Getting a laptop, Advice?

[Spy38W 0]

Works got me on the road so much lately I`ve decided to join the 19th century and get a laptop, but I`m stuck on a couple of things

Processors:
Pentium 4
Pentium M
Centrino (wireless b IIRC)?

I`d like something that is pretty easy to get on the internet for email, weather, maps, etc. and it looks like everything I`ve been looking at has wireless and Ethernet LAN connections. Been trying to figure out the processor end of it. I guess the Centrino is supposed to be more efficient on battery usage, but limited to b for wireless. And the speed numbers on the Centrinos are low, but they claim to be equivalant to a P4 thats higher.

I`m not very computer savvy, and don`t want to waste money on something that is just marketing hype or probably won`t catch on. Any tips or advice?

--
Hook high, flare on time

[dropoutdave 0]

You want to go Mac or PC? I've got the Mac Powerbook G4, it's only an inch thick and got a 17inch screen, never looked back. If your going to use it for editing my personal preference is the mac with Final Pro Cut 4. Expensive but second to none.

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May Contain Nut traces......

[Spy38W 0]

Quote

You want to go Mac or PC? I've got the Mac Powerbook G4, it's only an inch thick and got a 17inch screen, never looked back. If your going to use it for editing my personal preference is the mac with Final Pro Cut 4. Expensive but second to none.

More than likely PC, to keep it compatible with my limited knowledge base, and (cough) home computer

--
Hook high, flare on time

[billvon 2,417]

>I guess the Centrino is supposed to be more efficient on battery
>usage, but limited to b for wireless.

Wireless USB or PCMCIA adapters or .11a or .11g run around $49 now; they don't care what processor you have, so don't let that be a deciding factor. If you have a camera I'd suggest you also get one that has a firewire interface; I've only had limited luck with add-on firewire capture cards.

Screen size is important, since the one drawback that laptops have over desktops is available resolution. If it's going to be for lugging around you can live with a small screen, but I'd go bigger if it's a desktop replacement. Likewise on battery. If it's a desktop replacement the battery just gives you time to shut down when the power goes out, so don't spend the extra money on long battery life.

[Luv2Fall 0]

I have a blonde laptop.......fantastic!

[skydiverbrian 0]

I love my Dell.

In a world full of people, only some want to fly... isn't that crazy! --Seal

[adamT 0]

i hate my dell. Mostly because it feels like a cheap piece of plastic. and i am always having to fix it. It is filled with poor design decisions. But it is more upgradeable then other laptops and parts are easier to finds, it was also relatively cheap. This is an inspiron 8200 i am talking about.

My next laptop will be a 15" powerbook.

[CrazyIvan 0]

Laptop you said? TOSHIBA, those puppies are great.

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[tictoc 0]

I hate OEM computers. Have a HP LP it does well. I have heard good things about alien ware http://www.alienware.com/main.aspx

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Some one must go to the edge for others to be able to find it. But if you go be sure you can make it back.

[n2skdvn 0]

my hp does ok would rather have somthing a little better built. (but it has taken a beating so i cant complain)

if my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR = EVERLASTING FUN
my site

[Aviatrr 0]

Whatever you do....DON'T GET AN HP! I've had one almost 3 years....it's been in for warranty work about 10 times. It's a POS, and several guys I work with that have HP notebooks(mine is an HP Pavilion) have had similar problems.

Mike

[Paige 0]

Pentium 4 definately, mine is and I love it! I've got a Compaq, its great
I've heard Gateways are good but we've had bad luck with their customer service lately Straight bullshit we got from them when they had to fix my Mom's computer cause they fucked up.

Just my two cents.

Tunnel Pink Mafia Delegate
www.TunnelPinkMafia.com

[Amazon 7]

I too Love my Dell.. and I had to have some work done on it and they took care of EVERYTHING.. even had the shipping people come to my house WITH a box... we put it in on the spot and it went away and came back 2 days later all fixed. BUY the extended warranty... No complaints whatsoever.

Pentium 4... yes... Wireless 11G card actually works.

[mountainman 0]

I have the following for work and love it:

Dell Inspiron 8500
P4 2.4GHz
512MB RAM
nVidia 64MB vid card
40GB 5400rpm HD
firewire/s-video out/USB 2.0/serial (for GPS units)/more

Yes, I use this with my Garmin eTrex Vista GPS unit for movable maps with MS Streets & Trips 2004. It is a SWEET unit if you drive a lot in unfamiliar territory.

If you have any questions, let me know.

:)

http://www.brandonandlaura.com

[bendywendy 0]

I'm pretty happy with my Dell. Would love to go back to Macs but it's so much harder to pirate software....

[bshl 0]

I do computer support for a living and have found that Dell's tech support has taken a real dive. They've given us a terrible time on multiple occasions. It took a month for them to replace a hard drive that their utility determined was bad! We've actually talked to a tech at Dell who said they've been told not to replace parts if they can avoid it. It's gotten so bad that our sales rep finally gave us a free contract for premier support so we can order our own parts from them and do our own warranty work, no questions asked.

For my money, you're better off with a Gateway. We have about 1200 computers in my department and have seen an even failure rate of Gateways and Dells. Gateway systems are more up to date out of the box and we spend less time configuring them. It just seems like they take a little more time and care with their boxes and they don't sit on the shelf as long before shipping. Don't get me wrong - Dell builds a great system. It's what you get (or don't) after the system arrives that has really turned me off.

Gateway's tech support tends to be a lot better than Dell's (think five minute hold and real support instead of a 20-40 minute hold and a hassle with Dell). Some of the Dell techs still try to give service but they're the exception rather than the norm. Gateway's just the other way around. Granted we all can have different experiences but with the number of computers we support, we deal with everybody.

Avoid the Celeron systems - they're just too slow. The Pentium 4 is a powerful system but sucks up a lot of battery. The Centrino (was known as the Pentium Mobile) will detect when it's on battery and step down the speed of the processor to save battery life. People typically aren't using a lot of the computer's brain power; they're usually typing or reading or something so you don't really notice the difference in speed. It can crank the battery life up to about five hours, though. Niiiiiice... If you're going wireless (ie, you get a Centrino), make sure you get 802.11g - it's a lot faster.

You're right in that the Centrino processor speeds are confusing. My understanding is that a Centrino 1.4 GHz processor is basically equivalent to a Pentium 4 2.4. A Centrino 1.5 is like a P4-2.6; a Centrino 1.6 is like a P4-2.8. The Gateway 450 series of laptops are fantastic (personal experience) and have received great reviews in magazines.

One more thing: Get a three year warranty. That's non-negotiable. With desktop systems, parts are a dime a dozen. With laptops, everything's proprietary and costs a *bunch* more. The first time you need to use your warranty, it'll probably more than pay for itself. It's cheap insurance.

Feel free to e-mail me if you want any more information. Cheers!

Blue skies and happy landings!

[ripper0289 0]

http://www.alienware.com/system_pages/area-51m_sentia.aspx

[bshl 0]

One more thing. If you're thinking about getting one of the ultralight laptops, make sure it has everything you need. I saw an unbelievably small/light Dell laptop that impressed me until I realized that it had no CD drive. You had to buy a docking station and carry it with you in order to be able to access an optical drive. Yurg. I'm sure the other manufacturers do similar things to save space/weight.

Blue skies and happy landings!

[jkm2500 0]

I have an older Gateway Solo 9550, which was top of the line when it came out. Overall it has been a good computer, and has survived almost a year in Iraq. I have had a few problems with it, bad HD, 2 bad batteries, and now the screen has lines in(what is that btw?). Alienware supposedly has the best computers on the market if you are into gaming. They are way more than any normal person will ever use by just checking email. One of my troops just bought a dell and got a heck of a deal on it. I know that in the future that I wont buy another Gateway b/c of issues that I had with thier customer service. But thier computer isnt too bad. Hope this helps.

The primary purpose of the Armed Forces is to prepare for and to prevail in combat should the need arise.

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

Just be careful, those things are dangerous!!!

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/28245.html

Man burns penis with laptop
By Drew Cullen
Posted: 22/11/2002 at 10:00 GMT


And now for proof that some laptops run hotter than a badger. A 50-year old scientist, previously healthy, burned his penis after placing his laptop on his, err lap, for an hour. Oh, he was fully dressed in trousers and underpants, according to this letter printed in the Lancet, the UK's best-known medical journal. (reg req'd, free.)

The following is not for the squeamish:

The next day he noticed irritation and oedema of his penile prepuce. Furthermore, the ventral part of his scrotal skin had turned red, and there was a blister with a diameter of about 2 cm. These findings were verified when I saw the patient 1 day later. There were no signs of phimosis or balanitis. The patient recalled that, while sitting 2 days earlier with his computer on his lap, he occasionally had felt heat and a burning feeling on his lap and proximal thigh, a sensation that was relieved at least temporarily when the computer was moved slightly.

After the first 2 days, the penile and scrotal blisters broke and developed into infected wounds that caused extensive suppuration. More than a week later, the wounds were covered by dry crusts and thereafter were healing quite rapidly. No antibiotic treatment was needed.

Thank goodness. The Register is happy that the patient was in such able hands, but disappointed in the lack of technical detail in Claes-Goran Ostenson's report. What was the make of laptop*? Did it have a desktop chip in it? Roll on Banias.

The unnamed laptop maimer may have to change the caveats in its instruction manual. Ostenson notes the branding iron firm's safety instructions:

Do not allow your portable computer to operate with the base resting directly on exposed skin. With extended operation, heat can potentially build up in the base. Allowing sustained contact with the skin could cause discomfort or, eventually, a burn."

Don't trousers and underpants count?

The 50 year-old scientist has learned a lesson, although we're not sure what. And we are relieved that this is not a case of objectum sexuality, most commonly expressed in sexual love for cars, but also a phenomenon among... owners of PowerMacs (they are nice, aren't they?). Here is a snippet from a recent Wired piece.

That's when Mark realized it wasn't Bryan he fancied, it was his Mac.

"Bryan, my cyberboyfriend, was in a lot of ways, my PowerMac G3, webcam and telephone," Mark wrote on his website. "He literally lived inside of this machine ... that I myself could control like a light switch. The perfect boyfriend."

Quite. ®

*Reg Reader Peter Dudek of Switzerland writes:

Just thought I'd mention that by doing a google search with "Do not allow your portable computer to operate with the base resting directly on exposed skin. With extended operation, heat can potentially build up in the base. Allowing sustained contact with the skin could cause discomfort or, eventually, a burn" as the search string, I believe, reveals the mystery laptop brand.

It's a Dell Latitude. The search pulls up a support website from support.jp.dell.com, that has, essentially, the exact same warning in the
"User's Guide". ®

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

Quote

http://www.alienware.com/system_pages/area-51m_sentia.aspx

That is a great laptop - and it is on the market under several different names (AlienWare is owned by the same company that owns Barnes and Noble, which owns a couple other laptops - they just rebrand them).

However, I believe that monster of a laptop is called desktop replacement because of its weight and larger size.

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[nigel99 144]

I have just bought a dell 8600 in the UK. The price was fine and specs (Centrino) seem to fit what I want. It is quite big and relatively heavy, but is well connected (bluetooth, IRDA, lan, w/lan, USB, serial and printer) I needed reasonable performance (CAD work) and its fine, battery life is about 3 - 4hrs if you switch of the w/lan and bluetooth. You can get extra batteries but these involve removing the optical/drive.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.