iraf.net

Hello! This somewhat of a strange request, but I've been sending emails to various astronomy-related websites (observatories included) in order to get some advice about laptops and Linux and astronomy-related software (I haven't been able to find any information about this on the Web).
 
Anyway, I currently am running a very old form of IRAF on a very old version of RedHat on my research pc (almost 8 years old now!), and I wish to upgrade to a laptop. I was wondering if anybody at NOAO would be able to recommend a laptop brand, and version of Linux, that would work the best with IRAF, the current version of xmgr, ghostview, LaTex, etc. I don't care about fancy 3D graphics capabilities and aewsome sound systems, but it seems like so many laptops out there all have that these days! I just need to be able to install Linux and IRAF and all my other software as easily as possible (and be able to run all my old Fortran programs too!).
 
If anyone there could please send me some advice about this, I'd be most grateful! I'm the only astronomer at my small university, and our Bookstore computer guy is trying to be really helpful, but I understand that it's difficult for him when he hasn't had to handle a request like this before.
 
Thanks very much, and I hope to hear from someone there soon!
 
Cheers,
 
Joanne Rosvick
 
Dr. Joanne Rosvick
Assistant Professor
Department of Physical Sciences (Physics)
Faculty of Science
Thompson Rivers University
 
Box 3010 Kamloops BC
V2C 5N3
Phone: (250) 828-5409
Fax: (250) 828-5450
email: jrosvick@tru.ca ([email]jrosvick@tru.ca[/email])

This is a question highly subject to both personal preference and budget, and your decision should be based mostly on those unless you see a model with a specific feature/style you prefer. I can say however that just about any laptop you buy will be able to run Linux, and therefore IRAF. The practicalities however are than bleeding-edge devices like some new builtin-wireless chips, Blu-Ray DVD support, etc might be harder to configure at the linux level. You basic university bookstore system won't normally be a problem, and keep in mind that Apple's becoming very popular in astronomy as well. So, it comes down to whether you want an ulta-portable with perhaps not as much disk or optical drive, or a 15-lb desktop replacement with a 19" screen, or something in the middle.I would suggest that any extra money be put into as much RAM as you can afford. Higher RPM disks mean faster response but shorter battery life, and screen size and resolution are NOT the same thing. Trackpad vs Track point can be worked around with a mouse, but it may be just another dongle/appliance/cord you need to drag around. If you need to also run Windows you'll need to decide between a dual-boot system, or e.g. using Linux under a VMware in Windows. For Apple there is a similar virtual machine program call Parallels that works really well on Intel systems, but you can also get most Linux apps for OS X and MSOffice as well.As far as IRAF is concerned the distribution is less of a worry. Redhat Fedora runs well but more user-friendly systems like Ubuntu workl every bit as well. Whatever the machine, there will be the usual setup / configuration headaches and a forum somewhere to get you past them,
so look for something you can comfortably use with the right screen quality, portability and battery life for how you'll be using it. Good luck.Cheers,
-Mike