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Subject:Re: What notebook did you buy? From:Bryan Sherman <bsherm -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 13 Apr 2005 13:21:48 -0400
I am currently searching for a replacement myself. The answer is
definitely a "it depends". My current is a Vaio with a 16" screen. I
wanted lots of room for editing, didn't care about weight... now I
travel and I suddenly DO care. :-) It has been a great laptop, but the
weight has definitely become a factor.
So a key tradeoff is screen size versus weight. Having monitor in my
home office is great, and I debated going with a really small and
light laptop, but the screens are just too small, and I work enough
away from the office to make that unappealling.
I have it narrowed down to Dell and IBM. The IBMs have a good rep for
durability, and when you factor in the included 3-year warranty are
very competitive price wise. One of the companies I do work for used
to be a Dell shop, but have been moving away due to reliability
issues. Interesting experience here:
The story is actually, not that anti-dell. If you are going to travel
much and are concerned about durability, I would avoid the Inspiron
and go with the Lattitude line.
I am currently leaning towards the IBM Thinkpad T43, 15" screen at 5.7
lbs seems a good tradeoff for me. I have been looking at the 2687DDU
model that also has a 1400 x 1050 resolution.
Beyond resolution, you may also want to consider aspect ratio. The
widescreen displays are all the rage now. Great for watching DVDs on
the laptop, but I don't like them for editing work. Then again, if you
used them, they might come in handy showing apps side by side, so who
knows.
Good luck!
On 4/11/05, Amanda_Abelove -at- toyota -dot- com <Amanda_Abelove -at- toyota -dot- com> wrote:
>
> Hi--
>
> I need to get a new notebook. It will be my only computer, with backups
> to CDs. I will be running the usual techwriting software. I'd really
> like to hear from anyone who bought their own laptop to use as a
> contractor as to what laptop they bought and how it is working out. Right
> now I am contemplating the Dells.
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