Best Laptop?
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Why the new profile? :confused:
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Chris Maunder wrote:
This will definitely happen.
I just think about posts written on the toilet... :~
I don't see dead pixels anymore... Yes, even I am blogging now!
Where do you think i find the time and material for all my posts? :rolleyes:
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The laptop market seems to be in a bit of a flux with new machines out that look a little nicer than the grey bricks we're used to, but with the new Core 2 Duo's seemingly AWOL. So - has anyone done the painful work of comparing laptops and coming up with a current laptop de jour? I'm talking laptop, not an Alienware brick, not a 17" HP media centre, not a Dell 8xxx series barbeque briquette. At least 1280 x 768 resolution, 14" widescreen or less, as light as possible, as fast as possible, 100Gb HDD and battery life at least 4 hrs. Wifi, bluetooth, SD card slot (or an expansion slot I can add one to) and a DVD burner. Is this possible?
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Are you adverse to a TabletPC convertible? I have a Gateway M-285e (Microsoft gave it to me :D ). Its a 14" widescreen, mine has a Core Duo, 7-in-1 reader, 1280x768, wifi, bluetooth is an option, DVD Burner available as an option, mine has a 12-cell battery and I can spend 6 hours straight at school taking notes and/or surfing the web (i rarely do both simultaneously for obvious reason). Its significantly heavier than my 2 pound X40 but its features overwhelm its weight (its something like 7 or 8 pounds). I'm at work right now so I don't have much info but if you'd like I can dig up some more info on it. Yes its a Gateway, but its actually pretty good. I was a member of the send Gateway to heck group prior to recieving this so I put it through its paces before I accepted as being good.
Matt Newman
Even the very best tools in the hands of an idiot will produce something of little or no value. - Chris Meech on Idiots -
Why the new profile? :confused:
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Made the mistake of logging into my previous one.
-------------- TTFN - Kent
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Are you adverse to a TabletPC convertible? I have a Gateway M-285e (Microsoft gave it to me :D ). Its a 14" widescreen, mine has a Core Duo, 7-in-1 reader, 1280x768, wifi, bluetooth is an option, DVD Burner available as an option, mine has a 12-cell battery and I can spend 6 hours straight at school taking notes and/or surfing the web (i rarely do both simultaneously for obvious reason). Its significantly heavier than my 2 pound X40 but its features overwhelm its weight (its something like 7 or 8 pounds). I'm at work right now so I don't have much info but if you'd like I can dig up some more info on it. Yes its a Gateway, but its actually pretty good. I was a member of the send Gateway to heck group prior to recieving this so I put it through its paces before I accepted as being good.
Matt Newman
Even the very best tools in the hands of an idiot will produce something of little or no value. - Chris Meech on IdiotsI've heard nothing but bad things about gateway (well, nothing but bad things until your post). Unfortunately there are many laptops whose features overwhelm their weight. I'm specifically looking for something lightweight. A couple of extra pounds here and there makes a big difference to carry on luggage.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Why don't you like Dell ? My Dell meets most of those specs ( 1440x1280, 7 hours battery, big HDD, Wifi, Bluetooth ) and the newer models will meet them all, as far as I can see. When I was notebook hunting, 1024x768 is all I could find, I wanted 1600x1200, and ended up with 1440xwhatever.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
I've heard nothing but bad things about Dell in the last 2 years. Poor (or non-existent) customer support, exploding batteries, problems with laptops. I also find their laptops really boring. I want something that looks like it wasn't designed by an engineer and fine tuned by an accountant.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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I've heard nothing but bad things about Dell in the last 2 years. Poor (or non-existent) customer support, exploding batteries, problems with laptops. I also find their laptops really boring. I want something that looks like it wasn't designed by an engineer and fine tuned by an accountant.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
I've never heard good things about Dell. However, my notebook is < 1 year old, and while the service guys were not the most knowledgable in the land, they did send a tech out to replace parts, which they air freighted to Hobart, several times. So, I'd say support is a major plus with Dell. The exploding batteries were made by Sony. I'm not sure how often that happens, obviously I have 2 batteries with a 0 explosion rate so far. As for looks, the new Dell 'gaming' notebooks are about as sexy as they come, IMO. http://www.onlinekosten.de/news/bilder/Dell_XPS_M1710_1.jpg[^] Full review: http://www.mobilityguru.com/2005/08/15/the_world/index.html[^]
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Why the new profile? :confused:
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I've never heard good things about Dell. However, my notebook is < 1 year old, and while the service guys were not the most knowledgable in the land, they did send a tech out to replace parts, which they air freighted to Hobart, several times. So, I'd say support is a major plus with Dell. The exploding batteries were made by Sony. I'm not sure how often that happens, obviously I have 2 batteries with a 0 explosion rate so far. As for looks, the new Dell 'gaming' notebooks are about as sexy as they come, IMO. http://www.onlinekosten.de/news/bilder/Dell_XPS_M1710_1.jpg[^] Full review: http://www.mobilityguru.com/2005/08/15/the_world/index.html[^]
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
The Dell XPS come in tiny, large and ridiculous. No 14 or 15" in sight. Why oh why do hardware manufacturers do that? Create something that could be good if only <insert dumb obvious thing they left out> [Edit: the 12" has the right resolution. Hmmm...this could be a contender...] -- modified at 21:09 Sunday 17th September, 2006
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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It's beautiful. What?
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It's beautiful. What?
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It's wrong and uncalled for, that's what it is. It's the Cadillac Escalade of notebooks.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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It's wrong and uncalled for, that's what it is. It's the Cadillac Escalade of notebooks.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Chris Maunder wrote:
It's wrong and uncalled for, that's what it is.
Bah, it's a direct descendant of the old "luggables". I'll hold off on "wrong and uncalled for" 'till we start seeing media center phones. ...oh, wait... :doh:
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The Dell XPS come in tiny, large and ridiculous. No 14 or 15" in sight. Why oh why do hardware manufacturers do that? Create something that could be good if only <insert dumb obvious thing they left out> [Edit: the 12" has the right resolution. Hmmm...this could be a contender...] -- modified at 21:09 Sunday 17th September, 2006
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Yep 12, 17 and 20. Who wants to carry a notebook with a 20" screen ? The other thing I don't get, they all have the widescreen nowadays. Widescreen is *useless* in my book. It's just less pixels. How is THAT a feature ? But, if you can live with 12.1" widescreen, I reckon the rest of it meets your wish list.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Yep 12, 17 and 20. Who wants to carry a notebook with a 20" screen ? The other thing I don't get, they all have the widescreen nowadays. Widescreen is *useless* in my book. It's just less pixels. How is THAT a feature ? But, if you can live with 12.1" widescreen, I reckon the rest of it meets your wish list.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
Nah, mate. Widescreen is a *necessity*. Think about how you view code in Visual Studio - text + solution explorers. Wide screen means you can view enough text real estate to keep things nice while also allowing enough space for the sidebars. I'll never go back to a trad. format screen. (oh, and it makes watching DVDs much nicer - especially for those of us without a DVD player at home)
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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Nah, mate. Widescreen is a *necessity*. Think about how you view code in Visual Studio - text + solution explorers. Wide screen means you can view enough text real estate to keep things nice while also allowing enough space for the sidebars. I'll never go back to a trad. format screen. (oh, and it makes watching DVDs much nicer - especially for those of us without a DVD player at home)
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Here's why I disagree. My notebook does 1440 x 1080. I took that under sufferance, I wanted 1600x1200, but it was not on offer. That XPS notebook does 1280 x 800. So, even if I'd had to settle for 1280x1024, your 'extra' space is an illusion. If I run at 1280x1024, I can devote just as much vertical space as you do to those toolbars, the only difference is, I can see more code than you. Unless widescreen monitors start to offer the same width as 4:3 monitors, and extra height, it will always be an illusion, in my book. Assuming that my notebook is as wide as yours, then I just get some black areas top and bottom when I watch a DVD, which also means that if the controls are being shown by media player, they don't overlap with the movie.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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Here's why I disagree. My notebook does 1440 x 1080. I took that under sufferance, I wanted 1600x1200, but it was not on offer. That XPS notebook does 1280 x 800. So, even if I'd had to settle for 1280x1024, your 'extra' space is an illusion. If I run at 1280x1024, I can devote just as much vertical space as you do to those toolbars, the only difference is, I can see more code than you. Unless widescreen monitors start to offer the same width as 4:3 monitors, and extra height, it will always be an illusion, in my book. Assuming that my notebook is as wide as yours, then I just get some black areas top and bottom when I watch a DVD, which also means that if the controls are being shown by media player, they don't overlap with the movie.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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And here's why I disagree with your disagreement :) Sure you can get more overall screenspace with a 15" standard, but the entire unit will be bigger. With a 14" widescreen I get the width of a 15", but the physical depth of a 14". This makes a big difference to the overall size and weight of the unit. Much easier to throw in backpacks or travel satchels.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
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And here's why I disagree with your disagreement :) Sure you can get more overall screenspace with a 15" standard, but the entire unit will be bigger. With a 14" widescreen I get the width of a 15", but the physical depth of a 14". This makes a big difference to the overall size and weight of the unit. Much easier to throw in backpacks or travel satchels.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
OK, so your REAL position is, if you're going to sacrice resolution in order to get a teeny, tiny notebook, then you'd do better to sacrifice more in the Y direction, and keep a higher X resolution, so you at least have some width, even if the height of the screen makes it a poor substitute for a desktop ? I can buy into that. I guess I'm just in better shape than you (*cough*). More like my HP brick was so heavy, that any other notebook, even at 4:3 aspect ratio, seems light in comparison.
Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++ Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
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The laptop market seems to be in a bit of a flux with new machines out that look a little nicer than the grey bricks we're used to, but with the new Core 2 Duo's seemingly AWOL. So - has anyone done the painful work of comparing laptops and coming up with a current laptop de jour? I'm talking laptop, not an Alienware brick, not a 17" HP media centre, not a Dell 8xxx series barbeque briquette. At least 1280 x 768 resolution, 14" widescreen or less, as light as possible, as fast as possible, 100Gb HDD and battery life at least 4 hrs. Wifi, bluetooth, SD card slot (or an expansion slot I can add one to) and a DVD burner. Is this possible?
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Have you looked at Sony laptops? They have whole line of very small light weight laptops. Plus its a sony rootkit pre-installed just for you. Sony VAIO Notebook with Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile [^]
I'd love to help, but unfortunatley I have prior commitments monitoring the length of my grass. :Andrew Bleakley:
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I've heard nothing but bad things about gateway (well, nothing but bad things until your post). Unfortunately there are many laptops whose features overwhelm their weight. I'm specifically looking for something lightweight. A couple of extra pounds here and there makes a big difference to carry on luggage.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
Chris Maunder wrote:
I've heard nothing but bad things about gateway (well, nothing but bad things until your post).
Up until I got this machine I would be one of those people saying bad things (bad experiences with their support to the tune of a couple hundred dollars). I totally agree with the lightweight... however performance and battery life make things on the heavy side. 6.8lbs for a Core 2 Duo T7400 Tablet Convertible with an 8-cell battery that won't explode (And is allowed on all airlines) isn't bad. Though I'd recommend the 12-cell, its worth the extra weight.
Matt Newman
Even the very best tools in the hands of an idiot will produce something of little or no value. - Chris Meech on Idiots -
Ray Kinsella wrote:
Wouldn't it be cool if there was an alternative version of the lounge customised for the small screen
This will definitely happen.
cheers, Chris Maunder
CodeProject.com : C++ MVP
I am so excited :jig: , I just can't hid it :jig: , I'm about to loose control and I think I like it :jig: ... :laugh:
Regards Ray "Je Suis Mort De Rire" Blogging @ Keratoconus Watch
