I'm looking around for options in terms of buying a notebook without paying the Microsoft tax. I've run into the following difficulties: * VA Linux got out of the hardware business * Penguin Computing doesn't have any notebooks * TuxTops dropped its business to QLITech (which now has only two ~$1650 models) * Dell says they can't do it * Gateway (Ha!) nevermind * IBM supposedly has two models with Caldera preinstalled, but their online sales site doesn't match the information on their linux pages, and I'm not sure I want to pay that much * Compaq doesn't sell any laptops with Linux Anyway, you get the idea. I've even looked at Apples, but they're simply too expensive. Any ideas where I can get a laptop without Windows? Ideally Linux would be preinstalled, but that's not a requirement. Mainly I'm looking for cheap (the closer to the $1000 mark, the better) and good battery life (I'll spring for the heavy duty batteries if they're available)...and naturally hardware support for Linux is a good thing. Am I overlooking any obvious options? Are there any local shops that can do this? Am I doomed to pay MS for the privilege of having a notebook? Thanks for your input, David