The Cellar - View Single Post

vsp · 01-02-2004, 01:59 PM

After talking it over with my better half, it seems that we _both_ would have fun with a laptop. It'd basically be a portable entertainment machine -- MP3s, arcade and console emulators, old games like Ultima and NetHack and Angband, maybe a DVD-ROM drive for movies, nothing particularly excruciating on the processor. (About the most intense emulator I'd imagine wanting is Visual Boy Advance, which wants around a 500mhz minimum. I'll save Visual Pinball for my home PC.)

So if I wanted to get my hands on a laptop with...
* moderate processor speed (I'm guessing around 500-600mhz, maybe less if I can get away with it)
* a CD-ROM drive at minimum, no burner required, perhaps a DVD-ROM drive
* at least 4-5 gigs of HD space
* modem/ethernet not essential; I don't picture myself connecting to anything in particular
* preinstalled Windows would be nice, but not vital, as I can put 98SE on it
* gotta be able to hook a "real" mouse to it
* IMPORTANT: A battery with a halfway-decent charge time (preferably at least a couple of hours, as we travel three hours to/from Williamsport quite a bit) -- that means Lithium-Ion, as far as I know

...what would such a beast tend to go for these days, and from whom should I try to acquire one?

(I'd prefer a direct-retail solution over eBay/mail-order, one where I can drive it back personally and bang it on the desk if there's something wrong with it, but I'm open to suggestions.)

01-02-2004, 01:59 PM	#1
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	Laptop fu, round 2 After talking it over with my better half, it seems that we _both_ would have fun with a laptop. It'd basically be a portable entertainment machine -- MP3s, arcade and console emulators, old games like Ultima and NetHack and Angband, maybe a DVD-ROM drive for movies, nothing particularly excruciating on the processor. (About the most intense emulator I'd imagine wanting is Visual Boy Advance, which wants around a 500mhz minimum. I'll save Visual Pinball for my home PC.) So if I wanted to get my hands on a laptop with... * moderate processor speed (I'm guessing around 500-600mhz, maybe less if I can get away with it) * a CD-ROM drive at minimum, no burner required, perhaps a DVD-ROM drive * at least 4-5 gigs of HD space * modem/ethernet not essential; I don't picture myself connecting to anything in particular * preinstalled Windows would be nice, but not vital, as I can put 98SE on it * gotta be able to hook a "real" mouse to it * IMPORTANT: A battery with a halfway-decent charge time (preferably at least a couple of hours, as we travel three hours to/from Williamsport quite a bit) -- that means Lithium-Ion, as far as I know ...what would such a beast tend to go for these days, and from whom should I try to acquire one? (I'd prefer a direct-retail solution over eBay/mail-order, one where I can drive it back personally and bang it on the desk if there's something wrong with it, but I'm open to suggestions.)