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I have been using portable computers for some time. Below are some of my observations regarding laptops. Hope you find them helpful. Below is a picture of my current laptop, a Gateway Solo. 
Email me with your suggestions and your questions. |
My first "portable" was a Zenith portable that weighed at least 30 pounds. It was build as if it was going to be used in a war zone. I referred to it as my "Hernia Portable".
Next I got another Zenith. This was a real portable, but it lacked a battery. It had no hard dirive. But it did have two 3.5" microdisk drives. It was portable and it was usable, but without a hard disk drive, it was limited.
In 1988/9 I got a Compaq portable with a hard drive. It had a 286 processor. This machine served me well during my sabbatical in Ireland. All I did was buy an appliance cord in Ireland and it worked like a charm. I used the "luggable laptop" (17 pounds) until 1991.
In 1991 I took a real step up and purchased a AST Premium Exec. My first real laptop. It had a 25 mHz 386 processor with a math coprocessor and a monochrome screen. Wow, an 80 MB disk. I did not like the monochrome screen, but found that it was fine when used in reverse mode (black on white). That machine served me, and others quite well. It is still in use. It had been take abroad, died, and was replaced under warranty (why I believe in three year warranties), and survived a fire.
In February of 1994 I purchased a Toshiba T4400C. It has a 25 mHz processor, a color display, a 200+ MB disk, and 20 MB of memory. Soon after I purchased the machine I installed Stacker, which made the disk a virtual 450+ MB drive. Stacker saved the disk everytime I had a software crash. It is a great product.
The T4400C was purchase with 12 MB of memory and was reasonably fast for a 25 mHz machine. I purchased a 16 MB card, taking it up to 20 MB. It dramatically inproved the performance of the machine under Windows. In March 1996 I purchased a Gateway Solo with a 120 mHz Pentium, 40MB memory, 1.2 GB disk and an SVGA screen. The machine has a touchpad pointing device. It arrived at a time when I was wrapping up the pre-copyedit draft of my text. Was it a life saver. For each chapter in the book there was a process that took up to ten minutes on my old Toshiba. The new machine, running the same software performed the same process in abut 30 to 40 seconds. The machine came with Windows 95 and Microsoft Office, Professional Edition. So far, I experienced one problem with the machine, which I traced to my lack of experience with Windows 95. I read on the news groups about some problems and concerns about the touchpad. The machine did freeze up a few times. I found a simple work around. I simply closed the lid to put the machine to sleep, reopen the lid to turn it on. It always woke up with the touchpad back in action.
When you purchase a laptop, be aware that
Purchasing a laptop usually involves a series of tradeoffs to determine whether the difference in cost is worth purchasing a laptop instead of a desktop. Personally, I like the freedom the laptop provides me. I can work were I want, when I want . When I watch the news at night, or a boring TV program, I can pull up my laptop and get some work done and still keep an eye on the show. It is amazing the work you can get done between downs while watching a football game(American football, 5 to 10 seconds of action followed by 25 to 40 seconds of replays).
Here are some things to look for when you decide to buy a laptop
Don't expect too much. Be careful, chances are you will not be able to add too much, so make sure you are buying all the features you want.
It is amazing what you can get in this range. Toshiba sells a very nice 75 mHz Pentium with a list price of $1,999. It comes with a VGA screen and an "eraser head" pointing device. At this price, it makes a great entry level machine.
What would I try to buy? For about $2500 I'd insist on
This is an interesting price range. In this range, I would recommend
Power machine. Expect a 120 mHz Pentium or better, at least 32 MB of memory, and an active SVGA screen.
For $4500 I expect everything in the $3500 machine, including both 32 MB of memory and an active matrix screen. I'd also expect a couple of frills, like a 28.8 modem card and a 6X CDROM. Perhaps even an extra battery.
At $5500 throw in a 12.1" SVGA active matrix screen with 1028 pixel resolution.
Watch out for the display hype. Bigger does not mean better. Watch out for what is not said in the ad about a display.
Don't even consider this unless you are buying a CHEAP ( less than $1,000) machine. It is not worth what it does to your eyes. The same is true for the old single scan passive color displays.
A very good display. The only drawback is that it cannot be viewed from an angle. Some might not consider that a drawback. You should expect this on a LOW priced model. Use dual scan as a way to cut the price on a model (instead of active matrix) in order to get more memory or a bigger disk. If you have to cut back to save some money, this is where you want to cut. These are very good screens, easy on the eyes.
The premier display on machines. They usually cost $500 to $1,000 over of dual scan on a machine, everything else being equal. Don't just look at the size in inches. Assume that if the ad does not say SVGA, then it is a VGA display.
DON"T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON A 486 BASED MACHINE UNLESS YOU ARE GETTING A GREAT PRICE.
Don't compromise on memory. No matter what machine you buy get enough memory. Get at least 12 MB on a CHEAP or LOW priced machine. Get at least 16 MB on a MEDIUM or HIGH price machine. Frankly, I would not buy a machine with less than 32 MB. This is just not the place to cut corners. A slower machine with more memory will outperform most faster machines with less memory
I had an experience where my old 25 mHz 486 notebook with 20MB of RAM ran circles around a 60 mHz 486 machine with 8MB. We're talking about a 10 to 1 speed difference in this case.
The higher the price, the bigger the disk. Minimum disk sizes I would accept are:
If your paying $2500 or more DEMAND a CD ROM player. More and more software is becoming available on CDROM. Look for a machine that has a swappable port into which you can place the CD ROM drive, a 3.5" drive, and in some cases, an extra battery.
Two type II slots is the standard. Demand it on a $3,000 machine.
Don't buy a built in modem. Get a PCMCIA card modem. Why? When new modems with greater speed come along it is easy to replace a PCMCIA card, not so easy to replace a built in one.
Expect at least a stereo sound capability on a medium or high priced machine. SOme are coming with other video hardware/software as well.
Expect one year on all machines. Demand three years on a MEDIUM and HIGH priced machine. You may have to pay a minimum charge, like $100.
A question that comes up time and again about laptops is: Given the different power systems in different counties, what problems will you have using your laptop and recharging the battery?
The answer is: Keep it simple. First check your laptop's recharger. Normally a recharger accept 110-220 volt 50-60 cycle input. If it does, simply get an appliance cord (when you arrive at your destination) or an adapter plug (at Radio Shack before you leave) for the country in question and use your recharger/adapter as your power source.
NEVER use a power converter. It isn't worth the potential problems it may cause to your laptop.
Buy a notebook with an integrated pointing device. In my mind, there are two very good choices, the Accupoint (eraser head) or the EZ Point (touchpad). I happen to use a touchpad, but I have friends who swear by their eraser head. I think it is a matter of getting use to it. My experience with the touchpad was that it took about a day and a half. Friends of mine who went with the eraser head felt it took about the same amount of time.
In eaither case, if you do lots of work with your notebook at your desk, you may want to get an external mouse. You can't beat a mouse for accurate pointer movement. What about a track ball, It has seen its day.
I had a very long discussion with a person, who asked not to be identified, who works for one of the major national cellular phone companies. According to him: Given the current state of the art, don't expect too much. The first thing you must do is put together all the right parts.
Under the best of conditions.
The best you can usually expect is
If you have any comments or improvements on these suggestions, let me know.
