New Laptop

[DucksNuts]

I'm getting a new laptop...anything I should be getting in particular?

I will just be using it for pics, surfing and a bit of work (not a lot)...but mainly just as wireless play thing at home.

[Rexmons]

as far as brands go here's my top picks in order from best to worst:

Alienware, Lenovo Thinkpad, Panasonic Toughbook, HP, Toshiba, Dell, Sony Vaio.

I've worked for both Panasonic's and Sony's laptop division. Feel free to chime in with any other questions you may have.

[Clodfobble]

I got a Dell Inspiron 1501 a couple of months ago, and I absolutely love it. I guess I haven't had it long enough for any real problems to surface, but I haven't had any, for what that's worth.

[DucksNuts]

I had a Vaio and it was the biggest piece of pus! I'm totally off all Sony products actually.

I've had nothing but luck with Dell, (not notebooks, but desktops).

A friend of mine just bought a Asus?

Will check out the brands, and get back to you with some questions.

I've been playing in the Dell site and when I go through the *customise* section....I keep getting up over $2k...but I really like that I can get one in red!!

[mbpark]

I've owned 4 of these and a Powerbook.

If you want it to last a long time, get one of these. My Pentium 150MMX ThinkPad with Windows 98 and 48MB RAM is still kicking.

Panasonic is also a very good brand. If it's good enough for the Army (the Toughbooks are used heavily in Iraq), it'll put up with your damage. The only 2 laptop brands that are used over there in the desert that I have heard of are Panasonic and Apple. Everything else doesn't last as long.

The brands to avoid are:

Sony (crap build quality),
Gateway (can't get their firmware right to save their lives, and change from the Intel reference designs ever so slightly as to make using good qualified drivers nearly impossible),
Acer (poor build quality and lots of crapware),
Compaq (low-end HP and it shows),
HP consumer-level (rebadged Compaq, and that's NOT good - plus too much crapware to make the PC really usable. HP corporate is the exact opposite!),
Apple Macbook (too many problems with build quality),
Averatec (poor build quality and crap keyboards),
Toshiba (too much proprietary firmware and management software that doesn't work right, poor power management, and clunky build quality).

The brands I'd recommend are:
Lenovo Thinkpad (the gold standard for a reason),
Dell (unlike Gateway, they are really good about firmware and patches),
HP corporate-level (built like tanks and will last you a long time).
Apple MacBook Pro (unlike the MacBook, very high quality),
Panasonic (not well known in the US, and very high quality. They're not called Toughbook for nothing),
Itronix (the other brand of laptop you get if you work in construction).

Thanks,

Mitch

[Telefunken]

I have the HP dv6308nr and once I got Ubuntu 7.04 installed, I was a happy man.

[TheMercenary]

I am on my third Dell Laptop. I have had no problems whatsoever. I try to buy the most for my money each time, I think I usually end up spending around $3000 for them. I have the Inspiron 8000 now.

[theotherguy]

In my hands-on IT days, I always preferred Dell computers. However, I had a high level of Dell support due to the amount of hardware I purchased. That may have made a difference.

I still like the Dell products, but I also have read some great reviews on Acer and Lenovo machines. I have never met anyone who did not like their ThinkPad. I also like the Macbook.

[Rexmons]

TOG, I used to always recomend Dell to all my friends and family who asked me what they should get, because not only were they cheap, but they were also reliable. But starting approximately a year ago I began noticing a major decline in the quality of their merchandise (keyboards were falling apart, DC-IN jacks were breaking off).Then I read an article a few months ago about how Canada was actually suing Dell because they said Dell knowingly was selling computers which had defective equipment in them. I rarely find the need to call the manufacturer for support, however I have had to call Dell on a few occassions for work related items or for friends and family (to get drivers, or product recovery cd's) and I can honestly say Dells tech support is the worst I have ever had to deal with.

[theotherguy]

Originally Posted by Rexmons

I can honestly say Dells tech support is the worst I have ever had to deal with.

I haven't had to deal with their tech support in years. It have have fallen off drastically.

[xoxoxoBruce]

It bothers me that walmart will be selling Dell's products. Is Dell big enough to keep walmart from fucking them up?

I've bought 6 desktops from them and had two problems. 1, they mailed a replacement monitor with a shipping label to return the bad one, and 2, they sent a guy from a local repair place to my house to replace a CD drive.

Mitch, aren't those laptops in Iraq mil spec... armored?

[Bullitt]

I think Dell won't let Walmart strong arm them around too much. Dell has become this successful through their online business that it seems like stepping into a storefront like Walmart is more like testing the waters. If it is the right temp. they could expand their presence in Walmart stores, become their exclusive computer source, or branch out to other store fronts. In any case, Dell seems robust enough to hold their own if it comes down to it and say sorry Wally, ya ain't workin our for us.. see ya.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Bullitt

I think Dell won't let Walmart strong arm them around too much. Dell has become this successful through their online business that it seems like stepping into a storefront like Walmart is more like testing the waters.

I don't think Dell has any choice but to go Wal-Mart big time and fast. Dell was doing so well, in part, because Dell computers had no sales tax. When Michael Dell relinquished control to a new management team, those idiots started doing kiosks. That meant that Dells had to charge sales tax in those states.

A price advantage for Dells is lost forever. So Dell must do something to compete with Circuit City, et al selling HPs as both Compaq and HP. That market segment is people who need to touch it and who need to be manipulated by a salesman. Since Dell must now charge sales tax, then they must make up for that market loss by going after the 'we need to see it' customers and people who buy on value.

Wal-Mart is a perfect opportunity for Dell. Now that even CompUSA is folding like a rock in water, computers become even more a commodity. Circuit City, et al overhead is too high. Dell's new hope is to sell computers on Wal-Mart’s lower overhead costs.

However after all the hype, I still don't see Dells in Wal-Mart’s. That implies a serious marketing fubar - not typical of Dell and not typical of an operation run by Michael Dell.

Compounding Dell's problem is that Michael Hurd of HP has 'dirt under his fingernails'. Hurd quickly undid a big mess created by Fiorina thereby making HP a worthy competitor. This is but a new phase in the computer business as computers are finally approaching the commodity that TVs have long become. Once a product arrives in Wal-Mart, Target, et al, then it is the ultimate in a commodity. Next step, third world nations take over the industry as has already happened to IBM's computer and disk drive businesses.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Speaking of sales tax, for a couple of years the state of PA waived sales tax on PCs, around back to school time. Anyone know if that's happening this year?

[yesman065]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Speaking of sales tax, for a couple of years the state of PA waived sales tax on PCs, around back to school time. Anyone know if that's happening this year?

My daughters just arrived today and Dell did NOT waive the tax so I shipped it to my moms in DE - hence avoiding the sales tax another way.

This is my third Dell. My office has about 10 - 12 of them - no real problems to report with any of them. One coworker recently bought an IBM and she has sent it back twice in 6 months - once for a battery and the other for a sticky shift key (Methinks her kids spilled soda on it)