Billing Software and Wireless Router recommendations

[kirblam at comcast.net (kirblam at comcast.net)]

Firstly, does anyone have a recommendation for FOSS billing software? I'm going to start contracting in the next couple weeks and I'd like to try an open solution for billing my clients.

Also, does anyone have a recommendation for an a/b/g wireless router that does 108mps also? My dlink di-784 is driving me nuts. Frequent lockups!

Thanks,
jk


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> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. laptop recommendations (Kalyan Vaidyanathan)
>    2. Re: laptop recommendations (Jerry Feldman)
>    3. Re: laptop recommendations (Seth Gordon)
>    4. Re: laptop recommendations (Bob BLU)
>    5. Re: laptop recommendations (Jerry Feldman)
>    6. Re: laptop recommendations (Mark J. Dulcey)
>    7. Re: OpenVPN and DNS (John Abreau)
>    8. Re: laptop recommendations (Jerry Feldman)
>    9. Re: laptop recommendations (Bob BLU)
>   10. Re: laptop recommendations (David Hummel)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 17:09:16 +0000
> From: "Kalyan Vaidyanathan" <kalyan_v at hotmail.com>
> Subject: laptop recommendations
> To: discuss at blu.org
> Message-ID: <BAY101-F28C828E34DAF325B549BDCF66E0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
> 
> Hi,
>   I am looking to buy a laptop that can be reasonably used as a dev machine. 
>   I'm thinking atleast 1GB RAM and 80 GB hard disk.  Now questions:
> 1. Any recommended brands that are better and more resilient for dev use and 
> longer lasting battery life
> 2. Any preferences for Intel vs AMD chips.
> 
> Am not particularly picky about OS.
> 
> Should you need, I'll be developing in Java/Swing with JBoss and MySql.
> 
> thanks in advance for your responses,
> regards,
> -kalyan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 14:09:15 -0400
> From: Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
> Subject: Re: laptop recommendations
> To: discuss at blu.org
> Message-ID: <200511021309.15602.gaf at blu.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain;  charset="utf-8"
> 
> On Wednesday 02 November 2005 12:09 pm, Kalyan Vaidyanathan wrote:
> > Hi,
> >   I am looking to buy a laptop that can be reasonably used as a dev
> > machine. I'm thinking atleast 1GB RAM and 80 GB hard disk.  Now
> > questions: 1. Any recommended brands that are better and more resilient
> > for dev use and longer lasting battery life
> I would probably recommend Thinkpad, HP/Compaq Presario, or some of the HP 
> Pavilion laptops. HP does certify some of their laptops for Linux. I do not 
> recommend Gateway. Some Dell laptops run fine with Linux. 
> Bottom line is Thinkpad or HP or Dell - look at price/performance/support. 
> My personal experience is that phone support from all of the above vendors 
> suck, and you are likely to get offshore support. Note that in many cases, 
> some of the local computer stores have some sales w/rebates that beat 
> online process. (Note that I have a lot of good experience with some HP 
> laptops. My boss seems to need to get a new one every year). My 5-year old 
> Presario generally goes to Linux meetings, is used for presentations at 
> Northeastern, on trips, at work, and has fallen off tables. The only 
> problem is that when it fell of a table it was plugged into the AC adaptor 
> so I now use a rubber band. 
> > 2. Any preferences for Intel vs AMD chips.
> AMD 64-bit chips are faster than the Intel EM64T chips today and probably 
> will maintain that lead for about a year, maybe longer. 
> 
> I can probably get you a list of HP laptop model numbers that are certified 
> for Linux. 
> 
> Note that for development, you get many more tools for free on Linux than on 
> other systems. 
> -- 
> Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
> Boston Linux and Unix user group
> http://www.blu.org PGP key id:C5061EA9
> PGP Key fingerprint:053C 73EC 3AC1 5C44 3E14 9245 FB00 3ED5 C506 1EA9
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 13:16:53 -0500
> From: Seth Gordon <sethg at ropine.com>
> Subject: Re: laptop recommendations
> To: discuss at blu.org
> Message-ID: <43690295.6050606 at ropine.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
> 
> Kalyan Vaidyanathan wrote:
> > Hi,
> >  I am looking to buy a laptop that can be reasonably used as a dev 
> > machine.  I'm thinking atleast 1GB RAM and 80 GB hard disk.  Now questions:
> > 1. Any recommended brands that are better and more resilient for dev use 
> > and longer lasting battery life
> > 2. Any preferences for Intel vs AMD chips.
> 
> The sysadmin where I work swears by ThinkPads.
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 14:00:49 -0500
> From: blu at scrunch.net (Bob BLU)
> Subject: Re: laptop recommendations
> To: discuss at blu.org
> Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20051102135505.04880b00 at localhost>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> At 01:09 PM 11/2/2005, Jerry Feldman wrote:
> 
> >AAMD 64-bit chips are faster ... 
> >
> >HP laptop model numbers that are certified for Linux.
> 
> What exists at the intersection of these two statements?
> 
> 
> Separately, I've been eyeing the ASUS Z71V for a potential Linux notebook:
> 
> http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=5&l2=70&l3=0&model=609&modelmenu=1
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 5
> Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 15:37:59 -0400
> From: Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
> Subject: Re: laptop recommendations
> To: discuss at blu.org
> Message-ID: <200511021437.59703.gaf at blu.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain;  charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> On Wednesday 02 November 2005 2:00 pm, Bob BLU wrote:
> > At 01:09 PM 11/2/2005, Jerry Feldman wrote:
> > >AAMD 64-bit chips are faster ...
> > >
> > >HP laptop model numbers that are certified for Linux.
> >
> > What exists at the intersection of these two statements?
> >
> >
> > Separately, I've been eyeing the ASUS Z71V for a potential Linux
> > notebook:
> >
> > http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=5&l2=70&l3=0&model=609&modelmenu=1
> Does it actually contain both??
> -Intel)B? Pentium? M Processor with 2MB on-die cache
> -Mobile Intel Celeron M Processor with 512K/1MB on Die L2 Cache 
> As I mentioned, the AMD 64-bit processors are faster than the Intel 
> processors and both Intel and AMD will not be manufacturing pure 32-bit 
> chips in the near future. 
> 
> In any case, make sure that the laptop is Linux compatible. I don't see that 
> listed on Linux for laptops.
> 
> I was just looking at the HP notebooks that Linux is certified on, and a 
> number of them are certified by Red Hat and SuSE, mostly HP/Compaq N series 
> (eg. nx8220). 
> One thing I can say is that both IBM and HP have a Linux commitment, but 
> neither Dell nor Gateway do. 
> Remember that for the retail platforms, their agreements with Microsoft 
> prevent them from supplying preinstalled Linux. This is not true for 
> business laptops, desktops and servers. 
> -- 
> Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
> Boston Linux and Unix user group
> http://www.blu.org PGP key id:C5061EA9
> PGP Key fingerprint:053C 73EC 3AC1 5C44 3E14 9245 FB00 3ED5 C506 1EA9
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 6
> Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 14:44:31 -0500
> From: "Mark J. Dulcey" <mark at buttery.org>
> Subject: Re: laptop recommendations
> To: Bob BLU <blu at scrunch.net>
> Cc: discuss at blu.org
> Message-ID: <4369171F.8080107 at buttery.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> 
> Bob BLU wrote:
> > At 01:09 PM 11/2/2005, Jerry Feldman wrote:
> > 
> > 
> >>AAMD 64-bit chips are faster ... 
> >>
> >>HP laptop model numbers that are certified for Linux.
> > 
> > 
> > What exists at the intersection of these two statements?
> 
> HP Compaq does make some Turion 64 notebooks. I have one of the Presario 
> V2000z series machines. It works well running Linux for the most part, 
> including power management right out of the box. The ATI integrated 
> graphics require a proprietary ATI driver (free from ati.com, but not 
> open source) for full support. I have not been able to get the Broadcom 
> wireless LAN interface to work. (I have the one without Bluetooth 
> support. The one with Bluetooth is a different chipset, which may work 
> better or worse with Linux.) There's no native driver, but it's supposed 
> to be possible to get it to work with the Windows driver and 
> NDISWrapper; I just haven't taken the time to fuss with it yet.
> 
> AMD-based notebooks run 64-bit code infinitely faster than any currently 
> available Intel-based notebook system, other than desktop-replacement 
> systems using Pentium 4 chips. Intel has no 64-bit support in Pentium-M, 
> and no immediate plans to add it.
> 
> Performance of Turion 64 running 32-bit code is about equal to Pentium-M 
> systems of the same clock speed. I certainly haven't been disappointed 
> by the processor performance of my system. 3D graphics are far from 
> state of the art, but this is a bargain notebook with integrated 
> graphics, not one with a high-end graphics accelerator.
> 
> The down side of Turion 64 is that it can't match the battery life of 
> Centrino. It's not terrible; my system gets about 2.5 hours with the 
> standard battery, or 5 hours with the big one. But it's not perfect; a 
> similar Centrino system from Compaq (same case, display, and batteries) 
> runs about 20% longer.
> 
> I have no idea whether my system is actually certified for Linux. It 
> certainly doesn't say anything about it on the case, and it's primarily 
> sold as a consumer product, not a business product, so probably not. But 
> it does work, aside from the wireless. I have SUSE 10 installed natively 
> (dual-boot). I also have Ubuntu installed to run under VMware hosted by 
> Windows XP, which is what I use when I want to use wireless networking.
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 7
> Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 14:52:29 -0500
> From: John Abreau <jabr at blu.org>
> Subject: Re: OpenVPN and DNS
> To: John Abreau <jabr at blu.org>
> Cc: "Kevin D. Clark" <clark_k at pannaway.com>, discuss at blu.org
> Message-ID: <436918FD.9030504 at blu.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> When I got home last night, I power-cycled the machine I was using as 
> the test client for OpenVPN. After rebooting, I tested the DNS again, 
> this time with tcpdump watching on the server end, and DNS was working.
> 
> I still don't know why it was misbehaving. Hopefully it was just 
> something hosed on the client end. But it seems fine now.
> 
> Of course, now that I go to install OpenVPN on a Windows test client, 
> the setup documents tell me the TUN interface doesn't work on Windows, 
> so now I need to start over using the TAP interface instead.
> 
> -- 
> John Abreau / Executive Director, Boston Linux & Unix
> ICQ 28611923 / AIM abreauj / JABBER jabr at jabber.org / YAHOO abreauj
> Email jabr at blu.org / WWW http://www.abreau.net / PGP-Key-ID 0xD5C7B5D9
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> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 8
> Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 15:56:05 -0400
> From: Jerry Feldman <gerald.feldman at hp.com>
> Subject: Re: laptop recommendations
> To: discuss at blu.org
> Message-ID: <200511021456.05842.gerald.feldman at hp.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;  charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> On Wednesday 02 November 2005 2:44 pm, Mark J. Dulcey wrote:
> > I have no idea whether my system is actually certified for Linux. It
> > certainly doesn't say anything about it on the case, and it's primarily
> > sold as a consumer product, not a business product, so probably not. But
> > it does work, aside from the wireless. I have SUSE 10 installed natively
> > (dual-boot). I also have Ubuntu installed to run under VMware hosted by
> > Windows XP, which is what I use when I want to use wireless networking.
> You will not see any retail Thinkpad, HP laptop or desktop, Dell, or 
> Gateway/Emachines have any Linux sticker on the case or the box for 
> contractual reasons. Most of the certifications are on the old side. I 
> would go to one of the Linux on Laptops sites because you will get some 
> honesty there,
> -- 
> Jerry Feldman <gerald.feldman at hp.com>
> Linux Expertise Center (PTAC-MA/TX)
> Hewlett-Packard Co.
> 200 Forest Street MRO1-3/K12
> Marlborough, MA 01752-3081
> 
> 508-467-4315 (http://www.testdrive.hp.com)
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 9
> Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 15:06:39 -0500
> From: Bob BLU <blu at scrunch.net>
> Subject: Re: laptop recommendations
> To: discuss at blu.org
> Message-ID: <6.1.0.6.2.20051102150248.0485aa98 at localhost>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> At 02:44 PM 11/2/2005, Mark J. Dulcey wrote:
> >>>AMD 64-bit chips are faster ... 
> >>>HP laptop model numbers that are certified for Linux.
> >>
> >>What exists at the intersection of these two statements?
> >
> >HP Compaq does make some Turion 64 notebooks. I have one of the Presario V2000z 
> series machines. It works well running Linux for the most part...
> 
> Thanks, Mark.  Nice report. :-)
> 
> The Turion64 looks very enticing!
> 
> http://images10.newegg.com/UploadFilesForNewegg/itemintelligence/Laptop/Notebook
> _CPUs.pdf
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834115194
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 10
> Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2005 15:19:46 -0500
> From: David Hummel <dhml at comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: laptop recommendations
> To: discuss at blu.org
> Message-ID: <20051102201946.GB16975 at localhost.localdomain>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> 
> On Wed, Nov 02, 2005 at 03:37:59PM -0400, Jerry Feldman wrote:
> > 
> > In any case, make sure that the laptop is Linux compatible. I don't
> > see that listed on Linux for laptops.
> 
> The newest models usually aren't, but there is certainly precedent for
> considering an ASUS laptop:
> 
>   http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/asus.html
> 
> > I was just looking at the HP notebooks that Linux is certified on, and
> > a number of them are certified by Red Hat and SuSE, mostly HP/Compaq N
> > series (eg. nx8220). 
> 
> These certifications usually only apply to some enterprise Linux (which
> may even include specialized drivers for specific models).  This doesn't
> help you if you want to install Debian, Gentoo, Slackware, or whatever.
> 
> Also, "Linux compatible" doesn't really mean anything.  Even the
> machines sold by:
> 
>   http://emperorlinux.com/
>   http://linuxcertified.com/linux_laptops.html
> 
> are unfortunately not 100% Linux compatible (those dang winmodems).
> 
> You basically have to obtain detailed tech specs (chipsets, etc.) and
> determine if a particular model has the kind of support you need for
> each component.  For instance, if wireless is your thing, then you
> probably want a machine that has an Intel 2200 or 2915 adapter, etc.
> 
> > One thing I can say is that both IBM and HP have a Linux commitment,
> > but neither Dell nor Gateway do. 
> 
> Regardless of what "commitment" means, there is certainly Linux support
> for Dell:
> 
>   http://linux.dell.com/
> 
> -David
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
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