>
> You're a smart guy, whats your take on laptops? What brands do you like,
> etc?
Brands don't mean much to me, features and service contracts do.
I have a 1998 Panasonic CFA 44, which was a gift from an internship in Japan (it is completely Japanese, including the keyboard and the power plug). Liked it a lot, but unfortunately it broke (and I would have to send it to Japan for repairs). Now I have an Acer Ferrari 3000 on permanent loan since january.
These two differ like day and night. The Panasonic is a small P233, 64 MB with 11.2" screen, about 1.8 kg. So when it broke and I got the Acer, 3 kg and 15", I was unpleasantly surprised that the difference in weight and size was really that significant. I have spent 2 days looking for a decent backpack to carry it around, because it didn't fit in my old computer bag and I find it too heavy to carry around in a briefcase. But obviously the big screen has its advantages too.
The other thing I learned is about screens. A good screen with a native resolution tuned to your viewing makes all the difference. Neither of my parents can work on my laptop, because at 15" and a native resolution of 1400*1050 everything is just too small. My dad can work on his own 15" 1024*768 laptop nicely, but my mother prefers a 17" CRT at 1024*768.
Think carefully about your usage pattern. Will you use it in the train to work everyday? Just as a portable office that you place on a desk? Or as a gaming machine?
As for the Acer, I have not used the CD/DVD+/-RW at all. Most places I come have 100 Mbps ethernet or 54/11 Mbps WiFi and the rest has cable/DSL. With all the networking built in, I just store everything behind a plug. I have used only 1 USB port for a digital camera, so 4 is overkill for me. I have not use the modem or printer ports, not used the PCMCIA slot, not used Bluetooth because I don't need it.
Something I can't do without in Windows is a touchpad. I hate those little IBM/Toshiba joysticks in the middle of the keyboard, they are impossible to control as soon as there is a little bit of turbulence, and when travelling there usually isn't room for a mouse.
Jochem
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