Which inexpensive laptop works best in Linux

http://www.subspacefield.org/~travis/hp_2133_links.html

And in late 2010-2011:

http://www.subspacefield.org/~travis/asus_eee_pc_1215n.html

Right now I'm struggling with it on a Macbook Pro 2.1... and it won't boot off HDD (I have to boot to CD then HDD), and some package I'm installing is messing up fonts/icons, so I have to troubleshoot that.

Primary distro is Ubuntu but I'd consider Mint if the advantages were truly compelling enough for me to retest/rewrite my kickstart scripts.

Every time I mention laptop flakiness under Linux, I get called stupid or lazy by some Linux advocate who denies any such problems exist. After I point them at those pages, they generally disappear quietly, without an apology. These same people see to be unable to fix any of these problem I've extensively documented, so I've grown less convinced of my own laziness and stupidity.

Maybe I'm just picky, since I want my hardware to work the way I naively expect; I don't want to have to "work around" bugs. That's why I got into writing software, and why I prefer Linux _in the first place_.

I'd check the Ubuntu fora but the laptop reports are not done by many people; it's a bit sparse. In fact, so is the Linux Hardware Compatibility List. Which is a shame.

Here's a System76 review: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=343798

A friend says: Heard great things about system76 and I like the fact they offer matte screen options over the usual shiny pieces. I am not a fan of core and intel gma in general. Upper echelon corei7 do very well though because of all the cache they pack in there. Have you considered something like Lenovo x120? Though not a big performer, would likely get you buy and supports 1080p resolution (even on 12" models). I really dont like the resolutions on system76 systems I see (768 vertical really does affect your view space). I am currently looking at e450 models from Lenovo (130e), Asus, Dell (the only one that bundles w/ Ubuntu out of the factory), or Acer (preferred).

Again, after my experiences with Asus, I'm hesitating to buy from anyone who will ignore any problems on Linux using the excuse that it is Linux. It needs to have all driver software in the Linux tree or it didn't happen. :-)

I'm running a sub-200 USD Acer Aspire One laptop right now on the latest version of Ubuntu. This laptop has a single-core Atom 450 -- not a fast processor. In spite of this, it runs Ubuntu very fast. I did put in an extra GB of RAM (it came with 1 GB), but I think that it would have even run well with 1 GB of RAM. The only time I even notice the operating a delay is when I load up a bloated web site, like AT&T. This computer runs faster on Linux than my other computer, a multicore machine with much faster processors and 8 GB of RAM, runs on Windows 7 (I have to dual-boot that one for work-related reasons).

Honestly, you can't go wrong. Even the cheapest modern laptops run well on Linux. But I've been very happy with my Acer Aspire One. If you're OK with netbooks, you can get the Acer Aspire One with the dual-core Atom n550, or else the new AMD C-50 with a nice on-die GPU, for around $300 direct from Acer, I think. A comparable Asus would be another good choice. Otherwise, Dell makes some "full-size" Inspiron laptops that run well on Linux in the $400-500 range.

Anyway, which type of laptop are you looking for? 17" gaming monster? 12" ultraportable? The Lenovo ThinkPad X220 handles Linux just fine, but I'm not sure whether that's what you're looking for.