Hardware

The LC2210 has a host of goodies that make it a great choice as a portable workstation. Here's a condensed spec sheet:

• 1.4 Ghz Intel Pentium M (Centrino) processor
• 512 MB memory
• 40 GB hard drive
• 14-inch XGA TFT LCD display
• Intel Extreme 2 / AGP V.2.0 compliant video chip-set
• DVD-R & CD-R/W combo drive
• Intel 10/100 ethernet controller
• Intel internal 56k modem
• Intel audio chipset
• Mini-pci Prism 2.5 wireless lan card (replaces Centrino components)
• The normal assortment of I/O ports, including 3 USB ports
• Type II PCI Cardbus PCMCIA socket
• Smart Li-Ion battery
• Black 12 X 10.6 X 1 inch case
• 5.5 lbs.
• Pre-loaded Red Hat Professional Linux. Custom install with both GNOME and KDE desktop environments, including Linux distribution CDs

I especially liked the generous amount of memory, the 14 inch XGA screen, and the three USB ports. And, compared to my old 300 Mhz. PII laptop, the 5.5 lb. weight of the machine made it a joy to carry around.

Software

The LC2210 was loaded with Red Hat 9.0. One thing that LinuxCertified has done is optimize the package with a custom kernel (version 2.4.26). That should keep clients happy because the drivers have all been assembled and wrung out before the machine is delivered. The idea is to provide a complete workstation box that lets engineers and scientists work on work, not on getting their machine set up.

Overall the desktop is a basic Gnome 2.2.0 setup. Click on the little red hat at the bottom and you'll get the normal menu selections. OpenOffice.org buttons are next to the red hat on the menu bar. I changed the number of desktops to 6. At the bottom right on the tool bar was the time and date.

The desktop has qood mix of mainstream Linux applications loaded to help the client get their work done. These include:

• OpenOffice.org for documents, spreadsheets, drawings and presentations
• The Mozilla browser and mail client
• The Evolution mail client package
• The Gaim instant message program and XChat
• The KDE office applications, such as Korganizer, Knotes, Kjots and Kpilot
• Several PDF viewers
• The Gimp graphics editor
• Various audio/cd players, like gnome-cd and XMMS, and the ripper, Grip
• Games like Konquest, Chess, Maelstrom and of course, Tux Racer
• The Ogle DVD player (I had to dig to find it, though)

Additionally, the machine, had the usual selection of network and admin tools for setting up the networking, toolbars, screen backgrounds and so on.

Overall, the computer had everything that a client would need to immediately be productive. Just set up a user and off you go.

Next: How Did It Run? »