Anyone using a laptop or notebook?

[Torsten]

Hi, I know that some of you are using a notebook or a laptop. Could you please share your experiences -- anything you might find helpful for somebody who is planning to purchase a laptop too. For example, what brand are you using, what screen and specs does your machine have, how often do you use your notebook and where, what do you do with it, etc.

As for me, I'm thinking of getting an Asus laptop because I want to be able to connect to the forum when I travel.

Thanks,
Torsten
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[Stew.t.]

Hi Torsten

I have been through a few laptops myself. I would avoid Sony as the recovery disks are not available in multiple lingos but also Asus does not have a good rep.
Dell are good if you have the money.
I have a Toshiba L20 Satellite, Inter (R) Celeron (R) M, processor 140 GHz , 448 MB RAM, 15 " Inch screen and DVD Burner. WLAN included.
I have be more than satisfied with this laptop, use it frequently for complex processes and some high graphic games. I use the gadget loads and have so far not been let down.

check out www.cyberport.de a good local on-line shop in Dresden.
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[Torsten]

Hi Stew,

Many thanks for sharing your experiences with me. What do you think is wrong with Asus? I'm asking because the hardware shop we have been with since early 2003 prefer this brand and these guys have proven to be pretty professional.
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[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

I also had never heard of Asus before, so I can't say anything at all about that brand.

I have some experience with laptops, but I've never bought a new one -- they've all been several years old before my fingers ever danced across their keyboards.

My "antique" laptop is a Toshiba Portege 3110. It originally came with Windows 95 and upgrading to Win 98 was a nightmare. But, I finally managed a semi-satisfactory upgrade (installation). The simple fact that this 12-year-old laptop still works says something about the quality, in my opinion. This particular laptop is called a "sub-notebook". It's quite compact and easy to carry but the screen is only 10 inches and viewing web pages on that size screen is not pleasant. Also, basics such as the floppy drive and CD drive are external attachments, so that means if you want to have those capabilities when you're traveling, you have to carry all sorts of extra things with you. This basically eliminates any advantage in the "extra small" size of the laptop itself.

The laptop I'm using right now is a 4-year-old IBM Thinkpad (with Win 2000). The screen (TFT) is a much better size (15 inches) and more than adequate for internet use (or any kind of use). All basics are built in. There is even a microphone built in, so I can use Skype (for example) without having to attach a separate microphone. The screen has developed four odd looking "white spots" -- which may be a "standard" problem for this model. However, they don't bother me at all.

I also always use a mouse with my laptops.

I'd recommend trying a used laptop before you invest in a brand new one. Get used to it first, find out what you yourself like and don't like, etc. I would look for one that has a 14 or 15 inch screen, is only a few years old, isn't too heavy (not more than 3 kilos), has plenty of GBs and has a good battery life. If you're planning to lug it with you on vacation, make sure you can easily upload your digital pics.

Just my two cents.
Amy

[Stew.t.]

Hi Torsten

Hardware shops may have an invested interest. I personally consulted two IT dudes, both working outside of the consumer field. Both swear by Toshiba even though one works for IBM. Asus is relatively new on the market and is still a question mark. Toshiba has been around for awhile and therefore is a name you can trust. They get very good write ups. The choice is yours but I would not invest in such an expensive gadget on a question mark. The cash cow or a market longstay is my recommendation.
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[Torsten]

[Torsten]

[Jamie (K)]

[Jamie (K)]

I gave up completely on Windows laptops last year when I got rid of my old Windows 95 machine. The reason is the many, many hours I've had to spend on a friend's Windows XP laptop killing viruses, searching and deleting spyware, getting rid of browser hijackers, "optimizing the browser" (why doesn't it already come optimized?), shutting off useless programs that Windows automatically starts up in the background and that slow down the machine (aka "degunking" Windows), and other time-wasters. Another friend -- who is actually a Windows expert -- can't get one of his computers running correctly at all now because of such problems.

So when I needed a new laptop I got a MacBook. My desktop machine is already a Mac, and I seldom have any compatibility problems with the PC world. If I ever need to run a PC-only program (which is rare), I can do it in Windows emulation.

[Stew.t.]

Hi Jamie

Thks for the correction Jamie, I guess my wordplay was wasted. I can?t get out of the Blackadder wordplay thingy.

I wish I could afford a Macbook but my Toshiba does the job.

Torsten both Mac and Toshiba come with a 17 inch variation. So guess it is a question of dough.

As for windows yes you do have to debug and get rid of all that annoying stuff. But I have found that using Antivir and Mozilla browser as well as Zone labs firewall plus registry fix means my beast runs faster and better than before.

Also it is worth getting rid of all those pesky automatic updates and doing things manually. I now put time aside at about 3 o?clock every Sunday or second Sunday to do all the laptop first aid stuff (Updates, registry fix and defrags) .
I guess it is a case of finding a system that works for you. This does it for me and I am able to run complex games like Oblivion on my laptop with no real problems.
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[Torsten]

Hi Stew,

After your and Amy's messages I have looked into Toshiba and the Satellite P100-487 looks quite intriguing. I want a machine with an English keyboard and an English version of the operating system (probably Vista). I've emailed the guys over at notebook-station.de to see what they can do. Earlier this week I had already called Dell to ask whether they could sell me machine with an English keyboard and they said it were no problem because every notebook gets manufactured in Ireland only after it has been ordered. (I'm talking about orders from Europe).

Stew, how often do you use a WLAN connection?
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[Stew.t.]

Hi Torsten

I use WLAN at least once a day, as I often play on-line Poker and other stuff. It works fine. My provider is 02. They are a little expensive but at 16,000 kbits it is a good connection.
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[Jamie (K)]

[Ralf]

hi torsten

i use a 2 year old toshiba and are more than happy with it. most of the time i use it when travelling or between lessons in hotspot cafes. it does the job perfectly for internet, word and excel applications. it's got an 1,3 ghz celeron, 512 mb ram and 40gb hdd.

i talked to a colleage (alexander, it dep. ibs) and he said he'd suggest getting a new one. he said you should get a new machine with an athlon turion x2 double prcocessor. in his opinion, java engines will require more and more processor capacity in future so it's also a wise call for internet users to invest in a laptop with a better processor and 1 gb ram. just try loading map24 graphics, it takes ages on old machines. he also said at ibs they're using asus laptops coz their quality is close to toshiba but affordable. you get such a machine for 800. hp was another recommendation. he said avoid siemens...

greetings from boring nordhausen!

cheers

ralf
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[Englishuser]

Hi Ralf,