OT: notebook shopping

[Cat Chapman]

I'm using a system76 laptop to post this. They make Linux lappies, and
so far I've had nothing but great things with this machine.
Check them out at http://system76.com

On Sun, 2008-04-20 at 13:30 -0700, Jason Spatafore wrote:
> While the Lenovo is cheaper, I would advise against any IBM style laptop
> based on the x6x model. We have had several issues with these at work
> with failing hard drives and wireless connections just dropping out.
> (Lenovo took over the IBM desktop and laptop lines a couple years ago). 
> 
> As for the MAC...same hardware for 2x the money? Not worth it unless you
> think pretty is the most important aspect. 
> 
> With all that said, I would go with the Dell myself. You should also
> look into HP and Toshiba though just to be sure. My Daughter's HP is
> still running after 3 years...and she used it so much that the letters
> on the keyboard have disappeared on some keys. But the keyboard still
> works. Weird eh? 
> 
> 
> On Sun, 2008-04-20 at 13:05 -0700, Vaughn Treude wrote:
> > Hello everybody!
> > 
> > I'm planning to buy a new notebook, as my Vaio is now 8 years old, and 
> > shows signs of getting ready to give up the ghost. (Specifically, the 
> > LCD backlight occasionally doesn't come on.) So I've been doing some 
> > serious online shopping and I'm trying to make a final decision. This 
> > being a computer-savvy group, I thought I'd ask for some feedback.
> > 
> > The goal:
> > As high-performance as possible for $2000 or less. In particular, I want 
> > to be able to boot as fast as possible. (I will of course install Linux 
> > and tweak it to start only the most essential services.)
> > I plan to make it dual-boot, because it would be useful to have Windoze 
> > available so I can run Visual Studio. I detest Vista, so this means the 
> > notebook should have XP as an available option. (If it's super-cheap, it 
> > _might_ be worth buying an XP CD and blasting away Vista, but I'd like 
> > to avoid this if possible.)
> > 
> > The minimum parameters:
> > 15" wide screen WXGA+
> > 2.4 GHz CPU
> > 2 GB RAM
> > 100 GB drive @ 7200 RPM
> > Read/write DVD.
> > Wireless "n" version support
> > Bluetooth support
> > 2 USB ports, preferably 3.
> > 
> > The finalists:
> > Dell Inspiron 1520 - with all the options I want it's around $1500. (But 
> > one of the reviewers claimed its physical construction was flimsy.)
> > Toshiba Tecra A9 - also around $1500 with options.
> > Lenovo ThinkPad R61 - the fully-loaded version is on sale for around $1200.
> > Mac Book Pro - the 2.4GHz 15" version, with the high-speed drive option, 
> > is $2100, a bit out of my range. I _could_ set it up triple-boot with XP 
> > (and Linux, of course) which would bring it up to $2200. But I've always 
> > admired the Mac's design, the fact that OS X is based on Unix, and the 
> > Mac's excellent video-editing software. (I've been unhappy with the 
> > hassle of setting up this kind of stuff on Linux.) So I'm still 
> > considering it, but don't know if it would be worthwhile.
> > 
> > At the moment I'm leaning toward the Lenovo. As far as I can tell, its 
> > primary drawbacks are relatively short battery life, and the fact that 
> > it is (IMHO) one butt-ugly machine. The battery isn't that big of a 
> > problem, as I have two externals I bought for my ailing Sony, and I can 
> > live with ugly.
> > 
> > Any comments or relevant experiences any of you could share?
> > Thanks,
> > Vaughn
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