Ideas on New Laptops

[mustangsally65]

Just my two cents...

I've been a Mac user for over 10 years, and the majority of crashes take place when using software intended for Windows, or when you're online on a site that isn't really Mac friendly. Websites using Mac servers or made using Macs tend to be less likely to cause crashes.

And to increase your battery life, you can turn down your screen brightness or go into your Energy Saver control panel and adjust the settings to your needs.

I agree with the advice to wait until late July/early August to buy a laptop. And get a smaller one, I have a 12 inch and it is the perfect size. iBooks also seem to be better protected from falls, except now the PowerBooks have the sensor thing for if you drop it it braces for impact. My PowerBook is about a year and a half old, so I don't have that feature.

Also, the most important piece of advice on here is that people like different systems for different reasons, and there's no reason to bash other platforms or operating systems. I'd recommend an Apple, but there's nothing wrong with IBMs or Sonys if that's what you like to use.

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[drbraxton]

Anyone have expereince with notebooks with tablet functionality or know whether or not they are usefull for note taking in class? I demo'd one a while ago and it seemed like a good idea and I've heard theyre usefull but i really haven't heard alot about them.

 

[FutureMD9]

Just a few questions about apple computers- is it possible to hook up a two button mouse with the rolling button in the middle and be able to use both buttons as well as the rolling function? Also, someone had mentioned the Blackboard program used at a lot of colleges- is that accessable on apple computers?

 

[LaDoctorFutura]

Just a few questions about apple computers- is it possible to hook up a two button mouse with the rolling button in the middle and be able to use both buttons as well as the rolling function? Also, someone had mentioned the Blackboard program used at a lot of colleges- is that accessable on apple computers?

You are able to use a two button mouse with a rolling button in the middle. Blackboard is also accessible on Apple. I personally have a 12" ibook. I have had no problems with compatibility errors or any other nonsense. Also, my computer has never crashed on me once, my previous HP Pavilion crashed daily. Load off my mind.
😀

 

[nockamura]

Just a few questions about apple computers- is it possible to hook up a two button mouse with the rolling button in the middle and be able to use both buttons as well as the rolling function? Also, someone had mentioned the Blackboard program used at a lot of colleges- is that accessable on apple computers?

Multi-button mice as well as scroll wheels are natively supported within mac os X. I have a kensington 5 button scroll wheel and all the buttons work. By Blackboard do you mean a whiteboard recording system or the Blackboard learning system? The recording system (records pen strokes on a whiteboard and presents them on a computer) is available to both mac and pc users alike. See: http://www.mimio.com/meet/xi/ & http://www.e-beam.com/products/system3w.html . As for Blackboard learning system, it looks web-based so you should be able to access it.

 

[evendry707]

it's interesting how this thread has received so much attention so quickly. i JUST went through this whole process. the Dell deal is unbeatable. 700m is a good laptop, convenient, and great for med school. i think, however, that as of now, the coupon is no longer valid. if you got something from Dell w/ the $750 deal, believe me, you got a GREAT deal. my only qualms about the 700m are:
1. incredibly horrible battery life
2. a 3-pronged plug that won't help w/ your short battery life if you're in a cafe and all they have are 2 pronged outlets

dell seems to have a reputation for unreliability, but i really think it depends on how you use it. no laptop is meant to be a desktop replacement - i mean just look at how big your desktop computer is. to cram all that heat generating technology into such a tiny space and then to let it run all day would inevitably cause problems. even with advanced technology and cooler processors, laptops aren't at the point where they can be as reliable as a desktop - their popularity lies in their mobility (and that's really what you're paying for). thus, with ANY laptop, if you use it like a desktop, you can expect problems. that being said, dell, toshiba's, sony's... they all suck. the IBM thinkpad however, if you can afford, i believe, is the best laptop out there.

i however went for a Sony Vaio because the 360 has a great battery life and it looks cool. it's light (4 lb) has all the features i need, and still has a normal sized keyboard (of course not as good as thinkpad). vaios however have a reputation for being pricey - which they are. BUT, there is a program in which you can trade ANY (and i mean ANY) working laptop for a $400 rebate. i found my laptop online for $1850 after tax and shipping. with the $100 sony rebate and $400 trade in rebate, it comes out to $1350 for a GREAT laptop. i traded in a laptop i have from 1997, the first pentium laptop. the battery don't even work on that thing anymore. but if you plug it in, it'll work, and it's worth $400 to them. this program expires the 13th of june i believe, so if you're in the market for a vaio and were waiting for the opportune moment, this is it.

of course, if you can afford it, get a thinkpad t42. i had actually purchased a 700m because it was what i could really afford at around 1100. my friend convinced me though that it was worth it to spend an additional 200 for the vaio i wanted. but $500 more? that was just too much for me. so i compromised there.

hope this has been helpful to someone. if you're interested in the trade-in deal w/ the vaio, feel free to PM me and i'd be happy to direct you to the website.

 

[afr0dite01]

Has anybody looked at the HP dv1000 series (14" widescreen) or 4000 series (15.4" widescreen)? The specs are comparable to Toshiba Satellites or Sony Vaios, but they're much cheaper. Any thoughts on HP?

My parents recently got me the Compaq V4020 (I think) and since Compaq and HP are the same company, its the same as the HP 4000 series just under a different. I love it!!! It has everything also ( alot of memory, cd/dvd-rw, digital memory card reader, among other things). It hasnt given me any problem and I use it a lot already.

 

[MadameLULU]

MadameLULU, Safari is just as secure as IE! But, KHTML has problems rendering because of poorly scripted Web sites. Thank God for the W3C.

What is that?

Maybe the problem was IE and not the mac. As for force quitting, you can use the process viewer in the terminal or command-option-escape.

Yeah, it probably is with IE...I'm not sure what to do about it besides call the IT department and that would be a hassle.

lulu,

why not firefox? I use a combination of firefox and safari, and haven't had to launched IE in the last 2 years.

I can't download firefox. It's not part of my job's "preferred software" 🙄

 

[fever5]

Anyone have expereince with notebooks with tablet functionality or know whether or not they are usefull for note taking in class? I demo'd one a while ago and it seemed like a good idea and I've heard theyre usefull but i really haven't heard alot about them.

I have had a high end toshiba tablet for 2 years now. (but they have a new generation out now)

I have used them for drawing diagrams in undergrad physiolgoy, genetics, etc. For me (I study off computer; no paper at all) I love them. The tablet allows you to draw diagrams and put them in your notes at a fairly resonable pace. Its not like pen and paper though. So that does take some adjusting. I actually just keep the screen up in regular position and draw straight on it. I wouldn't use it to handwrite on though. Too painful.

My tablet's generation had dimmer screens because of the layers associated with tracking pen. However i have heard that now the Wacom screens on them have resolved this problem (or at least significantly improved it).

In short, its definately nice to have, but you do pay a premium, and you may not get al lthe functionality of larger notebooks. But unless you plan on playing high end games I wouldn't really worry about them. I watch movies on mine all the time. Works great. Just make sure you get close to a gig of ram! (more than 512 mb)

 

[winsicle]

Anyone have expereince with notebooks with tablet functionality or know whether or not they are usefull for note taking in class? I demo'd one a while ago and it seemed like a good idea and I've heard theyre usefull but i really haven't heard alot about them.

How are the thinkpad tablet notebooks?:

Thinkpad

 

[theblastopore]

Guys and gals-

Where are you folks looking for/shopping for/buying new laptops for the start of medical school?

I'm trembling as I look at the prices...

Any insight is much apprecitated.

dc

If you like Dell, which I would suggest, then check out:
http://www.slickdeals.net
or
http://www.xpbargains.com

They frequently have Dell coupons. There was a coupon (expired) $750 off of $1499+ Inspiron notebooks. I helped my friend bought a 12.1 widescreen Inspiron 700M for $752 + tax and shipping (Pentium M1.7Ghz, 512M RAM, 80Gb hard drive, CD/DVD burner, etc...)

 

[bigdan]

Guys-

Great dialogue, and thanks for all of the great responses. Keep 'em up!

dc

 

[sierra89]

Quick note...both my undergraduate institution (USC) and a school I may go to next fall (Drexel) have made agreements with companies such as Dell, IBM, and Apple to give discounts to people who attend/work at their school. If you find a computer you like, I would check with your school (maybe the bookstore or the IT deparment) to find out if the school offers such a discount.

 

[nockamura]

Anyone can get an apple educational discount regardless of if they have a school agreement. Just go to www.apple.com and click on the store tab, then click on education and pick your institution, the prices will reflect a 10-15% discount.

 

[_J_]

Anyone can get an apple educational discount regardless of if they have a school agreement. Just go to www.apple.com and click on the store tab, then click on education and pick your institution, the prices will reflect a 10-15% discount.

yep... and if you buy really soon, you can get an additional $100 off (via rebate that expires on june 25, i think).

 

[Larsitron]

If you're going to buy an Apple and are worried about a new series being released, don't fret about it too much. There's likely to be a processor bump before the end of the year and maybe a price drop, but I can't imagine anything happening that will make you kick yourself for buying now. I've gotten a few PMs from people asking me about apple stuff and I just thought that I would share this.

I don't have any inside information, but so long as Apple follows its own business pattern and things keep on a pretty even track, this is what the story looks like for the next few months.

 

[nockamura]

If you're going to buy an Apple and are worried about a new series being released, don't fret about it too much. There's likely to be a processor bump before the end of the year and maybe a price drop, but I can't imagine anything happening that will make you kick yourself for buying now. I've gotten a few PMs from people asking me about apple stuff and I just thought that I would share this.

I don't have any inside information, but so long as Apple follows its own business pattern and things keep on a pretty even track, this is what the story looks like for the next few months.

I use the macrumors buyers guide to determine when a product will be updated (http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/). For now, the only product that will be updated soon is the iBook.

 

[dukeduke]

Guys-

Great dialogue, and thanks for all of the great responses. Keep 'em up!

dc

bigdan...

i think youre going to stony brook....if so i saw a link in one of their webpages to the dell site...possibly with discounts. however...im gonna wait till the june 17 thing...see if i can talk to anyone and get some info...

 

[Ames980]

in regards to laptops.... another question - how much ram/size hard drive are you guys going with? i want one which will store my mp3s, run the internet, etc. without becoming very sluggish - when configuring computers online ive been selecting the 80 gb hard drive and like 1 gb ram... good? bad?

 

[Larsitron]

in regards to laptops.... another question - how much ram/size hard drive are you guys going with? i want one which will store my mp3s, run the internet, etc. without becoming very sluggish - when configuring computers online ive been selecting the 80 gb hard drive and like 1 gb ram... good? bad?

Not knowing the other specs of the computer, the picture is a little fuzzy, but I think you'll find that an 80 gig HD is fairly adequate assuming that you have a reasonably sized mp3 collection. Relative to the rest of the computer, RAM is cheap and you should max it out as much as you can. Anything up to a 512MB stick is still a good deal. However, you'll discover that the single sticks of 1GB RAM are ridiculously expensive. Most laptops have 2 RAM slots (though there are exceptions) and so I'd recommend 2 sticks of 512 MB.

 

[doublepeak]

I got an Averatec laptop this past winter and still think its amazing. I do free lance web design on the side and it can handle everything you need. Athlon XP AMD2200+, 80gb, 512 ram (I had originally planned to upgrade it to 1gb by adding another 512mb stick, but haven't needed to as it runs fine with a lot of programs including photoshop running), dvd and cd writer, integrated wireless g, only 4.5lbs, and 12" screen so I can take it everywhere. I think because averatec is a little less known, you get more for your money. I've had a toshiba and a dell before.

You can get it at NewEgg.com $900. NewEgg is usually pretty cheap on tech products, so if your getting something, check the price there too.

 

[fun8stuff]

my only qualms about the 700m are:
1. incredibly horrible battery life
2. a 3-pronged plug that won't help w/ your short battery life if you're in a cafe and all they have are 2 pronged outlets

fyi: 1) the 700m gets around 5.5 hours (surfin net, word processing) w/ 8cell battery, and only brings weight up to 5lbs (~2.25hrs w/ 4cell).
2) you can buy an adapter that is about 1.25''x1.25'' that allows it to be plugged into 2 pronged outlets for ~$1.50 at local electronic stores

 

[fun8stuff]

in regards to laptops.... another question - how much ram/size hard drive are you guys going with? i want one which will store my mp3s, run the internet, etc. without becoming very sluggish - when configuring computers online ive been selecting the 80 gb hard drive and like 1 gb ram... good? bad?

yeah, you at least need 500mb RAM to run most applications smoothly. 1 gig RAM will be great. 80 gig is ~16,000 mp3s (depending on length and quality of songs).

 

[Ames980]

thanks for the info!

 

[nicole20]

Does anyone have any strong opinions on gateway laptops?

Thanks

 

[bigdan]

duke-

You got it right, bro. I'll wait till after this Friday anyways; but having a listen to what they have to say is a good idea.

dc

 

[SplinkMD]

Yeah ive checking up on which laptop to get....the downfall is that they have been so expensive....however ive recently had a friend who got his 12'' apple ibook for free!! I couldnt believe it, he showed me the site its http://www.notebooks4free.com/default.aspx?r=404574 I know this thing looks like a scam cuz thats wut i thought of these before my friend actually got his....so if u need a computer but do not have the $$$ to spend, i would check this out, that is what I am doing now and hopefully by the time med school starts I will have it in my hand....oh the site has apple, pavilion P4 and averatec...hope that helps

 

[sdnstud]

Any new Dell deals? I'm trying to get a 600m or 700m for under $900. Thanks

 

[fun8stuff]

Any new Dell deals? I'm trying to get a 600m or 700m for under $900. Thanks

Check www.slickdeals.net religiously and you will probably find one. There have been quite a few lately. There are a few other sites similar to this that you can find if you google for them...

 

[BeBlessedMD]

Be sure to check out coscto or sams club...they have limited selection BUT GREAT PRICES that only monopolistic(is that even a word?...haha) stores can have. They often beat the prices of buying directly from the manafactuer.

 

[Ames980]

also - www.gotapex.com has a lot of coupons and such. might be repetative from slickdeals, but it might be worth checking out

 

[OnMyWayThere]

I did a lot of research (read ton of reviews) on laptops before deciding on one. My budget was around $1500 and I ended up spending just that on what received raving reviews everywhere... I got a IBM T42 with 14.1 screen. Although not the prettiest laptop, it is the most reliable and sturdy while weighing in under 5 lbs. There are better deals out there for better specs, but they tend to have more problems. Hopefully the reviews were right.

 

[PAPPAPPAP]

I've had IBM thinkpads through Wake Forest for 4 years and I love them... But whats going on with this lenovo handover deal. I'm not a computer person so humor me.. Will the thinkpad be as good of an investment and where could I get a t series thinkpad if I wanted one?

 

[OnMyWayThere]

It won't make a difference - still IBM quality - same manufacturing plant. Anyway, get a T - series though this link and get 5 - 20% off and a free docking station - I did and it arrived 5 days later and it's a great laptop... http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...724&storeId=10821223&catalogId=-840&langId=-1

 

[virilep]

this thread is pretty bad ass. i've been trying to figure out where i'm gonna get one from. this thread is really good but it's making my brain hurt! I'm thinking of the 600m from dell. i'm not sure what people are talking about of the sturdiness of the computer but I'm gonna look into the IBM. i would love to go mac, but i can't. not just yet. I wish I would have knew about that sony deal with the 400 trade in. I coulda gave them something. and the dell coupon of like 500. that's amazing. if anything else comes up like that, please post on here. I'm not gonna buy the laptop until school starts. only cuz I can't find a great deal. and i'm on a tight budget.

thanks guys and gals.

 

[bigdan]

Stony Brook asked us to get:
- lightweight
- 512MB or more
- 80 GB or more
- 802.11g wireless
- centrino or P4

I ended up spending $1600 - 1700 on a Gateway to get all that, but that included all the fancy markups that I should NOT have purchased - I got the Norton Security thing, but Stony Brook gives that to medical students. I got the MS Office, but Stony Brook gives that to medical students. And like $350 of it was the store's "warranty" package. Got it at Circuit City. So it coulda been like $1100 if I were more judicious.

Good luck guys!

dc

 

[virilep]

helped my friend bought a 12.1 widescreen Inspiron 700M for $752 + tax and shipping (Pentium M1.7Ghz, 512M RAM, 80Gb hard drive, CD/DVD burner, etc...)

haha, i just did that

but for some reason i couldn't get it to be 80 gig. only 60.

Inspiron 700m Intel® Pentium® M Processor 725 (1.60 GHz/400MHz FSB)12.1-in WXGA
Memory 512MB DDR SDRAM 1 Dimm
Hard Drive 60 GB Hard Drive
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Network Adapters Integrated Network Card
Modem Internal 56K Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
CD ROM/DVD ROM 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability

thank god that's done.

 

[MadameLULU]

Bluetooth-- any of y'all have it? What do y'all think?

 

[Axe]

I just bought the X41 thinkpad tablet/laptop convertible so I know more about laptops than I did a couple weeks ago. I would only recommend getting an Apple or a IBM/Lenovo or maybe a even a Toshiba. They are going to be pricier but a heck more sturdier.

Everything else like HP, Dells. and especially Gateway are the ones to avoid. I also wouldnt touch Acers or other 3rd tier brands you find at retail places. Dont get suckered by the massive coupon deals that Dell has from time to time.

If youre shoping for laptops, make sure that you get a hard drive with adequate RPMs and at least 1GB of RAM. Thats about the ony two factors besides the CPU thats going to affect performance.

As for deals, check for school discounts and employee discount programs. I managed to snag my machine for a little over 1600 using the IBM employee discount. Hope that helps.