6/27/2006 2:27:08 AM

I've had so many bad experiences with Dell laptops that I really couldn't recommend them. We switched from a Dell laptop standard at work to a ThinkPad standard and our experience has been much much better. The reason Dells are cheap is because they use cheap, low quality components that are more likely to and do fail more often.

As for the topic, the decision comes down to whether or not you think you'll actually use OS X. If not, you're paying a big premium on Apple hardware if you're going to end up running Windows anyway. Personally, I'd stick with the T60. This review says it all:

Quote :

"http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1933653,00.asp BOTTOM LINE Once again, the ThinkPad continues its winning streak of Editors' Choices for business notebooks, this time with the Lenovo ThinkPad T60. It's an expensive system, but the Intel Core Duo processor, built-in EV-DO, and long battery life justify the price."

[Edited on June 27, 2006 at 5:06 AM. Reason : link]

6/27/2006 5:06:00 AM

^ and the education pricing makes the comparitively high price less of a point of contention.

6/27/2006 8:25:52 PM

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=416725

ok, so i was looking at the macbook line but decided i didn't want to buy a first gen laptop, nor is the iLife software valuable enough to me to pay that little bit extra

then i was looking at the dell e1405/e1505 but didn't really like the look or focus on multimedia experience

so now i'm looking at the lenovo 3000 n100
http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/notebooks/3000/n-series/index.html
looks good without looking too funky, comparable pricepoint to dell, lenovo is a quality manufacturer, got good reviews

any other suggestions?

7/5/2006 9:04:27 AM

you know.

i'd let the REV A HARDWARE excuse pass if this was the 1980s

and laptops had just been invented.



but its fucking 2006.

Folks, apple included, have been making laptops for a decade or more.



I mean look at this shit:

OMG ITS FIRST REV HOW WOULD WE KNOW A LAPTOP NEEDS COOLING!!?!?!!1

or

OMG WE"VE BEEN MAKING PRETTY LAPTOPS FOR A WHILE NOW, WE KNOW WHAT WORKS, BUT LETS CHANGE IT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS ANYWAY!

7/5/2006 10:32:34 AM

you know.

your rant would make a lot of sense if only folks were actually making laptops without screwing up all the time. despite their decades of experience, they still manage to get a few things wrong the first time or two around.

but that does remind me that the n100 is new too, not that it matters, i've already changed my mind again and am looking at the dell d620

7/5/2006 11:07:42 AM

I do think that due to the "premium price" that Apple customers are more apt to complain about hardware for more "nit-picky" reasons than customers of other brands. There is nothing wrong with that, because if you pay more you also buy the right to complain more if you see fit.

Having said that, I couldn't resist posting the "spectacular exploding Dell!":

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=32550

At work I have had a run-in with a few of these bad batteries and power adaptors. Some of the power adaptors would get hot and literally sizzle. (needless to say it didn't get used again.)

[Edited on July 5, 2006 at 1:26 PM. Reason : rurl]

7/5/2006 1:26:34 PM

man i wish i saw some crazy ass shit like that

for some reason the windows based stuff i get always seems to work

7/5/2006 1:36:04 PM

i will counter your dell laptop fire with an ibook fire

http://wcco.com/consumer/local_story_148150249.html

its battery problems anyhow. like the magic expanding macbook pro batteries

also
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2006/3/17/3229

more liek mag-not-so-safe


my point here being that blaming rev a is dumb. there isn't a big enough jump from the old to the new to justify the problems. they're just poor quality controls.

7/5/2006 1:38:37 PM

Seems like the T60 is the logical choice, since it doesn't explode or have overheating or battery issues...

Oh, that link with the burning macbook is somewhat suspect to me. I mean seriouly who sees their laptop burning and says "ooh, let's take it outside but keep the cord attatched and let it burn while we take photos!" But yeah, other than that mac's always seem to have some massive battery recall.

[Edited on July 5, 2006 at 6:20 PM. Reason : ]

7/5/2006 6:16:04 PM

Quote :

"But yeah, other than that mac's always seem to have some massive battery recall."

Not nearly a Mac-only problem:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=laptop+battery+recall&btnG=Google+Search

7/5/2006 6:34:06 PM

Should have bought an Acer.

7/5/2006 7:01:58 PM

^^ Heh, alright, an "all major laptop manufacturers except IBM/lenovo" problem. Not saying they don't ever have battery problems, as Li-Ion cells are notoriously defect plagued.

7/5/2006 8:24:17 PM

i was *this* close to buying a black macbook the other day....


glad I didn't....


integrated graphics

7/6/2006 8:13:20 PM