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A few thoughts for you, Stewart:
- After using Windows 2000, I will never use Windows 98 again. Windows 98
is much less stable, mismanages memory, and suffers from degredation over
time. My laptop has never run properly on it. My new desktop running
Win2k is bulletproof by comparison. I run TS2000i SP5 and eSignal on it,
with two monitors driven by two video cards.
Win2k needs to be set up right. A piece of newly-installed hardware or
software can bring the system down to the point where you can't bring it
back up. It really helps to know something about computers before moving
to Win2k. An excellent, comprehensive book on Win2k is _Using Microsoft
Windows 2000 Professional, Special Edition_ by Cowart and Knittel.
Buy.com and Amazon.com both have it. ISBN: 0-7897-2125-2. It's good for
beginning-intermediate to advanced PC users (1500 pages gives something--a
lot, actually--for everyone).
Either way, it's worth the extra money to have a good computer
manufacturer like Dell, Micron, etc., that has a staff of engineers and
24/7 tech support, sell you a desktop or notebook system with Win2k
pre-installed. As opposed to a local builder who may be $500 less.
Micron would not sell me a CD-RW drive with my new system, which really
pissed me off. But what happened when I installed a HP 8250i CD-RW drive?
Its software crashed my system so badly I was lucky to be able to get it
back. Micron's reason was that they hadn't found a CD-RW at the time
(March 2000) that was guaranteed compatible with Win2k. Conservative is
better in this department. But once your Win2k system is up and running,
it's much, much harder to crash it than Win98.
- The more you carry around your laptop, the more weight is a factor. I
just got a Dell Inspiron 5000 for a computer consulting client. She
wasn't going to carry it all that much, but the .6 or .7 lb. weight
savings I got from choosing the 14" display over the 15" was more than
worth it. My guess is that the 5000 is 6.8 lbs. If you carried this
laptop every day, I would try to find one that's 4 to 4.5 lbs. max, if
possible. (My Sharp Actius A-250 is 3 lbs., but it's not a business
machine; I would not want to trade with it. But I don't mind carrying it
just about anywhere.)
- The 5000 is well made, with a big keyboard and screen. The display
housing, however, is thin and can flex when it's open. I would take care
to carry *any* laptop carefully. Never check it in airline luggage. One
of my friends lost the display of his laptop when it was packed in the
center of a large suitcase. Cost of replacing the cracked display: $2000
- he junked the laptop instead.
The hard drive in the 5000 makes lots of clicking noises. I don't know if
that's better than the constant whine my Sharp laptop makes, but if you
don't tune out the clicks it could be annoying. The screen is crisp but
not as bright as some displays I've seen. Then again, you can pay a lot
more for an IBM notebook with a fantastic display, but the words and
charts on the screen won't be any more valuable to you. Overall, I think
the Inspiron 5000 would not be too much or too little computer for you -
it's a good overall choice, as long as the weight is OK with you.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
John
> Stewart Taylor wrote:
>
> > I'm hoping that some of you might offer some guidance or a
> > recommendation. I need to purchase a new notebook. It will be used
> > for basic word processing, desktop publishing, and spreadsheet junk
> > and will need to act as a backup to a desk top that runs TS2K
> > realtime.
> >
> > If the desktop goes down and the notebook is pressed into service, it
> > would only be long enough to bring the desktop back to life and should
> > only need to collect 20-30 symbols (at most). I want to be able to
> > run TS2K End of Day when I travel. When I travel, at most I will need
> > 10-15 eod symbols. I don't run big systems.
> >
> > I am nervous about lugging thousands of dollars of fragile laptop
> > around with me and don't really want to spend that much for a laptop
> > when I already have three desk tops sitting around.
> >
> > I am considering a Dell Inspiron 5000: Cost approx. 2500.00, Pentium
> > 3, 600mz, with 128MB SD Ram, 8 MBTS of Video Memory.
> >
> > I guess it boils down to,
> >
> > Is the extra money spent for a Dell worth it, or would I be just as
> > well off to spend less on a Toshiba or something similar?
> >
> > Am I considering too much computer or not enough computer?
> >
> > Any help (including brand recommendations) would be appreciated.
>
>
>
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