freebsd on a laptop : only console use

Polytropon freebsd at edvax.de
Sat Jun 21 14:45:19 UTC 2014


On Sat, 21 Jun 2014 19:56:55 +0530, Mayuresh Kathe wrote:
> On Sat, Jun 21, 2014 at 04:05:42PM +0200, Polytropon wrote:
> > On Sat, 21 Jun 2014 19:23:02 +0530, Mayuresh Kathe wrote:
> > > > > is freebsd ready for laptops?
> > > > 
> > > > Depends on the particular laptop. :-)
> > > 
> > > yeah, i'm really worried about support.
> > > maybe i should just give up the thought of going for a laptop.
> > 
> > No, just don't pick the newest and shiniest thing you can
> > imagine.
> 
> yes, that would be a wise approach.
> but, then again, the vendors out here, believe in selling *only*
> the newest and shiniest stuff. :(

Luckily, you can still buy used and refurbished devices
which will sometimes work much better. Or if you can
verify that a laptop is compatible, even some new laptops
will work - after that, you can buy it. Some vendors are
still interested in selling devices to a wide range of
customers, and they therefore care about compatibility.
With "modern" laptops, this is a problem, especially
those with "Restricted Boot" and mangled UEFIs. Many new
wireless parts also have problems. :-(

That being said, _I_ felt much happier using used business (!)
laptops which I could acquire for few money, and all the
componentes were well documented and supported. And if
the builtin wireless doesn't work, there's still the
option to use a PCCARD or USB based extension. Yes, that
doesn't sound "right", but it solves the problem. I have
learned to buy things that _work_ as _I_ wish, and being
able to test them _before_ putting the money on the counter
is a big advantage. I know that this is not always possible,
but as long as you exercise your right of choice, you have
the chance to get an _excellent_ device for a low price
which will maybe last even longer as some of today's cheap
throw-away crap...






-- 
Polytropon
Magdeburg, Germany
Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...


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