If You were Going To Buy a Notebook Right Now...

[Danny]

Would it be Apple or a PC - If a PC what brand and model?

 

[twaddle]

That's way too open ended, DT. Are you looking for a computer or a stock tip?

I would probably buy one of these just for fun:

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

 

[Danny]

Thats cool and so small! I'm looking for a light weight travel book...

 

[chinaco]

The lowest priced name brand (higher tier product) at the time of purchase. I would not quibble over a few $ to switch from one brand to another... Today, that would likely mean somewhere in the $500 range. I would not get an extended warranty. When it failed, I would likely replace it. About the only thing I would replace would be a battery.

I have found that buying top of the line electronics (fastest, latest, etc) usually doesn't make sense unless you absolutely need it for a specific feature!

 

[ERD50]

It is too open ended - what are your needs/wants?

At any rate, check out the latest OS for Apple, to be released 10/26, before you decide.

Here's the 'guided tour'.


Apple - Mac OS X Leopard

Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features

Here's a handy feature in the Browser:

Resize at will.

Maybe the text field you’re typing in is a bit too small to read. Or maybe you just have a lot to say. Either way, Safari lets you resize text fields on any website, just by grabbing the corner of the field. Resize a field and the web page reflows to make room.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Middle level intel-based Mac iBook with the new operating system after October 26.

I couldn't be happier with mine. A little more expensive, but I believe a decent value long-term.

 

[Nords]

Thats cool and so small! I'm looking for a light weight travel book...

I bought my first laptop to see if I wanted to bother with lugging one around, I bought my second laptop because it does a better job than the first laptop in a smaller package, and the next excuse to buy a laptop will be a Mac.

When I went from a "full-size" Dell Latitude keyboard to an Inspiron "not-full-size" keyboard, I was surprised at how much more slowly I have to type. Not a lot of room for big hands on those smaller models.

 

[Janet H]

I'm a huge fan of lenovo (formerly ibm) laptops. They cost more, but are road worthy. The X series is small and powerful and has full size keyboards, but only barely. I agree with Nords about the tiny keyboards.

Whatever you pick, don't get the extended warranty. If it's going to fail it will fail in the first week of use.

 

[Danny]

Tempted by an Apple - but wonder if wi-fi for a mac when out and about is a problem - my present at home ISP doesn't support Mac! Also, how about software on Mac - more expensive/hard to get ?

 

[ERD50]

Tempted by an Apple - but wonder if wi-fi for a mac when out and about is a problem - my present at home ISP doesn't support Mac! Also, how about software on Mac - more expensive/hard to get ?

Wifi is a standard - Macs have no issues with it as far as I know. The iPhone has wifi, and it runs OSX - have not heard of issues.

Not sure what you mean by your 'ISP does not support macs'? Maybe they don't PROVIDE tech SUPPORT if no one is trained, but the internet is the internet - a Mac should work with the ISP. I never heard anyone say that they had to shop for a specific ISP with a Mac.

Software? What do you need? Haven't come across anything I needed that I couldn't get (action games could be a problem for some, but I'm not a shoot-em-up gamer). Also, the macs come with the full iLife suite - lots of good stuff included. And you can get MS Office for the Mac. Also, lots of good free open source stuff.

Here's a good place to start:

The Apple Store (U.S.) - Software
-ERD50

 

[saluki9]

I'm a huge fan of lenovo (formerly ibm) laptops. They cost more, but are road worthy. The X series is small and powerful and has full size keyboards, but only barely. I agree with Nords about the tiny keyboards.

Whatever you pick, don't get the extended warranty. If it's going to fail it will fail in the first week of use.

I'm also a huge fan of lenovo. My T-41 is still working great after 5 years.

Currently I have a X-60 that I take everywhere. At less that 4 pounds it's perfect for my briefcase and for travel. Also, I have pretty big hands and I can type without problems

 

[Danny]

I'm also a huge fan of lenovo. My T-41 is still working great after 5 years.

Currently I have a X-60 that I take everywhere. At less that 4 pounds it's perfect for my briefcase and for travel. Also, I have pretty big hands and I can type without problems

Thank you Janet & Saluki for reminding me of the ThinkPad - used to have one when I was telecommuting before ER in 2001...built like a brickhouse and heavy like one when IBM made them...looking at the X61 right now...3.5 lbs 1 inch thick...$1025

Lenovo

 

[saluki9]

Thank you Janet & Saluki for reminding me of the ThinkPad - used to have one when I was telecommuting before ER in 2001...built like a brickhouse and heavy like one when IBM made them...looking at the X61 right now...3.5 lbs 1 inch thick...$1025

Lenovo

I will tell you that the X series isn't as sturdy as the thinkpads of old. It's still made very well, but to conserve weight it doesn't have that super sturdy feel of old. The T60 which is a little bigger still does and it's a bit cheaper.

Both are great machines.

 

[waltwill8]

I'm on my eighth laptop, second since retiring. I had mostly Dell's when working, and went for the smallest, lightest because I often traveled. (Carryon only - go. go go.)
My current laptop is a nice large Acer.

Just as cheap as a Dell and really good technogeek support 10 miles away that don't charge for dumb questions and answer the phone right away.

I love the large bright screen, and the weight isn't as much of an issue since I only fly nowdays with she who must pack a huge bag and check it!

I can see myself eventually buying a nice big monitor depending on how much the prices drop (or how bad my eyesight gets)

I go wireless at home, but configure my network not to broadcast the SSID and have the encryption turned on for security. (lost my whole network recently due to a lightning strike, recently. If I had been wireless, I would probably have saved the computer and printer. The zap came in on the ethernet cable)

My computer guy carries Apple also, but why learn a new system if you don't have to?

 

[W2R]

I bought a Toshiba Satellite A135 laptop on sale from Office Depot about a month ago. It cost me $450 (after the rebates, which I have already received), and has everything I need. It has Vista, 1 GB RAM, 1.73 GHz, Dual Core Pentium Processor, 110 GB hard drive, WiFi capability built in, and so on.

I think a lot depends on what you need. I love my laptop for what it is. I think it weighs 6-7 pounds so it may not be right for you. The only beef that I have with Toshiba is that the software pre-installed on it isn't as good as what was on my Compaq that preceded it. All in all, that made little if any difference to me. I am the one and only person on the face of the planet who actually likes Windows Vista so that is fine with me.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Timely thread, DanTien. I propably will pop for my first laptop very soon; it will be my only home computer. Apple Leopard is my first choice but will wait to see how it goes for the first wave of buyers. Thanks for the link, ERD50, I'm looking into it and like the fact that there is an Apple store near me with lots of info and geeks who give classes there.

Also Apple is my idea of getting something that won't remind me of wo%k where we have windows and I'd be amused to say (as many of our clients do) "can you change that format, my Apple can't read it."

This is one area where I think cheaper may not be better so will pay Apple's price.

 

[Achiever51]

DH and I have HP laptops (HP Pavilion series); mine has 15.4" widescreen, decent sized keyboard and enough bells and whistles to keep me happy. His has 17" widescreen, bigger keyboard with separate number pad and same level of bells & whistles. As I do quite a bit of number crunching, I prefer the separate number pad...when I can wrestle it away from him, that is.

DD has a MacBook -- at first I questionned why Apples are more expensive. Now I know. She's had her laptop for five years now and is only now starting to think about a replacement. Never had a single problem with it -- no viruses, no "quirks". Much more user friendly (intuitive); and if you are into photos/videos, there's no comparison as far as ease of use. When she was living here, she had no problem at all linking to our wireless network -- unlike our HPs, which required numerous calls to tech support. As she travels a lot, she says she's never had a problem finding wi-fi either. (She's not had any problem either with opening/editing docs created in MS Word, even without any additional software.)

I'm thinking my next laptop will be an Apple.

 

[bssc]

I also have a ThinkPad from 2003. Still chugging along without any issues.

 

[kcowan]

I am shopping for a used laptop right now: 1gb RAM, 120gb disk 15.4" screen or 17', probably HP Pavillion. On Craigslist, several sellers are switching to iMacs. Those are the integrated desktops with the huge, bright, wide screen. A friend just got one and its is pretty. Apple shipped over 2.1 million Macs this quarter up 400k over any previous quarter and 34% ahead of last year.

(PS I am an AAPL shareholder but have not yet had one of their computers.)

 

[ERD50]

I am shopping for a used laptop right now: 1gb RAM, 120gb disk 15.4" screen or 17', probably HP Pavillion. On Craigslist, several sellers are switching to iMacs. Those are the integrated desktops with the huge, bright, wide screen. A friend just got one and its is pretty. Apple shipped over 2.1 million Macs this quarter up 400k over any previous quarter and 34% ahead of last year.

(PS I am an AAPL shareholder but have not yet had one of their computers.)

And the stock is up another $12 in after hours. This after rising $4 today.

What a ride from 'beleaguered computer maker'.

-ERD50

 

[CuppaJoe]

(She's not had any problem either with opening/editing docs created in MS Word, even without any additional software.)

Mac's cannot read WordPerfect documents. Some of us contrarians at work still use it. Is that a problem for some of you current Mac users? My WordPerfect system will easily convert to MS Word so I sent all documents in both versions.

 

[Achiever51]

DD has one editor who insists on using Word Perfect -- she asked him to save docs in MS Word before sending them to her...problem solved.

 

[martyb]

I bought a Toshiba Satellite A205-S4577 earlier this year for a thousand bucks at the Air Force BX (no sales tax). It's got a 15.4" widescreen, Pentium Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5300, 1 gig of DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB hard drive, DVD Super-Multi double layer, yada yada blah blah blah....I like the PC so far, don't care much for the Vista program that came with it. I prefer Windows XP. I've already had a problem with the Toshiba graphics program. It's working but I get some error messages and sometimes I have to re-load it. I'm thinking about getting something different, graphics-wise. It's a cool laptop, otherwise. I think it was a Consumer Reports Best-Buy.

 

[Janet H]

Mac's cannot read WordPerfect documents. Some of us contrarians at work still use it. Is that a problem for some of you current Mac users? My WordPerfect system will easily convert to MS Word so I sent all documents in both versions.

I love Wordperfect and am steadfastly refusing to go from WP 12 to X3 or whatever the newest version is called. Nice table editor, great graphics capabilities and total formatting control. Best of all I don't have to endure Bills version of the English language! (yes I know I can turn off the grammar checker in Word). S'pose Corels corp value will go up based on my recommendation? Naaa - guess not.

 

[spncity]

I have a Dell Latitude X1 - about 4 lbs. The CD/DVD burner is a peripheral that I rarely carry. Love the light weight.