pidgin). Axyftp is a fast ftp-client, also for X11. Generally all the motif-programs are small and fast. For a few bucks I got the PCMCIA-Card TP-Link TL-WN610G. It works perfect, but only without hal. And my battery lasts easily over three hours, almost four with just a text editor running. Maybe you go for a bigger harddisk? Costs a few bucks and will have enough space for BSD 7.2 (what I use) and some of the ports? Compiling your own kernel and cleaning out the kernel source and the distfiles of the ports is also a good idea.. Cheers herb langhans On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 06:47:27AM +0200, Polytropon wrote: > Dear list, > > I'm about to try something strange. Recently, I got back my > IBM Thinkpad 755C. It's from ca. 1995, has a 486 processor > at 75 MHz, 20 MB RAM and a 640x480x256 display. The hard disk > is 330 MB, but I have a 500 MB disk that I want to use. Use > for what? FreeBSD, of course. > > Allthough this device is quite old, the battery lasts 3 hours. > I'm not joking, I tried it. > > The laptop contains two PCCARD (PCMCIA) slots for expansions. > A floppy disk drive is built in, as well as audio (builtin > microphone and speaker, connectors for line in and headphones). > On the back, there are connectors for VGA, serial (9 pin), > and parallel, as well as for some kind of docking station. > There's no USB and no CD drive. > > Here's my question: > > Is it, under any circumstances, possible to run FreeBSD on this > configuration in order to have a portable and lightweight (in > regards of software) diagnostic computer? > > I thought about putting in a PCCARD based NIC (I have a Realtek > one that works well with FreeBSD), as well as a WLAN card. > > On the software side I would think about CLI tools mostly, but > it would be great to run X (even at this limited screen, but > there's always the option of using a bigger virtual desktop). > Programs should include a web browser, mail client, and finally > a network traffic diagnostic tool, such as Wireshark (ex Ethereal). > > I had FreeBSD 4 running on this device from floppy for testing > purposes, so I know I have to pay attention to the fact that > the keyboard needs to be flagged as XT (not AT) - very stange. > I had FreeBSD 4 running on a 486/60 Toshiba T2130ct with 8 MB > RAM in the past, but I'm using this one now for programming > Motorola mobile radios. It's builtin trackpoint is not working > anymore, but the Thinkpad's is in perfect condition, so I have > a good pointing device. Furthermore, the Thinkpad's keyboard > is excellent, compared to the Toshiba and to "modern" notebooks > with their floppy-sloppy keys. > > Is this imaginable at all? > > Any ideas, comments or suggestions are appreciated. > > > PS. Of course I would buy one of those modern "Netbooks" to > have the same effect, but why buy when the stuff I have > arund anywill will work, too? I know, I'm just plain mean, > and I diskike the Netbook's nearly unusable keyboards as > well as the absence of a proper pointing device (the ugly > slimy fingerprint-glidepad is no solution). > > > > -- > Polytropon > Magdeburg, Germany > Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 > Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ... > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" -- sprachtraining langhans herbert langhans, warschau http://www.langhans.com.pl herbert dot raimund at gmx dot net +0048 603 341 441
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