11/09   I'm thinking about a laptop like: Pentium II 233, 64MB RAM, 4GB drive,
        CD, floppy, 13.3" Active Matrix. What's a cheap, solid brand/store?
        \_ Don't get a laptop unless you require a laptop.  Always get
           desktops if mobility isn't a requirement.  Laptops break more
           easily, are stolen more easily, cost more, do less, have shitty
           keyboard, upgrades options are near-zero, and no they don't make
           you look cool to the babes.
        \_ unless you really have to, avoid laptops.  I regret it myself but
           if you absolutely must IBMs and Apple PowerBooks are sure bets.
           Don't expect to be able to expand later on though.
           \_ D'accord. I just spent $450. to replace the hard drive
              on my PB, which was never a problem on my desktops.
        \_ toshiba >>> ibm -shac
           \_ * >>> shac -!shac
        \_ ibm >>>> toshiba -jlee
            \_ I can only say I've had wonderful experiences with IBMs. -brg
           \_ I disagree.  I just sold my Pentium II desktop and switched
              to a laptop.  I can do almost everything I need to do.  It's
                                        \_ "almost" is an interesting word.
              very convenient since I can bring it to my girlfriend's place
              and use it and still able to spend time with her. :-)
                \_ So you can ignore her in person instead of long distance?
                   Good call.
        \_ I agree with the above.  Buy a good desktop computer, and if you
           really need a laptop, buy a low-end model to use when you can't
           use the desktop.
           \_ Totally on the mark.  This is the way to go.
        \_ I disagree, using a notebook as your main machine is prob.
           the best bet, considering how often one travels nowadays,
                                                \_ One?  Who exactly is doing
                                                   all this travel?
           it's good to have all your eggs in one basket, just make
           sure to back up at least once a night.
        \_ Dell Latitude is the best laptop I have experienced with.  Sony
           is ok.  Hitachi is ok, too.
           \_ Dell won't guarantee the quality of the LCD panel.  Just ask
              them if they'll replace it if there's a single bad pixel.
              "Up to 9 bad pixels are allowable..."  My ass.  If I send you
              $3000 for a computer, I at least expect to not have to look at
              something that looks vaguely like an undermaintained
              scoreboard.
                \_ Laptop LCD are more fragile than any other kind of
                   computer hardware.  I really doubt other vendors
                   would want to warrant any damage to LCD display.  Dell
                   XGA laptops are around $2000, which is pretty good price.
                   \_ I was talking about condition _ON_DELIVERY_!  If I
                      drop the damn thing and bust the LCD it's my fault,
                      sure, but I'm not going to accept delivery of
                      defective merchandise.
                \_ Dell's also go really bad if they do go bad, then again
                   reformatting the disk and downloading all of the
                   different drivers from Dell sometimes works.
        \_ ALL Fujitsu notebooks guarantee 3 years of perfect matrix.
        \_ At my work we have a bunch of Winbook laptops and we have never
           had any problems with them and they are normally quite a bit
           cheaper than anywhere else that we have looked. The only
           problem that some people have with them is that they do not
           come with all of the bells and whistles, which is a good thing
           if you know what you are doing.
           \_ I'm about to buy from WinBook because: 30-day moneyback
              guarantee (if they won't replace it because of an LCD
              problem, I just tell them I want my money back), good
              price, no sales tax.  (Would've bought from Gateway,
              but paying multiple hundreds of dollars extra didn't
              particularly appeal to me)  Only downside is the
              *3 week* lead time.  And the default shipping option
              is overnight.  Heh.
        \_ HP Omnibooks (somewhat old, but) seem to be fairly nice. We
           have one. an actual ball for a mouse. Plus external monitor
           port built in. And the keyboard is decent. So, when at home,
           plug into big monitor, and enjoy both worlds.
           Oh, it also has a scsi port.