Laptops.

[saxikath]

I'm being sorely tempted to replace my laptop. I'm on my fourth power cord (and the new one seems to cause the computer to run much hotter than before), and the CD drive is flaky.

I really shouldn't; mine still works well enough, and I don't really have the money. But it's so tempting to get one that's lighter and more up to date than mine.

I'd thought about switching to Mac, but it turns out that Microsoft Publisher doesn't actually exist for Mac, which would be a real problem for doing The Enigma. (Yes, yes, I know, there are much better programs out there for that sort of thing, but switching now would be a major headache -- not only would I have to switch everything over, but the production editors would too.) So I guess I'm stuck with Windows machines. That said, anyone have recommendations?

Comments

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

There are some programs for the Mac that emulate Windows. It's possible that something like that would allow you to run Microsoft Publisher on a Mac.

[crossfire.livejournal.com]

I'm very pleased with my Dell laptop. It's 5 years old and still running strong.

Steve is very pleased with his HP laptop, which we got via CostCo for a great bargain.

[stevie-stever.livejournal.com]

Today's versions PC for Windows emulators are relatively decent, and all are owned now by Microsoft. I know we can get them to run MS Access on the Mac, as we've demo'd it on the Mac in the store in Chestnut Hill. Why you would -want- to do that is another issue.

As for word processing, I haven't yet seen an emulator that won't run it.

The bigtime caveat is now that a relatively new OS is out, Tiger for the Mac, and I don't think any of the PC for Windows versions have been updated to run natively on it, so all bets are off for Microsoft Publisher.

[cazique.livejournal.com]

Dell's customer service is not what it once was, but their laptops are still okay. As you know, lighter == $$, and more powerful == $$.

I believe that price aside, IBM laptops are the best there are. However, price isn't aside and they are more expensive in keeping with higher quality and durability. My brother was pricing one that was significantly less expensive than I would have expected, though, so maybe with the recent change in ownership their prices are decreasing.

We wanted a big multimedia laptop to eventually be able to edit video and such, we went with HP and are not disappointed. However, this is the opposite direction in which you want to go, as you need portability, and I don't know how HP's more portable products are.

All in all, you should definitely check out the refurbished offerings of all the companies. I know Dell sells refurbished, and the others probably do too. My Dell refurbished laptop lasted me many years and my wife's was pretty durable too.

[aneequs.livejournal.com]

I lurve my sub-three-pounder from dell.

[joikm.livejournal.com]

Random passerby from Seattle... Hello from the West!

I just got a IBM T42, and it's a very nice machine. The price was good, and it's fast enough once I dropped a gig stick into it. And it has an alternative to the touchpad in the stick. I loathe touchpads!

There is an ultralight version as well, for your inner (outer?) executive with an expense account.