Off Topic Lap Top Computer Recommendation

[ucodegen]

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.

[afx114]

[quote=ucodegen]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.
[/quote]

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.

[afx114]

[quote=ucodegen]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.
[/quote]

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.

[afx114]

[quote=ucodegen]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.
[/quote]

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.

[afx114]

[quote=ucodegen]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.
[/quote]

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.

[afx114]

[quote=ucodegen]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.
[/quote]

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.

[jennyo]

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.

[jennyo]

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.

[jennyo]

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.

[jennyo]

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.

[jennyo]

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.

[ucodegen]

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.

[ucodegen]

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.

[ucodegen]

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.

[ucodegen]

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.

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