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laptop to meet these conditions?

MikeOK

MikeOK

Monkey
Nov 29, 2002
118
0
twelve
I need to buy a new laptop, something small (the smaller the better) that I can throw in my pack or briefcase and carry it to work and on trips. I need a couple USB ports for my digi camera, mp3's, etc and it needs to be windows so I can move my excel log files into it.

I'm also looking to buy a new HRM and will buy one I can download stats to my mchine, no details yet but I'll assume it will either be USB or Firewire.

A decent screen would be good for games on the long slow midnight shifts at work but that's not my primary need.

Any specific suggestions?

TIA
 
Toshi

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
39,713
8,731
it's usb, not isb. and just about any laptop on the market will meet your specs. choose based on how they feel in your hand. pay more, get a lighter machine...
 
BoyBoy

BoyBoy

Monkey
Apr 17, 2003
123
0
washington DC
as dude said, almost any laptop will workm but there are some that suck and some that kickass.

i LOVE my sony. It's a GRT series (which is the mothership size), with all the bells and whistles.... but there are smaller ones.

i don't care that it's sony, and they also sell crappy CD players and have hip trendy marketing. the computer really kicks ass.

i dropped it on to a concreet floor from about 6 feet, nothing. THe touch pad actually works really well. the screen is badass, and the integral wireless card is really nicely done. It has more ports and jacks than i can ask for, and comes with some AMAZING firewall/virus protection software from Symantec (sony OEM only).
 
$tinkle

$tinkle

Expert on blowing
Feb 12, 2003
14,591
6
being employed by compaq/hp, that's all i've ever known, and it's served me fine. Return policy is very good.


however, i have been lusting after various mac products. Everytime i see them used (by novices to hardcore phreaks), it's easy to do anything. don't know much about customer support, but neither do my friends who own macs. The reason? They don't get returned. If there's any issue to take note of, it might be heat for that tiny laptop (i forget the model, but that tall chinese b-ball player in the commercial is using it).

They're on the forefront for all things media, and probably always will be. Make some good mtnbike crash videos & post them here, ok?
 
MikeOK

MikeOK

Monkey
Nov 29, 2002
118
0
twelve
Originally posted by Silver
Windows laptop?

Toshiba or IBM. Dell as a third choice. Stay away from Sony, far far away.
Click to expand...
Yep, it has to be windows, all my stuff is windows or I would be looking at mac.

I've been through a couple Toshiba's at work, they held up pretty well, but it's hard to find anything small, like with a 14" screen. Seems like portability has taken a back seat to performance that last couple years. I need something I can throw in my backpack and carry to work, and can also throw it in the back seat of my Jeep when I go to the trail. I might even go windows CE (?) but I really don't know that much about that one.

Thanks...
 
BoyBoy

BoyBoy

Monkey
Apr 17, 2003
123
0
washington DC
Originally posted by Silver
Windows laptop?

Toshiba or IBM. Dell as a third choice. Stay away from Sony, far far away.
Click to expand...
Why? IBM is hugely overpriced. Toshiba is good. WHy no SOny?

Mine is smoking fast.. It never crashes, and i do pretty hefty tasks---hour to three day long molecular modeling calculations on it... i get three hours of run time for word processing, and it charges in about 5 hours... It has a 16" screen... i mean, it really kicks ass.

also, it runs pretty cool.
 
BoyBoy

BoyBoy

Monkey
Apr 17, 2003
123
0
washington DC
i just shecked out the IMB's and unless you know something i don't they are even more expensive than i thought...

for 1800 bucks, i got 60GB, ~3GHz, ~1200MB ram, 16" screen, internal 802 wireless LAN card, a removable CD burner and a smoking anti-virus package....
 
Silver

Silver

find me a tampon
Jul 20, 2002
10,840
1
Orange County, CA
IBM laptops are pricey, but they are also reliable and well built bricks (which is a good thing.)

The no Sony thing is a personal one, I've had to do too much work on too many of those to recommend them. I think out of the 6 or 7 Sony laptops I've had to use or help someone with, I was happy with one of them. I've also had some...interesting experiences with Sony's tech support.

As far as portablility goes, you are going to give up a ton if you head down that route. From ports to external drives, I'm not sure if the smaller laptop is worth it if you need any kind of performance (if you're just typing documents or surfing the internet, a smaller laptop should be fine.)

Also, if battery life in important, the Centrino laptops are an eye opener. Battery life on them is very nice.
 
BoyBoy

BoyBoy

Monkey
Apr 17, 2003
123
0
washington DC
I just dropped mine six feet to a concrete floor. the drive fell out and flew across the room. everything still works. that's a brick. just the other day, my friend fell on ice and landed *on top* of it while carrying a 30lb book bag. still works, perfectly.

I am no computer geek, so i don't know about motherboards or brands, but this computer has really impressed me.

anyway.... just my 2 cents. back to work....

in the end, it's only a computer, and anything is gonna work just fine...
 
Repack

Repack

Turbo Monkey
Nov 29, 2001
1,889
0
Boston Area
Originally posted by Silver
Windows laptop?

Toshiba or IBM. Dell as a third choice. Stay away from Sony, far far away.
Click to expand...
My brother got a Toshiba and never has had any issues with it. He had assumed he'd end up getting a Dell b/c our dad loves them, but then compared features and price and the Toshiba came out WAY on top.
 
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