notebook

I prefer using my big, old, clunky pc instead of a laptop, notebook, netbook, or whatever. But I needed a working, spare computer. I was going to just look for a used pc, or even a cheap new pc, but the convenience of a laptop eventually won the day.

The one I found? The HP Compaq Presario CQ56-219WM Notebook from Walmart. $278 bucks. 250 GB drive, 2 GB RAM, CD/DVD drive, 3 USB ports, 15 inch display, Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz.

I tried my Ubuntu Natty live CD on it. Then I tried Natty from a MultiSystem live flash drive (for info, see http://www.pendrivelinux.com/multiboot-create-a-multiboot-usb-from-linux/). Then I tried my Mepis 11 live DVD on it.

Then I used KDE Partition Manager from the Mepis 11 DVD and wiped out Windows from the hard drive. Deleted every partition that was there. Re-partitioned, then installed Mepis 11.

Looks beautiful, runs great.

Because the drives on my main pc are all filled up with other distros, I'm considering adding a Ubuntu Natty installation to the notebook, just to test things out, see how things go. Haven't decided yet; I'm just glad to have something else to get online with when I can use my main pc.

In the past, I was using an old Balance notebook as a spare. It originally came with Linspire, but I have Kubuntu Dapper sitting on it now. But I've been unable to get a broadband connection with it, and installing other distros on it has been, at times, problematic. It was time to retire it, quite simply. It served me well.

M.A.L. has a new MacBook Pro. I joke that I could have gotten 3 or 4 new computers for the price of that MacBook Pro. Actually, it's no joke, and I'm sure I'm as happy running Linux on my Presario as he is running OS-X on his MacBook Pro.

Hopefully, I won't end up regretting this purchase, but $278 wasn't much. Everything looks great so far.