The OSNews team needs to rid itself of a snazzy Sony Superslim Vaio Z505HS. It’s happily running Red Hat Linux 7.2, and to sell it on eBay would mean going to the trouble of installing Windows on it again. (perhaps only to have someone buy it and want to install Linux). Instead, we’ve decided to see if any OSNews reader wants it. Best offer over $700 gets it. Read more for specs.
500 MHz PIII
128 MB RAM
12 GB HD
12.1″ 1024×768 display
3.75 Lbs
Built-in ethernet, firewire, usb, IR
Built-in modem (software modem)
memory stick slot
pcmcia/cardbus slot
External port replicator with parallel, serial and VGA
External USB floppy.
Comes with original restore disks (Win98)
Email david [at] osnews.com or call 202-321-2512 if you’re interested. We’ll hear offers for 24 hours, then take the best one.
That you meant 12GB.. Linux is smaller than windows, but not THAT small 😉
Yes, is does indeed have a 12 GB HD, not 12 MB. I made the change.
<p>
I remember 10 MB hard drives. My first HD was 20 MB, I think. It was like magic. No more floppy swapping!
…to look up the specs on this thing. How old is it, what kinda processor, how much memory, etc, etc… (different from stock??)
A quick google got me this:
http://bizrate.com/marketplace/product_info/details__cat_id–462,pr…
it figures…now that i just bought a laptop (that isn’t fully Linux/FreeBSD compatible – $#@&%# intel 830 graphics chip)
oh well
Are you too lazy to click on the “Read More” link right there on the page?
I won’t guarantee it, of course, but I think that this baby is likely to run BeOS. I remember that Andrew Kimpton used to have a Z505 that should be about the same generation. I myself have an N505 on which BeOS runs “just fine”.
Your mileage may vary…
JBQ
man, $700 for a PIII 500. That seams a bit steap to me. Although, it never ceases to amaze me what laptop owners think that there laptops are worth. Have you look at the prices some people are paying for very obsolete laptops over at Ebay?!?! I’ve got some ocean front property for those people…
I think you’d be surpiresed if you left Linux on a laptop
like that and tried to sell it on Ebay. In the past
I have sold both a PC and a laptop on Ebay both with Linux on it and had lots of bids (this was almost 2 years ago though)
or maybe i was just lucky…
I have a PCGF650 that runs BeOS rather well (once you get the proper audio driver set up). Great, great laptop.
Really, you find this expensive? I would have given up to $1200 for a 500 MHz PIII of 3.75 Lbs.
For all similar laptop I found on ebay, I couldn’t get the serial number from the owner (“sorry but I have sold it already, blablabla”) => for me, cheaper than $700 means stolen devices.
I seriously don’t want to ruin anything or be a pest but, uhh, my brother custom-built a top of the line computer (This thing was a beast) just about 2 or 3 months ago, and it only cost him around 750$. I knew laptops were more expensive even with the same specs (Relatively…) but I dunno. If I had a job I’d buy it.
Can you explain why you need to install Windows to sell it on EBay? I did not think EBay required all laptops for auction to have Windows installed. Maybe they don’t and its just a lame excuse to try and sell it here first.
Damn that’s light… I think my two laptops are each 7 pounds. But two laptops is more than enough for me.
re Norton Nealson: I don’t know anybody from OsNews, but it is obvious why they need to install Windows to sell it on EBay. Most users on EBay are looking for something which does have Windows. If your laptop has only linux on it, you are going to reduce your chance of making a good profit or selling it at all.
bytes256:
The i830 graphics chip problem has been fixed. It just requires a little extra work on your part. My Vaio r505EL runs Linux with practically every feature that I had in windows supported now.
Read this page: http://www.jongans.com/gateway1450.html and enjoy Linux on that laptop!
David-
You should add a gear swap section to OSNEWS for precisely this sort of thing.
BTW-which edition of RH7.2 is on it? Pro, download, what? Do you get the disks too? Might be of interest to some who don’t want to shell for the RH disks.
JW
I really doubt that. Since you provide the original Win98 CD (I assume) with it means it may as well have Win actively installed (as far as an Ebay consumer’s concerned). I think the fact that you’ve gotten Linux onto such a proprietary piece of hardware (Sony’s a bitch sometimes) makes it worth MORE. (99% of all laptops are a bitch for that matter) People (non-hacker types) try to get linux working on laptops all the time and claim a root-canal is a more pleasant process. You’ve done the sh_t work for them, for a lazy/ignorant/desparate linux newbie this is a great deal.
You should add a gear swap section to OSNEWS for precisely this sort of thing.
damn thats a good idea, the only problem i’d see, is a whole lot more poorer geeks (but happier none the less)
.
The specs say the battery will last 2.5 hours. How realistic is this duration if the latptop is used for “real” world usage?
Any recommendations on laptops (PCs or Macs) which have a long duration on one or two batteries?
Thanks.
Well… Someone left a flyer laying around the office earlier today regarding HP/Compaq machines.
A 1.2Ghz (P4 I think, but it mighta been a Celeron), with a 15 inch screen, 128 MB ram, 20GM drive, CD-RW AND DVD-Rom was going for $1100.00 refurbished (with warranty).
Just to give you an idea of what’s out there currently.
With the little battery, it’s really about an hour. There’s an optional large battery that will give you more like 4-5.
hey, thanks a lot man…that’s my exact laptop model even
😀
-bytes256
a decent deal, but i wouldnt buy a laptop with only max of 256 mb of RAM.
I sell normally one, sometimes two laptop’s a week on ebay.. I always put linux on them first & set up sound, X etc.. it really appeals to the wanna be geeks becuase I get £100+ regularly for p133’s with 64mb ram.
I started a year ago at job where we have tonnes of p120’s to pII 266’s lying around that aren’t going to be given away or destroyed..you’d think they’re worth bugger all but ebayers will be serious money for old tat.
You should add a gear swap section to OSNEWS for precisely this sort of thing.
damn thats a good idea, the only problem i’d see, is a whole lot more poorer geeks (but happier none the less)
.
I also wanna put in my vote for this. Maybe even have an option to let people swap only with other people in their local vicinity. That way you don’t have to worry about shipping and you can meet new people and all that. I have been trying to find something like this for a long time. I hate throwing out old RAM, video cards, and 386/486/P5 parts that might be useful to somebody out there, even if it’s just to tinker with. Sometimes I also need some old hardware and can only find it on eBay. The local shops charge an arm and a leg for used hardware and I can’t justify “donating” to them.
Yep I used to have a Z505HS (I recently sold it to my Sister-In-Law).
It ran BeOS fine – I did rewrite the NeoMagic driver and I don’t know whether my new(er) driver ever got released. The old driver worked reasonably well – the newer one was written to add some blit functions and the like.
I think it’s fairly priced. You pay a premium for ultralights, so you can’t compare against a 7-8 pound unit directly. I have an IBM Thinkpad X20 (500mhz/320m/40gig) that’s plenty speedy for mobile work, and it’s just 3.2 pounds.
There’s the added plus that 505’s have a real modem instead of a winmodem (I’m pretty sure about this).
eBay
bytes256:
The i830 graphics chip? It works on my debian (http://www.debian.org) machine like a charm.
Regards,
C.
Which debian? i couldn’t even get debian (3.0 and 2.2) to fully boot any of the install kernels on my laptop…of course that could be due to some proprietary gateway crap that they stuck in my machine
I’m really surprised you are using osnews for that 🙁
You can loose a web site credibility pretty soon while it can get longer to earn it.
Now, will all of osnews be able to post your own ads to osnews? I mean, I also have to sell a PC with linux. Can I use osnews?
Too much, really, too much. This is getting a bit like slashdot.
Really. An organization that has a piece of equipment to get rid of, and decides to us its own web site to sell it off to give its own readers first crack at it? Just exactly what is wrong with that? How does cause OSNews to lose credibility?
Sheesh. Get a life.
And can you use OSNews to sell your laptop? No… get your own website.
OTOH, a gear swap section where people can swap, barter, buy and SELL sounds like a good idea. But I know… the mere idea of someone selling something is just *too* evil to contemplate. We can’t have that, no.
Some people like to eat and live indoors. But if they engage in commerce to do it… OFF WITH THEIR HEADS.
Ludicrous.
OK, I feel better now…
GKC
I personally have a Z505-VA (Asia version), which is very similar to the HS, since they were release round about the same time. My VA’s CPU is only 500 MHz PIII, and I’ve upgraded the memory to 256MB (total), and 30GB IBM harddrive…
I’m also thinking about selling it, but not sure how much people are willing to pay…
to add to my above message:
My laptop also has the triple capacity battery, can run for 4.5 to 5.5 hours, depending on your use.
Thanks eveyone for participaring, and I think that it’s a great idea to set up a gear swap section at OSNews. Keep your eyes open for it.