[NBLUG/talk] Advice for prospective Linux lap-topper?

[Daniel Smith]

>Dear NBLUGers (especially Linux laptop users),
>
>I'm headed to a programmers' conference in late June and I thought it might
>be time to get a laptop so I can "play along".

Know what I saw a couple of weeks ago all over the Emerging
Technology Conference?  iBooks and PowerBooks.

If you want to dig in and figure out the linux-on-laptop
deal (like I am about to do with an old Toshiba 3110),
then sure, the information is out there.

BUT! If you haven't bought a laptop yet, you might want to
consider an ibook.  Right out of the box, you'll have
wireless, audio, video, and a whole more already taken
care of.  With an X11 download from Apple, and an installation
of fink (http://fink.sourceforge.net/), you'll have
a wide range of Open Source software in a great Unix
environment.

If I had to mention one app to tip you towards the
Mac for a conference setting, it would be Hydra
(http://hydra.globalse.org/) - it uses Rendezvous
(ZeroConf) to allow multiple users to edit the
same doc at the same time.  See:
http://trevor.smith.name/blog/archives/000108.html

You will see a fair bit of collaborative note-taking
going on if the conference has wireless access in the meeting
rooms.

I have an old iMac set up to boot Debian, OS 9, and OS X.
People (http://people.debian.org/~branden/ibook/) are
doing the same on iBooks.

Daniel

disclaimer: no, I don't work for Apple.  I just like their
stuff.

-- 
Daniel L. Smith - Sonoma County, CA - AIM: SonomaDaniel
JavaJoint.com   - daniel.org        - ThereAndThen.org