OK - Short background: I do with the &#^%@*! micros what kurt does with photos (since well before IBM mainstreamed the PC in '82) - 'cept nobody sees my grunt level stuff (unless it's busted ;-) ). This, just so you have frame of reference for the following:
1st - be sure you absolutely, positively want/need a notebook. Why?
- you get much better bang for the buck on a desktop - 2x or better.
- you simply cannot buy the same horsepower in a notebook as in a desktop.
- all notebooks (excluding the MilSpec variety) are inherently fragile. Drop it, man-handle it, bang it around, drop stuff on or in it, and it will cease functioning or become psycotic.
- re the above, module level repair on a notebook is a diminishing returns exercise.
So, you still want a notebook? I agree with JB, more or less, on the IBM equipment - pretty good, but very pricey - though their stuff busts too. I don't agree on the Toshiba stuff - my personal experience with (literally hundreds of) them was not particularly pleasant. Compaq (notebooks) aren't too bad, but not my first choice [I'd elaborate, but this is already too long]. 1st choice, all factors considered, today (could change in 12-18 mo), is Dell - both notebooks and desktops. Was Gateway 6-7 years ago (desktops) - 'til they went to h*** in a handbasket, and IBM for notebooks ('cause theirs were the only ones that didn't crap out every time you turned around then).
Some axioms:
- All tech support sux - period - even the kind we in corp land pay large mills for. Gotta wait on hold and/or nav phone menus forever. Gotta weedle your way past 1st & 2nd tier support weenies (the kind that tell you to format your drive) to 3rd tier that might actually know something.
- Aim to buy at about 75% of the available top end for desktops. Notebooks closer to 50%. That's the bang-for-the-buck sweet spot. Go higher only if you have money to burn and you're a performance junkie.
- Don't cheap out on processor, memory, or display (in that order). Except for a notebook (where you're stuck with the display). Skip movies or dinner out for 2-3 weeks if need be - it's that important.
- Buy a P4 processor, not Celeron [AMD on a desktop can be a better bang for the buck]. Nothing less than 512MB of memory for WinXP - 1GB works much better.
- Just about anything that is going to go wrong with a machine (hardware) will do so within the 1st 18 mo. and 80% of that in the first 3-6.
- Assume a 4 yr max lifetime for a (Windows) notebook. Maybe nurse another couple of years out of a desktop if you're patient. Longer with Linux on a desktop but you really need to be a technoid for that.
- Lithium Ion battery in a notebook - more legs than NiMh. That will probably change again in 18 mo or so.
- Make friends with a technoid (who lives nearby - no substitute for hands-on) - but don't wear him/her out. Remember, if they actually know what they're doing, you're getting $100-$150/hr worth of help for free.
- Don't buy a printer from Dell (or Compaq, etc.). I bought an HP 6210 (multifunction) at SAM's Club last fall for about $265. It'll probably last a good 5-6 years like my last HP.
- Treat your machine like your daughter, in terms of what you install on it.
Here's a Dell (notebook) that fits your price profile ($1201 less tax & shipping):
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Inspiron 2200:
Intel? Pentium? M Processor 725 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/400 MHz FSB)
OS: Microsoft? Windows? XP Home Edition
2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support
LCD Panel: 15.0in XGA Display
Memory: 768MB Shared DDR SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
Hard Drive: 60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
Combo/DVD+RW Drives: 24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Wireless Networking Card: FREE! Dell 1370 Internal Wireless (802.11b/g, 54Mbps)
Primary Battery: 8-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (65 WHr)
Office Productivity Software: No productivity suite- Corel WordPerfect word processor only
Security Software: No Security Subscription
Network Card: Integrated Network Card
Modem: Internal 56K Modem
Carrying Cases: Dell Nylon Carrying Case
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Add MS Office (basic) for about $150, home biz ver (adds PowerPoint and Publisher [ick!] for around $90 more. Buy McAfee AV and Firewall (skip all the privacy, anti-spam, b******t - why is a tangent) before you do anything else - especially connect to the internet. If you use SBC or cable provider for internet, use the firewall S/W they provide for free [SBC uses McAfee] and only buy the AV. BestBuy is probably as good (price) as anybody, but shop around - you'll maybe catch a sale. Download FireFox (
www.mozilla.org) and only use InternetExploder for d***fool non-spec web sites when you absolutely have to. Use adaware and/or spybot to sweep your machine periodically for spyware / adware. Use gaim for "chat" if you do that sort of thing. Don't use the wireless built into the Dell notebook - it's crap. If you need wireless, ask. Other software, same - if I haven't fooled with it or another pro I know hasn't - likely since there's too much of it for anybody to be expert with even a fraction of everything - somebody on the board probably has.
Bang for the buck dept - I bought a Dell last fall - 17" flat panel, 1GB of mem, same disk, and twice the processor as the notebook (above) and faster internals - $839 delivered to my doorstep... and the old ('97 vintage) Dell is still humming along in the basement as a Linux server. Zero tech calls.
Whew - I'm done.
PS - You can get into a Latitude - maybe a 110L (the D410 only has a 12" display), better machine, but your gonna pay another $100 or so, apples to apples. Check out the price on the D810 for fun ...
). Push the processer as far up the scale as you can afford, 2GB memory, XP Pro.
