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What notebook computer would you buy?

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reggieandTFE

Member
Hey now, starting this fall I'm going to be working as an organizer for the AFL-CIO and will be travelling quite a bit. Due to this I'll be needing a newer, more portable computation device and was wondering if anybody had any recommendations or insights into the current laptop market considering my ignorance.

The most important points for me are a small size, low power drain, and a DVD drive.

Also, since I've been out of the loop, are there any decent tablet/notebook hybrids out there?

If someone finds me a good deal or recommends me something that I buy, I'll send you a GBA game that I haven't played in a while (edit: Super Puzzle Fighter II or Megaman and Bass). I'm not joking.
 
D

drohne

hyperbolically metafictive
i use a powerbook g4 myself and love it, but it isn't particularly small or light. i guess there are smaller ones now. i bought a dell notebook for my mom several months back, and i'm really impressed with the portability of that one. i think it's called the latitude x300...it weighs around 3 pounds, and iirc cost2 ~$1500. if i was buying a laptop that i'd carry around a lot, i'd probably import one of the super-tiny sony models, but that might be a bit esoteric for your needs.
 
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Shogmaster

Member
If you are going to spend that much money, instead of dicking around with a pretty notebook with outdated innards such as current G4 powebooks, get a notebook of tomorrow:

toshiba_m200.jpg


http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/pr/download/flash/Portege_M200_product_tour/intro.html
 
R

RevenantKioku

PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
You can run the power thing all day long, but the reason I have and love my iBook is stability.
Here's the list of problems I've had with it:
 
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Shogmaster

Member
RevenantKioku said:
You can run the power thing all day long, but the reason I have and love my iBook is stability.
Here's the list of problems I've had with it:
Click to expand...

This is 2004. Stability is pretty much given these days in both sides of the camp.

There still are a few small exceptions though, like iBook mobo problems (a.k.a. mozaic of death). ;)
 
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RevenantKioku

PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
Everything has problems, to be sure. But by the words of my friends with recently (gasp, 2004!) purchased notebooks (non apple) I think I'll stick to my iBook for a while.
Let me just put it upfront right now that I'm not going to argue with you about any of this from this point on. I really don't care.
 
J

Jim Bowie

Member
-1 powerbook
+1 iBook

The iBook, in this case, would be better. It's much cheaper, and the only differences are graphics card (32 instead of 64), RAM (256 instead of 512, but it's upgradable), and a Combo drive instead of a Superdrive. But were you looking to BURN DVDs? If so, Powerbook all the way.
 
O

Ollie Pooch

In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
dunno which ones have the best battery life, but i'm pretty happy with my toshiba a30 :p with a battery life of only 2 hours.. .haha

i'm pretty sure the tecras are better for battery..but go toshiba !
 
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Shogmaster

Member
julls said:
dunno which ones have the best battery life, but i'm pretty happy with my toshiba a30 :p with a battery life of only 2 hours.. .haha

i'm pretty sure the tecras are better for battery..but go toshiba !
Click to expand...

It's not about Tecra vs. Portege. It's all about the processor. I bet your a30 is a P4 machine. These days, it's Banias/Dothan or forget it for me.

Pentium M. Ask it for by name!
 
O

Ollie Pooch

In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Shogmaster said:
It's not about Tecra vs. Portege. It's all about the processor. I bet your a30 is a P4 machine. These days, it's Banias/Dothan or forget it for me.

Pentium M. Ask it for by name!
Click to expand...

yessum - it's a P4 - couldn't afford the pentium m / centrino (?) ones :(

oh well - this one does the job :D
 
D

DaveH

Member
XMonkey said:
Thinkpad T40/41/42
Click to expand...

Quoted for TRUTH.

X Series if size is a real issue, but T Series is plenty portable. You will almost always see Thinkpads as an Editor's Choice or in their Top 5. The only complaints are typically that they're expensive and business geared machines... in every other category they shine.
 
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Shogmaster

Member
DaveH said:
Quoted for TRUTH.

X Series if size is a real issue, but T Series is plenty portable. You will almost always see Thinkpads as an Editor's Choice or in their Top 5. The only complaints are typically that they're expensive and business geared machines... in every other category they shine.
Click to expand...

Dude, you should be ashamed for charging full price for Play at your Comicon booth! Give aways mofo! Give-aways!

What's that got to do with Thinkpads? Ummm...... IBM will have a TabletPC out shortly. That is all!
 
W

Wellington

BAAAALLLINNN'
maharg said:
-1 PowerBook
+1 Pentium M laptop
Click to expand...

+1 Maharg
+1 Dell Inspiron 600m

When I pay off the cash that I owe for certain other items, I will be picking one of those up.

My reasoning? I wanted to go with an iBook myself, but shit, I visit GAF, I'm a gamer. There's bound to be some point in the not too distant future where I will want mobile PC gaming, which Apple notebooks won't be able to provide. The iBook is pretty sweet though.

And Pentium M based processor far outclass a lot of desktop CPUs.
 
R

reggieandTFE

Member
Reply | Quote

Cerebral Palsy's Avatar

#4
Originally Posted by reggieandTFE:
The most important points for me are a small size, low power drain, and a DVD drive.


12" Powerbook
Click to expand...

A lot of Powerbook love in here I see and I would definitely go in that direction except I've used a PC my whole life and have a couple gigs of Word, SPSS and other obscure stat programs, pdf documents and thousands of JPEGs, etc. Is it possible to transfer files? If so, how much of a pain in the ass is it?

If you are going to spend that much money, instead of dicking around with a pretty notebook with outdated innards such as current G4 powebooks, get a notebook of tomorrow:



http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/con...tour/intro.html
Click to expand...

That looks amazing and I do like the tablet features but the cheapest I saw it was a bit over $2300. I'm looking to spend around $2000, but I would rather get a notebook for $1500 and buy a 40-gig iPod so I don't have to lug my CD's around with me.

XMonkey
Junior Member
(Today, 06:28 AM)
Reply | Quote


Thinkpad T40/41/42
Click to expand...

This may look like my best bet right now. However, I haven't bought an IBM product since a desktop from 10 years ago that frizzled out. How is their quality and durability nowadays?
 
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