[spincrazy]

that was to be used for word processing and internet mostly, weighed as little as possible (within reason), had a 12-13" screen and a full sized keyboard, what would you buy? It would be nice if it could burn dvds and had wireless built in also.

I'd like to get my gf a new one to replace her 5-7 year old HP that is nothing but trouble at this point. I'm open to Apple of course, but she has been a PC-er for a very long time and resists change.

She was looking at this from Dell http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1210?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19 I think...

thoughts?

 

[RideND]

Just because I have limited experience with anything else I would go with Dell or Apple. I love the new Macbooks.

 

[Transcend]

I'd say wait a week or 2 until after CES and Macworld. There will be some new ultralights coming out for both PC and Mac platforms at the shows.

There are some nice new ultra porty dell's hitting the market apparently and possibly a small ibook.

 

[geargrrl]

read the other thread on laptop shopping.

 

[Ciaran]

I recently picked up an Averatec 2150eh1 laptop. 12.1" screen, and is super light. Nice little laptop. DVD burner, 80gig HDD, wireless, and all that jazz...

http://averatec.com/products/portable/thinlight/2100Series.asp

 

[binary visions]

If you want something cheap, the compact Dells are pretty good, the Inspiron or Latitudes with the ~12" screen. No real reason to buy into the XPS series if you're just doing internet and word processing with it.

If you want the ultimate compact notebook, the Lenovo (formerly IBM) Thinkpads with the 12" screens are pretty sweet. The keyboard is, bar none, the best keyboard I've ever used on a laptop.

 

[jrfor0]

don't buy a dell. i have had 2 and had nothing but problems. when i call to try to fix the problems i am talking with someone in india that doesn't know anything. don't buy a dell!

 

[binary visions]

The flip side to that is I've owned three Dells without a single issue and the latest laptop went 6 years with nary a problem. I also supported a couple hundred Dell desktops and laptops and the failure rate was no higher than any other brands.

All companies have failures - and most have India call centers. Sorry to hear you got two bad eggs, though. Try the online chat support next time, it's easier to understand them and they pass you to smarter people faster.

 

[mrbigisbudgood]

outlet.dell.com

 

[stinkyboy]

There are some nice new ultra porty dell's hitting the market apparently and possibly a small ibook.

Ain't the iBook dead?

 

[LordOpie]

I got Compaq 420 a few months ago for $400. More than enough for wireless websurfing, simple graphic design, and multimedia entertainment.

You don't need much power.

 

[Ciaran]

If you want something cheap, the compact Dells are pretty good, the Inspiron or Latitudes with the ~12" screen. No real reason to buy into the XPS series if you're just doing internet and word processing with it.

If you want the ultimate compact notebook, the Lenovo (formerly IBM) Thinkpads with the 12" screens are pretty sweet. The keyboard is, bar none, the best keyboard I've ever used on a laptop.

I looked at the Dell C and D 400's while laptop shopping. Since my main computer is my desktop the lappy was only mainly for surfing in bed and taking to friends houses so I can rip thier CD collections. The problem that steered me away from those two particular models was that there is no built in CD drive. It's an external unit connected with a cable. Others such as the Averatec and the Lenovo (I think) have the drive built in.

One of my deciding factors in getting the Averatec was that I wanted and AMD processor AND a 12 inch screen. The keyboard on my Averatec is not as nice as some though... a bit flexy and compact, but then this is a 12 inch screen computer... you can't fit much keyboard into a case that small.

I also noticed that as you go down in size (below 14") the prices seem to go up. The 11 and 10 inch screen lappys were even more than the 12!

 

[spincrazy]

She has an IBM, new, at work and really doesn't like the keyboard..dunno. The Compaq is HP and she wants something different - hates the screen, hers flickers on occasion and always has even after several replacements from when it was new.

I'm going to check Dell outlet. I glanced at the Lenova et al, might work, cept for the keyboard thing.

Again, major concerns are that it is very light, has built in wireless and a dvd burner.

thanks for the replies.

 

[binary visions]

The problem that steered me away from those two particular models was that there is no built in CD drive. It's an external unit connected with a cable. Others such as the Averatec and the Lenovo (I think) have the drive built in.

All depends on the models. Dell makes at least one ultra compact 12" screen with a built-in DVD burner - I know because I got to use it in one of my classes, a classmate had it.

Some of the Lenovos have them built in, some don't. The keyboard on my little X40 just blows me away, though - it's a 2.5lb notebook that's about 1" thick and the keyboard doesn't have a hint of flex, has full sized keys and a full key throw. That's pretty important to me because I can sustain ~100+ wpm on a good day and a crappy keyboard turns my keystrokes into a boatload of errors . The layout is a little funny to squish all of those full-size keys into that size, and my girlfriend didn't really like where things like the backspace key were half sized, or other keys are tiny and located on the edges. For typing, though, it rocks.

 

[Transcend]

She has an IBM, new, at work and really doesn't like the keyboard..dunno. The Compaq is HP and she wants something different - hates the screen, hers flickers on occasion and always has even after several replacements from when it was new.

I'm going to check Dell outlet. I glanced at the Lenova et al, might work, cept for the keyboard thing.

Again, major concerns are that it is very light, has built in wireless and a dvd burner.

thanks for the replies.

May seem dorky, but check out the latest dl.tv podcast. They did a whole segment on just this - ultraportys with optical drives.

edit: episode 124

 

[spincrazy]

damn, those x60s are expensive. i'd rather just buy a mac...

 

[binary visions]

damn, those x60s are expensive. i'd rather just buy a mac...

Yep, they are pricey - pretty quality notebook. A decent Dell compact can be had for under a grand though.

 

[Mastamind]

From a tech point of view....I would stay away from Dell laptops, unless you go ultra high end XPS model or desktop system. I own and recommend an Apple, but if you are not used to that platform or it's not in your price range I would recommend Toshiba. I've worked on very few of them. Of course I can make a convincing argument for why you SHOULD get an Apple machine that can justify the cost.

 

[spincrazy]

From a tech point of view....I would stay away from Dell laptops, unless you go ultra high end XPS model or desktop system. I own and recommend an Apple, but if you are not used to that platform or it's not in your price range I would recommend Toshiba. I've worked on very few of them. Of course I can make a convincing argument for why you SHOULD get an Apple machine that can justify the cost.

It's only a matter of getting the GF into the Apple. I personally haven't had a PC in 12 years. I'll see what Toshiba has to offer.

 

[Mastamind]

It's only a matter of getting the GF into the Apple. I personally haven't had a PC in 12 years. I'll see what Toshiba has to offer.

I got my GF into an Apple 4 years ago, and never looked back. Start her off with some easy use stuff...Websurfing, e-mail, show her how integrated it is, show her Microsoft Office in Mac and she should be ok.

 

[Ciaran]

From a tech point of view....I would stay away from Dell laptops, unless you go ultra high end XPS model or desktop system. I own and recommend an Apple, but if you are not used to that platform or it's not in your price range I would recommend Toshiba. I've worked on very few of them. Of course I can make a convincing argument for why you SHOULD get an Apple machine that can justify the cost.

Please tell us, from your "tech point of view", why one should eschew non high end Dell laptops?

Actual facts please, not anecdotal experience.

 

[spincrazy]

I got my GF into an Apple 4 years ago, and never looked back. Start her off with some easy use stuff...Websurfing, e-mail, show her how integrated it is, show her Microsoft Office in Mac and she should be ok.

Um, she is familiar. My computer sits 11ft from hers and she's on it enough (mine works and has a big ass screen).

Waiting to see what happens in the market after the computer shows.

 

[syadasti]

It's only a matter of getting the GF into the Apple. I personally haven't had a PC in 12 years. I'll see what Toshiba has to offer.

Toshiba laptops are hit or miss. I worked as a consultant at a place that bought 30 of them. In the 6.5 weeks I worked there I had to RMA 10 of them! Absolute crap and their support service isn't as good as Dell and is much slower. Also RMA process is PITA because you have to ship warranty stuff back via UPS Stores - no call tags with free pickup like Dell.

 

[Qman]

I'm in the market too but waiting until they come with Vista. Based on what I've seen and heard from credible sources, I have a hard time believing "Express Upgrade" is going to be as seamless as they make it sound. As well, msoft recommends a clean install. I'd just as soon let them figure out all the drivers and crap so I don't have to spend the time.
I'm considering the dell M90 or M65 but don't need to decide for a few months.

 

[Ciaran]

I'm in the market too but waiting until they come with Vista. Based on what I've seen and heard from credible sources, I have a hard time believing "Express Upgrade" is going to be as seamless as they make it sound. As well, msoft recommends a clean install. I'd just as soon let them figure out all the drivers and crap so I don't have to spend the time.
I'm considering the dell M90 or M65 but don't need to decide for a few months.

We bought a laptop a month ago that came witht he upgrade dealie... the reciept says that they will send us a DVD of Win Vista Premium Home. I'm going to fill it out and send it in and see what happens.

And personally I believe that whenever you buy a new computer, be it desktop or laptop, you should wipe it and reinstall everything from scratch. But then I hate all the crap that comes on computers when you buy them. I also believe that this is one of the reasons that my PCs rarely have problems. I very highly recommend it.

Also, I am currently running WinVista RC1, and have had very few issues with it. It had every driver I needed natively, including the printer drivers. And manufacturers are already posting Vista drivers on their websites. The only real issues I have seen with Vista is older software not working, and some software saying that it's not compatible with Vista when installing. Installed anyway and they worked fine.

Either way, remember that Windows is NOT an out of the box software. Install it clean and configure it right and you'll have a very stable and fast system.

Also: When doing a windows OS upgrade it is best to do a clean install of the older os (In this case, Win XP) and then upgrade, and then install all apps and such. It takes longer and is a hassle but like I said, windows requires a lot of config, and it is not an out of the box OS. Do it right though, and you will be rewarded.

 

[Qman]

We bought a laptop a month ago that came witht he upgrade dealie... the reciept says that they will send us a DVD of Win Vista Premium Home. I'm going to fill it out and send it in and see what happens.

And personally I believe that whenever you buy a new computer, be it desktop or laptop, you should wipe it and reinstall everything from scratch. But then I hate all the crap that comes on computers when you buy them. I also believe that this is one of the reasons that my PCs rarely have problems. I very highly recommend it.

Also, I am currently running WinVista RC1, and have had very few issues with it. It had every driver I needed natively, including the printer drivers. And manufacturers are already posting Vista drivers on their websites. The only real issues I have seen with Vista is older software not working, and some software saying that it's not compatible with Vista when installing. Installed anyway and they worked fine.

Either way, remember that Windows is NOT an out of the box software. Install it clean and configure it right and you'll have a very stable and fast system.

Also: When doing a windows OS upgrade it is best to do a clean install of the older os (In this case, Win XP) and then upgrade, and then install all apps and such. It takes longer and is a hassle but like I said, windows requires a lot of config, and it is not an out of the box OS. Do it right though, and you will be rewarded.

I run apps that very few people run. RC1 was locking up and having major Nvidia issues with these apps.
RTM was definitely an improvement and supposedly fixed all that and Nvidia finally posted a driver that works but I still would rather wait and have them figure out if a certain platform works better with 2GB RAM or 4 with Vista and let them reconfigure the hardware before I buy it. Also waiting from the one vendor whose software I depend on most to confirm compatibility.
Agreed that wiping a new machine from the likes of Dell is a good idea. That was my plan. I've never purchased anything but a 'white box' desktop so a clean install of the OS is all I know. The only exception being the PC a client lets me use. They buy from Dell but they have a special deal where it doesn't come with any of that crap anyway.
I have an old computer I did the upgrade install on from '98 to XP and didn't have any issues but it was due for the recycle bin anyway and I didn't have time to mess with sorting thru/backing up 8 years of mostly worthless crap. Interestingly, that PC is still running and does fine as a web/email machine. Dual 400Mhz, 1GB RAM, and 2 7200 rpm 80GB hdds running mirrored thru a PCI RAID card. Someday when I'm extremely bored and run out of important things to do I might experiment with overclocking it.