On Tue, Aug 24, 1999 at 12:43:18PM -0500, Don Custer wrote: > To the good folks at Debian... > > I have two short questions which I hope can be answered with two short > answers. I failed to find pertaining answers in the FAQs. > > 1. I am going to buy a new computer (to replace my 1991 dinosaur). > I want it to be powered by Debian Linux. Are there any particular > brands that are more friendly toward Linux? If it would make this an > easier question to answer... are there any particular brands to stay > away from? I don't want to end up with a pile of incompatible junk. Stuff to consider: * drivers don't exist for sound cards with Aureal chips and the new Soundblaser Live. * most PCI modems are winmodems, and some ISA ones are, too. * video cards: stay away from 3dfx stuff, I'd recommend Matrox or NVidia based products because both companies are actively working on 3D drivers for Linux and have been open about specs * USB stuff other than keyboards, mice, and some printers doesn't work and won't work until at least kernel 2.4, due at the end of the year * Make sure your printer either speaks Postscript or PCL! Others might be 'winprinters' * SCSI scanners work and are supported the best
If you want to support Linux-based businesses, order a system from VA Research (http://www.varesearch.com). > > 2. In regard to this Y2K frenzy... do you folks know of any reason > (other than price) for waiting until after Y2K to buy a computer? > I am referring to any problems in today's systems that I may not > be aware of. Nope..most of the problems seem to be in Microsoft's OS. Most BIOSes have been compliant for quite some time. Because of the way Unix OSes store time, a 32-bit computer is safe until 2038, and once we move to 64-bit processors, we'll be fine for a couple trillion years :-) > > Any insight will be greatly appreciated. I am not a Linux Guru. I have > used RedHat. It's nice, but reminds me of Microsoft. I have also played > with SlackWare, no complaints on it. But, after seeing the Debian system > my son has setup on his computer... well... you got me hooked! I've used Slackware, RedHat, Caldera, and Debian and I've been a happy Debian user for 3 years. Debian is cool and with the Corel and Stormix alliances, it can only get better :-) -- Stephen Pitts [EMAIL PROTECTED] webmaster - http://www.mschess.org
