I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions for laptops, cheap places to buy one, etc. I just finished a Trilogy contract using a Toshiba Satellite, and to be honest, it sucked. Also, I was a W-2 through a different company, so I have to return it at some point. I bought my wife a VAIO, and it's cute--- but I have a bill rate to uphold. I'm thinking of just getting a Thinkpad. Any suggestions? Good places to buy one? Do any of you work at Trilogy? If so, you'll know the specs for that ridiculous software. ------------------ "At one of these governors' conferences, George [W. Bush] turns to me and says: 'What are they talking about?' I said: 'I don't know.' He said: 'You don't know anything, do you?' And I said: 'Not one thing.' [Bush] said: 'Neither do I.' And we kind of high-fived." --Republican Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico shares a verbal exchange that took place between he and George W. Bush. (Quote is from the Los Angeles Times, 5/31/00) Dubyah Speaks
Isn't that thing an e-commerce/e-business/merchant thingamabob? Anyway... last year I went to bid.com and got really lucky on a laptop. I got a new Toshiba Tecra 8000 for about $1600 through their auction. The lowest price I could find on the 'Net for it was $3500+ at the time. Also at the time, it was their top-of-the-line laptop. It was a Sunday night and nobody was bidding it up for whatever reason. I'm still using it and love it. You may want to try sites like ubid.com or bid.com. If you're not into auctioned items (I wasn't at first, either), you should try a search engine like shopper.com or pricewatch.com. I like Thinkpads, but from what I had seen, they're overpriced. ------------------ Just shut up and post
Achebe, I'm not going to recommend brands to you but here is my experience as a "road warrior" when it comes to hauling a laptop. Thin is not necessarily best I currently have an ultra thin Thinkpad - great for slipping into my briefcase, but the floppy and CD are external. To make it worse, the CD requires external power! Definitely get one that has the CD/floppy built in, hot-swappable at the very least. DVD DVD is a big bonus for me - I get stuck in remote locations quite often, so being able to pack a few DVDs and watch a movie is pure luxury. You will have to pay a premium, though. An added bonus is a laptop with S-Video out - then you can stream laptop video to your TV. Battery life is everything Depending on your intended use, battery life is what makes or breaks a laptop. If you have to fly coast to coast or internationally, you want more than 2 hours of life. My Thinkpad dies after about 2 hours - thats about 1/10 of the journey to Lagos and 20th of the trip to Australia Last time I checked, Lithium Ion batteries were the the latest and greatest, giving you 6 hours plus. Screen You do not want a "dualscan" or "DSTN" These are the ones that you can't see unless you are directly in front. Pay the extra and get a good screen - it is worth it. You probably already know most of this, but hope some of it helps anyway. ------------------ Current Rocket's Salary & Contract Info [This message has been edited by davo (edited August 10, 2000).]
The Compaq Armada is one of the highest rated Laptops in the business. I use one at work and to take home and it is fantastic. A little heavier than some of the smaller versions, it has fabulous battery life and a great screen. I'd consider looking at one of those. On I-45 near Greenspoint mall there is a Compaq outlet store. They sometimes get good stuff there. Check it out. What they have in stock depends on what the manufacturer had lying around. ------------------ Doink! [This message has been edited by Supermac34 (edited August 10, 2000).]
I despise compaq desktops because they are so proprietary, but all laptops are that way. I've been way impressed with my compaq laptop too. Even though I'm an MCSE, I'm no big fan of Microsoft. I just support their products because everyone uses them. That being said, I absolutely love Windows 2000 on my compaq laptop. It came preloaded with NT, and I F-disked it and put on Win2K. It is extremely user friendly to install, and I haven't had one crash yet. Definitely get an active matrix display, and davo is right about DVD; it's a boon to be able to watch a movie on your laptop in either a plane or a hotel room--you won't regret paying extra for that. ------------------ stop posting my damn signature
I worked in technology for 3+ years and I can tell you with 100% guarantee that Compaq is probably the worst laptop for the money. Just bump them a little and a key off the keyboard will pop off. Also, IBM Thinkpads are very, very nice. But, they are very delicate and Davo is right about the external 3.5 drive. This is the one I presently have. Whatever you do, NEVER buy a Digital anything. They are so bad...if I tell you the horror stories, you would die laughing. The best laptop in my opinion and the one we now use exclusively is Dell. Those machines are indestructable. Also, they are extremely easy to maintain, upgrade and replace with Dells great customer service. Also, Toshiba is an excellent machine. If you could, Achebe, get a used Dell at their site or get one that is 366mhz, 64mb ram and a hard drive about 6 or 7 gigs. You really don't need more than that if you just want mobility. Also, follow Davo's advice on the Lithium. They last longest and are easy to dispose after they are no good. I don't know if I would recommend DVD because the price to use ratio is very low. How many times will you really need to watch a movie unless you are on a plane all the time? Also, DVD will suck your battery up quick. A 24x CD-Rom is a good choice. This machine(366mhz, 64mb ram, 24x CDROM)should set you up for a good 2 years if you upgrade the ram to its max(should be 288). Shouldn't cost that much also. Hope that helps. ------------------ I Want To Thank God For Making Me A Rocketfan [This message has been edited by Almu (edited August 11, 2000).]
Well, for an opposing opinion, I work for Compaq, and believe that our Armada line of laptops are great. My dad has always used a toshiba, and my fiance's dad uses a Thinkpad, and I like all of our laptops much more. Large screen face, and most are pretty thin and lightweight. Armada E500 is a good one, M700 are the nicest ones. Check out Compaq.com for some specs and prices. ------------------ He who stands for nothing will fall for anything.
Well, I'd consider buying a Compaq if I needed a laptop, if that makes you feel any better, Gideon. ------------------ HoustonSportsBoard.com
I have a Dell Inspiron and I love it! I highly recomend Dell but Compaq would be my second choice. I know a lot of people who have had trouble with IBM laptops. Those are my thoughts.
