Laptop Question

[Andrew Longman]

My laptop may be about to give up the ghost so I'm looking for some advice.

I need basic Office functions of Word, ppt and xls.

I need fast wireless internet connectivity

I want it to be fast and stay fast through its lifespan.

I'd like a decent screen that I am OK using for long periods

I want it to be durable

It doesn't need to be superlight, though I'd like to avoid the heaviest boat anchors

I do not want to watch video or games

I will not be running a ton of applications

I do not need especially amazing battery life.

Any ideas on how that translates to actual technical specs and equipment?

Thanks

[Sean Malone]

Diffinitly get a dual core processor.
Don't get a 16x9 widescreen monitor if you are going to be working on it. I love my laptop but hate the monitor for working.

Load it full of the fastest and most RAM it can handle. Durabilty? My Sony is very fragile as is my wifes HP.

[RichK]

My company has had bad luck with Microns & good luck with Dells.

This is being typed on a Micr..

[WickerBill]

Sean, you mean external monitor, I assume?

I think you want:

- Intel Core2Duo or AMD Turion X2 (do not get Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron)
- Minimum 2gb memory
- Windows XP Professional (upgrade to Vista when it becomes apparent that Vista no longer sucks)
- 802.11g wireless built-in (if it also has "draft 802.11n", that's cool)
- "Be fast and stay fast" -- set aside some time every week to run a full virus scan and every two weeks to run a full scan with both AdAware and SpyBot. Watch your running processes in Task Manager; note how many are running when you get your computer new. Keep it there.
- Durable: HP business series (nc class) or IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad.


The big thing you didn't say is what you want to spend.

[Andrew Longman]

The big thing you didn't say is what you want to spend.

Thanks WB, that's helping a lot.

As far as cost, I make my living with it so I so if I need to spend $1500+ then I will, but it also means that I won't spend a penny more than I need to.

The Dell site, for example has laptops as low as $450 sans Word, but is that going to drive me crazy? I'll check the specs against your suggestions.

Also, I'm seeing all the computers come with Vista. As I said, this is my livlihood and I am not willing to be an "early adoptor" of crap. Is it possible to buy a new computer with XP Professional instead of Vista?

[Insomniac]

I'd say get a Dell with a 5-yr Complete Care Warranty. It will add $300-400 to the price but you can do anything to it and they'll fix it. If you're only doing business apps, I'd say get a mid-range dual core and 2GB of RAM. Chances are you'll use Windows Vista through that 5 years. I have a 3 year old Dell with XP on it and I use it for that kind of stuff with no problem.

Ohhh, and the Vostro line doesn't have all the bundled crap so that'll save you the time of unistalling all of it and can get Windows XP.

[nissan gtp]

Apple iBook (yes you can get MS Office ... and new version is coming early next calendar year). Even run XP or Vista if you're a real masochist.

[WickerBill]

Yes it is -- make sure you're in the "Small Business" section of the Dell or HP websites. They both still offer XP Pro.

You'll get what you want around $1200 or so, I would think. Office will kill you however.

[SteveH]

If you're daring and want to save some money, try a recertified laptop
http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecdi/shop/showcaseb/default.asp?showcaseb=refurb&subshowcase=notebooks

I have no idea what the reliability is or warranty. Caveat emptor.

[Sean Malone]

Sean, you mean external monitor, I assume?




my laptop monitor actually. It's a Sony WideScreen and it blows for working on large Word and Excel docs. Scrolling hell.

[cameraman]

If you can avoid buying Office 2007 do so. It sucks beyond description, they moved everything, loaded it up with eye candy and automated it to the point where it is almost impossible to get it to do what you want rather than what Microsoft thinks you should want.:flame:

[cameraman]

my laptop monitor actually. It's a Sony WideScreen and it blows for working on large Word and Excel docs. Scrolling hell.
I don't understand the scrolling hell part. I have an Apple Powerbook (running XP Pro at the moment). The display is set for 1680 by 1050 and the video board is a Radeon X1600. I have absolutely no problems moving about word file or excel sheets. It is a damn sight quicker than scrolling in Excel running in emulation when running as a mac. The Intel native OS X version of Office can't be released soon enough:irked:

[Andrew Longman]

If you can avoid buying Office 2007 do so. It sucks beyond description, they moved everything, loaded it up with eye candy and automated it to the point where it is almost impossible to get it to do what you want rather than what Microsoft thinks you should want.:flame:

No crap. I got a "free" computer for my kids from a friend's business who was upgrading. It was w/o Office and I bought 07. They've now gone from hiding a bunch of useful stuff under the "Start" button to hiding more useful stuff under an unlabeled button that doesn't even look like a button.

[IlliniRacer]

If you can avoid buying Office 2007 do so. It sucks beyond description, they moved everything, loaded it up with eye candy and automated it to the point where it is almost impossible to get it to do what you want rather than what Microsoft thinks you should want.:flame:

Agreed. Go with OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/)

[WickerBill]

Word and Excel 2007 are pretty bad. Outlook 2007 is nice. I agree, if you can find a copy of Office Standard 2003 online somewhere, buy it and be very happy.

OpenOffice is fine for sending docs and files to consumers of those files. If you're collaborating with a home office or work with quite a few customers who use Word, spend the couple hundred so you don't have to fart around. It comes down to this: does your hatred of Microsoft run so deep you're willing to invest your most precious resource -- time -- in making another product do some obscure function that your client who uses Excel 2003 wants you to do with it?

[cameraman]

Agreed. Go with OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/)

Can't. Far too many Excel spreadsheets don't function properly in OpenOffice.

[nrc]

OpenOffice is fine for sending docs and files to consumers of those files. If you're collaborating with a home office or work with quite a few customers who use Word, spend the couple hundred so you don't have to fart around. It comes down to this: does your hatred of Microsoft run so deep you're willing to invest your most precious resource -- time -- in making another product do some obscure function that your client who uses Excel 2003 wants you to do with it?I'm sure that Microsoft's commitment to open document standards will soon make this problem a thing of the past. :p

I see that IBM has joined the quest to slay Microsoft's cash cow with a free version of Lotus Symphony (http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/home.jspa).

[oddlycalm]

if you can find a copy of Office Standard 2003 online somewhere, buy it and be very happy. Good advice, but better yet use your kid's student ID for something for your own personal self and buy the academic version for a lot less. I just bought Office Pro 2003 academic for $179.

oc

[Sean Malone]

I don't understand the scrolling hell part. I have an Apple Powerbook (running XP Pro at the moment). The display is set for 1680 by 1050 and the video board is a Radeon X1600. I have absolutely no problems moving about word file or excel sheets. It is a damn sight quicker than scrolling in Excel running in emulation when running as a mac. The Intel native OS X version of Office can't be released soon enough:irked:

The comment is regarding width and how it affects real estate rather than horsepower.

[Hard Driver]

Dell Inspiron 1420.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2150797,00.asp

[WickerBill]

I haven't commented on Dell laptops because my experience has been poor, but has only been with two of them. I have a great deal more experience with HP models and Thinkpads.

[Sean Malone]

My wife has the HP Pavillion dv6000. It has all the bells and whistles, dual core, 2 gig RAM (that I put in), built web cam, DVD burner with Lightscribe lots' o ports and Vista Home for just under a grand.

It feels cheap though to me but looks pretty slick.

[Insomniac]

The comment is regarding width and how it affects real estate rather than horsepower.

But you have to look at the total resolution to determine your real estate. I agree if you are losing a lot of height to gain width it will most likely be a pain. Say going from 1280x1024 to 1280x800. If you can go from 1024x768 to 1280x800 then it's better.

[Andrew Longman]

How about this?

http://laptopmag.com/Review/Acer-TravelMate-6291-6753.htm

I can get it for about $950 sans Office

[Insomniac]

How about this?

http://laptopmag.com/Review/Acer-TravelMate-6291-6753.htm

I can get it for about $950 sans Office

The screen is only 12". You may want to go to a store and play around with one to see if that will be a problem.

[Spicoli]

pfc rec's the Velocity brand to me last year and I am 100000000% satisfied. Great support, Americans :gomer: people on the phone, cool products....etc etc etc...

http://www.velocitymicro.com/category.php?cid=3

[Ankf00]

my turn!

the HD on my HP laptop burnt out, the manual says 70mm HD width == 2.74" so it's a 2.5" most likely, says ATA 5 connection though, would ATA 6 be compatible with that?

[Insomniac]

my turn!

the HD on my HP laptop burnt out, the manual says 70mm HD width == 2.74" so it's a 2.5" most likely, says ATA 5 connection though, would ATA 6 be compatible with that?

It's backwards compliant.

[Ankf00]

thanks.

also, any way to circumvent my windows password for adminstrator mode? I dont think I ever set it, and if I did, I don't remember...

[Insomniac]

thanks.

also, any way to circumvent my windows password for adminstrator mode? I dont think I ever set it, and if I did, I don't remember...

If you want to do it yourself: http://ebcd.pcministry.com/

Or someone else can do it with: http://www.loginrecovery.com/

There are other do-it-yourself and commercial services. I've used the EBCD personally and it worked.

[Ankf00]

thanks again, final Q.

Western Digital, Hitachi, Fujitsu, or Samsung? all same rpm, capacity, cache, price, etc...

[Sean Malone]

thanks again, final Q.

Western Digital, Hitachi, Fujitsu, or Samsung? all same rpm, capacity, cache, price, etc...

Uh, which ever one's bigger.;)

[Insomniac]

thanks again, final Q.

Western Digital, Hitachi, Fujitsu, or Samsung? all same rpm, capacity, cache, price, etc...

Get whatever. For many of us, we have one fail and stay away from that brand and curse the company for a while. No real reason, they are generally manufactured to outlive the machine.

[Ankf00]

Uh, which ever one's bigger.;)
when'd you start watching NASCAR? :gomer:


Get whatever. For many of us, we have one fail and stay away from that brand and curse the company for a while. No real reason, they are generally manufactured to outlive the machine.
cool.

[chop456]

Got a Thinkpad T61 from work. First new one ever. Replaces a 7 year-old VAIO. :gomer: Vista business. :\

[Sean Malone]

when'd you start watching NASCAR? :gomer:


cool.

Since O'Gorman told me too. :(

[Ankf00]

got the new HD popped in, windows finally installed after a few "no storage device detected" error messages, pos mfr. thanks for the help insomniac.

put the old HD in an external case, seems to be working so far so my old pics and music are not lost, w00t. windows says "hi-speed USB device plugged into non hi-speed port," I'm assuming that's a USB 2.0 vs. 1.1 thing?

scratch that, can read folders, no files, boo, hiss.

[Insomniac]

got the new HD popped in, windows finally installed after a few "no storage device detected" error messages, pos mfr. thanks for the help insomniac.

put the old HD in an external case, seems to be working so far so my old pics and music are not lost, w00t. windows says "hi-speed USB device plugged into non hi-speed port," I'm assuming that's a USB 2.0 vs. 1.1 thing?

scratch that, can read folders, no files, boo, hiss.

That's an odd problem. You can browse folders but not see files. All of your folders, but none of your files? I wonder if the FAT was damaged?

[Ankf00]

can see the thumbnails for a few pics in one folder, but 90% of the mp3s and .jpgs aren't showing up. The ones I can see I couldn't write to the new HDD. And the external case w/ the old HDD shows up as "read only volume" apparently. The disk definitely had some kind of mechanical failure, because depending on the angle the disk was at relative to the ground (before I switched it out of the laptop) windows and programs would function properly or stall.

[Insomniac]

can see the thumbnails for a few pics in one folder, but 90% of the mp3s and .jpgs aren't showing up. The ones I can see I couldn't write to the new HDD. And the external case w/ the old HDD shows up as "read only volume" apparently. The disk definitely had some kind of mechanical failure, because depending on the angle the disk was at relative to the ground (before I switched it out of the laptop) windows and programs would function properly or stall.

Interesting. Guess you can play with it's position. Some people have been known to freeze hard drives and get them to work for a few minutes until they heat up.

[JLMannin]

Interesting. Guess you can play with it's position. Some people have been known to freeze hard drives and get them to work for a few minutes until they heat up.

Is liquid nitrogen electrically conductive?

:D

Just kidding:p

[Insomniac]

Is liquid nitrogen electrically conductive?

:D

Just kidding:p

Cooking Oil Isn't:

pb4UumU6ee0

[cameraman]

Cooking Oil Isn't:

Give it a week or two, bacteria do conduct electricity...

[extramundane]

Cooking Oil Isn't:

What about likker (http://metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/whiskypc/index_eng)? :gomer:

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6707/16working3ga5.jpg