I’m a sucker for new Linux based computers, and cheap Linux based computers are even better. I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of my my Cherrypal Africa (I’ll be posting the unboxing as on the day it arrives, and how to load Linux if it doesn’t come with Linux installed). The day is coming when we’ll see cell phones and computers at grocery store between the Black and Mild cigars and the 5 hour energy drinks.

The OLPC folks don’t have to build this computer. They just have to threaten to build it. Prices will fall, feature sets will rise and programmers will be employed. At the rate that ARM processors are showing up in mobile devices, I wouldn’t be surprised if this device is running on an as-yet-unannounced 2ghz ARM processor and running a snappy version of Android.

OpenRD Client

Near the top of my list is an OpenRD ARM based low power computer. The OpenRD comes in two models – the OpenRD Base, and the OpenRD Client.

OpenRD Base $149

• High performance Marvell® Sheeva™ up to 1.2 GHz
• Supports both Big & Little Endian
• Includes MMU to support virtual memory
• 512 MB DDR2-800 SDRAM in 2 banks of x8 devices and 512 MB NAND Flash
• 12 Volts power supply
• SD Card
• 1 USB 2.0 Port with integrated PHY
• 1 GbE Port with GMII and RGMII support
• SATA/eSATA Ports with integrated Marvell 3 Gbps SATA PHYs
• 1 x PCI Express (PCIe) Port
• UART with RS232 (Yay legacy!)
• USB Interface for Debug supports JTAG & Serial Console
• Operating System: Linux 2.6.22.18 & Fedora 8.0

OpenRD Client $249 (Additional features)

• 7 USB 2.0 Port with integrated PHYs
• 2 GbE Ports with GMII and RGMII support
• VGA support up to 1280×1024 at 60 Hz
• UART with RS232/RS485 interface

I’m itching to use the OpenRD Client to

• run my web and DHCP server off of battery power (7 watts at idle)
• be a MythTV client
• Provide In-room touch screen information

There’s also a smaller member of this family – the Sheeva Plug. It’s built into a wall wart sized package, it’s got the processing power of the OpenRD boards, and just a USB plug for output.

Any of these could excite your geek this holiday season.

“it’s at the core about people feeling good about that which is pretty. That doesn’t make us shallow, that just makes us human.”.

I think, though, we’ve got our own perception of pretty. My idea of pretty is the Thinkpad that he mentioned in the article (up next to the MacBook Air). I agree that the MacBook Air has some aesthetics, but the beauty that I see in the Thinkpad is durability and support for my favorite OS (Linux). There’s a line there – I wouldn’t accept a brick for a laptop, but my perfect design is significantly different than DHH’s.

Embrace what looks good to you. Is it the aesthetics of a clean, svelte design? Or, like me, do you appreciate the durable and extensible? Where do you draw the line? What’s your perfect design?

When I decided to buy a laptop for personal use, I had a few years of experience to pull from. I’ve run Linux on laptops from most of the major vendors:

• Dell (Several models)
• Toshiba
• E-Machines
• Gateway
• IBM

All with limited success, especially with early versions of Linux. I started Linux on Slackware, then switched to Redhat, and more recently to Fedora. All of my laptop experiences have been with Redhat derivative distributions of Linux.

A good friend of mine is an IBM Territory Partner Manager, and he offered me his IBM discount. That, coupled with IBM’s stellar support of Linux, sealed the deal – I’m getting an IBM.

My criteria were:

• Modestly powerful
• Epic Battery Life
• Somewhat svelte
• Rugged

All of which were more than satisfied by the IBM lineup. After seeing a z60t, I decieded that would be the machine for me. The hardware specs are (shamelesly pulled from ThinkWiki.org):

My Configuration

(~$1300)

• Intel Pentium M (Dothan) 1.73, 1.86 or 2.0GHz
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 video controller
• 14.0″ wide-screen TFT display with 1280×768 resolution
• 1GB PC2-4200
• 40GB 5400RPM SATA HDD
• AD1981HD HD Audio 1.0 controller
• Intel_82801FB_HDA Intel High Definition Audio Controller
• UltraBay Slim with DVD±RW (dual layer)
• Broadcom 10/100/1000 Ethernet
• CDC slot (1) with a ThinkPad 56K Modem (MDC-1.5)
• ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini Express Adapter
• IBM Embedded Security Subsystem 2.0
• Integrated Fingerprint Reader on select systems
• UltraNav
• IEEE1394 (Firewire) on select systems
• CardBus slot (Type 2)
• SD Card Slot

Weight and Dimensions

• Weight: 2.2432 kg
• Travel weight: 2.053 kg
• Height: 26.6 mm
• Width: 334 mm
• Depth: 228 mm

So, once I finally took delivery of this laptop, I immediately dd‘d the Windows partition (just in case), and put Fedora Core 5 on it. Now, everything on the laptop did not work “out-of-the-box”, but, after a little configuration, a few downloads, and a kernel update or two, it’s all working! No ndiswrapper needed, sound works, USB, firewire, screen, monitor output, DVD, SD Card slot (whoopee!), fingerprint reader, hibernate / suspend, etc.

The best site on the web for IBM+Linux foo is ThinkWiki.org. Those guys have all the part numbers, links to all the drivers, postings from folks with similar hardware – everything for the new IBM owner. Many thanks to a well-run community site!

What I like about this machine:

Small

It’s a widescreen model, so the keyboard is plenty large, but the machine is thin and light. It’s exactly what I wanted as far as size and weight goes

Touchpad

Lots of IBM machines have shipped without a touchpad, but, I can’t function without it. Works like a charm.

Atheros Wireless

All the other laptops I’ve loaded Linux on have had Broadcom chipsets. The Atheros chipset based wireless was a big selling point for me. I’m using the madwifi-ng drivers, and I’m pretty sure I needed that to get WPA support working with NetworkManager. I’m using the Subversion build, and have been for a while. I’ve never had one bit of trouble out of the tip of the Subversion trunk

Battery

I got the extended battery, even though it added a little weight. I’ve never been disappointed.

Suspend

How did we ever live without Suspend? I’ve only used Hibernate (to disk) a few times, but it works too.

Keyboard

The most important part of a laptop (in my world) is the keyboard, and this one rocks. My hands are large, and I don’t feel cramped at all. Everything is there, and in the correct place. I really notice it when I use any other brand of laptop.

What’s not-so-hot about this machine

CPU

It seems I bought this machine just days before all respectable machines went dual-core. I’ll admit I had a bit of CPU-Envy towards a couple of guys that got a t60 a month after I bought mine. After a good bit of soul-searching, I’ve realized that my machine stays clocked down at 800mhz most of the time. I don’t write C++ or Java on this machine (Ruby and Perl, mostly), so I don’t have long compile cycles to worry about. Bottom line – It’s just what I need

Screen resolution

I’m an XEmacs user, so I can slice and dice the screen as I see fit. Also, I’m a virtual desktop power user, so I’ve got lots of real-estate for full-screen apps. If I used Eclipse, or just about any IDE, this screen would be too low-res. Again, just what I need, probably not for everyone.

Windows Key

This IBM has a Windows key – go figure. I don’t use it, but I think that it works.

So, this machine, warts and all, is my personal coding machine. I only have to reboot when there’s a new kernel, I authenticate with the fingerprint reader (one finger is me, one finger is root), and generally love every minute of coding on it. I keep trying to convince my wife she needs one, but she’s wedded to the Microsoft Natural keyboard, for some reason.

dhw