In the past Thinkpads have been known to run Linux well. I've used them for many years. Now it seems Lenovo is moving on to other products so I don't know if they have kept up with Linux stuff. I agree with rhayman, do your research. This wiki could be useful info on Thinkpad options: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki Quote on front page: "This is ThinkWiki, the Wiki Web for IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad users. Here you find anything you need to install your favourite Linux distribution on your ThinkPad." -Matt