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General board for soon-to-be 1Ls / Re: Sony Vaio?
« on: April 05, 2005, 05:37:10 PM »
Most major laptop sellers have a good warranty plan, with on-site... it'll just cost you more at different places...
in my opinion you have a few things to consider...
price - 'nuff said, if you can't afford it, don't buy it
performance - decide what you NEED it for and buy to that... don't get techno envy and end up with a 15lb desktop replacement that plays games quick as lightning if that's not what you want
comfort - if you are going to type your notes in class you'll want a laptop you can type on. most ultra-portables have keyboards that would make a normal hand ache, let alone a large one. go to the store, try some keyboards out. of course, if you aren't going to be typing a lot, this might not mean that much to you
looks - in my opinion this absolutely does not matter. who cares what it looks like, this isn't a fashion contest... again, beware of techno envy... if it does what you need and the price is right, who cares if it's all black or blue and silver
reliabilitythis can be an important factor. you want to buy from a company that makes a product that shouldn't break under normal use and that will have a good plan in place should it break. you don't want to be without your laptop, even for a day, if that's your primary source of studying. you should act responsibly as well. make backups, carry a USB key, sync with a desktop if you can. these are things that will help should a tragedy befall your laptop
all this said, after doing my own research i think the IBM ThinkPad T42/43 is the best for me. the reputation of the ThinkPad is very high. IBM scores quite well on customer surveys with PC Magazine in terms of customer support and satisfaction. i happen to find it's look pretty powerful, but like i said, it doesn't matter much. IBM has stayed pretty up to speed with the latest technology, especially for a business-type laptop. Battery life is very good, as is overall features and performance. And the keyboard is very comfortable for my hands. The only thing holding me back is price. The Dells and Gateways of the laptop world crush IBM in terms of price per performance. If I don't buy a ThinkPad I will probably buy something like an Inspiron 6000.
The New York Sony store is not that far from me and so I've had a chance to go and test their Vaios. The Vaio is a nice looking laptop. It's cost per performance is extremely high in my opinion and it's technology is Sony-centric. The keyboards are a little flimsy to my hands. However, the Sony screens are the sweetest things I've ever seen on a laptop. They really pop.
My biggest recommendation is to do your homework. Go to PC Magazine and C|Net for reviews. Flip through some issues of LAPTOP Magazine and MobilePC. Post questions like the one you did in this thread. Go to the store and lift them up, type on them, look at them. Then decide. The toughest thing in my mind about it is that you will probably be stuck with this laptop for all of law school. Three years is really long in tech-time. I've had four desktops in three years. So be sure that the one you get fits your needs now and for the next few years.
in my opinion you have a few things to consider...
price - 'nuff said, if you can't afford it, don't buy it
performance - decide what you NEED it for and buy to that... don't get techno envy and end up with a 15lb desktop replacement that plays games quick as lightning if that's not what you want
comfort - if you are going to type your notes in class you'll want a laptop you can type on. most ultra-portables have keyboards that would make a normal hand ache, let alone a large one. go to the store, try some keyboards out. of course, if you aren't going to be typing a lot, this might not mean that much to you
looks - in my opinion this absolutely does not matter. who cares what it looks like, this isn't a fashion contest... again, beware of techno envy... if it does what you need and the price is right, who cares if it's all black or blue and silver
reliabilitythis can be an important factor. you want to buy from a company that makes a product that shouldn't break under normal use and that will have a good plan in place should it break. you don't want to be without your laptop, even for a day, if that's your primary source of studying. you should act responsibly as well. make backups, carry a USB key, sync with a desktop if you can. these are things that will help should a tragedy befall your laptop
all this said, after doing my own research i think the IBM ThinkPad T42/43 is the best for me. the reputation of the ThinkPad is very high. IBM scores quite well on customer surveys with PC Magazine in terms of customer support and satisfaction. i happen to find it's look pretty powerful, but like i said, it doesn't matter much. IBM has stayed pretty up to speed with the latest technology, especially for a business-type laptop. Battery life is very good, as is overall features and performance. And the keyboard is very comfortable for my hands. The only thing holding me back is price. The Dells and Gateways of the laptop world crush IBM in terms of price per performance. If I don't buy a ThinkPad I will probably buy something like an Inspiron 6000.
The New York Sony store is not that far from me and so I've had a chance to go and test their Vaios. The Vaio is a nice looking laptop. It's cost per performance is extremely high in my opinion and it's technology is Sony-centric. The keyboards are a little flimsy to my hands. However, the Sony screens are the sweetest things I've ever seen on a laptop. They really pop.
My biggest recommendation is to do your homework. Go to PC Magazine and C|Net for reviews. Flip through some issues of LAPTOP Magazine and MobilePC. Post questions like the one you did in this thread. Go to the store and lift them up, type on them, look at them. Then decide. The toughest thing in my mind about it is that you will probably be stuck with this laptop for all of law school. Three years is really long in tech-time. I've had four desktops in three years. So be sure that the one you get fits your needs now and for the next few years.