LapTop Suggestions??

[eagl]

Eagl has the right idea, but that begs the question; Does the Mac lappies hardware require proprietary drivers?  If the standard WIndows desktop drivers work, then you could run the OEM version of Windows XP on it (not sure BOOTCAMP will work with Windows 7 yet).

To my knowledge, the macs use standard hardware and can run windows or linux out of the box.  You're right, I dunno if win7 works yet however I've read lots of at least partially successful stories of people installing win7 as "vista".  Heck, I got win7 running in a microsoft virtual PC under winXP by using vista defaults, so I can't imagine win7 not working on a mac either at release, or very shortly thereafter.

[eagl]

Me, I will never own a Mac anything.  I will also never own a laptop of any kind.

Damn MSIE 8.0 ate my previous response to this...  hint - use compatibility mode when visiting these forums with IE 8.

Skuzzy, I assume that's your answer because you've never NEEDED a laptop.  For reasons I won't type in a second time (damn MSIE 8), I have found that I need a laptop for both personal and official business use when I'm on temporary duty away from home.  To make it so I don't hate every second I'm using the laptop, I buy really high quality laptops and keep them until they no longer do what I need them to do.

Philosophy - there are 2 ways to buy a laptop if you're going to be using one a lot.

1.  Get a really good (probably expensive) laptop, and keep it for many years.  This usually means that after a year or two your laptop has old or semi-obsolete components, but if the overall quality is high enough you really won't care.  Case in point is my T-41p.  It still runs winXP, linux, and win7 great even though it's only using a single core 2.0ghz pentium-m with 2 gig ram.  I upgraded the optical drive to a dvd burner (not even available as an option when I first bought the computer), I have upgraded the cpu from the original 1.8ghz cpu, I added more ram, and I'm on it's second hard drive.  But the screen still looks great, the vid card still runs most DX9 games just fine, and overall it's really been a great investment.

2.  Get a cheapo laptop and replace it every year.  This is a great option if you aren't really into maintaining your computers, either software or hardware.  You can get some really nifty laptops for about $600, and you can replace it yearly for 4-6 years for the cost of one really high-end laptop.  That way you always get newer technology, and you don't have to worry so much about the thing breaking out of warranty.  You only give up minor performance hits compared to other brand-new laptops and it probably won't be super thin/light, but most people don't really care about saving that last half pound of weight from the laptop case.  You also won't have to worry about replacing the battery...  When the battery goes bad instead of buying a new $100 battery you just get a new laptop, hurray!

Most people are probably better off going the cheapo laptop route, replacing as required.  My personal choice of using option 1 is that I have some requirements that are rarely found in cheapo laptops.  I require a decently fast HD, need the thing to be light enough to haul around on business trips, and want enough graphics horsepower to run anything I might install, games, CAD software, whatever.  By the time I get the features I demand, I'm usually well over $1500 so I might as well get a really nice laptop and keep it for a long time.  That's why if I was buying today, I'd get a macbook or macbook pro.  Those have really nice hardware specs and will run any OS you care to install using bootcamp or virtualization.

[RTHolmes]

^^ well said. I'm an option 1 guy, which is why I'll be ordering a 2.66GHz 15" Macbook pretty soon to replace my 2002 G4 Powerbook (which still works just fine)

Last time I looked there wasnt any real competition for Macbooks out there in PC world, maybe things have changed. Heres a challenge - find a PC notebook which matches or exceeds all these specs:
15.4" LED-backlit widescreen
2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1066MHz bus
4GB DDR3
9600M GT 256MB
320GB HD
7h battery life
5.5lb
Alloy construction (Ive had enough of creaky plastic POS like viaos)

[Skuzzy]

Oh, there have been many times a lappie would have been handy, but I refuse to pay for something I am not allowed to fix when it breaks.

I recently had a bad experience reinforce this.  A friend of mine had a key go dead on his keyboard of his lappie.  It was out of warranty.  I took it apart, found the membrane contact had ruptured and seized around the key contact.  No repairing that.

I called the company that made the lappie and tried to order a new keyboard.  They refused to sell it to me.  They claimed it was too difficult to remove and replace so the lappie had to be sent to them for repair.

I explained, I am looking at the keyboard now and see exactly what it will take to replace it.  It was out of warranty, so I would be happy to assume the risk for the repair (a dozen solder points on a flat Mylar connector).  They said no.  Then the kicker.

To have them replace it was going to cost $300.00.

Have you ever asked a lappie maker what the policy is concerning replacement parts on a computer out of warranty?  Or does everyone assume a lappie is a disposable unit?

[RTHolmes]

the fan on my G4 TiBook went a little noisy after playing Wolfenstein on it intensively for 6 months, got a OEM replacement as well as a new F11 key from a 3rd party supplier for next to nothing. an hour with a couple of torx drivers and it was good as new. later added a faster larger HD, airport card, RAM and pioneer DVD writer again cheaply and without trouble. could have also doubled the speed with a new processor but they were PowerPC, only used by Apple and hence expensive.

2 lessons:

* laptops arent designed to game on for hours at a time every day
* cleaning your keyboard with a 1200W vacuum is not a great idea

[eagl]

Oh, there have been many times a lappie would have been handy, but I refuse to pay for something I am not allowed to fix when it breaks.
Have you ever asked a lappie maker what the policy is concerning replacement parts on a computer out of warranty?  Or does everyone assume a lappie is a disposable unit?

You need Lenovo thinkpad.  Designed to be field serviceable by the end user, sometimes with a single screwdriver (or those small double-ended geekdriver ones with standard on one end, phillips on the other, complete with pocket clip).  They post the service manuals online and you could buy the entire laptop part by part if you wanted to.  I'm not sure if the "ideapad" line follows the same service philosophy, but thinkpad service should still work this way.

As for other manufacturers, my best advice is to contact a third-party "authorized service center" and talk nicely to the guy in the shop, see if they'll sell you the part.  Sometimes it works...

[Skuzzy]

Well, I guess I should mention the other reasons why lappies are not a good fit for me.

The keyboards.  They suck.  Too small, non-standard layouts, no key travel.  I am not a touch typist.  I bang relentlessly on the keys.  Yes, you can hook up a USB keyboard.

The lack of mouse.  Touch pads drive me nuts.  The thimble control on a Thinkpad (do they still use that?) is atrocious.  Yes, you can hook up a mouse via a USB port.

The displays are ok, but just ok, on a good lappie.

After connecting a regular mouse and keyboard, why bother with a lappie?

I tip my hat to those who can use them without getting so frustrated they want to throw the damn things into the nearest body of water.  I really mean that.

In another lappie incident, a person did not want Vista on thier lappie, so I slipstreamed a copy of XP Pro together from an old version they were not using any longer and managed to get it installed.  During the installation process I had to restart a few times becuase I could not control the cursor and kept accidentally double-tapping the pad.  By the end of that process I was ready to take a sledge hammer to that lappie.

Me and lappies are just not a good mix.  I feel the same way about cell phones that are no longer phones anymore.  Or trying to talk to someone who completely loses thier ability to focus after you say more than 140 words to them.