Looking to buy a laptop, in the next few months. What do you suggest.

[Fridays Child]

I don't want to go over about $1,500 and, I'd like to stay away from red companies, such as Dell. I'm open to Apple, although, I've never used anything but a PC. Other than these thoughts, I'm really starting from scratch. Any help or guidance from my fellow DUers would be gratefully accepted.

:)

[DavidMS]

1. Depends on what you are looking for.

Thinkpads (by Lenovo) are a good system as are HP bussness notebooks. I recomend not getting machines targeted towards consumers because its harder and more expensive to get them fixed.

You probably want to wait untill July and August because its more likely that you can get a "Vista Ready" PC. Get somthing with at least 128mb of dedicated graphics memory (allmost all Thinkpads) for the Aqua-Glass UI. Get at least 1 gb, idealy 2 gb of ram.

If you are going to be taking your machine around with you alot get somthing less than 6.5 lbs. Also, for portability stick to screen sizes less than 17".

If the machine will stay put, it matters less about weight.

What applications will you be running?

[Fridays Child]

2. Bookmarking your reply. I can tell that I've got some homework to do.

July-August is the time-frame I'm looking at, so that'll fit with getting something that's Vista-ready. But I don't exactly know what that means--hence the homework. I won't be using it for games. Music, movies, photography, and writing tasks will be the main functions. Portability is a big consideration, so weight and size will matter. Thanks for the tips. :) :hi:

[DavidMS]

18. Wow... (I think)

I am a little bit humbled. None of this is secret, just stuff that gets around IT people.

Also, think about getting a machine with some degree of water/dust resistance. I have alwasy treated my NC6000 gently, but last week while working in Dupont Cricle under a Tree, A bird did his bussness on the keyboard. I was able to save it and clean it up (isopropyl alcohol, qtips, compressed air), but it would have been much easier if it had been a sealed keyboard (like newer Thinkpads).

For what its worth, spill resistance is a good thing.

[RoyGBiv]

7. Vista ready?

Surely, you're joking.

I say this simply because "Vista ready" is already being floating around in certain marketing schemes, and it means absolutely nothing tangible. It won't mean anything tangible in July or August either. It means that the machine will run "some version" of Vista "at some level" of performance. It does not mean it will run Vista well or that it will even meet Microsoft's defined specs for the OS. My computer, built a year ago, is "Vista ready" in that sense. My graphics card, top of the line a year ago, won't run the Aqua-Glass UI at anything approaching reasonable efficiency, however, even if it will run it.

FWIW, leaked specs I've seen suggest a 256MB graphics card is what will be needed for Aqua-Glass, not 128, but since none of this is verifiable at this point, I'm sure that could be wrong. However, it would be the first time I've seen the required specs for a system go down upon the actual release of a MS product.

This happened with XP as well. We had "XP ready" machines come out before XP was being offered. These typically had a hardware configuration that included 128MB of memory and a 500MHz processor, which is the close to the "minimum" spec for an XP Home system. Actually running XP on such a sytem, without disabling a lot of crap, is annoying to say the least.

Anyway ... I would suggest *not* buying a laptop now with the idea you'll be upgrading it to Vista in the future. If one is wanting to use Vista, wait until Vista is actually released and we know from independent sources what it actually takes to run it in its various incarnations efficiently.

[FormerDittoHead]

3. My experiences... (check out HP's)

I had a VERY, VERY good customer service experience with HP - too long to go into here, a fairly unsatisfying experience with IBM thinkpad customer support and was in line at CompuUSA to hear a virtual nightmare with a Sony Viao...

[Fridays Child]

6. HP is what I'm hearing about elsewhere, too.

And good customer service is VERY important to me. Thanks! :)

[FormerDittoHead]

8. Here's a summary of my (excellent) HP customer experience...

I had it for less than a month. I was carrying it in my "catalog case" - a large boxy briefcase, instead of a proper notebook case.

The briefcase has panels in it to separate things, but the separators don't go all the way down. They did NOT form pockets. I have to explain this to tell what happened.

So, the locking tab is on the top of the panel with the screen. One morning, taking the computer out of my case, the tab caught on the bottom of one of the separator panels, and it broke off.

Oh me, oh my. OK, it works, but I want that tab fixed. I called HP. I told them exactly what happened and it was otherwise my fault. What I *wanted* was to find a place nearby, arrange for the repair but then drop it off as soon as they were ready to fix it so I wouldn't have to leave it there for a month. As it was my fault, however, I was willing to pay for it.

HP INSISTED upon fixing it under warranty.

This was THURSDAY. FRIDAY they arranged a Fedex pickup. I got my notebook back, complete with an entirely new top part, screen and all, TUESDAY MORNING.

Later that week, they placed a FOLLOW UP CALL to make sure everything was done to my satisfaction.

I'm sure that such customer service costs more but the benefit is that I tell this story to others and my next notebook will be an HP.

Now if only other US companies can learn THAT lesson...

[Fridays Child]

9. Wow!

That's outstanding!

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. I had a great customer service experience with HP as well

replaced my motherboard, which had electrical issues. free of charge, didn't even pay for shipping, and the whole thing was done in 4 days (that's right, from sending to receiving, 4 days). the indian tech guys were also awesome on the phone. very happy.

[qanda]

13. I have an HP

And I cannot express how great their customer service is. Not only are the adamant about getting to the bottom of any problem, they also follow up and make sure that everything is okay.

[cheezus]

4. What applications do you need to run?

For almost every type of task you'd do on a computer there are programs available for Mac, and most of them are easier to use and more feature rich than their windows counterparts. Games are a notable exception; only a few PC games (mostly the A-list) make it to Mac, and most of those come a year later. In my opinion, the only reason you would NEED Windows is if there is a specialty program, usually industry specific, that you must run.

HOWEVER, the new Intel Macs can also dual-boot into both Mac OS X and Windows XP, letting you use the Mac like a regular windows machine. There's also "virtual machine" software (in beta) available now that can allow you to run Windows *inside a window* on OS X. In either case you'll need to spend another $150 for an OEM copy of Windows XP. There's heavy speculation that Apple with release similar software in their next operating system version that will seamlessly integrate these Windows-only applications into normal Mac usage.

The only Intel Mac currently out is the MacBook Pro, which is about $500 out of your pricerange. However, it looks like an intel replacement for the iBook will be coming soon. The old iBook goes for around $1000, so I'd imagine the new "MacBook" will fall in your pricerange.

[Fridays Child]

5. Mostly word processing and photo editing software.

For me, games are not a consideration, at all. I'll bookmark your reply and start looking at the ones you mention. Thanks! :)

[cheezus]

10. I'm seriously recommending you get a Mac.

There are numerous free word processors out there, and Apple makes a killer one called Pages that also does nice page layout. If you want Microsoft Word, there's Word for Mac. Macs come with a free "digital lifestyle" packager called iLife (apple.com/ilife) that will manage your digital photos (with minor editing features like red eye removal, level adjustment, retouching), edit home video, burn said video to DVDs with cool looking menus, record multitrack audio and make podcasts, and publish webpages, photostreams and podcasts to the web. And of course there's Photoshop.

Sure, Macs are a bit more expensive than some cheap PCs, but they're right on par with with the other premium, well designed PCs like vaios and thinkpads. It gets expensive in time and money dealing with virus software and anti-spyware. Macs have neither.

If you're not a big gamer, you don't use 3D CAD or other window-only specialty apps for work there's no reason to stay with Windows.

[Fridays Child]

11. From what I'm reading here and elsewhere, it seems to be...

...narrowing down to HP and Mac. When summer vacation starts, I'm going to make the decision. I hope I'll be able to "test drive" some display models in the stores. I know that won't tell me everything but I'd like to get a feel for each laptop.

Looking at www.buyblue.org, I see that HP's political contributions are 41% to 59%, in favor of Rep-ugh-nicans. Apple gives 99% to Democrats and 1% to independents. I know that it's impossible to buy everything "blue" but, to the extent that I can do so, it's a very important consideration for me. When you say that Macs have neither virus software nor anti-spyware, do you mean that Macs never get hit with viruses or spyware/malware? Thanks for your advice. :hi:

[BlueJazz]

14. As a Tech..PLEASE read this >>>

Whatever Laptop you buy ...For God Sakes..get the extended warranty.

Extended warranties on many products are a waste of money..not so with laptops.

I can't tell you how many times I've gotten a laptop in the Shop that has had the
warranty "Run Out" a few months before breaking down.

The sad part is, about 60 percent of the time, I have to call the customer and
tell them that it would be to their benefit to just go down to the store and buy a
new Laptop....that the cost to fix theirs will run around 400 bucks.
(Prices on Laptop parts AND Labor are Way, Way higher than Desktops. (A screen can run amost the same as a new Laptop..Go Figure)

You won't be sorry.

[FormerDittoHead]

15. Good tip. And use American Express for online purchases if you can...

I'm sure they give money to Satan's campaign fund, but they DO automatically extend any warranty...

[BlueJazz]

16. Yep..How True.. You know...

..Many people, when they buy a Laptop, are not warned to the fact
that heat is the major enemy to a laptop and to keep the fan free
to cool the parts inside.

Even if they are, (being Human Beings) they are using their Laptop,
get a phone call, set it down on a bed or couch (blocking the fan)
, talk for a long time, get done, make a sandwich, watch a TV program...finally get back to their laptop
and find it's hot enough to almost fry an egg.

As you know.. Delicate electronic parts do not hold up to extended heat. :)

[IronLionZion]

17. Whatever you choose, get an extended warranty

as I assure you, there will be problems. That's the nature of laptops. Something is bound to break.

They usually come with a 1 year warranty, so upgrade to 2 or 3 years.

Now, you said you're interested in movies and music. So if you are creating the stuff, get lots of hard drive, like 100 GB or so, and at least 1GB of RAM and the fastest processor you can afford. and a DVD burner, and firewire port for your digital camera.

If you're just watching the movies on DVD, then you can spend considerably less. Keep in mind that RAM and hard drive are fairly easy to upgrade in the future. You can always get an affordable external hard drive.

I wouldn't worry about "Vista ready" because nobody knows what that would be yet.

I've had good experiences with Toshiba and HP.

If you like to pick and choose exactly the components you want, check out www.discountlaptops.com. They'll build one customized just for you. The parts will be better and cheaper than most "pre-built" laptops.

[jobycom]

19. Don't kill yourself with homework, but check out CNET if you haven't.

CNET.com is a good site for all kinds of reviews and info on electronics, as well as buying guides, and prices.

I have no great insight into brand names, but just a couple of comments. Given the basic tasks you plan to use it for, you should focus on a few features and on durability, and not worry about getting the absolute latest. The widest screen you want to carry around (for movies) and decent built-in speakers, plus as much memory and disk space as you can afford, are the keys. Also, look for plenty of USB ports (they fill up fast if you wind up with a printer, scanner, IPod, and such things), and, since you say photos, look for one with a card reader, maybe (although you can get those to fit USB ports, you still would have fewer detachable parts to carry around, and they could come in handy if you forget your camera's download cable).

One more thing--Intel's newest laptop chip (the DUO, I think?) is out, and AMD's newest is due early next year, so it's not a bad time to get a phased out model for a lot less than the newest, unless you just like having the newest. I just bought a Fujitsu for about 60% less than an almost identical models sitting beside it on the shelf because it was the last of the old model. The processor isn't as good, but last year it was worth 60% more than I bought it for. (I have no insight into whether Fujitsu is a good brand, yet. Seems nice enough, but it gets hotter than I'd like).

Oh yeah, and check out the laptops on the shelves before you buy. Pick them up and see how hot they are underneath. They'll all be a little warm, but some got too hot.

And $1500 is a good range, but if you get the service contract as others have suggested, you're looking around $1200-1300. I stay away from the things, myself, but there's a good argument for either side. I figure if I do my research I have good odds that what I buy will survive at least three years, and I'm good at fixing little things that pop up, like software problems. If it's defective, it will fail under the original warranty. If it lasts three years or more, I'll probably want a new one by then, anyway, and the money I've saved by never buying service contracts will add up to the price of the few times I would ever have to use the service contract (that's what the company is expecting, too--like gambling, the house always wins in the long run). On the other hand, some contracts are better than others, and if you lug your laptop through airports and to the beach and such you have more of a chance of using the contract than if it sits on your desk all the time. And if the laptop is critical for business, the service contract is probably a nice little insurance policy. Some people are more likely to use a contract than others, in other words. (Just my two cents. I'd never talk anyone out of a contract, if they feel they need it.)

That's all I got. I guess that's all more what I do than what you should do, but I just went through the process and felt like babling about it! :-) You can answer most of those questions by just looking at the model in the store and then searching CNET for reviews.

[Ready4Change]

20. I'm mostly a PC guy, but love my iBook.

I work with PCs, I've built them, my home desktop is a Windows machine. I'm typing on one at the moment, in fact.

But a few years ago I wanted a small, portable laptop, and wanted something different. So I got an iBook. And I love that thing. It's one of the more problematic Macs ever. (Logic board issues, and a problem with the wireing in the hinge for the screen.) And yet, I've had far fewer problems with it than with any PC I've ever owned.

It hooks up to wireless networks almost TOO easily. I'm used to having to change settings on PC laptops to get them connected, but doing that with the iBook just gets in the way. I've learned to just open it up and let it figure out the connections. Works pretty slick.

And the people at the Apple Store have been great. Serviced the problems I had under warranty without question. I was expecting to have to fight for that, but it was no issue at all.

My next machine will probably be an upgraded PC desktop, to run some of the new games out there. But I think my portables will be Macs for the foreseeable future.