[AT] OT - Laptop recommendations

[Henry Miller]

On Sunday 25 June 2006 14:24, msm10301 at juno.com wrote:
> I've been thinking about sidelining our desktop and switching to a laptop
> instead. Ideally, I would like to install a wireless router so that my wife
> and I are not tied to the desk if we want to surf the web or read email. My
> question is, what type should I be looking for, and what features are
> important? I know very little about the chip sets used in laptops, and how
> they compare with the ones used in desktops. Here's what I would need the
> laptop to do. Internet and email (wireless), Microsoft Office applications,
> digital camera storage. Our desktop is a PIII 1GZ and it works just fine
> for what we do. Any thoughts with regards to brands/features would be
> appreciated. Thanks,

Do remember this is personal opinion in many ways.   Nobody will condemn you 
to hell for picking the wrong choice.   

Good choice.   I love a laptop with wireless networking, and I'm not happy 
about being back in the desktop land.  (The screen on my laptop is dead, it 
works fine with an external monitor)

I don't think you can go wrong with one of the new macs.    Great quality, 
great price (for the quality, they cost a lot more if you compare to junk)   
If you get a Intel based one you can you will probably be able to run any 
Microsoft Windows program you need.   (keep an eye on www.winehq.com and 
http://www.codeweavers.com/ - they have not released anything for the mac 
yet, but they have the plenty of experience in with Windows apps under linux 
and have plans for Mac, though who knows if anything will come of it)   I 
wouldn't consider anything else if it could meet my needs.

If you buy a mac you don't need to read on.   

Atheros wireless chipsets are the best IMHO, but only because they have good 
drivers for linux, which isn't a concern of yours (at least not today, which 
is why I bring it up as if you want to hand this off to someone else in a few 
years they may care).  So I would ask you to prefer this chipset for wireless 
if you have a choice, but most often you don't, and it doesn't really matter.   
I know of no other factor in wireless chipsets worth thinking of.

AMD and Intel make most of the CPUs (there are a few other companies that do 
as well, but you are unlikely to see them).  They are like Fords and Chevy's, 
some people like one, some the other, but there isn't much difference in the 
real world.     The only thing to watch out for it make sure you get 
something with mobile  chips - desktop chips are cheaper, so you will find 
them in low end systems, then you get burns on your lap when you try to use 
the system.   In Intel's case you should get the mobile processors even in a 
desktop because their mobile CPUs run circles around their desktop systems.    
AMDs desktop chips are about as good as their mobiles for laptop use.

I'm serious about the burn issue.    Make sure you test anything you get, on 
your lap when you have shorts on, and try to do something that uses a lot of 
CPU power while you do.   (some games are good for this.    otherwise I have 
no idea how to test this, as most programs don't need much CPU)   You may end 
up returning a model because it is too hot to use!

Dead pixels are an issue, make sure you look the screen over carefully first.  
This is sometimes an issue even though they know nobody wants dead pixels.  

As for the rest, it depends on what you want.   You can get some cheap laptops 
that are very fast.   Generally you get what you pay for, but the guts are 
essentially the same on every laptop.    (in fact there are only about 6 
companies in the world that make laptops, everything you see is made by one 
of them with only trivial differences).   Batteries life and the quality of 
the case are about the only thing that differs between different models.

If you want a laptop that you can safely run over with your tractor, you have 
one choice: the Panasonic toughbook.  (these are also very expensive and 
cheap laptops run circles around them in just about every other way)  It 
won't survive everything, but I don't think you can do any accident that will 
hurt one.   I've seen some that had 10 years of abuse and they look brand 
new.  Panasonic doesn't sell them to retailers so tracking one down can be 
hard, but I always mention them because there are a tiny number of people who 
need a machine that can take abuse.

I like the build quality of thinkpads, and so far the Chinese have not screwed 
them up (at least from what I can tell, time will tell).  They also have the 
best keyboards and pointing devices - but this is clearly my opinion and a 
lot of people hate the feel.  However they are still expensive.    I've been 
on the edge of buying one for a month now.  (As a linux guy the mac laptops 
don't work for me.)