Dude, am I gettin’ a Dell?
I’ve been boasting to anyone who will listen that I’m willing to buy the first laptop that I can find on sale for $500 CAD or less. The ugly beast above isn’t quite that cheap, but for $649 I can get some pretty decent upgrades for free, including the all-important leather carrying case!
I only have until the end of today to decide, so feel free to send any of your wisdom my way. And in case you’re wondering…
1. What’s wrong with that other Dell you’ve been mucking around with?
The mighty Inspiron 7500, you mean? Considering it’s age, it’s more than lived up to my expectations. I currently have it running pretty smoothly under Xubuntu, a lightweight Linux distro optimized for older machines. But it has neither a battery or sound card, so is ultimately of limited use.
2. You giving up on Mac or something?!
Certainly not yet. All the video stuff I do requires it. But for basic internet and office tasks I not only think that the Mac is overkill, but that their software in this category is pretty crappy, especially when compared to free Linux alternatives. Consider also that for the price of one new MacBook I could get almost three of these Dell machines—and I don’t have to pay a premium for a modem or the colour black!
So while I’ve been testing out Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu here and there, I won’t know for sure if I can live with Linux full-time until I actually try it. And try it I might…
Andrew Currie 
2 responses to “Living with Linux: Time to Put Up or Shut Up”
Update: It’s almost 4:30pm and I think I’m gonna do this. These links have tipped the scales in Linux (and Ubuntu’s) favour:
1. Bloggers switch to Ubuntu.
2. When the bough breaks.
… And no sooner did I wrap things up at the Dell Online store when I got an email from CompuSmart with a $649 laptop of their own.
The specs of the two machines are virtually identical, except that my Dell has a wide WXGA screen. But if you need a printer, this is obviously a great deal!
Could this be the summer of cheap laptops for Linux…?