Laptop recommendation

[rlk at alum.mit.edu (Robert L Krawitz)]

My Dell C840 finally no longer seems to be reliable, after 5 years of
service from my previous Inspiron 8000 (which I'm having to use now)
and the C840.  It's finally hit a lockup problem that I can't seem to
fix.  So it's time to look for a new laptop.

Requirements:

* Must run Linux well.

* Must have 2 GB or better RAM capacity.

* Must suspend to disk reliably (I suppose the software suspend
  doesn't really stress this).

* No binary modules required for core functionality (including basic
  2D graphics -- I'm not terribly concerned about 3D acceleration
  since I don't play games and don't care for eye candy).

* Screen resolution at least 1600x1200 at 24 bit depth (higher is
  better) -- I like having a lot on my screen, and I do a lot of image
  work.

* Either DVD writer or ability to accept the DVD module from the
  Inspiron/Latitude (perhaps with bezel modification or the like).

* Ability to use my existing 120 GB drive (I realize I'll have to
  reconfigure things, but it must be able to accept my existing
  drive).

* Price must be reasonable.

I do not care if it can't run Windows -- I don't dual boot.  I'm not
interested in a Macintosh; I don't like the OS X user interface and in
general the screen resolutions are fairly low.  I'd like decent
battery life if possible.  I don't care for the absolute top
performance.  It would be very good if it can also run Solaris.

I really like the Inspiron; it's easy to upgrade, mod, fix, and so
forth, but if I can no longer maintain it it isn't doing me much
good.

-- 
Robert Krawitz                                     <rlk at alum.mit.edu>

Tall Clubs International  --  http://www.tall.org/ or 1-888-IM-TALL-2
Member of the League for Programming Freedom -- mail lpf at uunet.uu.net
Project lead for Gutenprint   --    http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net

"Linux doesn't dictate how I work, I dictate how Linux works."
--Eric Crampton

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