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From: jkh@nx.ilo.dec.com (Jordan Hubbard)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions
Subject: Re: FreeBSD on laptop ??
Date: 24 May 1994 06:15:19 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, Galway Ireland
Lines: 37
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <JKH.94May24071519@nx.ilo.dec.com>
References: <ALBERT.94May23133521@tricky.tnt.es.ele.tue.nl>
NNTP-Posting-Host: nx.ilo.dec.com
In-reply-to: albert@tricky.tnt.es.ele.tue.nl's message of 23 May 1994 11:35:21 GMT

In article <ALBERT.94May23133521@tricky.tnt.es.ele.tue.nl> albert@tricky.tnt.es.ele.tue.nl (Albert Mietus) writes:

   I have some simple questions: 
    1) Is 't possible to run FreeBSD on (PC) laptops?

Yep, done it.

    2) Can I run XFree on it?

Done that too.

   As far as I know, laptops aren't 100% compatable to desktops-PC's:
   Memory is different (PCM...??.. bus), as is the mouce-trackeball.

No, the memory works fine - the trackball is generally a PS/2 mouse,
for which there's support in the FreeBSD FAQ (and inbuilt in
FreeBSD-current).

    3) How about controlling the battery?
	   Is this needed, 

Not really.  I used suspend/resume all the time and FreeBSD didn't seem
to have to know or care.  Your mileage may differ if the laptop expects
some sort of obscene DOS cooperation, but I rather doubt it.

    4) Does it work (handy)?
	   I have to traval a lot, and I would like to do some work then.
	   Mostly programming ("coding", writing doc's, etc ) (so I need gnu-
	   emacs) and reading news etc.

Yes, it works really nicely!  I'm currently trying to save up enough
money to buy Gateway's new DX-4 colorbook so that I can REALLY do it
in style! :-) Previously did it on Zenith and Hyndai laptops with 4MB
of memory on each.  Word of advice: 4MB is usable, but 8MB makes X
_truly_ usable.  Had everything from Motif to xv running on the thing!

					Jordan