Richard Fateman wrote:
> I am thinking of converting an old intel laptop to run some version of unix,
> since the laptop
> is otherwise kind of redundant.
> Students here seem to prefer ubuntu.
> Is this a good idea if I want to run lisps and maxima? Or is something else
> better?
>
> It would be nice to have a simple installation, and an otherwise functioning
> unix networking system..
>
>
I have no experience with Ubuntu, but I hear good things about it. I
personally use SuSE, which installed quite simply, has most things you
would probably want, but you might have to go install your own version
of whatever Lisp you want. I couldn't find a version of gcl for it, and
I'm incapable of building it myself. But cmucl and sbcl binaries work
just fine.
But my experience is on a desktop. I have heard Linux on laptops are
rather finicky, especially with wireless and sleep modes.
If you buy SuSE, you get a month of free support, which might be
useful. I'm sure there's lots of support for Ubuntu too, since it seems
quite popular.
Ray