On Thu, Apr 17, 2003 at 01:08:45PM -0500, Jim Crumley wrote:
> Thanks to all who have made comments far. I am still thinking
> it over and you guys have given me plenty to think about.
Don't make your decision yet. I've got a rant or two brewing on this
very topic...
* Laptops are supposed to be light.
I'm tired of lugging around a heavy laptop. These mobile devices
are supposed to be just that, mobile. At a weight greater than four
pounds, it's not so "mobile" any more. Weight to shoot for: 3 lbs
or under.
* Screw swappable module bays! (That rules you out Dell.)
If you don't want the device in your laptop on a permanent basis,
use USB or Firewire external components. Swappable module bays are
a waste of weight and sacrifice sturdiness for "flexibility." The
problem is that in order to use any of the swappable components, you
have to carry them around with you anyway. Additionally, you'll
likely be unable to use these devices on any other computer except
for your laptop.
* Get a slot-loading CD-RW/DVDROM drive (in the least)
Tray loading CDROM/DVD drives are an accident waiting to happen. I
don't want to have to be careful while snapping a disc in place.
The more moving parts, the more problems you'll likely have.
The counter-argument is that tray-loading drives are simpler, and
therefore will fail less often. Let me ask you this. Is the drive
more likely to fail because of a bad motor or belt, or it more
likely to have it's tray snapped off when you accidentally drop it
on the floor while swapping discs?
* Big screens == unweildy pizza boxes
Why in the world would I want to carry a pizza box around? I
thought laptops were supposed to be convenient, small, mobile. I'm
sure someone out there likes the idea of a 17" LCD screen packed
over the top of a wide laptop platform, but frankly, I'm already
having issues trying to find space for my "old" 14" iBook.
Do you use the laptop for all of your work? Buy two nice LCD
monitors, one for home, one for work. When you sit and crunch out
code, documents, what have you, luxuriate with a few things, but
don't sacrifice your mobility to do it.
* Wireless? Of course!
You MUST get an 802.11 capable laptop. If you have to resort to
using a PCMCIA card, so be it, but built-in Prism-based chips are so
much more convenient.
* Bluetooth? Maybe...
The only practical things I've seen for bluetooth used for is a
wireless pointer/mouse for presentations, or for an alternative to a
docking bay for port replication. If you have a built-in bluetooth
card, you could leave your wireless keyboard, mouse, and monitor at
work.
Average docking bay cost: $200 - $300
* Mmmm Transmeta...
Yes, this is the king of all mobile processors, at least from a
novelty and "underdog competitor" view point. Sure, you could use
the Intel Centrino, or even the not as desireable PIV or Mobile AMD
processors, but Transmeta is where it all started.
* Firewire, if you please...
There are enough external devices now that firewire is a useful
thing to have.
* Extra battery(s)... Nuff said.
* Winmodem built-in... WHO CARES? Who ever uses a modem anymore
anyway?
* IRPort, sure
Definitely useful if you have a digital phone and want to use GSM or
GPRS.
Toshiba, Fujitsu, and Sony all have nice, small, lightweight Transmeta
based systems that fit all these requirements. IIRC, you can get any
one of these for around $1,600. Scott Dier has one such laptop, I
believe. Scott, what's your take on the subject.
--
Chad Walstrom <chewie at wookimus.net> http://www.wookimus.net/
assert(expired(knowledge)); /* core dump */
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