As you know, notebooks and Linux are always a bit dicey. That is particularly the case because usually you can't buy a new notebook with older hardware, and it is the newest hardware that often is poorly supported under Linux. I agree with Sergejs that you should try to check compatibility for each component on any notebook you are considering buying. But even that isn't always enough. I can think of plenty of cases in the past when certain notebooks performed poorly under Linux even though most major components were supported. Also most of the time you can't get any detailed information about notebook keyboards, displays, and special components like multimedia buttons, etc. These sometimes cause major problems under Linux. I use the following steps when I buy notebooks:
1) Check Red Hat's computer compatibility list, and look at the various Linux notebook sites to identify possible notebook models. (Try
http://www.tuxmobil.org in addition to the link given by Sergejs.)
2) Find out what components are present on any model that interests you, and check to see if all those components are individually supported by Red Hat Linux.
3) Search Google for the term linux (and possibly Red Hat) along with the manufacturer and model of the notebook under consideration. This finds other people's success stories with that notebook and also any problems they may have encountered.
Bruce
