Buying a laptop without proprietary software - A European Odyssey
What I want
I'm playing with the thought of buying a laptop computer since years. I want a very light one that can be carried around all the time without having the feeling of lumping a bag of bricks around. Its weight should be around 1 kg.
Once I had a normal laptop, and never used it as a mobile computer, only as an inferior desktop replacement. I gave it away to someone not having issues with the weight. Other than light weight, I'm not very picky about technical details. It's mostly a toy with some practical appliances. I want to be able to connect it to a IEEE 1394 camera. I want to give presentations off the laptop, connected to a beamer.
What I get
There are devices like that available.
Dell has one for sale, the Latitude X1.
The IBM X20 and its successors fit my bill as well. These machines are known to run very well with Linux. Some US-American companies even sell them with Linux pre-installed, like EmperorLinux, or offer to help you install Linux, like Kemplar. But even with these two companies, you have to pay for Windows, too. It's like the laptops are leaving the factories impregnated with Windows, and you have to pay for the abortion if you don't want it.
What I get in Europe
In Europe, the situation is worse. Subnotebooks are apparently considered exotic hardware, and are, if at all, only offered by subsidiaries of American or Japanese companies. In this niche market, there's not even a niche vendor for alternative operating systems to be found, a vendor that at least supports free software.
Alternatives
The last resort in this situation is looking for barebone subnotebooks. So far, I have only found barebones in the 2 kg class.
Also, one might try to return an unused licence, as has been exemplified many years ago with a now defunct Windows Refund site. I'm not sure, however, if this still works today, and how much effort it would be to actually get your money back.
Conclusion
To my knowledge, it's not possible to buy a subnotebook without paying tribute to Microsoft, to strengthen its lawyers to vanquish free software. My only choice as a consumer is not to buy a subnotebook at all. In case you know of a vendor that sells a subnotebook without proprietary licenses (barebone or fully equipped), please drop me a note. It might even be worth to start a website announcing vendors that offer free laptops, like Linux on Laptops, only with vendor listings.
Close
bernhardegger
Wednesday 23 August 2006