RemoWilliams
10-27-2005, 08:13 PM
I'm buying my father a laptop. He's never owned a modern computer, and he really needs one. He also insists that he wants linux.
I was thinking about getting him a machine and putting Linspire on it. Can I get some advice as to whether this is a good choice of a distro? I've never used it.
It seems like most of the pre-installed ones are ridiculously overpriced or ridiculously underpowered. So I was thinking about going the install it myself route. The problem is, obviously, if the distro I choose doesn't like some piece of hardware on the machine, I am kind of stuck because it's hard to switch out hardware on a laptop.
He needs a laptop because he's disabled and spends a lot of time in his chair and I think he'd actually use it. I need to either give him Linspire or set him up with Wine, because he'll need to use the occasional windows program, for instance Mavis Beacon, because he needs to learn to type.
With so many options out there I'm a little bewildered, and I'm hoping someone could point me in the right direction. He doesn't need a powerhouse, he'll probably be using it mostly for web and email, especially at first, but I don't want to get him a piece of crap either. My target price range is about $1000-$1500 but I could go a little higher if need be. It has to have a modem that will work with the distro because he won't have broadband.
So, to sum up, I need:
Easy to use, father friendly distro suggestion, willing to self-install
Laptop suggestion that will be 100% compatible with the distro
Laptop must have modem
Hopefully something better than Intel Extreme graphics
512 ram or higher
Help please!
I was thinking about getting him a machine and putting Linspire on it. Can I get some advice as to whether this is a good choice of a distro? I've never used it.
It seems like most of the pre-installed ones are ridiculously overpriced or ridiculously underpowered. So I was thinking about going the install it myself route. The problem is, obviously, if the distro I choose doesn't like some piece of hardware on the machine, I am kind of stuck because it's hard to switch out hardware on a laptop.
He needs a laptop because he's disabled and spends a lot of time in his chair and I think he'd actually use it. I need to either give him Linspire or set him up with Wine, because he'll need to use the occasional windows program, for instance Mavis Beacon, because he needs to learn to type.
With so many options out there I'm a little bewildered, and I'm hoping someone could point me in the right direction. He doesn't need a powerhouse, he'll probably be using it mostly for web and email, especially at first, but I don't want to get him a piece of crap either. My target price range is about $1000-$1500 but I could go a little higher if need be. It has to have a modem that will work with the distro because he won't have broadband.
So, to sum up, I need:
Easy to use, father friendly distro suggestion, willing to self-install
Laptop suggestion that will be 100% compatible with the distro
Laptop must have modem
Hopefully something better than Intel Extreme graphics
512 ram or higher
Help please!