Notebook Computer

[Austin]

Gents, I currently have an IBM T42 Thinkpad that I use almost everyday. I lug it to client offices almost daily. I will be replacing this notebook with a new one shortly. I will be shipping my current notebook to my son next month.

What is important to me is light weight, thin, plenty of horsepower, at least a 14" screen (good for presentations), ruggedness and reliability.

I have owned Dells, Compaq, IBM and Toshiba notebooks in the past. What do you guys use and recommend?

 

[htownmmm]

Austin,

I currently own a Gateway Sonic Intel PM 740

17" widescreen

80GB HD

DVD/RW Burner

1 GB DDR memory

Built in wireless connectivity- if a signal is there, its online.

I purchased it last November from HSN- they currently have a newer model for sale with upgraded features: dual core processor, dual layer DVD,100GB HD. However, the screen is only 15.4". I would check their site over the weekend to see if another one pops up thats worth buying.

 

[jduffy]

We used to get Dells for work but after having so many problems we switched everything to Macs. We've had a few problems but nothing like we were having with the Dells.

YMMV of course.

 

[NMMB]

I'll be the second to vote "mac". IMHO you get more bang for your buck with mac... but be warned, once you go mac, you never go back (or something like that )

 

[Austin]

I have considered Macs in the past but unfortunately some of the software I use requires Windows platform.

Another caveat is that the notebook has to be a business class notebook. For media, etc., I use my desktop.

 

[jfm]

Fujitsu makes excellent ultraportable laptops. I've had great luck with them.

 

[Elmo]

the latest macs use an intel chip and can run windows and/or mac OSX
take a look http://www.apple.com at the store tab. You can configure a machine to your liking and get a price.

 

[nichhel]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'business class', but depending on what windows software you want to run this might help http://www.codeweavers.com/

 

[Austin]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'business class', but depending on what windows software you want to run this might help http://www.codeweavers.com/

Business class means configured with Windows Pro, security features, weight, etc.

 

[MasonM]

I've been pretty happy with my Dell Inspiron dual booting Xp and Linux.

 

[roughrider]

I personally like the look of HP notebooks. You can build yours at costco.com for a good price and I think they have 6-month return policy.

 

[nichhel]

Business class means configured with Windows Pro, security features, weight, etc.

Not to sound nitpicky, but if you want security with windows, there is only one (very expensive) option, and it's only available to large business. This option is called Pointsec. We use it at a large financial company, and it basically encrypts the entire disk, boot sector onwards. Any other way, as the recent lost laptops of Citigroup and Veterans Affairs (iirc) show, leads to lost sensitive data and potentially huge legal liabilities, as when thousands of credit card #s and SSNs get stolen. It is trivial to take *any* Windows computer (including Pro etc) and get complete administrative control.

For business (at least, the financial-banking-insurance biz) security's the most important consideration. Weight, thinness, not so much, but easy parts replaceability, service contracts etc. are next in line when you're dealing with thousands of laptops in service.

If on other grounds (weight, thinness -- macs get high marks here) the Apple suffices, I would say go for it. Apple, IBM and Sony consistently get high marks for quality, but Apple seems to have a bit of a price advantage in Intel Core Duo chip terms right now. Also, you mention presentations -- it's regarded as a good presentation machine, and comes with a remote.

You can always get XP installed on it (even Pro). However, if OS X works fine with your client's printers and networks, and your software runs thanks to codeweavers (what software is it you need to run?), then you needn't have XP, and you'll enjoy higher security. IIRC Macs can encrypt all your files, no additional software required.

Thinkpads are good choices too (I'm using one right now, T42 in fact). I'm not an Apple fanboy, but I wouldn't want you to dismiss it out of hand -- and it seems to me that business class by your definition does not disqualify Apple.

just my 2 cents!

-- dan

*EDIT* minor edits, and added quote

*EDIT: Apple has a warranty program called AppleCare which is very highly regarded.

 

[majkeli]

Our whole company is slowly switching over to various configurations of the HP Compaq nc6230. It's a true business class machine with all the features you need in a business computer. They're great for multimedia presentations with various screen modes designed with running through projector in mind, highly upgradeable, and dockable which is really important to me. I'm a software developer and I work on my machine all day, and I've found it to be very reliable. It's thin and light too. I'm not sure how Vista ready it is though, if that matters to you. You can PM me if you'd like any more info on it.

You may also want to wait until January and get a Vista machine. I have an MSDN license and I've had access to all the betas, I think might be worth waiting a couple of months for.

I also use Macs and Linux daily at home(I'm writing this on my Powerbook), and can't advise making the switch unless you're ready to start using nearly an entirely new set of applications. There are things on those platforms that will let you get your work done, but you'll have to re-learn how to do it. Running Windows on a newer Mac is also an option, but Macs just lack some of the features I need in a business machine, things like a dock, upgradeability, easily swappable hard drives, and a swappable media port.

Crossover is nice too, but there are a lot of the newer apps that don't run 100%. I use it on my Linux machine and run office XP without issue, but office 2003 isn't completely stable last I checked.

 

[majkeli]

It is trivial to take *any* Windows computer (including Pro etc) and get administrative privileges.

This is true of nearly every (if not every) operating system. Once the machine is compromised through physical access all the information on it isn't real hard to get to.

 

[jbasl]

I think the best two options in notebooks are either an IBM lenovo or a Mac with bootcamp so you can run windows.

I worked in the computer dept. at best buy for about three years and so I have a lot of experience with Sony, HP (compaq), Toshiba, and Gateway (emachines). There are of course models in all of these brands which are well built. However, over the range of the line I have found problems with each that convinced me to look elsewhere when I bought my notebook. I did a lot of searching and everywhere I looked I got IBM.

I got my IBM before they were bought by lenovo, but my girlfriend has a lenovo branded IBM and it works as well as mine. I have the x41 tablet which is a twelve inch convertable and its really impressive. Awesome hardware and performance as well as customer care.

 

[letterk]

My choices would be in this order. All are on the pricey side, but you get what you pay for. I value build quality, small form factor, battery life, and power.

Mac with bootcamp for OSX and Windows XP
Asus
Sager
Lenovo

 

[nichhel]

This is true of nearly every (if not every) operating system. Once the machine is compromised through physical access all the information on it isn't real hard to get to.

Certainly true. Unless there is a transparent, foolproof method of encryption for *all* user modifiable files any computer is not secure. Mac makes it easy, that's all (IIRC).

IBM slim tablets are nice, but (again IIRC) they sacrifice optical drives to do that.

 

[mrob]

Actually, if you truly want security on a PC, your best bet is to toss the whole virus-prone thing into the nearest trash bin and buy yourself a nice new MacBook Pro!

I've been a Mac user since the early 80s and never had a virus--I don't know why you PC guys hang in there--if more of you would just walk towards the light, then more software companies would be forced to write Mac versions of their applications and the only barrier to Mac adoption would disappear.

 

[PalmettoB]

Actually, if you truly want security on a PC, your best bet is to toss the whole virus-prone thing into the nearest trash bin and buy yourself a nice new MacBook Pro!

I've been a Mac user since the early 80s and never had a virus--I don't know why you PC guys hang in there--if more of you would just walk towards the light, then more software companies would be forced to write Mac versions of their applications and the only barrier to Mac adoption would disappear.

I vote Mac too, although I am lucky in that I mainly use Word, Excel and Web-based stuff for teaching, not the heavy-duty business apps. (Although with the Intel chip, Macs are catching up!)

(Edit: Of course, if too many more people start using Macs, Mitch, then the nuts who write viruses will start going after Macs too. I think the main reason they don't target Macs is they don't get the big exposure for their antics.)

 

[AVB19Peace]

What is important to me is light weight, thin, plenty of horsepower, at least a 14" screen (good for presentations), ruggedness and reliability.

MacBook Pro 15" would make you very happy.

• 1 inch thin
• 5.6 lbs.
• 15.4- or 17-inch widescreen display
• Up to 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo
• 667MHz frontside bus and main memory
• PCI Express architecture
• Up to 120GB Serial ATA hard drive
• ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with up to 256MB memory on 16-lane PCI Express
• ExpressCard/34 slot
• Dual-link DVI, VGA adapter included
• FireWire 400, FireWire 800 (17-inch only), and USB 2.0 ports
• Optical digital and analog audio I/O, built-in microphone and stereo speakers
• Slot-loading SuperDrive
• Illuminated keyboard, Scrolling TrackPad
• Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11g), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, and Gigabit Ethernet
• Mac OS X Tiger with iLife ’06 featuring iWeb, iWork ’06 trial, and more
• MagSafe Power Adapter

Presentations: Have a look at Keynote. Once you've seen a Keynote presentation it will kill you that you have to go back to PowerPoint. PowerPoint, the worst program that made so many people think they were "designers."

Reliability: OS X is built on a UNIX foundation. Forget the PC vs. Mac debate. Do some research or ask a real computer science major what is the most stable operating system.

Mac has Microsoft Office, Filemaker Pro, MySQL, QuickBooks, Quicken, etc... Macintosh Products Guide has a list of over 23,000 titles. In the event that you have a custom made application or it just isn't available on Mac, you can use Boot Camp to allow you to install Windows XP SP2 Pro or Home and run it on your Mac.

I've read a lot of reports that Windows XP is more stable on a Mac than on a PC. Keep in mind, that if you do run Windows on a Mac, you will still be vunerable to viruses, spyware and all the other "features" that Windows has. You will need to get software for those things, just like you do on a Windows machine.