As background, I’m leaving my job of these last 15 years to start a new company. A big part of the job will be demonstrations of software to prospective clients. So I’ll need a decent laptop with a nice viewable screen. I’ve got one now that is okay, but it belongs to my current employer and they’ll likely want it back when we part ways.
So, what would you recommend? What would you stay away from? I’ll want to be economical but not necessarily cheap (best value for money vs least expensive).
I’m also going to set up a Domino Server and link the laptop to it. This is because the software we’re marketing will run on Lotus v5 or higher and is targeted at medium to larger companies. So you can try and talk me into small servers, networks, etc, as well. All answers, even smart-alecky ones, are welcome.
Wait for Fathers Day to come around, there should be some great sales on them then. xpbargains.com & techbargains.com have the latest deals on them if you want to look.
Make sure you see the thing running before you part with the cash; my current laptop has a processor that is rather overspecified for the casing and it needs lots of cooling - the damn thing sounds like a hairdryer all the time and even then it sometimes crashes because of temperature spikes.
If I bought a laptop now, it would be a Mac. I don’t know if this is an option for you, but Apple’s hardware is better than pretty much any PC offering. From what I’ve seen, the mechanical engineering is more refined, and the quality of the hardware is higher. I happen to think that OS X and Apple’s new music store are two of the sexiest things in computing today, but I’m a bit odd that way.
On the flip side, you’d pay about a 10%-20% premium for a Mac. There’s a more limited software library available, and what there is usually comes out later. On top of that, you’d probably have to replace all the applications you need, rather than transferring them to the new computer. I don’t know your situation, and really can’t make a recommendation. I just think you should consider an Apple.
It depends on your needs. First, what software will you need to run? What kind of requirements do these programs have? Second, do you have easy access to a wall outlet? If not, you want one with a long battery life. Third, weight. Do you lug it around all the time, or will it sit in your car for the most part? Forth, price. How much could you afford to pay?
If there are no issues at hand other than the “nice, viewable” screen you mentioned, then a Gateway or Dell might be nice. They make some large-screened varieties. Stay away from IBM. I have had an IBM laptop for three years…hate the damn thing. Gateway’s and Dell’s are not too pricey, but can be very heavy, and kinda thick.
What Winsling said, except wait until after MacWorld. New Macs, possibly including PowerBooks from the outset, will be sporting 64 bit IBM PPC 970 chips with some serious MIPS.
The next revision of MacOS X is to be a 64-bit version. We’re talking a 64-bit Unix with commercial software and a damn good GUI here, with the ability to emulate (on those fast little chips) the Intel PC platform (Win 95/98/ME/NT/2K/XP, also PC versions of Linux).
Ars Technica describes the chip strategy as “wide and deep” although in keeping with its PowerPC roots the emphasis is still on wide. A big instruction maw and a fast front end to feed it.
And since it’s a Mac you could still be using it 5 years later with satisfaction. As I am with this circa 1998 “WallStreet” PowerBook on which I’m typing now.
Well, if it the target population is overwhelmingly composed of PC users who are likely to remain PC users, I was impressed with the solidity of the components of the IBM laptops I’ve seen lately. Definitely built to last, and easy to get to the component parts. Nicest PC laptop I’ve seen in a long time. That and a good projector with VGA connector will go a long way.
Whats wrong with IBM? The general opinion is that IBM is the mercedes of laptops, grossly expensive and grossly over specificed but something that is built to last.
It depends on who these clients are. if their engineers, then I would recomend an IBM. If they are sales droids, I would say a sony or a toshiba. They are sexy and sleek. Possibly a Mac if you can run the software you need on it.
The most recent version of PC World has three new units reviewed that have six and seven hour battery life. These are pricey ($3500 range) but they have all kinds of power and would be worth it in my opinion. I’ve paid for my own laptops for the last few years and the most crucial thing has been battery life and functionality.
Buy the most bells and whistles you can afford. The more you can do, the more impressed your clients will be; and the less likely you will be to have a computer glitch bring your presentation to a screeching halt that leaves you looking incompetent. Laptops are not where you save money by buying light. It’s a pain, if not impossible to upgrade a laptop.
Toshiba has a great graphics card. Lots of designers and developers use Toshibas because of the graphics cards. I have a Toshiba Satellite 5105 S701 that I love–it has Harmon Kardon speakers, great graphics, tons of power and memory, a CD burner, and the keyboard is the best typing keyboard I’ve ever used. It’s great to be able to watch DVDs on, better than most TVs. The things I don’t like about it are the weight (7+ pounds) but it’s worth it because of all the other stuff I get, and it’s a total power sucker. Toshiba has dynamite customer support, always available, I’ve never waited more than 5 minutes to get a rep, their reps know what the hell they’re talking about (I can’t believe the number of times I’ve called for hardware and software support and I know more than the damned company reps), and it’s available standard for a year–I think you can buy a longer term access if you want it.
But don’t go by other folks opinions. Read up on the specs. My favorite trade mag is PC World, I think their reviews are extremely accurate. Read something like PC World for a few issues and see what’s going on in the laptop world. The magazine Laptop is also good, but I read their reviews with a more jaundiced eye than I do PC World. I don’t like PC Magazine at all. You can also do searches at PC World’s web site and glean lots of info.
Accessories I also find integral are 2 USB hubs (4 prongs each), a Targus numerical keyboard/calculator, an APC inline surge protector, a logitech trackball, and 2 Nexdisk storage devices otherwise known as thumbdrives (128 and 256 mb) for backup. Most of the time I also carry my Canon printer (great printer) BJC-55. Canon has just come out with a new portable printer that’s supposed to be dynamite–13 ppm black and I think 5 color.
Thanks for the insights. All very helpful in giving me different things to think about so far. As for some more background, I own an iMac at home right now, so I’m far from anti-Mac, but as I’ll be showing stuff to folks who are likely to be 90-99% PC based, they may not trust software that’s shown on a Mac (“How do I know this will run as well on my platform?”). So maybe in the future, but too much risk now.
The software itself runs on top of Notes/Domino, and we’re developing a version that’s web based but uses MS Outlook/Explorer in a similar way (not as cool as the Notes interface). Not likely to be hugely graphics driven, but the demo will evolve in that direction vs the very simple way it’s written now. I should normally have access to power outlets, but longer battery life is always a good thing (I may travel internationally, which generally requires it). Lighter is better, but not essential. Win XP is the most likely OS. Low noise and high reliability are key factors.
I have a Dell Latitude C840, a very nice machine that I am really satisfied with.
It is a bit heavy with weight beginning at 3.35KG, so it’s more of a desktop replacement than a lightweight laptop.
It has some nice specs:
Monitor with max. resolution of 1600x1200
2Ghz Pentium 4m
512MB ram
30GB HD
GeForce4 440 Go graphics card
DVD drive
Wireless support with dells mini-pci card.
I get about 2.5h batterylife, which is enough for me as my train ride to work is just about 2 hours.
Not exacly the most sexy looking laptop out there, but it has the processing power I need and it is very reliable and pretty low noice.