How about Alienware or Sanger?

 

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I use the 12" Powerbook

 

Ah, yes, Alienware. I forgot about them. If you want a sexy hardcore gaming laptop and don't mind paying a premium it's a good choice.

 

I have a Dell Inspiron 8200 notebook, and its not that great. I want a new Apple G4 iBook, I've heard many good things about them. Many of my friends have switched to them.

 

my fiance has a g4 12" powerbook and it's great! I do think IBM is built like a tank too, but panasonic has a laptop that is element resistant too but I don't know what the quality of panasonic puters are. How about Fujitsu?

 

i currently have a Toshiba Satellite that i've purchased about 1 1/2 years ago~ lovin it...no major problems...fantastic little laptop! highly recommended..and also there service is very good~! i spilled water on the keyboard..and they just replaced it for me for free..heh..

and at the same time..my g/f bought a dell 600m....probably the worse laptop u can buy...its already falling apart...the system crashes like every month...its a horrble laptop! although i recommend a dell if u get a desktop...avoid dell when getting the laptop!

 

I had a Fujitsu for my first laptop and it was horrible shit. It was a long time ago, but I'd still stay away. Horrible service too.

17" G4s are hands down the sexiest thing you can have on your lap short of Carmen Electra.

The element resistant Panasonics are cool, but you don't need one unless you really intend to work in the dirt. BTW, we had a GRiD laptop at work - that sucker was bulletproof and there are tales of one surving a helicopter drop.

 

heard really really bad things bout Dell ..

 

IBM's is a solid choice if you don't care about aesthetics; it's all about function, performance, reliability and ergonomics, albiet on the pricey end. I have a Acer Aspire which has been fault-free so far. Runs very cool, nice display and elegantly styled.

 

What do you think one of the primary reasons powerbooks were made? Just for this purpose.

I'm on my 2nd 15" powerbook. had a 667mhz Ti and sold it to my roomate so I could get the 1.5ghz Al.

My roomate is currently using the 667mhz powerbook to cut my new reel on final cut pro. If I hadnt wanted all the upgrades in AL powerbook I'd still be using the 667 with no problems whatsoever.

I will most likely ALWAYS own a powerbook from now on in some shape or form.

 

Also dont get the extra ram from apple, too expensive. buy your powerbook and get the ram cheaper at dealram.com

 

have a company issued ibm t40 and have had no problems with it and it is pretty light.

 

Sony's s260 is on sale at best buy! 1649 after rebate!
Now I need to get J&R to match the price so I can avoid the sales tax

 

I've had my eye on the Sony TR series to use as my portable. It's very nice ... stylish, decent performance, very nice screen, and to boot, has a built-in webcam. However, it has a steep price, which I am waiting to decline a bit.

 

Yeah, I like to Vaios... but the price is so steep. I can get a HP DV1000 for about 1300 after the 10% off coupon... but its still not a Sony. I would love to get the x505... but 3K is waaaay too much.

Sony > * In everything they make... except maybe audio equipment

 

Not true. Several of their products recently had their warranty cut from 3 years to 1, or even 90 days. And the people I know who have their laptops complain they suck.

Our Sony VCR died the other day. I had to take it apart to get to the tape. Took about 20 mins.

 

Sony > * in television sets, LCD displays, and overall style.
IBM > * in notebooks/mainframes
Bose > * in audio (im gonna get some for this one)
BMW > * for cars (more )
Amex > * for credit cards
Purdue > * for schools
Firefox > * for browsers
DEI > * for PW

 

Myself and the other IT staff at the University where I work probably see between 400 and 600 laptops per year. Of those, Vaio's are definitely the group with the most hardware failures and driver issues.

It's funny how brand names can come down to what seems like "personal luck." Other than two inexpensive clock radios, everything that I've ever owned from Sony has broken. The worst offender being one of their high end ES series CD players which had to be fixed five times for the same problem before I thew it out on the sixth failure. Conversely, I have a good friend that owns a lot of Sony stuff and has never had any problems.

 

Looking back at all the sony stuff my family owns:

26" TV bought in 1984... still working, but slowly dieing
32" TV bought in 1998... works fine
27" TV bought in 2001... works fine
DVD player bought in 2000... lost the frikkin remote, but works
VCR bought in 1998... POS. Works, but has gone in for repairs once... I just don't like it. This one was top of the line too.
VCR bought in 2001... works great, and this one was 'bottom of the line'.
Stereo equipment bought in 1984... still works, and sounds awesome.
Discman bought in 1997... spilled water on the buttons, has never been the same
Clie bought in 2002... works fine, too bad I never use it
Wireless headphones bought refurbished in 2003... works, but have nothing to compare the quality with
Radio/alarm clock bought in mid 80's... still works
Another DVD player bought a few months ago, refurbished, but is working ok


I also think it makes a difference where you buy your stuff from. The POS VCR is from Marine Park I think... I've also shopped at J&R's (www.jandr.com) and everything I've bought from them has been in perfect condition. I'm about to make the plunge on a vaio, even though I know I can get a laptop with similar specs from HP for about $250 less.

 

BMW??? Their cars are very unreliable. When the X5 came out, I saw lots of them on the road. Not six months had passed, and the dealer was full of used ones for sale (lots of suspension problems). The 5 series has the i-drive which is too complicated for even a 20 yr old, and so forth.

 

I knew someone was going to bring up BMW's reliability, and you're right, they aren't as reliable as Hondas/Acuras. But in terms of handling, BMW all (except maybe Ferrari, etc.)

 

BTW, I took the plunge and bought a Vaio S260 today. 1779 shipped - 100 MIB - ~130 thanks to my Sony Card = ~1550. Hope it turns out ok!

 

The Sony screen is the best...!! Dell is best Value...I've seen some really nice Fujitsu Laptops..actually..!

 

After all my negative comments about Sony, my mom got a new Sony laptop for her job. The screen is wonderful, but only time will tell if it's any good.

 

My vote is a secret...

 

yeah same here...

 

I voted for IBM but I have a Dell since I got it a half price.

 

I voted for Apple (although I would have swung for an IBM too) although I usually recommend Toshiba as it is the best bang for the $...

 

i've had two compaqs.....don't really like em....XP pro made it much better though....i'd definitely go for a DELL....if you want it cheaper, try buying it brand new off ebay to save a few hundred.....DELLs are awesome though...i have 3 desktops, all work flawlessly.

 

IBM, Toshiba, and Acer are at the top of the list.

 

fujitsu is the best they make all the parts for sony

 

I voted Sony. I've had 4 vaios and none of them every gave me any real problems. I usually end up getting a new one every year so I'm not sure if they will last through years of use, but mine were problem free for the one or two years I use them

 

gateway/hp

gateway: i think the fastest u can buy but lackluster service and high price

hp: good all around, low price

IMO

 

Don't worry. I won't tell.

 

I voted apple but i would reccomend either apple's or dells

my d600 is really solid, and takes a lot of abuse, and im sure the apples do that really well. apple would have been my choice for freshman year, but ive been more then impressed with the dell

edit* i coudln't choose cause vandy engineers have to use the laptop of their choice

 

Three words: GET A MAC!!

Powerbooks are awesome machines and OSX is simply the most elegant OS out there. On top of that, it's getting to the point where compatibility is becoming less and less an issue.

Yes, they're perhaps more expensive (although when I went to look at a Dell laptop for use in our school system...which ONLY allows the use of Windopes...by the time I built one that would equal a G4 Powerbook...the difference was negligible)....but hey, ya get what ya pay for.

I saw in a PC magazine once someone saying that "Macs are the Porsches of the computer world...powerful, fast, high-priced. But once you drive one, nothing else will do."

 

Toshiba

 

what does everyone think of the Toshiba Portege M200??? My gf just got one and I'm really thinking about getting one. They're so fucking cool. Only thing is the screen is so tiny, you know?

 

I would recommend the Apple Powerbook, but if you want to stick with Windows OS, then I think IBM's the way to go.

 

and now that I already have the porsche of the computer world, my next step would be to get the real thing.