Technology Labtop suggestions??

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alh0317

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Hi,
I am starting dental school in the fall and was wondering if anyone had suggestions for what kind of labtop to buy. My school doesn't require/recommend any particular kind, just wondering what the best would be for the regular dental schoolers usage.
Thanks!
 
if you're moving cross country (or plan to travel a lot) i would recommend the lightest one possible...
i travelled about 10 times (NY to Ca) my first yr and i stopped taking my lap top cause it was just too heavy w/ my carry ons.
 
pmoney said:
IBM T41 is hands down the best, but really expensive...

Wow, that's one of the ugliest computers I've ever seen. IBM continues in it's tradition of manufacturing items that can be used to build homes, should there ever be a shortage of bricks. True it is lightweight, but that price offers nothing that competitors can't offer for $1500 bucks cheaper.
 
I am not yet a dental student but if you want a good laptop that is light and break down less often I would suggest:

Fujitsu -- S-series 👍

Sony -- Z- series (I bought one; compact, not super lightweight but it has everything and a big screen) 😍 😍 😍

Toshiba -- I am not too familiar with it but most of the people I know use it and never complaints about it. 😕

If you are for radical changes then go for Apple iBook or a Powerbook. Personally hate it but some people just love it.
 
GlassyCat said:
If you are for radical changes then go for Apple iBook or a Powerbook. Personally hate it but some people just love it.

I'm alternating between my Dell Latitude laptop, Apple iBook laptop, and Apple eMac desktop. I have no problems switching from one to another, Vitalbook runs on all of them, and documents, pdfs, ppts, etc. transfer seemlessly.
 
get an Asus! the M6 with the woop ass Radeon 9700.. too bad only 64mbs
 
pmoney said:
IBM T41 is hands down the best, but really expensive...

As well with the T42. If you can swing it go for the IBM. They're expensive but QUALITY. I always have to help my mom on her DELL and it SUCKS in comparison. We used to have gateways but they were too unreliable. Must get at least the 64m video card, even better with a 128. After all, why buy a brand new laptop and not be able to play Doom3 on it?
 
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ItsGavinC said:
I'm alternating between my Dell Latitude laptop, Apple iBook laptop, and Apple eMac desktop. I have no problems switching from one to another, Vitalbook runs on all of them, and documents, pdfs, ppts, etc. transfer seemlessly.
overkill ?
 
Fujitsu S-series or the tiniest one-about 3 lbs
Sony-Vaio, also the 3 lbs one. They are the best things, light, long battery life, and works so well.

I have a 3.6 lbs Fujitsu S-series and I love it. Don't need to bring the power cord to school bc the battery lasts for 5 hrs. And I take notes with it for some classes. Couldn't be better.
 
I am the happy owner of a number of IBM Thinkpads over the years: 701C with the pop-out keyboard (neat!), 600X, X31, and finally my current T41.

I like the non-skid "stealth" black finish. It's like the F-117A Stealth Fighter-- You might think it's ugly, but those in the know think it's beautiful. 😀

With all the attachments my T41 weighs only about 5 pounds or so when I travel (includes an aftermarket cigarette lighter adapter and GPS antenna).

I love my T41!
 
ItsGavinC said:
Do you guys still have your Gateway computers?

Havent had them for a year, our school ditched the contract with gateway because the computers sucked, then we got new IBM's (T40p's now T41's) last September. All of us couldn't be happier. I highly recommend the IBM's.
 
i've got the dell x300 and it's awesome. It's 0.8" thick and weighs about 2.8 lbs. I prefer dell's to most other brands, but my roommate just got the IBM t42 and likes it a lot.
 
Corian is a really great lab top...resistant to acids and you can buff scratches right out.

😉 :laugh:
 
I got a sweet Toshiba Satellite at an auction..this thing was loaded and I got it cheap. It is heavy, but hopefully, I won't be taking it to school all the time (does anyone know if we will?). Anyway, don't listen to what NYUCD says about recommended computers, because the bookstore has very basic computers and not such good prices. i got a way beter laptop for cheaper...just shop around.
 
I have NEVER heard of a labtop? What is one of this things?
 
tinker bell said:
Fujitsu S-series or the tiniest one-about 3 lbs
Sony-Vaio, also the 3 lbs one. They are the best things, light, long battery life, and works so well.

I have a 3.6 lbs Fujitsu S-series and I love it. Don't need to bring the power cord to school bc the battery lasts for 5 hrs. And I take notes with it for some classes. Couldn't be better.


I have an S-series Lifebook too. I really like it. It's dependable for the most part...but the customer service can be a hassle if you have problems. The best customer service department, IMO, is Dell. So if you want less customer service headaches, I'd recommend a Dell.
 
DELL customer service? Are u kidding me? I have a DELL AXIM, and when I called customer service, the call was transferred around, and ended up in India, the connection was bad, and I could understand only 50% what the lady said. I never have any problem with my S-series, and I don't buy any insurance service with them. I figured out if I have problems, replace the hard drive is still cheaper than buying those service, shipping your laptop back and forth, etc....
 
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fiahmad said:
I didn't feel like carrying around a VCR. 🙂 I ordered it the other day...should be arriving next week.

actually my VCR weighs less than the P.O.S. dells they made us buy. I wish was joking....
 
I just got a refurbished dell latitude D400 for a great price and I love it. 1 inch thick, weighs about 4 pounds. their refurbs come with the same warranty as new. I have had some trouble with customer service in trying to order an external media bay that i believe was supposed to have come with it, calls got transferred around to like 6 different people, i now have 3 different customer numbers, and a lot of other confusion too long to relate here. but due to the trouble they are giving me the 80 dollar part for free so it is all good. and in the past in working with their tech support i have been very impressed. my friend's screen stopped working once after 3 years of use and dell sent someone out to his dorm room the next day to completely replace the screen for free (he was still under warranty). Bottom line after buying dell for my last two computers have been very happy except for that one time, highly recommend taking advantage of their deals on refurbished, love the D400! 😀
 
tinker bell said:
DELL customer service? Are u kidding me? I have a DELL AXIM, and when I called customer service, the call was transferred around, and ended up in India, the connection was bad, and I could understand only 50% what the lady said. I never have any problem with my S-series, and I don't buy any insurance service with them. I figured out if I have problems, replace the hard drive is still cheaper than buying those service, shipping your laptop back and forth, etc....

That's actually pretty funny. Sorry it happened to you, but it's still funny.

I have a Dell desktop, but it's old and I don't think they had their call center in India last time I called, so I guess my info was a bit out of date. That's becomming a more and more common theme, to have call centers not in the US. I've heard there are communication barriers in some cases, as you have stated. That sucks because it's certainly an inconvenience to the consumer.
 
pmoney said:
IBM T41 is hands down the best, but really expensive...
:laugh:



obviously u are unaware of the powerbook.


image3_2.jpg



.....
.....
personally i'd get a light desktop replacement with the best screen u can afford.
i puchased mine from here.
http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.html
 
Labtop? While in the lab, I usually just wore a short sleeve t-shirt, but sometimes I wore a button down shirt (I always have been a bit of a prep).
 
Domitian said:
Labtop? While in the lab, I usually just wore a short sleeve t-shirt, but sometimes I wore a button down shirt (I always have been a bit of a prep).

ghey simply ghey
 
i have a 15" titanium G4 powerbook by apple
love it!
and its pretty
 
I finally got my laptop and i love it:
Intel Centrino 1.4Ghz (plus 802.11b) w/Win XP home
512 mb DDR RAM
40mb 5400 rpm
32 mb graphics card
DVD-RW
15" monitor
2.6kg

It's a generic laptop, but for $1250 you can't beat the price:
http://www.internetishop.com
 
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Which schools are Mac friendly and which schools are not??
 
I got a Dell 9100, and it's been great except for two things, both noise-related. The size doesn't bother me, I can carry it as easily as any other laptop, but my wife does have a little more trouble with it.

1) The fans are loud at top speed, and they run that way a lot. Apparently, there's a problem with the Hyperthreading sometimes. The system treats the processor, which is supposedly simulating two processors, as two actual processors, and tries to compensate for the nonexistant extra. This is correctable, but can be annoying.

2) There is a design flaw in that one of the fans is right next to the headphone jack and mic jack. This leads to one of two problems: signal noise as the fans run or a lack of sounds, sometimes only in certain wavelengths. The solution? You have to buy a separate sound card like and Echo Indigo. That's about $130. Fortunately for me, I wanted a nice soundcard with a good I/O port to record music, but those who are less interested will just find themselves screwed out of $130 to use headphones.
 
WyldeWolf1 said:
I got a Dell 9100, and it's been great except for two things, both noise-related. The size doesn't bother me, I can carry it as easily as any other laptop, but my wife does have a little more trouble with it.

1) The fans are loud at top speed, and they run that way a lot. Apparently, there's a problem with the Hyperthreading sometimes. The system treats the processor, which is supposedly simulating two processors, as two actual processors, and tries to compensate for the nonexistant extra. This is correctable, but can be annoying.

2) There is a design flaw in that one of the fans is right next to the headphone jack and mic jack. This leads to one of two problems: signal noise as the fans run or a lack of sounds, sometimes only in certain wavelengths. The solution? You have to buy a separate sound card like and Echo Indigo. That's about $130. Fortunately for me, I wanted a nice soundcard with a good I/O port to record music, but those who are less interested will just find themselves screwed out of $130 to use headphones.


u could turn off hyperthreading in the bios.
 
yeah, don't buy a computer based on customer service unless you're a total novice or if you buy a Dell. The only reason I say that is because if you get a dell you'll have to put customer service on speed dial because you'll be calling them every two weeks when it goes into meltdown. Also, while you're at it, print out about 20 shipping labels with the dell service department address on them and get 20 laptop sized boxes ready to go--you'll need them because you'll be sending that clunker back every month when the harddrive fails or the keyboard breaks for no reason. Oh, and save one box for after the warranty ends so you can throw that piece of junk away--don't even bother trying to give away a dell laptop, that is, if you can even find someone that will take it off your hands for free.

Go with a sony. Or, if you've got a nice fat wallet, get the thinkpad, those laptops are unbelievable.
 
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