Actually there is a VMware Player that is free, the only trick is getting a virtual machine already made. If you need to create VM sessions you will need at least VMware Workstation (around 190$)
...

debian would run on all of them, it can take a few hacks to get it running on mac hardware but you can google it. If you ran linux (even different distros) it would relieve any compatability issues...

Here is an update on how it all went down:

Vaio pcg 731 arrived: p200mmx, 128 ram, 2 gig HD. Hardware is faster and certainly in better condition than I remembered, but ancient nontheless. My only...

Thanks ALC I am going to do just that, here is my plan for this weekend:

1) Upgrade RAM to 96 (max) and throw in a 60 gig HD
2) Partition and format HD
3) Boot DSL and run HD install to boot...

I am getting an old sony laptop (PI-2XXish, 32ram, 1 gig HD) that I am about to rebuild for myself (maxing RAM and adding a bigger HD when I do.)

I planned to do a Debian min install and add what...

Nice update, I am really glad to hear about your great success! When I read your first post on the linux forum I wasn't sure if you were going to make it over to this side of the pool!

The biggest...

I recently installed Mepis and I want to change my vote! This distro really rocks! I have run linux for years, for example in 2002 I used a linux laptop as my main work machine for the entire year.
...

I assume you are running XP on a different box. To start getting familliar with linux I suggest you try out some live CD's on your main box. It won't install anything to your hard drive unless you...

Then you would go into fdisk and remove the d: entirely, then run your install and have it use your newly found free space. You need to be very careful about not whacking your c: or MBR

You might...

I don't know of a distro that will install to/run from a NTFS partition.

Normally I would use a program like Partition Magic to shrink my D drive to how much I need and leave the remainder as...

Gaim will run all different messengers (yahoo, aol, msn, icq, etc) but i am not sure about voice support.

Have you considered Skype for your voice over internet needs?

One of the best things about linux is that it doesn't baby you all the time about if you really meant to delete something or not. If they would just remove "trash" from all the desktops it would be...

You are right, the great thing about linux is you can try almost every distro for free.

If you find one you like and you can afford to make a donation, even a small one, or buy some swag from...

SuSE is nice, but beware of Novell Linux Desktop you might see links for both on their website.

I have tried Novell's Linux Desktop for the last month, lots of problems with installation (no, I am...

I only suggest this for people who REALLY want to learn linux, everyone else divert your eyes!

Go to http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/ and start building your own linux, from scratch! You can even...

I am getting ready to reload my Thinkpad with over Christmas with the new Novell Linux Desktop 9 (I will keep a copy of dsl 9.0 on my hd too.) After hearing TKS's powerful testimonial for MEPIS I...

I know many people running Knoppix off hard drives. Their doc page is down right now but when it is up you can read up on it. Their forum has a dedicated thread to HD installs.

I know it is...

It sounded like you were trying to run a older version of linux on newer hardware. Installing RH6 would be like trying to install windows 95 on that laptop, there would be plenty of driver issues...

who's are?

I have been running linux on laptops for almost five years now, I have used many linux distro's on many different laptops. A good linux distro should support all your laptop hardware...

If you have problems with other distro's try Damn Small Linux, it has a great "App Get" feature in it's newer versions. Around 50 meg installed will leave you plenty of room for whatever else you...

Try Damn Small Linux, you can boot it from cd and try it out, if you really like it there is a hard drive install that is pretty well automated. I had this SCREAMING on a PI 200mmx with 64 RAM and a...