laptops

[jeem]

i know there are countless threads on this but a> i'm lazy and b> the computer market is ever-changing so i'd like to be on the up and up

i've got around a thousand bucks to spend on a laptop to travel abroad this fall and i thought i'd come to twforums for recommendations

so, what do you think?

i've heard dell and sony are pretty good so i'm leaning towards those two but i'm open to anything

thanks

[DoTheFandango]

Go for Dell. As much as I despise the company, their products are cheaper and, for the most part, much better for the price. They also have really good warranties. So if your little sister somehow breaks the Spacebar off the keyboard, they will fix it within a week.

[Bioture]

Yeah dell's are cheapest for your money. But for a little more I'd invest in an ThinkPad. I traded my dell x300 in for a z60t, and the IBM quality is simply much better. I'm not sure about how IBM warranties and support is, but I had my previous thinkpad 600 series for 4 years after my dad used it for 3, and there was never anything wrong with the hardware.

I gave my Thinkpad 600 to my roomate who didn't have a comp after I got my z60t, and he's been using it for about a year now... still nothing wrong with it. That thinkpad is a warrior.

[Adman]

make sure you think abuot size and weight, because if you're travelling you don't want somethin so big and bulky and heavy. My sister has this massive toshiba thing, and she uses it as a laptop and it's fucking monstrous, i'm like "you're going to give yourself a hernia moving that shit around". Apparently it's a notebook not a laptop... sheesh.

[eehh]

dell doesnt have laptops. they are notebooks or something, designed to stand on a table. in other words, if you burn your dick (or it just gets really hot), you cant complain, since its not a laptop..

if i should buy one now, i would check out f simens and hp

[Mr. Peanuts]

but to keep it easier, lets keep referring to them as laptops.

[Jerome Scuggs]

the gateway m505 has a subwoofer and top-notch speakers, dunno if they still make them though, but it's what i've had for years, and i can actually listen to music on it without grinding my teeth at the poor sound quality. pretty nice specs, 1.8 gHz and 512 epxandable RAM, but only a 35 gig harddrive, meaning I am -constantly- moving old music to pave's massive desktop harddrive to make room for the new music. the coolest feature is it has a little music player on the left side, with a small screen. the HD has a 1 gig partition (i expanded mine to 4 because i like long playlists) where mp3's you put can then be played - when the computer is off. so you save battery because only the speakers, HD and interface operate. when hurricane katrina blew over, we lost power for a day, and my laptop playe music for 10-12 hours.

advice: spent 8-900, save that last 100 for a super warranty. the last time i sent in my laptop, the CD slot was missing, there were BB gun dents in the top of the case, the keyboard had pubes and food in it, and something that looked suspiciously like a dead insect was in the dialup modem reciever. absolutely none of it was covered under a standard warranty, but i sent it in, and they fixed it all (though i think they just put my HD in a new laptop and sent it back, an even better deal)

not sure if all laptop manufacturers have a catch-all warranty, but it's been the best thing since baked bread.

anyways, i bought the laptop detaile above years ago, i'm sure technology has gotten better since then, but to save even more money you could probably pick up a refurbished one from a dealer and still get the warranty

[jeem]

thanks homies

also, is there a way to transfer all my music files from my desktop to a laptop without burning cds? i have an ipod but i'm not sure if it's backwards compatible.

[Troll King]

Are you going to network the two computers?

[eehh]

thanks homies

also, is there a way to transfer all my music files from my desktop to a laptop without burning cds? i have an ipod but i'm not sure if it's backwards compatible.

burn dvds
network
external harddrive

[DangerGirl]

thanks homies

also, is there a way to transfer all my music files from my desktop to a laptop without burning cds? i have an ipod but i'm not sure if it's backwards compatible.

USB Flash drives are awesome, I'm picking this one up today I think. You just attach it to your keys and off you go.

I have a monstrous but powerful Toshiba right now as well, at 7.5lbs. I have a 4.2lb. Averatec on the way, thankfully. The new one is probably a piece of crap, but after lugging this bowling ball around for 3 years, I'm ready for something small and light.

I'm fixing to sell the Toshiba, if anybody is interested.

[Emaho]

Watch out for HP, thats my advice!

[geekbot]

thanks homies

also, is there a way to transfer all my music files from my desktop to a laptop without burning cds? i have an ipod but i'm not sure if it's backwards compatible.

What size ipod? If it's fairly big you can enable disk use. Drag your music folder onto the ipod, plug it in to your new computer, drag the folder to the new computer.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173

[jeem]

Are you going to network the two computers?

nope

What size ipod? If it's fairly big you can enable disk use. Drag your music folder onto the ipod, plug it in to your new computer, drag the folder to the new computer.

that's kinda tricky. i have two ipods - a mini and a 40gb. the problem is though my computer has stopped recognizing my 40gb for some odd reason (also why i'm getting a new computer) and won't update the files. i don't suppose it would be possible with a mini, would it?


p.s. thanks everybody

[404 Not Found]

Watch out for HP, thats my advice!

I have an HP Laptop. Had more problems with a Dell & IBM laptop than my HP. Mind you I do not like HP home desktop computers, but the ZD8000 is awesome. Not what I would call a real travel notebook. But it is portable...heavy and huge...but portable!

It's definately a powerhouse in the laptop world. I also like the 17" widescreen and 2 gigs of ram, not to mention the 2 video in/outputs for doing DVD editing. Has a great ATI video card in it.

This laptop is more of a desktop replacement as it is size and weight play a factor! Battery life is not the longest at 1.5 hrs. But the fact that it is still portable...works for me.

There are tons of long lasting battery life laptops out there, that are small and quick, but personally....I hate the micro keyboards on some and minimal screen sizes. Depends on what you will use it for, but the HP ZD8000 is awesome & I hate HP!