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HI there:
I just went through the same process and as much as I tried to buy another
brand, I kept coming back to Toshiba. All of the checking led to only one
conclusion. If you want a bullet proof machine then buy the best.
I really took a close look at Dell, but they just do not stack up with
Toshiba, and the price is the same. I've heard good things about IBM, but
again when you ask the guys who are in the business of selling notebooks
what machine has the lowest returns......it's hands down Toshiba. As a
matter a fact one company that I bought from in Toronto said that they had
had only one Toshiba come back......an unwanted gift.
I ended up buying a Toshiba 4060...333PII--64
meg..6.5HD...24XCD...14TFT.....it's fast, and works great.
To lug it around I bought the Targus--back pack case..It is just as easy to
carry and at the end of a long hike you'll find that both arms are the same
length. Try carrying 10 lbs. for a hour or so with a regular case, at the
end of the day you will wonder why you can scratch your knees without
bending over....For security the Defcon 1 from Targus is the best all round
choice....throw in a small surge protector...and you are ready for the road.
All the best in making the decision.
----- Original Message -----
From: Alexander Levitin <alevitin@xxxxxxxx>
To: Owen Davies <owen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <GREHERT@xxxxxxx>;
<pennyd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <realtraders@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 1999 10:17 AM
Subject: Re: Laptops
> As of laptops it is IBM, IBM and only IBM. Nothing else.
>
> Alex.
>
> At 08:58 AM 7/28/99 -0400, Owen Davies wrote:
> >Jerry Rehert helpfully observed:
> >
> >
> >>I never heard of a ProSTar. I'd recommend a NAME-BRAND laptop (Toshiba,
> >IBM,
> >>Dell, Compaq). I know people who bought no name laptops and when they
went
> >>for service, the company was nowhere to be found. Name Brand laptops
I'd
> >>expect to have more consistent components, more reliable warranties and
> >>better chance to have the bugs worked out of them. I've consistently
> >bought
> >>Toshiba and have been very satisfied.
> >
> >
> >Thus far, I have experience with only two of the above, but enough to
make
> >some
> >comments.
> >
> >If you go for a Compaq, be sure to buy the Armada series, not a Presario.
I
> >didn't
> >know any better and bought a Presario. As a physical object, it's nicely
> >designed,
> >convenient to use, and well supplied with features. The proprietary
add-ons
> >to
> >Windows are buggy as they could be and still work at all. Not that
anything
> >will
> >refuse to load and run, alas. Instead, you get stuck with arbitrary
> >freezes, more
> >than the usual number of problems with Internet Explorer, functions that
> >work one
> >day and disappear the next, and so on. (In short, it's just like
Windows,
> >but more
> >so!) I've had mine for just over a year now and am getting close to
> >re-installing
> >the software yet again. This will be the fourth time, and I've heard of
> >people who
> >had to do it that often in the first six weeks. (No doubt I'm lucky in
that
> >the laptop
> >is not my only machine.) Problem being that in this one (it varies from
one
> >version
> >to the next) the installation CD does not permit any changes in the
> >installed package.
> >You always have to install exactly the same software configuration that
> >didn't work
> >last time. On the most recent rework, I installed Windows and the
> >associated
> >joined-at-the-hip junk, installed Word, and had the machine freeze solid
> >before
> >getting to use it for anything practical.
> >
> >Oh, yeah. Also had to have the keyboard and touchpad replaced, at the
cost
> >of three weeks or so without it.
> >
> >I have not used the Armada laptops, but have talked with a tech who
> >maintains
> >a fleet of them for a major company in this area. He says they no longer
> >use the
> >Presarios because of all the trouble they had, but have never had a
problem
> >with
> >the Armadas. Several other folks have echoed his report.
> >
> >As for the Dell, it seems to be a nice machine, but on the model I used
> >while on a
> >trip last week the touchpad was not adequately recessed, so it was almost
> >impossible to use the machine without accidentally shifting the cursor
> >somewhere
> >it wasn't supposed to be. Bad enough in Word. Using Excel was next to
> >impossible.
> >No doubt you'd adapt to it eventually, but who'd want to bother? In
photos
> >of the
> >current Dell line, it appears that the touchpad is recessed a little
farther
> >into the
> >surface, but I'd want to use one of them before buying it.
> >
> >What led me to the Compaq was the feature set, and especially that I
didn't
> >have
> >to fiddle around swapping out the CD-ROM and floppy drive; everything is
> >built
> >in (save the Zip drive I hung on it) and available whenever you want it.
> >Some other
> >laptops require you to switch them as needed. The IBMs I've seen do
this.
> >Still,
> >the next laptop I buy is likely to be an IBM. Maybe a Toshiba, depending
on
> >the
> >feature sets available next time I go shopping.
> >
> >One thing for sure: I'll put a lot more research into picking the next
one
> >than just
> >going to the local store and picking up whatever looks good.
> >
> >Hope that's enough help to justify having to wade through it all.
> >
> >Owen Davies
>
>
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