betor notebook thread advice

[Q Classic]

I don't know about Fujitsus, whether they're sold in the US.

Samsungs are, and they're nice, particularly the NC20. It's squarely in the Netbook category, but on the higher end; and it can be had for under $700.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4979

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/samsung-nc20/4505-3121_7-33573285.html

http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/pr_0428_samsung_NC20

[Q Classic]

Netbooks, mind you, aren't for anything other than the most casual of gaming. But it'll do fine for papers, portability, email, browsing, the youtubes, the myfaces...

[Jon Miller]

Yeah, actually netbooks is probably what I would recommend for the non-gaming college student.

JM

[DaShi]

I don't know about Fujitsus, whether they're sold in the US.

Fujitsus are usually very good quality and support, but they are a bit pricier than other brands of equal stats. That said, I love my high-rez tablet from them. Tablets are great for university, especially if your school is wired. I often download the lecture slides and write notes directly on them during class. This saves me a ton in printing costs.

Check your school for discounts as well.

[Q Classic]

Well, no, I mean Fujitsus are nice. I just don't know if they're sold in the US.

[Q Classic]

Hmm, why so they are.

http://www.fujitsu.com/us/services/computing/pc/

Still, I'd recommend Lenovo, Apple, Toshiba, Samsung, and a qualified one for Fujitsu.

There's some space there for something like ibuypower, which just sells unbranded Acers.

Stay away from Dells.

[onodera]

The only problem with netbooks is their awkwardly small keyboard. If betor has small hands, it's probably fine. However, I have small hands for a male, but I find my father's Lenovo S9's keyboard too small to type anything longer than a URL.

[Q Classic]

The only problem with netbooks is their awkwardly small keyboard. If betor has small hands, it's probably fine. However, I have small hands for a male, but I find my father's Lenovo S9's keyboard too small to type anything longer than a URL.

This is true for a lot of the smaller ones, but the NC20's a 12-inch model, and by most accounts, it's relatively comfortable.

[ColdWizard]

I've always liked HP. Go buy one of their Pavilions.

I liked mine until the fan started to get noisy. To get to/replace the fan, you have to take the whole laptop apart

[Alinestra Covelia]

It's bizarre. I had to buy a Dell laptop for law school.

Slowly but surely I ended up getting a keyboard, a mouse, an external hard drive, and a screen.

I'm now sitting, immobile, in my house's basement den at a table with all the trappings of a desktop but a small laptop holding it all together.

[b etor]

I honestly found the kids with notebooks got worse grades because they tended to do anything else but pay attention to the teacher. Listen to Japher, take notes the old fashioned way, and you'll actually retain stuff better in your memory, save $1500, and get better grades.

i never said i would be taking notes with it! although i suppose i might. but then i wouldn't be able to draw pretty pictures all over my notes.

I'd stay away from Dells. They are nothing but trouble.

This is my favorite computer maker's mid priced laptop (starting at $1399):

http://velocitymicro.com/wizard.php?iid=163

bookmarked. thanks.

I liked Rachel McAdams in this one, although she was good in Wedding Crashers too.



On topic: I bought a Dell and it's been a bit spotty. The only good thing about it was that it was covered under the law school's warranty. Does your college do any tie-ins with sponsored laptops? If they do, it may be worth getting one of those, no matter how crap, just for the warranty.

wedding crashers >>>>>>>>>> the notebook
i don't know if they do. i suppose i'll look into that.

How about this one?

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3496523

It's dirt cheap and portable enough to be carried around with you for an entire day. If you use a bigger screen and keyboard in your dorm room you don't get squint-eye or finger cramp either

cute

Gah, not Macbook. What if it gets stolen when your roommate throws a party with beer and hash? It's too expensive for college.

no roommates. singles ftw. i would hate to share a room with some random girl.

From your description, it sounds like most any machine will meet your needs. But if you intend to game at all, you really want to go with Windows. If dollars are important, you should probably go with a Windows machine. You get more computer per dollar and a better lifeline if there are problems.

OTOH, my daughter's been very pleased with Francois (her Macbook). In 3 years, she's had one HD crash and one battery incident. Both were replaced free.

Important: Whatever laptop you buy, get the extended warranty (e.g. AppleCare for Macs). Laptops are far more prone to damage, just because they move around a lot, get bumped, etc. The life expectancy of a laptop HD is considerably shorter than a desktop.

Also important: Get a backup hard drive and USE IT. It's not costly, not much trouble, and will save you a world of hurt if there's a bad crash.

Most computer companies have excellent sales for kids going off to college. Apple usually runs a rebates on machines and Office, and gives a free printer. Other companies do comparable things. These offers usually run during summer, duh. You also might want to check with your college to see what kind of deals they offer on campus. Some are pretty slammin'.

And if you're considering Apple, see if there's a nearby Apple Store or if there's Apple support on campus. If neither, it makes more sense to go with a Windows machine.

noted. thankss!

I don't know about Fujitsus, whether they're sold in the US.

Samsungs are, and they're nice, particularly the NC20. It's squarely in the Netbook category, but on the higher end; and it can be had for under $700.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4979

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/samsung-nc20/4505-3121_7-33573285.html

http://www.wired.com/reviews/product...8_samsung_NC20

also bookmarked, thanks.

[mrmitchell]

b etor Vista is fine esp if you are buying it preinstalled on a notebook. Risk of compatibility issues zero. The only other complaint against Vista is "I'm a crotchety old person who is clinging to my 1990s era GUI of which no component at all can be changed without inciting my fury"

If you jump out of netbook territory (which they are useful for that purpose), I got a more powerful laptop instead, and I use it to play some games and watch TV and hey it's still just as good for taking notes. It takes up most of my backpack but it's still very portable. I never got the whole sub-1 inch, sub-1 pound laptop mentality unless you have a disorder and can't lift a sandwich without your arm crumbling.

So I don't have any specific advice other than don't wuss around Vista and consider buying a laptop that will have a lot of uses.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Yeah, the law school warranty has saved my arse from the fire more than once.

They'll do all repairs for free during the three years of my course, and if they ever have to take the computer out of the law school to send back to servicing, they'll give you a free loaner.

Although, I'm really picky about my computer. I type in Dvorak and I have all sorts of display preferences and little macros set up. So each time they give me a loaner laptop it's like wearing somebody else's underwear.

Sure, it's better than nothing, but it's still bloody hard to concentrate on work because everything's in the wrong sodding place.

[mrmitchell]

BTW I'm going to lose considerable e-cred for saying this but I have only had two problems with any Dell ever

1) Hard disk failure after two years of use (environment was ~85F half the year I'm not blaming them)
2) Keyboard had a 1 key where the Q key should be (not actual mappings, just keys)

I think that most of the bad rap they get derives from being #1 in the market for so long (not anymore) and therefore shipping out the highest absolute number of broken PCs. But your odds are no better or worse than with anyone else in my experience.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Yeah, could be. In much the same way as Microsoft's actually got top-notch programming and their homegrown products are generally very decent. But because they're the top of the game in OS, other people have to code stuff to be compatible and when that doesn't work right, MS gets the blame.