Linux Laptop Suppliers in the UK

"Graham Murray" wrote in message ...
|
| Obviously the Compaq site is a waste of time, and trying to ask this
| question in PCWorld would be comical.("No we dont sell Linux, is that
| the new shoot-em up game? Oh, its an OS, sorry we only do modern
| s/ware")
|
| The PC World here has boxed SuSE and Red Hat for sale off the shelf.
|
| So the thing to do is take them to the sales desk and say that you wish
| to buy the laptop if, and only if, it will run this (the boxed Linux
| distro) software. Make sure than someone else witnesses the question
| and answer, or even better try to get it in writing, as if they give
| the wrong answer I believe that they have contravened either or both
| the Sale of Goods Act and/or the Trade Descriptions Act.

The answer is almost inevitable; "I dunno" with a bemused look and a shoulder
shrug.

That answer wouldn't actually be wrong, so you'll end up no better off.

If you're lucky, and end up talking to the smart one in there that has heard
of Linux, you might actually end up with a "Maybe" instead.

Ford Prefect Turbo

"Johannes H Andersen" wrote in message
...


A Lee wrote:

Trevor Jenkins wrote:

Who in the UK sells (new) laptops with Linux pre-installed and
supported?

Not answering your question, but seeing the ads for a Compaq, with 15"
TFT, and CDRW/dvd drive for £800 at PCWorld has got me thinking about
one, but without a guarantee of being able to run Linux, I wouldnt even
consider it.
Obviously the Compaq site is a waste of time, and trying to ask this
question in PCWorld would be comical.("No we dont sell Linux, is that
the new shoot-em up game? Oh, its an OS, sorry we only do modern
s/ware")
Alan.

Like when I called an ISP with a connection problem. "What browser do
you use...we only support Explorer..." The http supports any http browser,
but she probably didn't know.

ahahaha, sparkling wit! no, they possibly didn't and if they did, they
wouldn't be allowed to talk to you about it because their time would be
better served talking to the majority of their customers who use windows.
you don't pay enough for support to get this kind of cover: if you expect
this sort of support, you would be amazed what it'd cost you.

i'd venture that if you want a linux laptop, you should probably wait until
you're able to support it yourself..

attempting to score points off a helpdesk doesn't help you, them, or the
normal users whose time you're also wasting.

ric

Ric wrote:

"Johannes H Andersen" wrote in message
...


A Lee wrote:

Trevor Jenkins wrote:

Who in the UK sells (new) laptops with Linux pre-installed and
supported?

Not answering your question, but seeing the ads for a Compaq, with 15"
TFT, and CDRW/dvd drive for £800 at PCWorld has got me thinking about
one, but without a guarantee of being able to run Linux, I wouldnt even
consider it.
Obviously the Compaq site is a waste of time, and trying to ask this
question in PCWorld would be comical.("No we dont sell Linux, is that
the new shoot-em up game? Oh, its an OS, sorry we only do modern
s/ware")
Alan.

Like when I called an ISP with a connection problem. "What browser do
you use...we only support Explorer..." The http supports any http browser,
but she probably didn't know.

ahahaha, sparkling wit! no, they possibly didn't and if they did, they
wouldn't be allowed to talk to you about it because their time would be
better served talking to the majority of their customers who use windows.
you don't pay enough for support to get this kind of cover: if you expect
this sort of support, you would be amazed what it'd cost you.

i'd venture that if you want a linux laptop, you should probably wait until
you're able to support it yourself..

Which I am, thank you very much.

attempting to score points off a helpdesk doesn't help you, them, or the
normal users whose time you're also wasting.

Sorry, I wasn't attempting to be clever or score points. I wasn't even using
Linux, but Windows98 and a Netscape Browser. ISPs often supply subscribers
with a CD-ROM that installs a customised version of MS Explorer. Hence that
was the only thing the young assistant knew about. But I did the dial-up
connection directly without the CD-ROM as many people do. Nothing wrong
with Linux, it's rather good, but some users seems be on the high horse,
I've noticed that before in other news groups.

Graham Murray wrote:

So the thing to do is take them to the sales desk and say that you wish
to buy the laptop if, and only if, it will run this (the boxed Linux
distro) software. Make sure than someone else witnesses the question
and answer, or even better try to get it in writing, as if they give
the wrong answer I believe that they have contravened either or both
the Sale of Goods Act and/or the Trade Descriptions Act.

They won't of contravened either Act per se, but the statement becomes
a condition of the contract.

If the buyer states their intended use of a product (in this case to
run Linux) and the supplier implies it is suitable then it becomes a
statement of purpose. If it later proves not to be compatible it
could be returned to the shop as "unfit for purpose".

--
iv Paul iv

[ Mail: ]
[ WWW: http://www.hopwood.org.uk/ ]

In article , A Lee
writes

Yes, I've just had a look at their site, how do they get away with
charging so much?
£130 for Redhat 'Professional'
£60 for Mandrake.
Gold plated CDs?

Support.

--
A. Top posters.
Q. What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?

A Lee wrote:

Not answering your question, but seeing the ads for a Compaq, with 15"
TFT, and CDRW/dvd drive for £800 at PCWorld has got me thinking about
one, but without a guarantee of being able to run Linux, I wouldnt even
consider it.

Yeah I've been drooling over that offer too. The build quality on Compaq
laptops has improved over recent years and they're almost as solid as
Toshiba. I've got a feeling that work will give me a Fujitsu in a couple of
months so am holding off until I know for certain.

Obviously the Compaq site is a waste of time, and trying to ask this
question in PCWorld would be comical.("No we dont sell Linux, is that
the new shoot-em up game? Oh, its an OS, sorry we only do modern
s/ware")

I know DSG make a great butt for all good jokes but they're not terminally
stupid. They have a good selection of the latest distributions - but only
seem to stock the standard nofrills versions. But then the salesmen are
always cautious not to offer any advice that could lead to a customer
returning the goods.

--
Thanks,
Alex Kemp (loose \lessspam-\ for email)

Steve Firth wrote:

Did you read any of the post you were replying to?

Crazy talk - where would usenet be if everyone did that? grin

--
Thanks,
Alex Kemp (loose \lessspam-\ for email)

On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 23:47:52 +0100, A Lee
wrote:

Not answering your question, but seeing the ads for a Compaq, with 15"
TFT, and CDRW/dvd drive for £800 at PCWorld has got me thinking about
one, but without a guarantee of being able to run Linux, I wouldnt even
consider it.

That's the problem I've seen with laptops.

Obviously the Compaq site is a waste of time, and trying to ask this
question in PCWorld would be comical.("No we dont sell Linux, is that
the new shoot-em up game? Oh, its an OS, sorry we only do modern
s/ware")

Not necessarily true on the latter, there are at least 5 staff at my
local PCWorld who not only know about Linux but run it at home and
actively promote it. PCWorld sells at least two Lunix distros (Red Hat
and SuSE, I think I've also seen Mandrake in there) and I've seen people
disgusted at the price of MS Office redirected (by staff) to OpenOffice
and SuSE (which contains OO). They don't, however, know which laptops
will run Linux (or how) because they aren't allowed to take the things
home and play with them...

Chris C

On Mon, 25 Aug 2003 23:18:58 +0100, Paul Hopwood wrote:

They won't of contravened either Act per se

crusade"... won't HAVE !!!"/crusade

--

Regards, Gareth Williams

On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 20:39:45 +0100, Alex Butcher wrote:
On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 19:00:57 +0000, Trevor Jenkins wrote:

Who in the UK sells (new) laptops with Linux pre-installed and
supported?

http://www.dnuk.com sell pre-installed Linux notebooks.

I emailed dnuk here's their response.

"We no longer sell Linux notebooks due to lack of demand."

Regards, Trevor

deemed!