[SGVLUG] Speaker? (was sgvlug.org timing out)

[Emerson, Tom (*IC)]

HMMM... this will probably branch a little further, but there is a
"dirty little secret" among laptop manufacturers: there are only a
handful of /actual/ manufacturers (called "ODM's") who sell "base model"
boxes to "OEM's" who place a processor, memory, and similar items into
the box and sell it as a "Dell" or "Compaq" or ...

The currently-out-of-stock "Serval", for instance
(http://system76.com/index.php/cPath/1_12) looks suspiciously similar to
the one I'm actually considering:
http://powernotebooks.com/specs/images/l8-15/

The underlying "box" is made by a company called "Compal", and the model
number is "HEL80".  Powernotebooks themselves sells ANOTHER laptop,
branded as a "Sager", which is (you guessed it) a Compal HEL80!
(Although an "as similar as possible" configuration between the
powernotebooks L 8:15 and the Sager NP2080 is slightly higher for the
sager...)

In any case, if the "serval" is indeed the Compal Hel80, then this is
"good news" for me as PN's price is a bit lower (while I value the
effort to pre-install linux, I use a different distro, so the fact that
Ubuntu is the only thing they offer doesn't help me much -- what DOES
help is, as you point out, the fact that they HAVE determined this is a
"very compatible" laptop)  [there is also the fact that PN will let me
configure it a little more -- higher res graphics, bigger disk, etc.,
and STILL be lower in price...]


-----Original Message-----
From: sgvlug-bounces at sgvlug.net [mailto:sgvlug-bounces at sgvlug.net] On
Behalf Of John 
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 11:16 AM
To: SGVLUG Discussion List.
Subject: Re: [SGVLUG] Speaker? (was sgvlug.org timing out)


I recommend system76.com. They come with Ubuntu only, but work on making
sure all of their hardware is supported under Linux, including
fingerprint reader, camera, card reader, etc. Also, the form factor are
nice on the two I have held. 


On 5/4/07, Emerson, Tom (*IC) <Tom.Emerson at wbconsultant.com> wrote:
> -----Original Message----- Of matti
>
> ps - do we have a speaker for this months meeting yet?
>

Well, following on the "stepping into the goo" from last month when I
said I wanted to HEAR about PODCASTING (to which Michael picked on my 
technique of following up with "so, you'll go away, learn this, and
present it next month eh?")  I *HAVE* been working up a short segment on
pod CATCHING -- the capture and playback of podcasts (i.e ., "client
side" of the equation...)

However, my laptop is "a little flakey" of late (memory going bad I
think...) so I'm also shopping for a new one (strongly considering
another powernotebooks.com system as they are about one of maybe three
dealers who will sell systems WITHOUT an OS)  I'll be making a decisions
this weekend, and if I do buy it, I'll probably be receiving it
Wednesday or Thursday, so I might just be doing an install for the
meeting [wow, that would be novel...]

But if not, I really won't have a system suitable for doing any sort of
presentation, hence I haven't really stepped up and committed to this 
yet...




-- 
John Lowry