[ezygmont708]

The Skinny on buying a laptop (For all you non techies...)

I am an it administrator for one of the sponsoring school districts so I do have some (alot) of experience with this sort of stuff, so here's my opinion...

Step 1 (The Brand)
HP - If you are going to buy an HP get it from Hp's website under business or a reputable commercial sales (CDW, Gov-Connection, PC-Connect) company. If a school or some other form of Governmental entity will be purchasing the machine check with CDW-G for the best pricing and selection. Also consider the fact that there may be a bid price for computers that is negotiated by your state government, in PA this is Peppm or CoStars.

Lenovo - My Work Machine... Lenovo (IBM Commercial) are good reliable machines, look for them at the same places and with the same precautions as above.

Dell- Stay away, "Dude your getting a dell", really means "Dude your buying more problems". The pre-loaded software applications that come on MOST dells will cause the machines to be slow and in-effective for all intensive purposes. However, I have heard a couple of good things about the DELL Vostros. I am just always weary of purchasing a dell...

Compaq- Go for the more adept HP

Gateway - Stay away to many countless reasons.

Sony- My Personal machine... I love the way the sony's are laid out, the way the keyboard is set-up, and the overall look and power that comes with the VAIO. They are pricey, and you are paying alot for the looks and the name, but my machine just looks hot...

Panasonic Toughbok - Unless you plan on being shot at or running into a burning building SAVE YOUR MONEY!!! These machine are way to expensive, If you looking for a respectible alternative take a look at the Lenovos. They have an active protection system on the hard drives, magnesium re-inforced cases, and very strong hinges. Overall a good alternative to a Toughbook...

Step 2 (The SPECS)

This really depends what you are doing but here is my suggested minimum if you would like to continue using your machine for a couple of years (Like most of US)

Processor: Minimum - Intel Dual Core System
RAM: Minimum of 1 GB is required if you would like to run VISTA, 3 GB suggested. If your like me and don't like the look or feel, or even the back end of Vista, try finding a machine loaded with XP. These machines are hard to come by but if you check the sites in Step 1 you should be able to find at least a couple of models that have XP pre-installed (Mainly HP and Lenovo). Windows XP minimum: 512MB Suggested: 2GB

The extras:
The extras are specific to what you are doing on the machine. Some options will reduce battery life, and some options could increase battery life, It's all a real give and take. I would suggest buying a 9-cell battery if you happen to be the team programmer. Wouldn't it be nice to walk away from the pits, untethered while you try to fix that code hiccup?

DVD-RW: Pretty much a necessity in this day and age, and almost standard.
Wireless: This is also a necessity, and almost standard. 802.11b/g is nice but if you can pick up a machine that is 802.11a/b/g/n. Again this is rare to come buy, and may add to your cost, but will allow you to connect to just about any network out there.
Bluetooth: I really don't use this and therefore have no opinion.
Serial Port: This is rather important for FIRST, however finding a laptop now a days is like trying to find a needle in a hay stack, or a 1/4 20 nut driver in our pit. There are a couple of decent USB to Serial Port adapters, we got ours from Radio Shack, and it seems to work alright for our programmer.
PCMCIA or Express Card: these are like a PCI slot for your laptop, allowing you to add anything from serial ports to celphone modems to your laptop. I know that many people do not use these but if you can find a laptop with an expresscard/54 slot it will be helpfull (Again, given your planning on using this machine for a few years)...

That's it for now, If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask, that's what we're all about!!!

Continued...
Apples are good machines until something goes wrong. These machines do run decent application (proprietary) iWork, iLife, etc... The biggest problems with macs is that they are not compatible with the majority of software. Understanding that you can run windows using boot camp, I still feel that a Mac purchase for 'OUR' use is marginal at best. I'm not downing Macs, they are good for video and digital imaging, GUI usage for end users, and simplicity, I just have fundamental Issues with the MAC OS, and have been told by high level engineers that if you have a problem the first thing you should do is wipe the O.S. This seems illogical to me, and what MAC is basically telling you that they don't know why it dosn't do what it is supposed to. Also beware that you may need to find printer drivers, we have had issues in large deployments where the printer driver does not work properly. Again not downing all you mac users, but giving a educated opinion on their applicable uses, and shortfalls...