Wanted: New Computer
Okay, cats and kittens, that time has come. Sanka, my old computer, has decided that it's on its last legs. It has informed me that its battery is failing. Now, depending on the cost of the battery, I may replace that. But it has become abundantly clear that Sanka isn't going to be around a whole lot longer. It's to be expected ... Sanka is a good 5 or 6 years old. I've been preparing for this day, backing things up on my external and generally trying to make the transfer easy.
So! Sanka is a Dell Inspiron 6000. It is a heavy little bitch, but pretty resilient, considering it's gone back and forth from home to school multiple times a year for the past 5 or 6 years. It has served me well, even when I dropped my copy of The Tale of Genji on it.
What I'm looking for, and hoping to get some recommendations for, is another computer of about the same quality and size, and hopefully a little lighter. I'm not so happy with Dell, so I think I'll steer clear of Dell products. I've heard good things about HP and Toshiba, as well as Sony. The thing about Sony is that their products tend to be pretty pricey, and I'd like to stay down below $500, probably. Oh, and size. A good 15 or 16 inches, preferably.
I've been looking around online, and this seems like a pretty reasonable demand. Can any of you guys put in any suggestions? Or "definitely don't buy this one"?
So! Sanka is a Dell Inspiron 6000. It is a heavy little bitch, but pretty resilient, considering it's gone back and forth from home to school multiple times a year for the past 5 or 6 years. It has served me well, even when I dropped my copy of The Tale of Genji on it.
What I'm looking for, and hoping to get some recommendations for, is another computer of about the same quality and size, and hopefully a little lighter. I'm not so happy with Dell, so I think I'll steer clear of Dell products. I've heard good things about HP and Toshiba, as well as Sony. The thing about Sony is that their products tend to be pretty pricey, and I'd like to stay down below $500, probably. Oh, and size. A good 15 or 16 inches, preferably.
I've been looking around online, and this seems like a pretty reasonable demand. Can any of you guys put in any suggestions? Or "definitely don't buy this one"?