Author: Laura Cowen Date: To: Hampshire LUG Discussion List Subject: Re: [Hampshire] [Hardware] Laptop Suitability
Sean Gibbins wrote: > Hi All,
>
> My brother-in-law has asked me to get him a laptop, and I have seen an
> IBM T23 (spec below) at Sterling XS for £270. I recall that the older
> IBM lappies are pretty much sussed as far as Linux goes, so I'll
> probably sling Ubuntu on it for him. The one thing that bothers me is
> the price, which is not a million miles away from some branded newer
> machines. His needs are pretty straightforward, so is this good value?
>
> Any thoughts on this, or indeed suggestions of alternative machines
> and/or suppliers?
I was always happy with my T23 from work (same spec as you quote, I
think) until the HDD went pop after about 2.5-3 years (at about the same
time I was given a newer Thinkpad). The only problem I had with it apart
from that was that the battery life dropped to about 10 mins by the
final 6 months I had it - though if you're getting a refurbished one,
would they be including a newish battery? Also, I was a pretty heavy
user of it - docked and connected to the mains all day at work as a
desktop replacement.
It ran Linux Red Hat 9 quite happily from what I remember.
I can't comment on the current price you quote above but my T23 new was
getting on for £2000 IIRC.
The link you include shows a 15" TFT at 1600 resolution (not 14"), which
I *think* is what mine was.