IBM's always been extreamly ignorant about BSD in general and FreeBSD in particular. I remember when the #1 comment at IBM's java site was a request to port their JDK to FreeBSD, and the only comment from IBM was a question asking what kind of Linux distro freebsd was.
There is a solution, though. I just put FreeBSD 4.2 on a new Dell Inspiron 5000e, and it went on nearly flawlessly. The only trouble was that X had to be compiled from CVS because the RAGE Mobility LF isn't really supported in XFree4.0.1. Of course that caveate applies to linux as well. Cardbus doesnt' work in 4.2, but does in -current. Standard PCMCIA is fine. Otherwise every single piece of hardware worked in all respects after a kernel recompile. This machine also has the famous 1600x1200 screen, and is several hundred $$$ cheaper than the equivelent IBM machine (which has a much crappier screen).
Moral of the story: If you have any desire to run FreeBSD or just want better hardware at a cheaper price, the Inspiron 5000 series is THE way to go.
IBM's position is more ignorance than antagonism (Score:5)
There is a solution, though. I just put FreeBSD 4.2 on a new Dell Inspiron 5000e, and it went on nearly flawlessly. The only trouble was that X had to be compiled from CVS because the RAGE Mobility LF isn't really supported in XFree4.0.1. Of course that caveate applies to linux as well. Cardbus doesnt' work in 4.2, but does in -current. Standard PCMCIA is fine. Otherwise every single piece of hardware worked in all respects after a kernel recompile. This machine also has the famous 1600x1200 screen, and is several hundred $$$ cheaper than the equivelent IBM machine (which has a much crappier screen).
Moral of the story: If you have any desire to run FreeBSD or just want better hardware at a cheaper price, the Inspiron 5000 series is THE way to go.