Re: OT: laptop recomendations
On Friday 02 January 2009 01:09:35 Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. wrote:
> On Thursday 01 January 2009, Kamaraju S Kusumanchi
>
> <raju.mailinglists@gmail.com> wrote about 'Re: OT: laptop recomendations':
> >Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. wrote:
> >> On Wednesday 2008 December 10 16:45:09 Micha Feigin wrote:
> >>>Runner up is Dell, although the hardware seems a bit cheap when looking
> >>> at the drivers (especially the touchpad which tends to be alps which
> >>> isn't up to par with the synaptic).
> >>
> >> I'm happy with my Dell Inspiron E1505. My roommate is happy with his
> >> more recent laptop purchase from Dell. My other roommate likes his
> >> Thinkpad, but it is a much older system, so I can't say that reflects
> >> the quality of current Thinkpads.
> >
> >I own a Dell Inspiron E1505. I do not recommend it. Get something else
> >(preferably non-Dell).
> >
> >I always have problems with their batteries, video card. No matter how
> > many times I replace the batteries, they seem to go bad after some time.
> > I replaced the battery 3 times. After 3-4 months the battery life will
> > be reduced to less than 1 hour and then after some time, they just don't
> > work.
>
> I'm still using the original battery, although I did get a spare for when I
> will eventually wear out. It depends on what I'm doing, but 4 hours of
> battery life is not unheard of, nearly 1.5 years after the purchase date.
>
> Running the DVD drive constantly *significantly* reduces that, but I can
> still use it for at least 90 minutes watching a DVD while running on the
> battery.
>
> >As for the video card, if I play a flash based movie in windows XP, there
> >will be a "blue screen memory map" error after some time. FWIW, the
> > movies work fine in Linux. I searched in google for this and found that
> > the video cards in Dell Inspiron E1505 are defective.
>
> Link please?
>
> I'd never even consider installing MS Windows on mine, but I've never had a
> video-card related kernel panic or even X crash. I've played plenty of
> flash-based video in Linux. The card / drivers don't seem to like each
> other a whole lot though. My Etch/Lenny mix I had on it until Dec. 8th
> needed to be switched to a test-mode VC and back before it would display
> anything after a resume. The openSUSE 11.1 (for work I need turnpike and
> the Novell/Nortel plugin) I'm running on it right now appears to do that
> for me.
>
> >In general, I think Dell's hardware is unreliable. They work fine
> > initially. But after 1 year or so, things start to fall apart. This is
> > if you plan to use laptop intensively (say 8-10 hours a day). But if you
> > just use it for 1-2 hours a day, then it's life might be more.
>
> Mine is a work laptop. I generally use it 8 hours, 5 days a week. It gets
> even more use if I've got some problems with my desktop, up to ~12 hours,
> 7 days a week.
>
> The only hardware-related problem I had with it was a "stuck *row*" in the
> LCD panel. I lived with it for a while, even using it as a guide for how
> I partitioned my desktop with windows (to hide it in the window borders).
> However, when I finally got around to calling Dell, they replaced the LCD
> panel with no cost to me, sending a technician w/ parts to my workplace so
> downtime was minimal.
>
> Anyway, I'm not sure my experience with a laptop is "norm". You probably
> should get multiple (>3) opinions on vendors/models you are considering.
Well,
had my Dell Vostro 1500 for one year now. No issues. I can run it for 5 or 6
hours on battery. As for price, I never buy anything > $500 USD as you can
boy three or four of those per every expensive machine. So Even if it breaks
after one year, technology moved forwared, spend another $500 USD, and buy a
slightly newer version. After three years you are greatly ahead in terms of
$$ and, if you had to replace your cheap box, technology. Just my 2c worth.
--
Damon L. Chesser
damon@damtek.com
404-271-8691 Cell
678-401-8420 hm
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dchesser
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