Re: Best "new" laptop
>>>>> "Heather" == Heather <star@starshine.org> writes:
Heather> Anyways I have to agree that if you're buying from IBM - at least
Heather> at the moment - you're at least supporting a company that cares
Heather> somewhat about linux users' opinions.
You'd think so, eh? Remember, we're talking about IBM, where the left hand
doesn't know what the right hand is doing. ;-) (Anyone remember OS/2, and the
"support" it got from IBM's PC division?)
Heather> x 1280x1024 resolution ... I'll settle for 1024x768 if the screen is
Heather> 11" or smaller. Let's just say I use lots of screen space.
Don't forget to make it a TFT screen.
*
Heather> video chipset that is -actually- supported by X 4. I'm strongly
Heather> interested in moving that direction, but since my current systems
Heather> work, I'm not terribly interested in half measures or putting up
Heather> with bleeding-edge vendor bull. Wish me luck. I think this is my
Heather> pickiest feature request.
All features of the chipset should be supported by X 4. If it's supported, but
doesn't accelerate, it may be
x 2 or more USB ports (without being
Heather> USB floppy) - external floppy is fine by me, but it needs to be
Heather> light so I don't feel I should get a midsize instead, considering
Heather> that I *do* carry my peripherals a fair amount. - firewire
Heather> onboard the actual system. x Memory is more important than CPU,
Heather> after all, I live on a 233 MMX for goodness' sake. Skipping
Heather> stright to Crusoe is tempting tho... * It had better be tough
Heather> enough to take what I've put the magio through so far. If that
Heather> costs a few ounces, that's the way it is. btw, I can get a
Heather> milspec toughened "ultralight" (about 5 lbs after armor) for just
Heather> over 4 grand, shock absorbent and the works, probably would take
Heather> bullets and still work. But the internal specs would be the same
Heather> as my Magio. Do you get the feeling their certification process
Heather> is a mite slow?
Heather> For the curious, the model is called the SCOUT2.
Heather> On this criteria I'm considering the new Apple laptop -
Heather> display models are supposed to arrive at MicroCenter within the
Heather> next week or two.
Heather> * it has to have decent onboard disk space. Or tell me the
Heather> mm height required and if the machine is openable enough, I can
Heather> fix that little problem on my own. I had originally not thought
Heather> much of this as firewire/usb extra storage is now easy to get and
Heather> anyways, I have a PCMCIA/IDE controller bay. But the fact is I do
Heather> not usually carry this sort of peripheral except by appointment.
Heather> So I'd rather 10Gb than 6, and more would increase my ability to
Heather> treat it as my primary system. 20 Gb would probably be plenty.
Heather> btw: best 9 mm drives, anyone? criteria - well behaved, then
Heather> capacity, then price. I might just buy one of these and not
Heather> bother with a new laptop yet. * I prefer arrow keys in a T
Heather> configuration.the ctrl key wider enough than the Fn key that I can
Heather> feel the difference before hitting it, backslash above the Enter
Heather> key/below the backspace, and Esc at the furthest top left. This
Heather> is the current case on my desktop keyboard and the magio, and I'd
Heather> rather not have to fight with my own fingers.
Heather> Ignoring: - trackpoint/eraserhead vs glidepad. All mice suck, but
Heather> I only care that it is responsive enough I don't feel forced to
Heather> get an external. - dock. I have too many possible 'home sites'
Heather> to put up with dock shenanigans, the connectors get beat up, and
Heather> features that only exist at home are not worth a whole lot to me.
Heather> Gimme real video connectors on the machine, USB and cardbus and
Heather> I'll never need docks.
Heather> Any of the regulars can tell you I'm pretty fond of my present
Heather> system but, I'm doing a bit more dev and web work, I could stand a
Heather> newer CPU.
Heather> Hopefully these considerations will lead me to more than 3 models,
Heather> because my eyeballs have gotten picky, and I do have small hands,
Heather> but there are limits.
Heather> I picked up a copy of the latest LAPTOPS magazine, which also had
Heather> some good articles. (That's where I read about the Orinoco gadget
Heather> for instance. And some james bond/MI:2 style glasses-shaped
Heather> monitor. But I digress.)
Heather> Of *course* right when I'd like to have it at hand it's gone
Heather> missing. But what I really bought the mag for is the chart in the
Heather> back. It's not much, but it is a better effort towards noting
Heather> some chipset details than you'll get at your CompUSA or Fry's.
Heather> What's important is that there is that, and there are two columns
Heather> which will help you narrow down things a lot: its claimed weight,
Heather> and the screen size. If you select out everything that weighs
Heather> less than 4.5 pounds (where 6 to 7 is average for your "brick"
Heather> style powerhouse laptop, and 8 actually not uncommon), then start
Heather> moving upwards from the smaller screen sizes eliminating them by
Heather> any other misfeatures. (For ex, the Cassiopeia at 1.8 pounds, is a
Heather> wince machine, the lince thing might be fun for some, but I'm not
Heather> going there yet.)
Heather> Anyways I actually did this sort of thing enough to have written
Heather> little plus and minus signs at one edge, and I have a happy face
Heather> mark on a few of them to tell me to check those out in more
Heather> detail. I really wish I could find it now. I bet it's in the
Heather> car.
Heather> I am *deeply* considering just laying out a web page with a grid
Heather> by features so I have someplace to put my notes as I discover
Heather> chipset data. These darn magazine charts don't cut it and vendor
Heather> specsheets are worse.
Heather> Comments other than "star, you type too much" welcome.
Heather> * Heather Stern * star@ many places...
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