New computer for Unix-based OS's -- need help deciding Post: 302370356

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Top Forums UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers New computer for Unix-based OS's -- need help deciding Post 302370356 by Tron55555 on Wednesday 11th of November 2009 07:21:08 AM

11-11-2009

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New computer for Unix-based OS's -- need help deciding

Hello. I'm in the market for a new computer (a laptop, for certain), and I was considering buying a high-end PC (I have a black MacBook right now). I've been wanting to experiment with Unix-based OS's (for developing mainly -- I'm a developer/programmer -- but for other purposes as well). I'd like to install on one of my computers a bunch of different Unix-based operating systems. I'd like to install and be able to run a few different ones, such as Solaris, two or so different flavors of Linux, and maybe BSD. I was considering installing these OS's on either my current MacBook or the new high-end PC I'm considering.

However, I've recently considered buying a cheaper laptop strictly for running Unix OS's. If I decide to take this route, there's some things I'd like to know about, if anyone can help. First off, the computer I would buy would be cheaper (unlike the $2500 to $3000 PC laptop that I'm considering), but I don't want it to be that cheap (probably $500 minimum and $1500 maximum -- that's just an idea though, I'm open to anything).

If I bought this mid-level laptop (and I definitely want it to be a laptop), would it have to a PC, or does someone in the market for a computer for Unix systems have other options besides the standard PC vs. Mac? Are there other computers out there (maybe ones just for Unix or something) that I might consider, or would I definitely want a PC?

Also, how cheap of a computer can I get away with and still have "full" functionality with the things I want to do? As I mentioned, I will mainly be developing on it, so most or all of the things I install and work with on the computer will be related to development. I will want to try out developing on each of the OS's I install on the computer (Solaris, BSD, GentOS Linux, other Linux's, ect.). What kind of specs will I need to achieve this? I can figure out what type of hard drive space I want for myself -- I'm mainly concerned with how much RAM I will need, as well as what type of processor / how much processing speed/power I will need.

Any help here will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Tron55555

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LEARN ABOUT SUSE

laptop_mode

LAPTOP_MODE(8)						      System Manager's Manual						    LAPTOP_MODE(8)

NAME

       /usr/sbin/laptop_mode - apply laptop mode settings

SYNOPSIS

       /usr/sbin/laptop_mode [ cmd ] [ force ]

DESCRIPTION

       This  manual  page  documents  briefly  the  /usr/sbin/laptop_mode command. laptop_mode is a program that applies the settings given in the
       /etc/laptop-mode/laptop-mode.conf configuration file. The primary use is to control the laptop mode feature included in Linux kernels  with
       versions  2.6.6	and  higher,  and  2.4.23  and	higher.  This feature increases battery life by letting your hard drive spin down. This is
       achieved by grouping disk write activity into "chunks" that are spaced at larger intervals than they normally would be. In addition to sup-
       porting	the  Linux  kernel's  laptop  mode  feature, /usr/sbin/laptop_mode also supports various power saving modules which are configured
       through configuration files in the /etc/laptop-mode/conf.d directory.

       It is not recommended to call /usr/sbin/laptop_mode directly to start or stop laptop mode, except in hardware event handlers. To apply  new
       configuration settings from laptop-mode.conf, call the laptop-mode service init script with the reload parameter.

COMMANDS

       Specify force as the second parameter to force laptop_mode to re-apply a state even if the computer is already in that state. These are the
       values that are allowed for cmd :

       auto	 Enable or disable laptop mode based on the current power state. Note that this will not do anything if  the  laptop-mode  service
		 has not been started!

       status	 Display a status report about everything that laptop_mode affects.

SEE ALSO

       laptop-mode.conf(8).

AUTHOR

       This  manual  page was written by Bart Samwel (bart@samwel.tk) for the Debian system (but may be used by others).  Permission is granted to
       copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU General Public License, Version 2 any later  version  published	by
       the Free Software Foundation.

       On Debian systems, the complete text of the GNU General Public License can be found in /usr/share/common-licenses/GPL.

																    LAPTOP_MODE(8)