[vox] Looking at Laptops

[ME]

zeruch@damagestudios.com said:
> On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Marianne Waage wrote:
>> - IBMs are solid little bricks. They last the longest of all the laptops
>>   we have. Tad more expensive, but if you're hard on your laptop, it's
>>   worth it.

eruch@damagestudios.com said:
> Absoluetly.  After I went to the thinkpad series, I have never looked back
> (the 701cs, the 570, and now a T20)

Count me "in" as a "me too" for Dell Latitude and IBM ThinkPad series. I
own both, and no problems with overheating, no problems working with Linux
(Except the Dell has a WinModem not presently supported under LinModem.)

There is great advantage in going with a "big company" like Dell or IBM:
Even when Dell or IBM stops making parts (like batteries) there will
always be more third parties making parts too. The greater the number of
laptops sold (particular model) the greater the post purchase
upgrade/parts demand for the same model. With enough demand, you can get
competition among third parties to get lower prices.

This is especially important with batteries. After 1-2 years (and a few
occasions of complete discharge) the battery life will be only a fraction
of the original capacity in keeping your laptop running. (My Thinkpad 560
gave me 2-3 hours of battery life when it was new, but 8 years later, I am
lucky to get 15 minutes of life on the same battery. A new battery works
for 2-3 hours - just like when it was new.)

GET AN EXTENDED WARRANTEE!

I cannot stress the above enough. I paid $350 for an extra 5 year
warrantee through a third party beyond the 1 year offered by IBM to keep
my laptop covered. After 4 years of service, I had a problem with the
display (lines across half the top would appear and partially obscure the
top half of the screen - an intermittant short.) To diagnose this problems
(it was actually the ribbon from the MB to the screen) they replaced the
Motherboard, and then replaced the screen before it was fixed. Either part
would have cost more than the laptop when it was new.

Of course my IBM is no longer covered, but it is still working, and I
still use it daily.

As for my Dell, it is less than 1 year old. No problems, and it worked
with Linux. I even play RtCW on it with the NVidia driver loaded (3d
accelleration support.)

-ME