To Caldera or not to Caldera

[William F. Acker WB2FLW +1-303-777-8123]

Hi Janina,

     Is this the one with the Crusoe?  If you get Caldera and don't like 
it.  Just remember to save your /etc/X11/XF86Config file.  That way,
you'll have something to work with if you install another version of
Linux.  Someone else mentioned drivers.  I would *hope* that IBM would
release the source because if they didn't, no one would be able to
upgrade their kernel.




          HTH.
          Bill in NJ.On Sun, 3 Sep 2000, Janina Sajka wrote:

> I'm looking for a little advice from the sages on this list. I'm about to
> buy a new portable computer. From the hardware side I've pretty settled on
> getting yet another IBM Thinkpad. I've had good enough experience with
> them for some years now to feel comfortable getting another Thinkpad. This
> will be my third in a row.
> 
> IBM has actively begun supporting linux in that they now offer one of
> their leading Thinkpad models with Caldera OpenLinux eDesktop 2.4
> preinstalled. So, here's the dilemma--Shall I get the preinstalled linux
> and then patch with Speakup and tweak for my needs? Or should I just get
> the hardware I want and go with an install from scratch? I have no
> experience with Caldera whatsoever. All my working experience on Linux has
> been with RedHat (plus a few forays into Debian). My desktop system is
> running RedHat, and I'm keeping that system for the foreseeable future.
> 
> So, what would you do? And, how would you decide?
> 
> On the plus side I see two advantages, primarily. First, I think I can
> assume the unit will be functional out of the box. Or, is that
> foolhardy? Is it likely to be functional in X, but have many console text
> features missing?
> 
> My second reason for going with the preinstalled system is that I want to
> get vmware running for Windows access in a Linux console. I've never
> succeeded at getting X working on my own--so have always fallen short of
> this goal to date. I feel I'm ahead of the game if I get a working X
> environment out of the box. Is this enough reason to go with the
> preinstalled Caldera?
> 
> I very much appreciate any wisdom you would share on this. Thanks in
> advance to all of you.
> 
> 
>