Laptop recommendations

[andycktm]

:lol: :lol: slightly off topic,but same path.....
The second p.c i bought win95 had just come out and i
wanted it on despite being told to keep 3.11
As the engineer's installed it in front of me a line came
up " do you want to send this information to Microsoft"
World war three didn't even come close :lol:

Just choose the best spec you can get for the best deal
the going should be very good right now.

 

[harryc]

Another vote for the Apple Mac, i have a windows lap top as well as the Apple Mac and without hesitation recommend the Mac for its lack of freezing up, crashing......
The only people who question the mac over windows argument are peple who have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing the Mac world.

 

[misterfish]

It's a pity these things always come down to the 'mine's better/bigger/prettier etc than yours.

Having been involved with procurement, programming and support of thousands of 'small systems' (as opposed to mainframes) since the 1980s I do have a bit of insight.

The important factor is what you want to use the machine to do - too many of my 'customers' came with a shopping list of the equipment they 'needed' - usually decided because it was expensive/cool/better than their colleagues etc.

In this case we are looking for something light - larger screens are heavier - latest technology tends to be thinner and lighter. Battery technology has also improved - but a long battery life usually means a heavier battery. Legible in daylight - a lot of screens are now shiny and prone to reflections and despite claims most are impossible or not comfortable to use in bright sunlight. Windows/Vista compatibility doesn't seem to be a problem for either of the main flavours (Microsoft or Apple).

Of course we don't know what the system is required for - high quality graphics/video applications and complex maths modelling require high end processors and a decent amount of memory all of which tend to use more power and impinge on battery life.

Finally we need to consider the budget - a low cost machine will not be the latest cutting edge technology and will tend to be heavier and bulkier.

Ideally you want to try and visit a few retailers to get the look and feel of what the equipment is actually like - you may get cheaper on the web but won't be able to easilly tell what the equipment is like physically.

Our Corporate standard is and has been for some time Dell, but this is not mandatory and we do have some Vaio and Apple machines.

For our own use at home we have a Dell notebook with a large capacity battery and 17 inch screen. This is fine for home use but I wouldn't want to be carrying it around with me too much as it soon gets heavy and bulky (these factors increase as the day progresses).

So I won't say buy this or that - but spend a bit of time looking at retailers so you can see what you are getting and that it will do what you want.

Misterfish

 

[tim]

Thanks all - food for thought indeed.

It doesn't need to be enormously powerful but at the same time shouldn't be so far behind the curve. Its not going to need much more than office functions and email/web capapbility but lightness is key.

Cheers

Tim

 

[Smudger]

Well, if money isn't an object, then this confection of delight might fit the bill!

MacBook Air

 

[Slim]

Well, if money isn't an object, then this confection of delight might fit the bill!

MacBook Air

Hmmm... Lets have a look at the Macbook Air shall we?...

This is typical of the direction Apple are taking. The Macbook Air is rubbish. Yes it is thin light and sexy, but at the huge expense of functionality. No DVD drive, tiny hard drive, one USB port, No other ports etc. A complete waste of time IMO.

They have done exactly the same with the new Ipod touch. I have a 60GB 5th gen ipod, which is about 75% full. If i want to upgrade, I have to decide which music I no longer want. The Touch only has 32GB, all because of a stupid touch screen.

I wouldn't mind if they were sensibly priced, but £2K for a rubbish laptop? I don't think so.

 

[Smudger]

They're selling as many as they can make...

 

[davegw]

They're selling as many as they can make...

That's the problem with fashion and technology - whats best isn't necessarily fashion. Beta Max for example.

 

[MrJay]

Well, if money isn't an object, then this confection of delight might fit the bill!

MacBook Air

Hmmm... Lets have a look at the Macbook Air shall we?...

This is typical of the direction Apple are taking. The Macbook Air is rubbish. Yes it is thin light and sexy, but at the huge expense of functionality. No DVD drive, tiny hard drive, one USB port, No other ports etc. A complete waste of time IMO.

I wouldn't mind if they were sensibly priced, but £2K for a rubbish laptop? I don't think so.

Yeah, they said the same thing when Apple ditched the 3.5" floppy.

 

[Slim]

Yeah, they said the same thing when Apple ditched the 3.5" floppy.

But they haven't ditched the DVD drive have they. They just haven't included one. Instead they expect you to shell out another £65 for an external drive (which kind of dents the portability argument, don't you think?), or connect wirelessly to another computer with a drive. Apple fully accept that a DVD drive is still needed.

 

[Smudger]

Slim - Apple is a success. Get over it.

 

[Slim]

Slim - Apple is a success. Get over it.

Sorry ****. I must remember not to have a differing opinion in future. :roll:

The Air's selling points are that it is ultra thin, light and good looking. Yes? That is purely a fashion statement. In the same way that mobile phones have got smaller and thinner. I don't argue with this. I think it is a very good looking piece of kit. However, for £2K, it is a very underpowered and basic laptop. What can you do with one USB port? especially if you have a DVD drive plugged into it. I suppose you could plug an adapter into it, but what is the point in an ultra portable notebook, if you have to carry around a load of extra bits to make it fully functional.

Note ****, this is my opinion, which I am allowed, in the same way you are allowed yours. I do not disagree that Apple is a success.

 

[Smudger]

Why, all of a sudden, is a dissenting view from yours and attempt to deny you an opinion?

If you are allowed to disagree with me am I not, therefore allowed to disagree with you?

As I said, Apple's success seems to irk you in some way. Even to the extent that you are suggesting that you are right and they are wrong. That is not a logical position.

 

[Slim]

****, please have a look over our last few posts. I haven't disagreed with you once. I merely stated my opinion on the Air and ipod, to which you became very defensive. Apple's success in no way bothers me. Why would it? I was considering an ordinary Macbook when I was last upgrading, but I found the cost prohibitive. Once again, I merely stated my opinion. If you don't like it, that's fine, but don't tell me to "get over it". That, IMO, is trying to deny me my view.

 

[MrJay]

Oh get on, you were sneering. It's a subnotebook and there's you demanding desktop replacement specs and functionality and stamping your feet because it isn't there. £2k is for the top end model and just as pricey as Sony's top end ultra portable - if it's not what you want don't buy it; some people appreciate that easy to live with stuff over 120 gizmoflops vs 80 gizmoflops.

 

[andy king]

Well, having used macs for years as part of my job, I have to say i find them a PITA to be honest!
I have a macbook laptop for work and it is unbelievably slow, if I have a 'Word' document open, email and a preview window open to check a photo , then try and open an internet window, I may as well make a cup of tea and drink it while I wat for it to decide to open the window.
If I was using high processor stuff like Paintshop or Quark/Indesign I could understand it, but these aren't processor hungry programs.
I think Macs aren't all they are cracked up to be personally, the software is unbelievably expensive, and as a format, overhyped. Having worked for about ten years in an industry where the format is allegedly more stable than PC's, i've seen crashes on a regular basis, so not quite the be all and end all as is being made out.
Could be that one mac is unlucky, but when you have colleagues having similar situations rather regularly, not quite the best thing since sliced bread in my opinion...

 

[Slim]

Oh get on, you were sneering. It's a subnotebook and there's you demanding desktop replacement specs and functionality and stamping your feet because it isn't there. £2k is for the top end model and just as pricey as Sony's top end ultra portable - if it's not what you want don't buy it; some people appreciate that easy to live with stuff over 120 gizmoflops vs 80 gizmoflops.

Right. I will say this one more time. I was expressing my opinion. I don't care if you agree or disagree. Neither you or **** have made a valid retort. You have just attacked me for having an anti-mac view. I give up. I have come across this trait in mac owners before.

FWIW, if the top end Sony is as badly spec'ed as th Air, then my view extends to them as well.

Good night.

 

[Maia28]

I've been using a Toshiba M400 tablet for a couple of years and it's the best laptop I've ever had. I tend to buy about three or four a year (not for me) and now only buy Toshiba ones for reliability and compatability.

That said, my five year old Acer has survived two children and my wife's usage for three years now and is still going strong. It was cheap, but high specked.

I won't go anywhere near Dell, but have been tempted by Sony and Apples. I guess that there are so many that there will always be someone who has a bad experience and others who have good ones. Perhaps the most important thing if a machine meets your requirements is the warranty and service deal. When I ruined the M400 keyboard with a cup of tea, Toshiba had it sorted in two days. Hard disks fail, so just remember to back up. I have a CF card in the PCMCIA slot and an autobackup routine to make sure my recent stuff is secure.

 

[Smudger]

Toshiba must have upped their game. I had a few about 7 or 8 years ago, and they were trash. They had a weird operating system, which modified Windoze so that it worked even less well, and the build quality was atrocious - if you leant your hand on the case it could deflect it enough to move the trackpad...

Not to mention the models that had a sort of nipple in the middle of the keyboard instead of a trackpad...

 

[MrJay]

My PC is a Toshiba Satellite (I don't own a Mac despite the libelous assertions a few posts up). It's nice enough, but nothing you'd really want to write home about. In its favour it does run Ubuntu without trouble and is therefore quite awesome. Against it is that the supplied Vista install disk wipes the entire hard drive, annihilating disk partitions and any other operating system. Vista or Ubuntu - tricky choice....