Early Tuesday morning, Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP joined Windows Vista as available operating systems for the Dell Inspiron Mini 12.  By Tuesday evening, I found myself ordering the Ubuntu version of the Mini 12 with the 6-cell battery and 80GB hard drive.  Despite having installed Linux on countless systems, this will be the first time I've ordered Linux pre-installed for the client PC.  I'm eager to find out how well Dell supports their Linux systems.

While the Mini 12 tops the end of the scale for netbooks due to its 12.1 inch widescreen, I believe the Mini 12 will be a perfect Linux replacement for my aging Averatec notebook.  Although I wouldn't have minded a smaller netbook, the Mini 12 with its 1280x800 screen resolution and comfortable keyboard was just too enticing.  Plus the thought of constantly needing to use the browser's scroll bars with the lower resolution (1024x600) of the smaller netbooks was a concern of mine.

We can debate all we want to about whether Linux will ever beat Microsoft's Windows or Apple's OS X on the computer's desktop.  To be honest though, the opinion that matters to me the most is my own opinion.  Except for the occasional hardware compatibility issue, Linux is the operating system I have found to be the most dependable.

I know what most of you are thinking and let me address what is on your mind at this very moment. No, I'm not blinded with nerd goggles.  In fact, I'm currently writing this post from a Windows Vista PC while my wife in the next room is on her MacBook Pro.  Windows and OS X have earned their roles on the computer stage and I would be the last person to dismiss these great operating systems.  However, these days I'm finding that Linux has just as much of a right to this stage when debating the value of operating systems.  

Perhaps, I'm just saying this after finding a new variant of the Vundo trojan on a PC with Windows XP.  A trojan that even some of the better anti-virus software can't detect or remove.  That trojan took 25 working hours to analyze and remove from the infected Windows PC.  Or, perhaps I'm favoring Linux because after being mandated to install anti-virus software on the Linux boxes, I found not a single piece of malicious software on the systems.  I am also filled with joy because I'm nearing the purchase of a laptop with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed knowing that the entire laptop is likely to cost me far less than the MacBook Pro I bought my wife last year.  Linux, you are a sweetheart in my eyes.

A few weeks ago, I seriously thought about buying either Apple's latest MacBook or a Windows laptop where I could dual boot between the laptops native operating systems and Linux. In the end, I chose to install Linux on a three year old laptop. This old laptop isn't just any laptop but one of the first sub-$1000 laptops that hit the United States market. The laptop is the Averatec 3220 and over time I've found it just too sluggish for running Windows XP.

This old Averatec 3220 had a lot of negatives going its way for installing Linux. The laptop is from a company that almost no one knows so support was limited. Even Google had a tough time helping me find "best practices" for installing Linux on this particular laptop model. This particular laptop includes an AMD Athlon XP-M 2000+ processor, 512 MB RAM (upgraded from the original 256 MB), a 12.1 inch screen, and both Ethernet and wireless networking capabilities. The laptop could barely be considered "up to date" with regards to hardware, although its exterior is designed well and doesn't look dated like other laptops of the same age.

Before I discuss my troubles with installing Linux on this laptop, let me first talk about the positives. During the past two weeks, using Linux on this laptop has been pure joy.

It's that time of year again, I need to purchase a new laptop. Instead of relying on the search engines to find reviews, I've found in the past that people that visit my site are probably the only experts I really need to take advice from. You guys are absolute tech geniuses!

This time around, all I need is a laptop with Linux in the $500-$1000 (USD) range. I likely will dual-boot the laptop with Windows, but it is Linux compatibility I'm most concerned about. My choice in Linux distribution is Ubuntu or Redhat/Fedora Core. So if you've recently bought a laptop that is close to these specifications, how well does it run Linux? Would you recommend that I buy a similar laptop for my next purchase?

Any advice, tips, or reviews is appreciated!

"To describe Vista's performance as dismal would be understatement of the year....So I took the brave step of reformatting the drive on one machine and installing Ubuntu Linux instead."

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"In the digital world, I think we have the inverse effect, where something that is shared can become more valuable than something that is closely held, as long as it is both shared and contributed to by everybody who is sharing in it."

 - Mark Shuttleworth, Founder of Ubuntu Linux; Excerpt from "The Grill: Mark Shuttleworth", Computerworld, June 11, 2007