San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

You might want to tell us what type of research. I do research as well as software development & engineering, but my work also requires 3D graphics and number crunching.

The laptops I presently have are a Dell M60 and M70. I am looking at replacing the M60 with a Dell M6300 or M4300. These are not cheap machines and are probably overkill for what you may be doing. Please... 'need more input'...

the apple macbooks are great value

Nothing that requires 3D graphics. Mostly I am looking at real estate and some sites regarding the human genome (my hobby). I just want something that is bullet proof in case my son has to take it to school for a presentation. Not that I want the kind the army uses in case he drops it. But I know you guys are smart and know your computers and your real estate. Thanks for answering.

Is there any specialized software you need for your research? Are there any quirks of the research documents that you need to open?

I also like Macbooks, but they start at around $1k. Great keyboards and screens, and a reasonable size and weight if you carry it around a lot.

The Apple OS is particularly good at representing data and helping you to find it and organize it on your drive/network.

If you need to, Intel Macs can dual boot XP or Vista, or you can run them from within OS X with software like Parallels or VMWare. But you may never need to as there is free software like NeoOffice that will open most MS documents.

If you do go for Apple, I'd also recommend getting Applecare, one of the few extended warranties that are worth it.

Nothing specialized in the way of software. Thanks very much for the recommendations.

If you went to college see what deals are offered to the students. More than likely they will extend you teh same discount as an alumni. Just contact the alumni developmetn department.

Thank you. That is a great idea. I went to San Diego State.

Should check out both SDSU and USD. see how they compare. This is a small place you have to know someone from each school.

It sounds like you mainly use your laptop for Internet surfing and word processing. I think you'd be able to get a lot of mileage at a reasonable price with the following:

1. A reasonable processor (nothing fancy, just not an obsolete one that is being cleared out for newer technology)
2. Maximize your RAM
3. An appropriately sized hard drive - if you like to save pictures and music, you'll probably want to get a larger one

Do some research for a reliable brand, and pick a model at the price that you like.

Here's a very limited, anecdotal list of brands I know about:

-Sony: I've had one die on me, and so have my cousin's friends
-Dell: I broke 3 of them at work (well, I was working 60+ hrs/wk, maybe they couldn't handle the overtime?)
-Toshiba: My sister bought one, and it had problems randomly freezing and shutting down
-HP: My father has one (he worked at HP 26 years), and likes it
-Apple: I had an iBook, and it was very reliable - even after I spilled a bottle of ginger ale on the keyboard, a week after I bought it. It dried out in a week and worked fine (disclaimer: DON'T try this at home). But the Mac version of MS Office isn't as user-friendly as the PC version, so I stopped using it for work. And I switched back to the PC entirely when I started playing free Yahoo games - there's Internet content that won't run on Mac OS.
-Gateway: I worked there for 6 months - the one I had at work and the CX210X I bought are both good performance and reliable.
-Lenovo: My most recent 2 companies use Lenovo laptops, the ones I've had have been reliable

The laptops they sell in-store (like Best Buy) come with a standard configuration. If you'd like to play around with the price/options configuration, each of the major computer companies has a 'customizer' on its website that lets you choose what features you want. You can order your custom computer, and they'll ship it to you. I don't think there's a price difference between the online and in-store prices.

And it can be a fun night of research (well, IMO). :)

I agree - go with a Mac, I wish I did - I am a software engineer and have two laptops ( one my business laptop, one belongs to the company I am consulting with, both PC based ), both stink. I purchased an imac for the family a month back and am now wishing I had taken the plunge and dropped the extra 5 - 800 into the mac ( you will pay a premium over a PC based laptop if you go with a mac ) - at the end of the day a mac is just plain easier to use and will not waste as much of your time ( with viruses / hassles installing software and learning how to use it / ... etc )

I have used many IBM ThinkPads and can recommend them highly. (Unfortunately, I don't know how the Lenovo machines are faring). I also have an old Dell Latitude that is running as well as a B-52.

Check out the new MSI Wind.

I'd get a basic laptop with at least one of each type of port (usb, firewire if possible, flash card interface, etc). you should be able to hook up to any projector or data device.

I also like macs but they're expensive and create a sort of product dependency; however, they don't need constant babysitting like pc's do. Leave a mac sitting for a year and you can pic up where you left off. Leave a PC sitting for a year and you've got every virus, adware, and malware on it and it needs to basically be reformatted and everything re-installed.

Acer makes great, basic PC laptops. http://www.acer.com

I use the acer travelmate laptop as a consulting engineer and have never had an issue. At home I use a mac.

IBM Thinkpads *were* great, reliable,rugged computers. BUt ever since Lenovo tookover thinkpads, thinkpads have taken the direction most things that undergo quality control of a chinese firm trying to cut corners do: turn out into utter crap.

I have I had had an Thinkpad T42 (under IBM) and more recently a T61(under lenovo). Worlds of difference. T61 is junk. The machine crashes all the time, has a problem docking and undocking all the time (freezes), has a problem with suspending and hibernating. And the worst part is the case split apart after a few months of use (no, i didn't drop the laptop). A few parts of the metal frame cracked and broke off. The t42 that I had from IBM on the other hand has been the best reliable machine i have.

I use to say don't buy dells because they are cheaply constructed. BUT the way other laptops are made thesedays, it's about the same. Just buy a dell laptop, at least they are cheap. You can even search on line for coupon codes from dell to save 20-25%.

Thanks for all the recommendations and detailed information. It is very useful and much appreciated.

Get a Dell, check the reviews. I've got a 15" solid for 2 years. use site below and shop for a week, and you'll get great lt for $800.

http://www.techbargains.com/

If you don't need 3D power,

A Mac will be a good idea.

However, if you are rich and just want to impress people with an amazing light (thinest laptop today) and a PC.

Here is the one: It's called Voodoo Envy133. Full body carbon fiber construction, and thinner than Mac Air.

www.voodoopc.com

The cheapest will be to go with Dell.

HP is more fancy and reliable

Checkout sites like www.edealinfo.com which bargains listed.

Costco also sells laptops...

Aecetia: I picked up a refurb HP from HP.com (you go to refurbished/overstock/clearance tab on the website).

I paid about $1,400 all in for about $2,600 worth of stuff (they threw in a 3 year warranty, two travel batteries, lock, laptop case and docking station as part of the deal). I mention the pricing because you can save pretty big on their refurb line of products and it's backed by a 3 year warranty (bumper to bumper coverage).

I've had the machine about a year and it functions flawlessly, which is typical of HP products.

I also have a Dell Precision M90 (the laptop that the HP replaced) and it was a piece of junk. Keyboard went first, followed by CD/DVD drive and the hard drive started persistently overheating. I would not recommend Dell under any circumstances, since this is the third Dell that has crapped out on me.

Having worked at Apple way back when (1982), I love their stuff, but it's pricey and it does create the "culture dependency" that Nost mentioned. Beautiful design and engineering, though.

Thanks Allan. I've been price checking the Sony Vaio, but I had not checked out the refurbs. The software would really add up on a new one. It is a good idea to check them out, too.

I just bought a laptop myself this month, using similar criteria to what you used.

Laptops are incredibly cheap right now.

Macs, as they have always been, are way overpriced as is any s/w you would want to load.

PCs can be bought for a song.

If you are going to keep it forever (you kept your last one 9 years - GULP!), here are some things to consider:

- RAM: Don't short-change yourself on RAM. Windows Vista alone will use 1 GB, so you'll need 2 GB or more total RAM to run any sort of s/w package...since you are going to keep it a long time, I would recommend maxing the RAM out since s/w packages will require more and more RAM over the years (4 GB is all Vista can use in 32 bit mode,which is what everybody runs in. You can go to 64 bit mode to get more RAM, but that's probably not necessary in your case).

- Internet: Things are rapidly moving in the wireless direction. Hotels, airports, even coffee shops are now wireless hotspots. Therefore, definitely get 802.11 - it doesn't cost much and you'll be glad you did in the long run. Also get a 10/100 network card for using wired ethernet practically anywhere you go. 10/100 cards are dirt cheap anyway.

- Bluetooth: I wasn't going to get this, then started thinking about how easy it would be to move pics from my cell to my computer. So I bought it. Again, doesn't cost much.

- Hard Drive: I'm a photo hound, so I splurged a little (but not much) here. Video is getting very popular and really chews through disk space, so in my opinion get at least a 200 GB disk. As videos gain traction, you'll be glad.

- Screen size: this is a hard one. The bigger the screen, the heavier/bulkier the laptop. I went sorta mid-range with a 15.4 in widescreen.

- DVD: BlueRay on a laptop is still way too costly, so I didn't get it. I just went with a plain, basic DVD player. I may regret it, but my wallet thanked me.

- Make sure it has at least two avail USB ports: one for a mouse, one for a memory stick. 2 USBs is pretty common now.

I spent a lot of time at Fry's but could not get all of the above packaged together at a price any less than HP or Dell (I never shop Gateway).

So I pitted Dell and HP against each other and ran the numbers in many ways. Dell won. Here is what I bought...it arrived this week:

Dell Inspiron 1525
3GB RAM
Intel Core Duo T5550
250 GB drive
Windows Vista SP1 Home
10/100 Network Card
CD/DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW)
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth
Widescreen 15.4in
85Whr Lithium Ion Battery

Price: $819 plus tax (free shipping)

This thing is sharp! I'm very happy with the purchase.

If you dig a bit, you can probably do better price-wise but I was under a time crunch and got tired of shopping.

Good luck!

With respect to quality issues that have been brought up in this thread, my household has had 5 laptops in the last 10 years: 3 Dell and 2 HPs (their timelines overlap). We usually use them 4-5 years before we donate them to other family members and replace them.

We've never needed to do a single repair to any of those laptops, which is probably why I didn't feel the need to give weight to one brand over the other wrt quality. As far as I know, those machines are still ticking in their current homes too.

In my industry, we have worked quite a bit with HP equipment and the conclusion that many of us came to: HP makes top-notch hardware and crappy software. Those may be out-of-date generalizations now and probably do not apply to their laptop product line at all, but that was their image in my neck of the woods.

Macbook, or even better, Macbook Pro. Yes, they are expensive, but you get what you pay for. The cheapie $599 laptops will last you a year or MAYBE two, and will run like molasses the entire time. Macbook will last you 4-5 years and it's a great machine. Vista is a complete failure and Apple is slowly taking over all markets they enter (computing, entertainment (music/TV/movie), cell phone, and soon enterprise and handheld gaming).

In a couple years Apple will be dominating multiple markets and you will be glad you decided to go with a Macbook.

I am the designated family "computer guy" and after a decade of advising my family to go with Dell, I've had enough of the crap quality of PC manufacturers and software and now tell them, "Buy a Mac. It's worth it in the long run." Case in point, after advising my cousin to purchase a Mac, she decided to go with the Dell "because it's cheaper" and she was begging me 1 month later to come fix her broken brand new laptop. Infected with spyware, slow as hell, it took me 4 hours of formatting/reinstalling to get her back up to speed, and even after all of that it still ran like a Pinto compared to my 3-year old Powerbook. That is why I now refuse to service PCs - they are a waste of time, money, and the hair that you pull out of your head when dealing with them.

Also, Apple will be the first company to bring true convergence to the marketplace. We're already seeing it. The combination of OSX, iPod/iPhone, AppleTV, MobileMe, etc, etc are the first true steps we've taken towards device convergence. It's only a matter of time before they release iCar, iFridge, and iWashingMachine all controlled by your iPod/iPhone no matter where you are. Get on the train before it leaves the station.

I also have a Dell Precision M90 (the laptop that the HP replaced) and it was a piece of junk. Keyboard went first, followed by CD/DVD drive and the hard drive started persistently overheating.

The company I work for uses M90s very heavily, including for travel. The only problem we have seen is battery life and weight and one charging power supply starting to go bad (which was replaced very quickly). Maybe because it was purchased as a corporation, that we got notebooks that were better constructed. I do know that several companies that had support with Dell complained when Dell decided to outsource support to India. The Corporate I.T. folks were getting tired of dealing with people reading from scripts and wanted people on the other end with real knowledge (no needing to tell I.T. people how to power cycle their machines etc). The end result is that support on corporate purchases is done in the United States, not India. Suffice it to say, I buy my personal notebooks through the company I work for. I don't need to have to work through phone support telling me how to power cycle my machine..

It was mentioned that one of the kids may bring the notebook to school. I would almost suggest 2 notebooks because of the breakage factor and the possibility of unknown software being added (wouldn't want to put a critical machine at risk). I would avoid the large 15" or larger screened notebooks (unless the kid is older than 16) because of the weight. I would also avoid the 'Home' version of Windows like the plague. The professional versions have better access control over accounts.

I agree with the comments on Apple. Nice.. but.. In addition, if you are going to play computer games or software from other vendors, your selection under Apple is going to be smaller.

That was true years ago but is becoming less so as time goes on. Most major software nowadays is compatible with OSX, and if not, you can boot your machine into XP or Vista via Parallels to run whatever your heart desires.

I have noticed that even on Yahoo games where it says the game is not Mac-compatible, it will run using firefox. I have only ever owned Apple computers since journalism school in the late 1980's and while they cost more, they seem to last a long time. Until I replaced it with a macbook about 18 months ago, I was using a 1999 turquoise clamshell ibook. That thing was bulletproof. My PC at work seems to get replaced every 3 years.

That was true years ago but is becoming less so as time goes on. Most major software nowadays is compatible with OSX, and if not, you can boot your machine into XP or Vista via Parallels to run whatever your heart desires.

Games are where this is an exception. To get good speed on graphically oriented games, they often talk directly to the graphics card. This makes virtualization of the hardware difficult.

True, more games are being offered for both Mac OSX and Windows.

have noticed that even on Yahoo games where it says the game is not Mac-compatible, it will run using firefox.

Welcome to Java.. write once, run anywhere. This is partially why Microsoft tried to usurp it and Sun Microsystems sued to keep it 'pure'. I have a brokerage account with streaming quotes as well as Level II quotes. The application they bring up runs in Java and works for anything that supports the Java runtime (Windows, MacOSX, Linux, Sun Workstations, IRIX(SGIs).. etc).

My PC at work seems to get replaced every 3 years.
Can you say forced upgrade cycle, loaded on with ever more bloatware (including the OS)? It helps if you get the PC with the distribution CDs and immediately re-install the operating system over the delivered OS. Most delivered Windows OS(s) are littered with unneeded crapware from the vendor.

NOTE: As part of an earlier settlement between DOJ and Microsoft (not this last one), Microsoft got the requirement that all PCs shipped must be shipped with an Operating System installed.

UN iversity of San Diego
http://www.usdbookstore.com/ePOS?this_ca...
Have not doen much research but I am certain this gives you a pretty good starting point.

MacBook Air - MB003LL/A
Item #88590916631
From Apple
Brand New Model
Limited quantity available at this price.

3.0 pounds
13.3" Glossy Widescreen Display
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6 GHz
2 GB of Memory
Full size keyboard
Built-in Wireless
80 GB Hard Drive
Built-in iSight Camera
Magsafe Power Adapter
Built-in Battery
Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard
iLife '08
1 year Limited Mfr. Warranty

Price does not include applicable California State Sales Tax and California Disposal Fee of $6.00
$1699.00

Let's see:

13.3" screen, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB drive, $1700.

or

15.4" screen, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB drive, $820.

Say the $1700 lasts 10 years. Someone could buy the $820, throw it away after 5 years and buy a new one (which would, by that time, either be much cheaper or have much more RAM and disk space) for the second five years and still save money !

I guess I will never understand Mac people, but I'm glad they are around to keep competition alive. Shrug. Buy what you like, like what you buy.

Hey I am not saying anyone should purchase a MAC. I am just reporting the price offered through the University of San Diego since it was a suggested option.

My wife wants a MAC My options are buy a MAc or by a PC and put a $1000 away for my kids college education. Sometime you need to make people see money is not infinite. You have choices.

I don't understand wedding rings. Biggest scam ever. Jobs has nothing when compared to the Debeer family. JMTC