[Gllug] shop with laptops

[Christopher Hunter]

On Sat, 2009-08-15 at 10:00 +0100, Shannon Carver wrote:
> I may be bucking the trend here, but the way I see it, you have three
> choices:
> - Apple, pricey, but guarantee quality and street cool, if that's what
> you care for. On and their multi touch pad is easily the best pointing
> device available that's not a mouse;

Agreed, but they're seriously over-priced, and their specifications are
very poor, pound for pound!

> - Dell, solid machines, and always the best bang for buck,
> specifically their XPS, Vostro and Studio range;

Unfortunately, Dell tend to buy the cheapest parts they can find, and
often change the specifications of their machines to fit whatever is
available.  Their reliability and mechanical integrity also leave a lot
to be desired, but they're relatively cheap.

> - Netbooks, get an EeePC or Dell mini or something

The Dell Mini is an underpowered joke (for the money they want).  The
only sensibly priced Netbook I've seen (and I now own a couple of them)
is the Acer Aspire One.  I got the Linux version - with their own
somewhat bizarre distro pre-installed - but a few minutes with a memory
stick, and I have them running Ubuntu Netbook Remix.  The variety I
bought came with 1 Gb of RAM and a 160 Gb hard drive, and cost £145 inc
VAT from Ebuyer.

> Nothing else compares. 

In my experience, the best conventional laptops at the moment are the
Lenovo mid-priced ones.  It's often possible to find them secondhand
(ex-corporate users) for a quarter of their original price, and often
less than a year old!

> If I have one more chump recommend me an overpriced, subpar quality,
> underspecced leather bound Sony, I'm going to scream.

I've had a few Vaio laptops over the years, and most of them were OK,
but expensive compared to other similarly specified machines.  A few
years ago, they had the "cool factor" now enjoyed by the Apples!

Chris


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