[LAU] Support for RME HDSPe laptop expresscard

[Brent Busby]

Since I already have an RME Multiface II setup with the PCI-E card for 
desktop systems, I've been mulling over the possibilities of also doing
mobile on-site recording with a laptop, using my existing Multiface II
external i/o box with their ExpressCard for laptops.  I would be able
to use the same Multiface box on both laptop and stationary recording
machines, and just buy the ExpressCard.

I wondered if anyone here is already using the laptop card, and whether 
it shows up in Alsa properly, since it isn't a normal PCI card....

Also, I wondered if anyone has any recommendations for laptops for 
recording.  The Sony Vaios look nice and are very light, even in their 
full size notebooks, but I'll never forget how badly the whole Vaio 
series worked with Linux back in the 90's.  Are they decent now?  What 
other laptops are there that might work well?

Note:  I *strongly* prefer something with an ATI video chipset.  My 
experience has been that going with anything else on Linux is begging 
for some kind of pain.

-- 
+ Brent A. Busby	 + "We've all heard that a million monkeys
+ UNIX Systems Admin	 +  banging on a million typewriters will
+ University of Chicago	 +  eventually reproduce the entire works of
+ Physical Sciences Div. +  Shakespeare.  Now, thanks to the Internet,
+ James Franck Institute +  we know this is not true." -Robert Wilensky