Re: Dell Inspiron which Linux

From: Jim (james_at_the-computer-shop.co.uk)
Date: 06/11/05 

Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 17:52:11 GMT

Jeff wrote:
> Hi, everyone. I used Mandrake Linux on a PC about 5 years ago but had to
> give it up because I needed to use MS Office for work.
>
> Now I want to try Linux again, as a dual boot installation, on a Dell
> Inspiron 8100 laptop that already has XP Home SP-2 installed. I've not
> followed what is happening in the Linux world and am therefore not
> knowledgeable about the distributions available. Which would be a good
> distribution to use on this laptop?
>
> My needs are
> a) learning Linux
> b) useable software (MS Office replacements, gimp, dialup internet
> capability, support for networking with XP Pcs, etc.)
> c) Having easy configuration tools ("newbie style").
> d) Easy upgradeability as far as resolving dependencies automatically
>
> Thanks for any advice.
>
I've got Knoppix/Debian 3.8 Custom HDinstalled on my Inspiron 4100.
Pretty speedy on a 1.0 PIII with 384MB RAM. Everything works with
minimal configuration. Screen is up to 1152x864 after updating the
graphics driver (ATI Radeon Mobility 9700 64MB), YMMV on this as Dell do
love to change the graphics chips model on model (I know, I've got four
Dell laptops, they all use entirely different chips - one Radeon (on the
Inspiron), a GF4 MX440 (on a Latitude C840), an Intel Extreme (on a
Latitude C400) and a Rage 128 M3 (Latitude C610). Most of the time it's
even possible to activate the slave VGA connection so you can span
panels, clone, stretch or dualpane. Handy. :) 

-- 
Cheers,
Jim
-begin sig-
http://www.dotware.co.uk |http://www.dotware-entertainment.co.uk
I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or
insanity, but they've always worked for me.
-end sig-

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