451 CAOS Theory 
A blog for the enterprise open source community
A legacy laptop edge for Linux?
Jay Lyman, March 26, 2007 @ 1:14 pm ETIDC reports that shipments of laptops are ready to overtake shipments of desktops, a long-running trend in the PC industry. We’ve also been hearing more and more about ‘green computing’ and how energy efficiency and environmental impact are becoming priorities for consumers concerned about their world and enterprises concerned about their reputation.
This got me thinking about the opportunity for Linux, not in new laptops that will mostly be preloaded with Windows Vista, but the opportunity for Linux in old laptops. Most of us have these machines. For my family, it’s our second laptop, a Dell Inspiron. It has a WiFi card sticking out, but works pretty well with XP, for now. However, when my HP dv1000 had broken Windows, I jumped onto the Ubuntu Linux bandwagon and have been impressed, happy, challenged and gratified by my change. I’m contemplating Ubuntu or another Linux on our old Dell laptop that has become my daughter’s computer. If and when, with my bet on the latter, my wife’s Windows laptop seizes, I’ll be ready to help her jump over to the Linux she likes best.
As for desktop computers, I have an old, 400Mhz AMD desktop (date of origin unknown) that runs pretty well with Debian Linux (thanks FreeGeek), and I’ve used Xandros to transform another old, Wintel PII machine (purchased in the year 2000) that had Windows 98 on it into a home network server with connected hard drive. If these uses of Linux for desktops, which also avert PC waste and its ecological impact, are any indication, Linux has the potential to be deployed on generations of laptop computers.
Enterprises might also consider alternative uses of old Windows notebooks, which could be loaded with Linux to work longer for mobile workers, with Mac shops or even in server environments. That could have a much greater impact, or non-impact, on the environment, at the same time propping up Linux and its users in the market.
Comments (7) Categories: Hardware,Linux,Software
Hi,You must try puppy linux,there are many different versions,thanks largely to the re-mastering software
incorporated into the distro.It has just about the best hardware detection of any of the ones I`ve tried,only ubuntu/kubuntu come vaguely close.
Currently,its only weakness is in bluetooth,although
this is being worked on with some good results already coming in.It also is highly intuitive,with most common tasks acheived from the desktop GUI,minimising the use of the bash shell(hooray!!)
It is also very small 64meg to 98 meg depending on
version.You`ll easily find it using google,prepare yourself to be amazed!I was.
I am currently using TMXXINE a clever derivative with
puppy as the core.This is comparatively huge at 330meg,and runs very well on My 2 gig pc,but a minimum of half a gig of memory on slow machines would really help,whereas puppy 2.14 runs pretty well in64meg of ram on My old 400mnz laptop,with a swap partition of course.
Have a go at it,You won`t regret it.
Hi Russell,
Thanks for the post and the suggestion. You’re not the first to recommend taking Puppy Linux for a walk, and I definitely plan on trying it out on some of my old hardware. Coincidentally, I also have a real dog that is part Lab, boxer, pit bull, coon hound and gosh knows what else. Her nickname is Puppy Linux since she is an open source dog.
Cheers,
JL
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Well Written
Steve
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[...] on. Let’s remember that notebooks are now the dominant form factor for PCs, and emerging markets and new form factors, such as the [...]
It interesting. This got me thinking about the opportunity for Linux, not in new laptops that will mostly be preloaded with Windows Vista, but the opportunity for Linux in old laptops.