Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Get the Right Memory for Your Mac Top Quality, Competitive Price, Lifetime Backed Free Expert Support + Installation Videos too! MacBook & mini 8GB, iMac 16GB, Mac Pro up to 32GB. Click here

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Fruitful Editing

Good-bye PowerBook, Hello Linux on a Laptop

- 2009.03.02

Popularity: LEMLEMLEMLEM

Last year, I lost a dear friend.

My wife was in need of a better laptop, and without the finances to get her a new MacBook, I decided that my 12" PowerBook G4 should be hers. As an anniversary present, I stayed up most of the night before backing up my files and customizing it for her needs.

The next day was both joyful (for my wife) and sad for me. I would have to wait until my finances would allow me to get another PowerBook.

As the months went on, I realized that continuing with PowerPC architecture was not for me. If I was going to invest money in hardware (especially in this economy), I wanted something that was going to be supported for years to come.

I also began to have some interest in Linux - and open source software in general. Since the notebook would be a secondary computer, why would I need a MacBook? I could just get a cheap PC notebook and run Linux, and then sell the Windows license and save even more.

The temptation only got worse when I started looking at the specifications of the PC laptops.

  • 3-4 gigs of RAM
  • 250 GB hard drives
  • Equally fast dual-core processors
  • HDMI
  • $500

I convinced myself that this was the way to go. I would purchase one of these machines when they were on sale, run an operating system I had no experience with, and be just fine (and save $500).

My First PC

I decided on an HP Dv4 1220, which is one of HP's Pavilion entertainment models. It has a 2.1 GHz AMD 64-bit processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 250 GB hard drive, HDMI out, and a bunch of other great features.

Best of all, I purchased it when it was on sale for $550 (MSRP $749). I figured with specs like that, I had a computer with better specs than a brand new MacBook at a "savings" of $500.

The problems started as soon as I turned the machine on.

After unpacking my new laptop, I plugged it in and decided it would be fun to poke around in Vista. I had never used Vista, so I thought it would be interesting to see what all the fuss was about. I knew I was going with a version of Linux anyway.

Vista had not been imaged properly at the factory, so I repacked everything and returned it to the store. To be fair, returning it was pretty easy. I explained the situation and was given another unit with no hassle.

When I started up machine number two, I got the same message about Windows not being correctly shut down. Thankfully, I was able to boot it. I used Windows for a few days, then made the plunge and installed Mandriva 2009. I didn't like this Linux distribution, so I began trying others.

I was getting no work done; I was merely tinkering with operating systems for two weeks.

I finally found one that worked with this HP model: Ubuntu 8.10. Surprisingly, everything worked "out of the box." My laptop has touch controls for wireless, volume, etc., and it all worked with no configuration.

The only thing that didn't work was my sound card, but my Linux guru friend assured me that it was an easy fix.

Buyer's Remorse

The more days I used the HP, the worse I felt about my purchase. I knew I had made a poor decision. I was a Mac guy, and tinkering with open source software should have been done with an old ThinkPad, not a brand new machine.

I have not been able to find a Linux distro that gives me full functionality. I have tried 6 different distributions, and not one of them allowed my sound to work.

I don't want to run Windows, so this machine has no value to me.

Now I am searching for a buyer, someone who can get some use out it - someone who uses Windows and will appreciate it.

This is not a bad laptop at all - in fact, I absolutely love the keyboard. It's one of the best I've ever used.

When I find a buyer, I'm going to put that money back into a Mac - PowerPC or Intel. Until then, I'm stuck with the HP and Ubuntu.

What do I like about Linux? You'll have to come back later to find out. LEM

Brian Gray is a journalist from North Carolina who enjoys writing, the beach, and tinkering with Macs.

Recent Fruitful Editing Columns

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.