Hello, Dude. I'm glad you could make it.
Finally, it appears that my obsession with laptops can be put to rest. After months of looking at different brands and models, going crazy over specifications and prices, watching my old laptop become senile, and all while I still did not have the money to buy a new laptop, I made my choice and bought one. I expect FedEx to ring the doorbell any minute now. In the meantime, here's what they'll be bringing:
After endless debating I decided on the IBM ThinkPad T41. This involved spending a ton of money, but in the end I felt it was worth the features, the form, and the excellent IBM support and 3-year warranty. Since I make money pretty much exclusively using my computer, I think a solid laptop is a good investment, and the IBM "T" line is widely thought of as the Mercedes-Benz of laptops.
But I spent conservatively, if the word can be applied to buying IBM at all, and did not go for the ridiculous top-of-the-line model. Here are the main specifications of the model I bought:
Pentium M 1.6 GHz
768 megs of RAM (I bought it with 256 plus 512 from crucial.com)
40 gig hard drive at 5,400 rpm
Built-in Intel wireless networking (making it a Centrino notebook)
14.1" SXGA+ screen with a native resolution of 1400 x 1050
ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 graphics with 32 megs of video RAM
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet, modem, two USB 2.0 ports, infrared
Modular hot-swappable DVD-ROM/CD-RW
Dimensions: 12" wide x 10" deep x 1" thick
Weight: 4.5 - 5.0 lbs
(It's here!! I love it, it's so handsome.)
To be fair, here are a couple of things I don't like:
The touchpad is pretty small. But this is the first year they've added them, so I'm lucky to have one at all.
There are things on it I'll never use, such as a parallel port and a docking port on the bottom.
The resolution is both good and bad: it's really crisp and clear, but the default fonts strain the eyes a bit.
The things I like most about this laptop are:
Amazing keyboard - this was one of my top priorities. I honestly think this is the best keyboard I've ever seen on a notebook.
Very sturdy but still light and very thin.
ThinkLight - tiny LED mounted at the top of the screen that can be used to illuminate the keyboard in the dark.
Active Hard Disk Protection - accelerometer sensor stops hard disk when sudden motion is detected to prevent damage.
It's incredibly quiet.
Good battery life.
No nonsense design.
Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. The network name I gave it? Treehorn.
After endless debating I decided on the IBM ThinkPad T41. This involved spending a ton of money, but in the end I felt it was worth the features, the form, and the excellent IBM support and 3-year warranty. Since I make money pretty much exclusively using my computer, I think a solid laptop is a good investment, and the IBM "T" line is widely thought of as the Mercedes-Benz of laptops.
But I spent conservatively, if the word can be applied to buying IBM at all, and did not go for the ridiculous top-of-the-line model. Here are the main specifications of the model I bought:
Pentium M 1.6 GHz
768 megs of RAM (I bought it with 256 plus 512 from crucial.com)
40 gig hard drive at 5,400 rpm
Built-in Intel wireless networking (making it a Centrino notebook)
14.1" SXGA+ screen with a native resolution of 1400 x 1050
ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 graphics with 32 megs of video RAM
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet, modem, two USB 2.0 ports, infrared
Modular hot-swappable DVD-ROM/CD-RW
Dimensions: 12" wide x 10" deep x 1" thick
Weight: 4.5 - 5.0 lbs
(It's here!! I love it, it's so handsome.)
To be fair, here are a couple of things I don't like:
The touchpad is pretty small. But this is the first year they've added them, so I'm lucky to have one at all.
There are things on it I'll never use, such as a parallel port and a docking port on the bottom.
The resolution is both good and bad: it's really crisp and clear, but the default fonts strain the eyes a bit.
The things I like most about this laptop are:
Amazing keyboard - this was one of my top priorities. I honestly think this is the best keyboard I've ever seen on a notebook.
Very sturdy but still light and very thin.
ThinkLight - tiny LED mounted at the top of the screen that can be used to illuminate the keyboard in the dark.
Active Hard Disk Protection - accelerometer sensor stops hard disk when sudden motion is detected to prevent damage.
It's incredibly quiet.
Good battery life.
No nonsense design.
Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. The network name I gave it? Treehorn.