# So, where did Lauren walk in and buy a HP 4gb notebook w/ a 17" monitor for $699? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 28, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135 "2009-03-28T23:54:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/101 "2009-04-03T13:10:54Z")
> [@Amblydoper](#): > > One last thing. **Zeriel** , in a laptop, I think size and weight (and therefore, design efficiency) trump the convenience of repair. You may be biased, considering your profession. People care about how heavy the thing is, and how much room its gonna take inside their bags, and don’t give a crap about how easy it is for you to fix. I’m biased both ways–not only am I the screwdriver guy once the warranty’s out, but I’m also a big enough guy that I don’t really notice the difference between a 9.5lb. HP and a 7lb. Mac in my shoulder bag. =P ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/102 "2009-04-03T14:16:32Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > I’m biased both ways–not only am I the screwdriver guy once the warranty’s out, but I’m also a big enough guy that I don’t really notice the difference between a 9.5lb. HP and a 7lb. Mac in my shoulder bag. =P Which 9.5lb HP would that be? The one linked on the first page is 7.8 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/103 "2009-04-03T14:31:29Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Which 9.5lb HP would that be? The one linked on the first page is 7.8 lbs. Oh. That’d be the one I had in 2006, which model number I forget, but it was a 17" original Core Duo with a freakishly huge battery. I see the equivalent model of today (the HP Compaq 8710p) is down to 7.55 lbs, although mine had a 12-cell battery so that probably accounted for most of the weight difference. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/104 "2009-04-03T15:23:28Z")
> [@Amblydoper](#): > > My inner fanboy hopes that Apple will respond with products to satisfy a larger audience, but I think they are too stuck in their ways to change. Speaking of Apple being stuck in their ways I’m curious as to why Apple’s ~$3000 flagship laptop doesn’t have a numeric keypad. It’s not like the real estate is insufficient. I’m sure their vaunted design team can come up with a solution. Sure, I’ve made do without keypads in the past, but it’s pretty much standard now on 17"+ laptops. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/105 "2009-04-03T15:54:05Z")
> [@mack](#): > > Speaking of Apple being stuck in their ways I’m curious as to why Apple’s ~$3000 flagship laptop doesn’t have a numeric keypad. It’s not like the real estate is insufficient. I’m sure their vaunted design team can come up with a solution. Sure, I’ve made do without keypads in the past, but it’s pretty much standard now on 17"+ laptops. Y’know, now that you point it out, that is odd. My guess is that some of the vertical thinness is because they don’t have the extra PCB/membrane switches for that and can cram a few more cable/air ducts in that space on either side of the keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/106 "2009-04-04T21:13:08Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I tried to find a pirate copy of Office a while back and I gave up. Every site had warnings of viruses in the comments. I know Office can be pirated if you’re determined but it’s Russian roulette with your computer. Word on the street is “the Bay” “blue letter edition”. I wouldn’t be surprised though if Microsoft was going spreading fake virus reports on the torrent sites. If I was in their place I know I would. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/107 "2009-04-05T03:41:16Z")
I think I used to find viruses in just about every pirate torrent I got back in the day. It’s mostly part of the territory (and mostly in the installers/keygens). ---
**Author:** ![hobscrk777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/108 "2009-04-05T13:47:42Z")
Oh shit. Microsoft just fanned the flames by releasing the [second installment](http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/04/microsofts-second-laptop-hunters-commercial-giampaulo-buys-an/) of this series of ads. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/109 "2009-04-05T14:48:30Z")
> [@Amblydoper](#): > > So, this ad, and possibly the others in the series to come, will just target the vast majority of shoppers that want a product that Apple doesn’t sell. Smart strategy, Microsoft. Actually, it is a smart strategy. Because while Apple doesn’t sell sub-$1,000 laptops, they do sell a lot of laptops to incoming college kids. I vaguely remember Apple themselves touting themselves as the most popular laptop on college campuses recently. Just because they don’t compete on price doesn’t mean they don’t compete for the same market. And Microsoft is showing that you can get a lot more computer for a much better price by going with a Windows-based PC. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/110 "2009-04-05T14:54:12Z")
Now I’m just amused because I suggested the HP HDX series upthread. =P ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/111 "2009-04-06T15:26:54Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Actually, it is a smart strategy. Because while Apple doesn’t sell sub-$1,000 laptops, they do sell a lot of laptops to incoming college kids. I vaguely remember Apple themselves touting themselves as the most popular laptop on college campuses recently. > > Just because they don’t compete on price doesn’t mean they don’t compete for the same market. And Microsoft is showing that you can get a lot more computer for a much better price by going with a Windows-based PC. I wasn’t being sarcastic, actually. although, now that I read my post, it comes off that way. ☹ I agree with you completely. The second ad is not as interesting. The thing that jumps out at me is that he was looking for portability, and he ends up with a 1.7 inch thick, 7.1 lb, 17" laptop. The thickest MacBook is 1.08 inches, and they all weigh between 3 and 6.6 lbs. That’s one of the features that make them “so sexy,” Giampaolo. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/112 "2009-04-06T15:47:17Z")
> [@Amblydoper](#): > > I wasn’t being sarcastic, actually. although, now that I read my post, it comes off that way. ☹ I agree with you completely. > > The second ad is not as interesting. The thing that jumps out at me is that he was looking for portability, and he ends up with a 1.7 inch thick, 7.1 lb, 17" laptop. The thickest MacBook is 1.08 inches, and they all weigh between 3 and 6.6 lbs. That’s one of the features that make them “so sexy,” Giampaolo. No one who’s looking for “portability” gets a 17" laptop, period, unless they grew up with older laptops and anything under 10 lbs is “portable”. (Personally, I’m in the latter category. My wife’s in the former, which is why she has a Dell Mini-9–now THAT’S portable.) ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/113 "2009-04-06T17:29:53Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > No one who’s looking for “portability” gets a 17" laptop… Agreed. That’s why I bought a 13". It works for what I need it for: hauling it around in my backpack. I could go fr something lighter, but the textbook-sized form factor is just right. > [@Zeriel](#): > > …Dell Mini-9–now THAT’S portable. Wow, that thing is small! I’d be worried about my [fat fingers mashing the keyboard](http://www.slipperybrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/dellmini9-ars.jpg). Looks handy, though! ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/114 "2009-04-06T17:36:08Z")
My wife was looking at a MacBook Air but they still haven’t worked out the heating problems with that small a form factor yet, at least judging by the demo models at the Apple Store. I wouldn’t mind seeing Mac come out with something like the Mini9 though, with an Intel Atom processor and 9" screen, because the biggest problem with the Mini9 is that it is ugly as sin (but the trade paperback form factor is just right). ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/115 "2009-04-06T17:50:12Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > No one who’s looking for “portability” gets a 17" laptop, period, unless they grew up with older laptops and anything under 10 lbs is “portable”. (Personally, I’m in the latter category. My wife’s in the former, which is why she has a Dell Mini-9–now THAT’S portable.) Well, the HP 17" is portable in the sense that it’s easy to carry to & from the car. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/116 "2009-04-07T22:56:20Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Just because they don’t compete on price doesn’t mean they don’t compete for the same market. And Microsoft is showing that you can get a lot more computer for a much better price by going with a Windows-based PC. More along those lines, from (an editorial in) _[Newsweek](http://www.newsweek.com/id/192459)_: > [@](#): > > In February, U.S. retail sales of Windows PCs grew 22 percent, measured in units, while sales of Macs dropped 16 percent, according to researcher NPD. Apple unit sales have been dropping since October, while unit sales of Windows PC have been growing over the same period, NPD says. Much of the growth comes from “netbooks”—those tiny, low-cost notebooks that are all the rage now. Most run Windows. Apple, so far, has refused to make one, though it’s rumored to have one in the works. Instead, in January the company rolled out that 17-inch laptop with a $2,800 price tag. Mac-chic – another casualty of the poor economy, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/117 "2009-04-07T23:21:33Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > More along those lines, from (an editorial in) _[Newsweek](http://www.newsweek.com/id/192459)_: > > Mac-chic – another casualty of the poor economy, I suppose. I read that this afternoon, fantastic article and covers almost all of the points we did in this thread about how Apple just doesn’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/118 "2009-04-08T00:25:37Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think the bottom line is that Macs are BMWs and PCs are Toyotas. I think a more appropriate analogy is that: Macs are BMWs. PCs are BMW internals (drivetrain, platform, suspension, etc) clad in Kia body paneling and Kia cabin interiors, for Toyota pricing. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/119 "2009-04-09T04:48:39Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I read that this afternoon, fantastic article and covers almost all of the points we did in this thread about how Apple just doesn’t get it. One thing about that article that raised my eyebrows… when talking about Windows 7 the writer states: > [@](#): > > The user interface has a slick new feature, a “taskbar” at the bottom that shows what apps you have open. Uh… :looks at bottom of screen:… hasn’t this “taskbar” thing been around since '95? ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135/120 "2009-04-09T12:51:32Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > One thing about that article that raised my eyebrows… when talking about Windows 7 the writer states: > > Uh… :looks at bottom of screen:… hasn’t this “taskbar” thing been around since '95? The one in Windows 7 is actually pretty seriously redesigned in terms of functionality, maybe that’s what they were trying to convey. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-did-lauren-walk-in-and-buy-a-hp-4gb-notebook-w-a-17-monitor-for-699/491135.md?page=7)