What laptop are you using right now? Do you love it or hate it? What’s good about it? What’s bad? Are you shopping for a new one? What are you considering?
My current laptop is a 15.4" MacBook Pro running Vista x64. I have my eye on a Dell E6400.
This is Derek Hatchard's blog. The general theme around here is "improving experiences" which includes managing technology, user experiences,
life hacking, and some business related stuff. Derek has a
software development blog at ardentdev.com, is co-founder of the product review
site wellrated.com,
and runs Crowd Space (a management tool for people, lists, and events).
you have the right laptop just the wrong OS
. Get ubuntu on that bad boy!
Seriously though you’re going to be hard pressed to find hardware as comfortable as the MBP; other laptops (even with their endless lists of specs) just don’t seem to exhibit the same attention to detail. …shame but true…
Currently using an 14.1″ HP Pavilion dv2412ca and I downgraded it to XP Pro 32-bit. It was cheap and I needed something for school so I went with that. It got the job done. You can fry an egg on the exhaust its gets so hot. The screen is very good and I always liked the remotes that come with these “home use” HP laptops. Overall though I don’t like it. Getting a MBP next.
15″ Macbook core Duo 2.0
Love it. Runs crazy good. Hook a 20 Cinema Display up with it for desk work. It’s pretty too.
Hates: Major HD crash w lots of data loss recently…we’re making up though.
I will never, never have a PC laptop. Too many ghosts in the machine. You really have to be trying to screw things up to kill a mac (doing anything on Terminal).
Craig
Gateway P-7811FC
I just got it 2 weeks ago. It has a lot of performance for a good price (I got it for $1400). 4 GB DDR3 memory, 7200 RPM hard drive, 64-bit dual core, etc.
It is currently in use as a desktop replacement and I do all my development on it. It’s running Vista Ultimate 64-bit, SQL Express 2008, Visual Studio 2008, IIS 7, and also handing my non-work applications also. Everything is smooth as can be and it hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down yet.
Downsides were no fingerprint reader (I wanted in case it got stolen), not blu-ray drive (for movies on the go), and no bluetooth (to transfer files from my windows mobile phone).
Sorry, correction on the last post. Gateway P-7811FX
Also, it has a 17″ display as a plus, however it is a little weighty as a downside also.
I have a “white box” based on a Asus Z96J chassis. Next laptop will be either a MBP or another “white box” build.
I have decrepit 600m that needs to be buried behind the shed. I’d really like to get a new MacBook Pro. Hopefully, the rumors of a refresh next month are true and I can finally upgrade.
17″ MacBook Pro (Core2Duo w/Nvidia 8800).
I got it refurbed, so the -$500 paies for AppleCare and Parallels.
The main driving decision was Parallels, and Perl testing across all the oses, including OSX) that I could want.
After lugging around an Inspiron 17 inch, I finally upgraded to a new Dell XPS 15 inch. Much lighter and very speedy. At the time, the XPS was the only model that allowed for 7200 rpm HD, which is recommended to run Visual Studio (if you’re into that kinda thing =).
HP DV9933. 17″ screen. 4GB RAM, T5750, Vista X64.
No bluetooth. I could use a higher resolution screen, and the keyboard takes a little getting used to. It’s my primary dev machine.
Only $1050 at Costco.
You buy anything other than a MBP and we will CEASE TO BE FRIENDS
Just ordered a ThinkPad T400. Centrino 2. 14.1″ TFT w/ LED backlight. Switchable graphics – you can use the Radeon Mobility for performance, then switch on-the-fly without rebooting to the integrated Intel graphics to reduce power consumption. Crazy battery life according to Lenovo and reviews I’ve read. Hope it lives up to the hype.
I did look at the E6400 – this was better, for me. And on sale through the 29th on lenovo.com – according to them, I saved $531.
@Jeff Rose, when I build out equivalent machines with equivalent warranties, the prices are pretty close with the Lenovo “sale” price. The E6400 is a little bit more but with a 250GB drive vs. the 200GB drive from Lenovo.
But this on-the-fly switching to integrated graphics to reduce power consumption is intriguing. What a great idea! I need to research that more. I need dedicated graphics for video editing but most of the time I would be fine with integrated.
Hey folks, my opinion is that we’re fundamentally either a MAC or PC, almost as much as being left or right-handed.
That being said, I just purchased an HP dv6000 (Vista) to replace my 4 yo Dell 4600c desktop. No fancy work, no high-tech software. Vista feels like Windows 98 with a pretty face. It’s just HORRIBLE. If you go PC, wait for the next OS… Holding on to my good old Dell.