More laptop questions . . . (Search didn't show what I wante

[Roberto Vespucci]

I've read over the suggested list of hardware, and read other posts, etc, but . . .

1) What feature/accessory did you wish you really had once you got to school or were glad you had because everyone else wanted? and

2) With respect to weight, battery runtime, features/accessories, cost, and processor speed as factors to consider, how has your opinion changed concerning those factors from the time you bought the computer until now (or after a few weeks of use at campus)?

Thanks.

[doc5544]

hey,

i plan on getting a laptop with a mobile centrino processor. Usually the centrino laptops are much lighter and use less battery power than pentium 4's and celerons. im looking at something that has a 1.5-1.7 ghz centrino processor, with a wireless card, dvd/cd burner (need some entertainment). the price could vary from 1200 to 2200 depending on the accessories you want to add.

I would go with laptop that is less than 4.5-5lbs, since you will probably not have internet in your dorm and will be going to the library or other wireless hotspots.

[Andrew21]

I love my sony vaio. it is small! i have to PCG-V505BX, but now they have the same one with the centrino chipset. Has integrated wireless which is nice. Very small and light, slips in the backpack like nothing. I am not yet in grenada, but i bought this computer for it's portability and i think it will do nicely in gnd.

Andy

[stephew]

I've read over the suggested list of hardware, and read other posts, etc, but . . .

1) What feature/accessory did you wish you really had once you got to school or were glad you had because everyone else wanted? and

2) With respect to weight, battery runtime, features/accessories, cost, and processor speed as factors to consider, how has your opinion changed concerning those factors from the time you bought the computer until now (or after a few weeks of use at campus)?

Thanks.

#1- a calmer mind and sence of humor to kick in earlier.
#2-ill leave that to someoone more current.

[f1drvr]

Well, its a bit of a trade off. A lighter computer is nice to have, eases the muscles a bit if you plan on always having your computer, especially considering the walk to and from the library(very big, steep hills). But you will be lacking a little in max performance. So youll need to determing what your using it for. Simple internet, and email, and accessing lectures, playing music, DVD's a lighter one, lower performance one will suffice. A bigger computer usually will have more capacity for speed and performance. Cost will be up to you, a higher priced computer with the most capacity and speed will last you longer as it wont be outdated as fast.

A must have is a wireless internet card, very few places to plug in w/ ethernet cables here. Another thing I wish I had was an extended warranty. My comp has broken twice down here, and because I didnt have the extended warranty, it was quite a bit more difficult to get it fixed.

[Roberto Vespucci]

So, f1drvr, I'm getting the impression that with the exception of wireless networking, there seems to be little advantage to any atypical feature/accessory. Is that what you're saying?

I was hoping to get more feedback from current or recently former students. Never in my life did I think I would buy a laptop so I'm scrambling to learn as much about them as possible (I'm somewhat of a perfectionist and it'll drive me mad if I screw up something so simple). I'm actually considering just building my own . . . which presents its own problems.

I know my uses are going to differ from yours. Anyway, the average battery rundown time that I'm finding is about 3 hours. Do you find that adequate? Do you find yourself wishing you had an 8 hour rundown? See, I also wonder what I'm going to do during these ungodly long flights/layovers and three hours doesn't seem like enough. I wonder about weight also. It's like they come in two flavors, under 3lb and over 6lb. If it were 6 and 12 it'd be an easy choice, but 6lbs doesn't seem so bad. Maybe I just need to strap a sack of flour to my back and walk around for a few days.

I'm not concerned about processor power. My desktop is a K6-II 400 and I find it to be more than adequate, so any modern chip will be plenty fast for me. And, unfortunately price is a bigger consideration than I want it to be . . .

[CptPlanet]

Hey all,

I've been wanting an Apple notebook for a while, but I'm wondering if I'll have compatability issues down in Grenada. Can anybody please share his/her experiences?

Thanks!

CptPlanet

[emt036]

As for battery time, I opted for 2 batteries -- 1 main battery and a supplemental one for the media drive. This gives me 6-8 hours of run-time, which I find sufficient for all day. This saves me from carrying around the power adapter, and then I also only charge from "clean" power... i.e. surge-protected, etc, which you won't get if you charge from one of the outlets in the Library, Bourne, etc.

[clinicalso]

The feature we had that I don't know what we would have done without was a cd-rw / dvd combo drive. I can't tell you how many coursework/ study help cd's (and movies) we copied from (and for) previous students, and the dvd player we used for movies of course. It may not be the most important for some people, but we got a lot of use out of the cd burner. Having a combo drive made sense for us.

[f1drvr]

So, f1drvr, I'm getting the impression that with the exception of wireless networking, there seems to be little advantage to any atypical feature/accessory. Is that what you're saying?

I was hoping to get more feedback from current or recently former students. Never in my life did I think I would buy a laptop so I'm scrambling to learn as much about them as possible (I'm somewhat of a perfectionist and it'll drive me mad if I screw up something so simple). I'm actually considering just building my own . . . which presents its own problems.

I know my uses are going to differ from yours. Anyway, the average battery rundown time that I'm finding is about 3 hours. Do you find that adequate? Do you find yourself wishing you had an 8 hour rundown? See, I also wonder what I'm going to do during these ungodly long flights/layovers and three hours doesn't seem like enough. I wonder about weight also. It's like they come in two flavors, under 3lb and over 6lb. If it were 6 and 12 it'd be an easy choice, but 6lbs doesn't seem so bad. Maybe I just need to strap a sack of flour to my back and walk around for a few days.

I'm not concerned about processor power. My desktop is a K6-II 400 and I find it to be more than adequate, so any modern chip will be plenty fast for me. And, unfortunately price is a bigger consideration than I want it to be . . .

Ok, some accessories I found useful so far are a nice carying case, to hold you accessories, of course. I have a set of headphones to listen to music at the library and if your gonna be in a superdorm, good for roommate relations as well. I also got myself a kensington laptop lock for my computer, although rare, some are stolen when people go to the bathroom or for a break, so the lock allows me to leave my computer at the library and go home for dinner if i want. Other than that, bring media(CD-R's ) to backup your work, and do this often, I've already lost a harddrive down here. Battery life will depend on your processor and screen size, and also what you are doing(DVD watching vs just internet). If you plan on being at the library, you can get plugs most of the time, so battery life shouldnt be an issue very often. M-processors last considerably longer than the normal P4, upwards of 4.5 hours if you get the right one, but if you are getting a lighter machine, they dont last as long because they cut the battery in half to save weight(eg. Gateway 200m). Im not familiar with a laptop that has 8hours of battery life. If you think youll need this much order the second, but I dont forsee you needing that much. As far as advice on a specific machine, I was close to buying the Gateway 505XL, relatively light, 6 or 7lbs, good performance, widescreen, 1800$. I dont recommend dell because that is who Ive had problems with and their customer service is nonexistent. Sony is good but a little bit expensive, but those are the big three.
There are few companies that will let you build your own laptop. Any that do are quite expensive. General features you might specifically want that are affordable would be like 512RAM, >1.4ghz processor, >40gig harddrive, cd burner/dvd player, remember that higher processor speed = lower battery time. Hope this helps you a little more, if you have more questions, let me know, or if you are wondering about a specific item, ask also.

[f1drvr]

Hey all,

I've been wanting an Apple notebook for a while, but I'm wondering if I'll have compatability issues down in Grenada. Can anybody please share his/her experiences?

Thanks!

CptPlanet

I dont know exactly the compatiblility issues, but I know that a significant number of people use Apples here. As long as you are familiar with it, I dont see a problem. Most of what you will need here is available through the internet.

[CptPlanet]

[quote=CptPlanet]Hey all,

I dont know exactly the compatiblility issues, but I know that a significant number of people use Apples here. As long as you are familiar with it, I dont see a problem. Most of what you will need here is available through the internet.


I appreciate the response!!

CptPlanet

[Nich]

Ok, I brought an older computer here because it was reliable and here are my suggestions:

#1- If you don't like a heavy backpack then get a lighter machine. Mine is heavy and a pain to carry. I really wish I had a lighter laptop!
#2- Get a large hard drive. At least 40 GIG. When you get here you will be enundated with "Mac Daddies", HistoQuicktime, etc..etc... They are LARGE programs and data sets. My harddrive isn't large enough. Expect to use about 10 GIG of HD just for storage of this stuff and then think about how much music, large files, games, etc. you want on your laptop.
#3- BATTERY LIFE is very nice. The difference between 3-4 hours of battery life and 4-6 is going to be a big deal if you use your laptop in class (as many students do) and then want to study in the library after class before you have a chance to recharge it (you may not always be able to get a plug in in the 24-Hour study wing...big library wing, but everyone studies all the time..)
MOST IMPORTANT: Get the best you can for the budget you have because it is very difficult to mail a laptop down. I brought an older computer with intentions of buying a new one once I had a better idea of what I really needed. Good intentions bad outcome. I bought a very nice new ultraportable apple powerbook and it is sitting at my parents house in the States because USPS will only insure computers shipped to Grenada for $350 and UPS is $200 for shipping (and remember those nice duties you get charged...10% on shipped computers (computer price+shipping+cost of insurance), unless you can sweet talk them into the customary 5%. Oh, if your thinking FedEx...$400+..ouch.
You also want a DVD-CDRW drive. We (a couple friends and myself) have movie night on Fridays...my friends have the DVD drive and it is very nice.

My suggestion is a highly portable laptop if you will be using your computer just for school. If you watch movies or game and such then you might want a bigger screen and larger one. Also, don't discount carrying an extra 3 or 4 pounds up the hill to class (you'll probably be in superdorms #2 and have to walk up the hill a lot). If you have anymore questions feel free to pm me. I've had to deal with a LOT of computing issues since I got here because of bringing an older computer.

Nich

[Silenthunder]

Hey,

thought I'd throw in my .02.

Bring a USB key, the bigger the better. Also consider using a compactflash card with a usb adabter/reader if you can get it cheaper (they're bigger than a usb key, but you can still stow them in a backpack or pocket fairly easily).

as for the laptop.....

if you don't have a specific need for something that's heavier (7-10 lbs) then don't get something like that. I have a dell that's 7 lbs, and I like it alot, but i also wanted a bigger screen and more video memory.

Remember that you will be carrying this thing around with you alot (esp. if you're living at Grand Anse). Portability is a big deal for some people, not for others.

consider getting a backpack designed to carry a laptop in addition to all of your other stuff. I have one of these, and it helps alot; I only have to carry one bag instead of two.

consider getting a high res screen; you could end up staring at the thing alot.

Cheers,

Silenthunder

[Silenthunder]

Forgot to mention this:

I own a dell laptop. I've got no complaints. My father and brother have no complaints about their dell laptops.

I've heard bad things about their support, but I (and my brother and father) have never had a problem with support. HOWEVER, I am canadian, and apparently our support is run through dell canada.

of the people I know at St. George's who have dell laptops, none of them have had problems so far.

Of course, most of us haven't had our laptops for more then 6 months.

consider getting the damage protection warranty, and a few years extended warranty. It may seem costly now, but the cost of repairing a laptop is usually enough to warrant just purchasing a new one.

Cheers,

Silenthunder

[compuwiz44]

You might want to consider buying Tablet PC. That way, you can draw diagrams and type notes or write in free hand. OCR software works very well. You can catalog all your notes and documents by data, subject etc. It also affords you compatibility with other standard software packages. You have the familiar windows interface to deal with, so no learning curve is involved.