what makes ibm laptops so linux friendly? I've heard many people say how they have the best track record of linux working well on their laptops. Is it just they make laptops comprised of supported hardware? If that's all it is then what's the best hardware peices to look for in a laptop?

IBM have a strong interest in linux, providing corporate support for it. So I suppose they would make sure their laptops are compatible.

If you are considering getting a laptop to use with linux, you could check out http://www.linux-laptop.net/. Or search the "Laptop and Handeld" forum on this site.

I myself have a Dell SmartPC 250N, which works fine except that the modem is a winmodem. I never managed to get this to work, but I have broadband now so don't need it. I think that winmodems are one of the biggest problems with using linux on laptops.

yeah, dial up won't be anything that makes much difference or my laptop, I'll either have a lan cable or a wifi AP around when I intend to be online.

You should be fine then, although there are also some issues with certain wifi cards . The best advice I can give is simply to decide on a few laptops that you like, then check them out thoroughly on the web. Also check the peripherals you are going to use with it. Although the vast majority of things can be made to work nowadays, for some distros things work straight out of the box, while on others you have to put some leg-work in.

Once you have a specific laptop in mind, you can check in these forums (Laptops and Handhelds/Hardware Compatibility List) for other peoples experiences with it.

Good luck!

It's all in the hardware being used.

I like Suse, it work well in my IBM laptop