What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

Laptop choice -- advice needed

Kepler

Kepler

Cornell Big Red
I'm planning to enter the mid-1990's and replace my Computation Books with a laptop. In rough order of importance, the requirements are:

1. Not too heavy
2. Not too large
3. Keyboard not too tight, which is probably a contradiction of 2.
4. Long battery life

I'd use it mostly to write (pretty low CPU usage); internet connectivity is of little to no importance.

I'd appreciate any first hand impressions of laptops you've liked... or hated. Thank you in advance.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

In my experience...

~Dells are inconsistent in quality. One person may have one last 5 years and the next have the same model last a few months.

~HPs are OK, but really heavy on the marketing preloaded crap software.

~I've always had great luck with Sonys and everyone I know who has one likes it.

~Avoid IBMs at all costs.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

Alternately, there's the choice of an AlphaSmart Neo, bypassing all the overhead of a laptop and giving me (only) the ability to enter text. It's so dirt cheap as to probably just take a flyer on, but does anybody have experience with one?
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

moe24 said:
~I've always had great luck with Sonys and everyone I know who has one likes it.
Click to expand...

Hi, my name is goldy_331. Now that you know me, you can change that line. ;)

My work comp is a Sony Vaio and I do not like it. More for the fact it came loaded with Vista which does not play well with a number of software applications I use and the fact everything came pre-loaded with no back-up discs.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

goldy_331 said:
Hi, my name is goldy_331. Now that you know me, you can change that line. ;)

My work comp is a Sony Vaio and I do not like it. More for the fact it came loaded with Vista which does not play well with a number of software applications I use and the fact everything came pre-loaded with no back-up discs.
Click to expand...

It's pretty standard now to not ship laptops with physical back-up discs, it's easier for them to include a recovery partition on the hard-drive. If you want physical back-up discs, Sony includes a utility so that you can burn your own. The other problems you have are more with Vista than Vaio, and I believe any new Sony you ordered would ship with Windows 7. Also, if you order from Sony's site, you have the option of having it come with no pre-installed software, which was kind of nice.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

My current one is a Toshiba, and it's been good for the most part. Only problem was a hard drive failure after a year and a half. But after my previous laptop, a Gateway, that was just awful, the Toshiba seems pretty good. I'd suggest thinking about getting an external hard drive backup, so if you have a hard drive failure, you don't lose everything.

So, Toshiba is pretty decent, Gateway is junk.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

I suggest going computer less, they're just a fad. They'll never make one small enough for the home. They're just going to keep getting bigger and bigger.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

Never had a problem with any of the Dell Latitudes I've owned or used at work.

The latitude series was made for portability.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

I had a Latitude through college, it was great. Any other Dell has been horse**** in my experience.

Toshiba was fine, until we had to change the hard drive often enough it was considered a lemon. So, it wasn't fine actually. We could pick another computer that was in the same price range and have it for free, and my mother picked an Asus, which is working fine so far. I don't completely trust it yet.

When I have enough money to feel completely comfortable to buy a comp., I am probably making the switch from PC to Mac. Makes me sick, because I hate those stupid commercials with Justin Long.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

state of hockey said:
I had a Latitude through college, it was great. Any other Dell has been horse**** in my experience.

Toshiba was fine, until we had to change the hard drive often enough it was considered a lemon. So, it wasn't fine actually. We could pick another computer that was in the same price range and have it for free, and my mother picked an Asus, which is working fine so far. I don't completely trust it yet.

When I have enough money to feel completely comfortable to buy a comp., I am probably making the switch from PC to Mac. Makes me sick, because I hate those stupid commercials with Justin Long.
Click to expand...

Don't do it... Macs are like sirens: Look pretty until they sink your boat.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

moe24 said:
~Avoid IBMs at all costs.
Click to expand...
IBM laptops are generally sold for business applications. Lenovo (Lenova?) is the former IBM home use laptops.

From what I've heard recently, Asus laptops are supposed to be highly regarded now.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

I just bought an Asus. I really like it. I can actually type on the keyboard without mistakes (unlike every other *ing laptop out there), it's got a great value, and not heavy at all. I think not heavy. It's my first laptop.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

Brenthoven said:
I just bought an Asus. I really like it. I can actually type on the keyboard without mistakes (unlike every other *ing laptop out there), it's got a great value, and not heavy at all. I think not heavy. It's my first laptop.
Click to expand...

Good choice -- I have an IT friend that's recommended Asus for years.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

SteveP said:
Good choice -- I have an IT friend that's recommended Asus for years.
Click to expand...

Between you and Twitch and some other computer-coworkers, it is good advice so far.

The salesman just about wet himself when he saw me interested in one. It was like he was impressed that I knew what it was/etc.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

Brenthoven said:
Between you and Twitch and some other computer-coworkers, it is good advice so far.

The salesman just about wet himself when he saw me interested in one. It was like he was impressed that I knew what it was/etc.
Click to expand...

Or there's an incentive contest. ;)
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

Bought a Toshiba and, like others, the harddrive just locked up one day wouldn't even take power any more. Lost everything. Power supply went. Fan is about to go. It is about 2 years old. I'm done with Toshiba.

I have had Lenovo's at work and have an HP. Lenovo was the best of the two but the HP is OK.

My basic opinion is that all laptops will have something you don't like or have some sort of issue. Go look at the manufacturer's support web site and try to find something like driver updates. I do not like Toshiba's site at all. HP has been only ok and Dell has been the best.

I had also heard Asus was good. Glad to hear others are happy with them.
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

gopheritall said:
Bought a Toshiba and, like others, the harddrive just locked up one day wouldn't even take power any more. Lost everything. Power supply went. Fan is about to go. It is about 2 years old. I'm done with Toshiba.
Click to expand...

Had similar problems with a Toshiba I bought from Best Buy a few years back. In the 2 years I had it, the hard drive failed twice, cd/dvd drive failed once, and the power supply finally went at the end.

Luckily(?) I bought the extended warranty, so I got a replacement computer out of it due to their lemon policy. That took some serious arguing with the Geek Squad and their managers however. Plan I purchased said that after having to send it in for repairs 3 times, if it failed again, I'd get a replacement. They tried to tell me it had to be 3 times for the same problem, as that is what the new policy/plan was. I "politely" explained to them that I didn't give a rat's behind what the new policy said, the policy I purchased did not have that requirement. Talk to the manager, somebody brings up the crazy idea that they might be breaching a contract by not replacing my computer, and they agree to replace it.

I had a thin/light laptop, they tried to give me the biggest, heaviest clunker they had in the store saying it was the "closest in specs." Had to argue with them again about how the weight of the laptop was one of the "specs" that made me purchase it in the first place. After another 15 minutes of calm discussion, the manager threw his arms in the air and told them to let me pick a computer that cost up to what the previous one did and process it as an exchange. Sweet deal for me. :D

Long story short - don't buy a Toshiba, and certainly don't buy it from Best Buy, unless you enjoy arguing with the blue shirts. I actually had a pretty good time that day :)
 
Re: Laptop choice -- advice needed

St. Clown said:
IBM laptops are generally sold for business applications. Lenovo (Lenova?) is the former IBM home use laptops.
Click to expand...

There are no IBM laptops anymore. Or desktop computers. They sold the products lines to Lenovo (who already manufactured the Thinkpads for IBM. IBM sells servers and business services.

My organization (independent genetics research laboratory) used to use IBM for windows laptops, now they use Lenovo. I use a MacBook Pro though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top