Tagged Products - 2gb+5400rpm+hdd

ASUS N10JA2 N10 10.2" Notebook Netbook

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the 1000H, your only option will be to replace it. And then you will have paid MORE for that than for this baby. But, you get a LOT more with this from the start. 1) A dedicated Graphics card Nvidia 9300 GS). NO, I do NOT care about playing games, but I DO care about the quality of video I will be watching on it when I am sitting in an airport or my car or whatever. And since it comes with Vista it needs to have the extra punch. But if you want to conserve battery, you can switch to the Intel Integrated Graphics card (which is STILL beautiful by the way). The Display is awesome. I love just looking at it. And the GLOSS is a LOT better than the Matte imho. And it does NOT present a problem outside because you have plenty of brightness control at your disposal. Matte screens have ALWAYS looked washed out to me in light. And IF you are one of those Vista haters (and I KNOW there are plenty) no problem. This comes with disks that will enable you to downgrade to XP Professional in an hour and half. How the heck can you beat that. Plus it has an HDMI port to easily export your video AND audio to a larger monitor (unlike the VGA only port on the 100H). The speakers (while nothing great -- c'mon it's a notebook) are WAY better sounding than the 1000H and the overall build quality is much better. It's fun to just look at this baby. Also it has Express Gate which allows you to quickly boot to a Linux system built into the motherboard which allows you to be surfing the net in less that 15 seconds all together (providing you have a pre-existing network connection). Since Vista does take about a a minute and half to boot up, this is great to have when you just want to check e-mail, surf or Skype someone (it too has a built in camera and microphone). I just think that people don't give enough credit to the MUCH better warranty when considering the cost of this item. Then add in the much better look, build quality and other extras (like a 320 GB Hard Drive instead of the 1000H's 160GB) and it becomes NO CONTEST to me. The only thing that keeps this from being an absolute STEAL (when compared to the best in the Ultra-Portable class) is the Atom Processor. But, I have to say it is a LOT better than I anticipated. Heck, it runs Vista pretty well, and probably XP Pro even better. The 10 inch display with no 16x9 resolution is NO problem for me either. I was wondering if it would be too small, but it is NOT. I really love this baby. The ONLY REASON THAT I HAVE NOT GIVEN IT THE 5 STARS IT DESERVES is because the one that Amazon.com shipped to me had a graphics card problem. There was a line of colored lights running down the first third of the screen on all the pages in Windows that have blue borders (and trust me, there are a LOT of them). After a few extra calls to Amazon.com than I thought I would need, they ARE finally sending me a replacement as we speak. If it had only taken the one call then I would have given this unit 5 Stars easily (despite the problem). I really believe this was an anomaly and should NOT be judged against the overwhelming quality to price value of this NOTEBOOK.

IF you wondering if you could/should spend the extra bucks to get this instead of the 1000H wonder no more. JUST DO IT and you will NOT be unhappy!!!

Update -- I DID get my replacement from Amazon.com and they overnighted it to me so I am ammending my rating to 5 Stars. Also, I negelected to mention battery length. On VISTA (I would expect longer run times on XP Pro) in High Performance Mode and Wireless and Bluetooth on (while Surfing, watching You Tube, and with 3 Microsoft Office 2007 Documents open, I got 3:50 minutes with the Nvidia Dedicated raphics Card and 4:25 with the Intel Integrated Graphics Card.

2133 VIA CM-7 ULV 1.2GHz Mini-Note PC

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the 1000H, your only option will be to replace it. And then you will have paid MORE for that than for this baby. But, you get a LOT more with this from the start. 1) A dedicated Graphics card Nvidia 9300 GS). NO, I do NOT care about playing games, but I DO care about the quality of video I will be watching on it when I am sitting in an airport or my car or whatever. And since it comes with Vista it needs to have the extra punch. But if you want to conserve battery, you can switch to the Intel Integrated Graphics card (which is STILL beautiful by the way). The Display is awesome. I love just looking at it. And the GLOSS is a LOT better than the Matte imho. And it does NOT present a problem outside because you have plenty of brightness control at your disposal. Matte screens have ALWAYS looked washed out to me in light. And IF you are one of those Vista haters (and I KNOW there are plenty) no problem. This comes with disks that will enable you to downgrade to XP Professional in an hour and half. How the heck can you beat that. Plus it has an HDMI port to easily export your video AND audio to a larger monitor (unlike the VGA only port on the 100H). The speakers (while nothing great -- c'mon it's a notebook) are WAY better sounding than the 1000H and the overall build quality is much better. It's fun to just look at this baby. Also it has Express Gate which allows you to quickly boot to a Linux system built into the motherboard which allows you to be surfing the net in less that 15 seconds all together (providing you have a pre-existing network connection). Since Vista does take about a a minute and half to boot up, this is great to have when you just want to check e-mail, surf or Skype someone (it too has a built in camera and microphone). I just think that people don't give enough credit to the MUCH better warranty when considering the cost of this item. Then add in the much better look, build quality and other extras (like a 320 GB Hard Drive instead of the 1000H's 160GB) and it becomes NO CONTEST to me. The only thing that keeps this from being an absolute STEAL (when compared to the best in the Ultra-Portable class) is the Atom Processor. But, I have to say it is a LOT better than I anticipated. Heck, it runs Vista pretty well, and probably XP Pro even better. The 10 inch display with no 16x9 resolution is NO problem for me either. I was wondering if it would be too small, but it is NOT. I really love this baby. The ONLY REASON THAT I HAVE NOT GIVEN IT THE 5 STARS IT DESERVES is because the one that Amazon.com shipped to me had a graphics card problem. There was a line of colored lights running down the first third of the screen on all the pages in Windows that have blue borders (and trust me, there are a LOT of them). After a few extra calls to Amazon.com than I thought I would need, they ARE finally sending me a replacement as we speak. If it had only taken the one call then I would have given this unit 5 Stars easily (despite the problem). I really believe this was an anomaly and should NOT be judged against the overwhelming quality to price value of this NOTEBOOK.



IF you wondering if you could/should spend the extra bucks to get this instead of the 1000H wonder no more. JUST DO IT and you will NOT be unhappy!!!



Update -- I DID get my replacement from Amazon.com and they overnighted it to me so I am ammending my rating to 5 Stars. Also, I negelected to mention battery length. On VISTA (I would expect longer run times on XP Pro) in High Performance Mode and Wireless and Bluetooth on (while Surfing, watching You Tube, and with 3 Microsoft Office 2007 Documents open, I got 3:50 minutes with the Nvidia Dedicated raphics Card and 4:25 with the Intel Integrated Graphics Card.

17 MacBook Pro - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz 2GB 250GB SuperDrive

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through. Excel, it opened those files before you could blink. I had Vista installed on a Bootcamp partition and it ran XP and Ubuntu via VMWare's fusion at almost native speeds. I had XP skinned, running in Unity, so all my windows programs looked just like they were running natively in OS X.

I had over two hundred gigs of music in my iTunes library. Hundreds of hours of Bob Dylan live, George Harrison and John Lennon too. This was a rock and roll machine that loved to do the blues. My MacBook loved and played Billie Holiday. Family photos, travel photos, work photos, all there to be seen on that wonderful screen.

And I threw it all away for that new machine Steve Jobs was touting, because I'm never satisfied, because I'm always looking for something better. I was so stupid.

I sold my baby on eBay, got the new machine, hated the glossy screen and it seemed heaver too. I wanted my baby back, oh how I wanted my baby back.

I called the guy who won my baby on eBay and I swapped him my new MacBook for my old one. He was more than happy to do it.

Apple had a winner with this machine. I truly believe it's the best laptop ever made. Better than its replacement, better than anything out there today. I'm going to keep this machine for a long, long time. I've learned a lesson, a real lesson. No more replacing those Nikes until their worn out. New lenses do not a better photographer make. Blu-ray not yet, I've got a very nice 43 inch Sony Bravia, which shows beautiful movies on my hundred dollar Costco Panasonic combo VHS/DVD player. Adobe just came out with CS4, but I won't be upgrading, not this time.

I've been well and truly blessed. I've got a lot and I've finally learned to be satisfied with what I've got.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

17 MacBook Pro - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz 2GB 250GB SuperDrive

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use the higher one, which would lead to less battery life
than the March model.

Display:
Like I said, I prefer matte finish (or a glossy that is not like a mirror).
The default colors were a little dull, so I went to System Preferences/Display/Color/Calibrate and
tweaked around and saved a new color profile. It is MUCH improved now - much better saturation
and has the contrast of glossy without the reflections.

Usage:
In less than 5 minutes, I upgraded to 4 Gigs RAM - bought that for about $60 from Amazon.
I am keeping my two original 1 Gig sticks in case I need them in the future.
I have VMWare Fusion running Windows XP Professional for some of my
must-have Windows apps. I have given the VM 1 Gig of RAM and 40 Gigs of disk.
Performance of Mac apps and Windows apps is superb.
I am using a WD Passport 320GB USB drive for backups with Time Machine.

Battery:
Last about 2.5-3 hours with almost constant usage. The best thing is when I close the lid,
it goes to sleep instantly, and wakes up instantly when I need it again, with no loss of
battery regardless of how long it sleeps. That is VERY DIFFERENT from my experience with
Windows laptops that lose battery even when sleeping. No idea why.

Storage:
It came with a 5400RPM 250GB HD. I bought a WD 7200RPM 320GB with a big buffer from
Newegg - I plan to swap out the HD - that requires "minor surgery" so I am doing my research
before I do it this weekend. The new disk will be a lot faster, although the it comes with
seems to be pretty fast already. I am swapping as I like doing stuff like that.
UPDATE: I swapped the hard drive and did a full restore from Time Machine - it now is exactly
the same as my las back-up with all apps and settings, except with a bigger and faster hard drive.
This "surgery" is t for the faint of heart. :-) And is probably totally unnecessary for most folks.

Mac OS X:
So simple. After using Windows PCs and laptops for over 15 years, I am amazed how easy
and intuitive it was to use a new OS. I know Mac OS X is very powerful and I am just beginning
to learn the advanced features to play with. Being able to run Windows XP in a VM with such a small
load on the system is very nice. I use software apps that are either not available on the Mac yet,
or have much older versions on the Mac. This is not specifically about the MacBook Pro but the
fact that the MacBook Pro has enough juice to do this is what is worth noting.

Boot Times:
When I shutdown and restart, it comes up in 30 seconds or so. Much faster than my experience
with Windows laptops. Here's the best part - if I put the Windows VM to sleep in my Mac,
it comes back up in seconds! Much faster than Windows used to wake up on a Windows laptop!
So for a portable laptop, the MacBook Pro is quite powerful and fast.

Overall:
I am glad I bought this model instead of the new Unibody model. This is by far the best portable computer
I have ever owned. I've always felt that the MacBook Pro carries a price premium over "equivalent" or
more feature rich Windows laptops, but now I know why. They are better.

Sony VAIO VGN-NR330E/S Laptop (Refurbished)-Sony VAIO VGN-NR330E/S Notebook

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use the higher one, which would lead to less battery life

than the March model.



Display:

Like I said, I prefer matte finish (or a glossy that is not like a mirror).

The default colors were a little dull, so I went to System Preferences/Display/Color/Calibrate and

tweaked around and saved a new color profile. It is MUCH improved now - much better saturation

and has the contrast of glossy without the reflections.



Usage:

In less than 5 minutes, I upgraded to 4 Gigs RAM - bought that for about $60 from Amazon.

I am keeping my two original 1 Gig sticks in case I need them in the future.

I have VMWare Fusion running Windows XP Professional for some of my

must-have Windows apps. I have given the VM 1 Gig of RAM and 40 Gigs of disk.

Performance of Mac apps and Windows apps is superb.

I am using a WD Passport 320GB USB drive for backups with Time Machine.



Battery:

Last about 2.5-3 hours with almost constant usage. The best thing is when I close the lid,

it goes to sleep instantly, and wakes up instantly when I need it again, with no loss of

battery regardless of how long it sleeps. That is VERY DIFFERENT from my experience with

Windows laptops that lose battery even when sleeping. No idea why.



Storage:

It came with a 5400RPM 250GB HD. I bought a WD 7200RPM 320GB with a big buffer from

Newegg - I plan to swap out the HD - that requires "minor surgery" so I am doing my research

before I do it this weekend. The new disk will be a lot faster, although the it comes with

seems to be pretty fast already. I am swapping as I like doing stuff like that.

UPDATE: I swapped the hard drive and did a full restore from Time Machine - it now is exactly

the same as my las back-up with all apps and settings, except with a bigger and faster hard drive.

This "surgery" is t for the faint of heart. :-) And is probably totally unnecessary for most folks.



Mac OS X:

So simple. After using Windows PCs and laptops for over 15 years, I am amazed how easy

and intuitive it was to use a new OS. I know Mac OS X is very powerful and I am just beginning

to learn the advanced features to play with. Being able to run Windows XP in a VM with such a small

load on the system is very nice. I use software apps that are either not available on the Mac yet,

or have much older versions on the Mac. This is not specifically about the MacBook Pro but the

fact that the MacBook Pro has enough juice to do this is what is worth noting.



Boot Times:

When I shutdown and restart, it comes up in 30 seconds or so. Much faster than my experience

with Windows laptops. Here's the best part - if I put the Windows VM to sleep in my Mac,

it comes back up in seconds! Much faster than Windows used to wake up on a Windows laptop!

So for a portable laptop, the MacBook Pro is quite powerful and fast.



Overall:

I am glad I bought this model instead of the new Unibody model. This is by far the best portable computer

I have ever owned. I've always felt that the MacBook Pro carries a price premium over "equivalent" or

more feature rich Windows laptops, but now I know why. They are better.

17 MacBook Pro - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz 2GB 250GB SuperDrive

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Most people say this is for eye-candy. I would contest this. I work mornings and nights and I don't like to wake up other people in the house. Moreover, it is profligate to turn on lights when you are the only one using it. With the backlit keyboard, I am able to work effectively in the dark.
8. iSight: This is one of the features I was aghast at. My old webcam as the Logitech Notebook 2MP autofocus. That quality on that is perspicuous. The iSight is not far off.
9. Price: I got this when the new macbook pro came out. ~1650 (AR) for a high end macbook pro is unheard of.
10. Performance Comparison: After looking at numerous sites on the performance comparisons between this macbook pro and the new one, I found out that there are not much differences to justify for the $1000 increase in price for the new one. Plus for the new one, in order to use the 9600M GT, you need to restart the laptop which defeats the purpose of gaming on mac.
11. TouchPad: Very responsive, though secondary click in Windows can be toilsome at times. Gotta love the Multi-touch!
12. Sound: Mediocre on Window XP but preeminent on Mac OSX.

Toshiba PSLB8U-002003 Satellite L305-S5902 15.4" Notebook

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of 3 GB of RAM was due to helpful reviews I've read on many pages for laptops on Amazon which have complained that Windows VISTA is slow with less RAM. What I have on this machine is absolutely fine for my needs.

Reviews have noted that not quite as much HD space is needed currently, with the market availability of USB drives which extend the PC's hard drive in a variety of ways, with nearly endless storage options... so I felt that 200 GB DH would be adequate, and it is, though I don't need to store lots of game or graphics programs on my PC, mostly just my manuscripts and MS WORD, AOL, and photos.

As to the complaints of current laptops being loaded with what is called crap ware or bloat ware, I have to say I agree somewhat with those complaints. I haven't yet been able to decide what I might need within the bloat ware offerings, and honestly can't decide which of the DVD players, CD writers, Wireless purveyors, etc., would be the ones I would want to use.

But what some reviews have pointed out exposes the trade off in this case, i.e., the reason certain LT's (laptops) can be offered at such good prices is that the companies who provide the plethora of extra programs pay for that advertising, thereby allowing the lower price offered by the company offering the machine. Given that trade off, I'm willing to take time to decide what I want to keep and discard among the huge number of colorful icons grinning at me from my desk top, hoping I'll click on them and purchase from their trial offerings.

Everything I have so far installed and begun using has been easy for me, not a computer wiz, to accomplish, though I'm very thankful for the reviewers who mentioned the Windows VISTA habit of always asking via a dialogue box pop-up if the user or "administrator" (me) initiated the action. Even though this pop up sometimes feels disruptive, I've become more comfortable knowing I will be asked and informed before uploading and installation will occur from the hordes of automatic updates seemingly offered by everyone on every program on my computer.

I was thankful to the reviewers who mentioned that with VISTA drivers are often needed for installations of programs and hardware. I loved the Plug & Play capacity with XP, but can easily see why the incredible increase of hardware and software might have caused the necessity of a specific CD driver to be used for installation, and so far all programs and equipment have come with necessary drivers. The reviews, however, alerted me to this necessity, so I wasn't surprised by this seeming backward change from XP to VISTA, which to me, now, is clearly a forward motion taking into account the current and growing progress in the computer industry, and the plethora of variety available.

I was able to easily install the driver of the HP All in One (with FAX) I purchased, along with the wireless mouse and USB hub. I hope to have time to review some of those, too, because I'm butterfly thrilled with each of them!

I want to conclude by thanking the huge number of reviewers on Amazon, who commented on various brands of notebook PC's. Each of those reviewers was directly and practically helpful to me in one way or another. Personally, I would rather read Amazon customer reviews on computer hardware, before reading PC magazines or other more complex sources of information. For me, reviews from everyday people, purchasers/users of specific pieces of equipment, say just what I need to know, in an easily comprehensible language. I do a lot of research on Amazon's buying pages, under customer reviews.

Flying off to ready more of my novels for publication on KINDLE, I remain a wing-ed author at your reading service!

Linda G. Shelnutt
Author of several books on Amazon's KINDLE and Amazon Shorts

Note: This laptop is a very similar model to mine (model number noted in my review), but this one has slightly less RAM and HD space than mine, and doesn't have the web cam, which mine does. Also, this LT has an Intel processor; mine has AMD Turion. My LT cost was enough more than this one that I feel the values for cost would be equal on both machines, especially if you don't need a web cam.

Toshiba PSLB8U-002003 Satellite L305-S5902 15.4" Notebook

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of 3 GB of RAM was due to helpful reviews I've read on many pages for laptops on Amazon which have complained that Windows VISTA is slow with less RAM. What I have on this machine is absolutely fine for my needs.



Reviews have noted that not quite as much HD space is needed currently, with the market availability of USB drives which extend the PC's hard drive in a variety of ways, with nearly endless storage options... so I felt that 200 GB DH would be adequate, and it is, though I don't need to store lots of game or graphics programs on my PC, mostly just my manuscripts and MS WORD, AOL, and photos.



As to the complaints of current laptops being loaded with what is called crap ware or bloat ware, I have to say I agree somewhat with those complaints. I haven't yet been able to decide what I might need within the bloat ware offerings, and honestly can't decide which of the DVD players, CD writers, Wireless purveyors, etc., would be the ones I would want to use.



But what some reviews have pointed out exposes the trade off in this case, i.e., the reason certain LT's (laptops) can be offered at such good prices is that the companies who provide the plethora of extra programs pay for that advertising, thereby allowing the lower price offered by the company offering the machine. Given that trade off, I'm willing to take time to decide what I want to keep and discard among the huge number of colorful icons grinning at me from my desk top, hoping I'll click on them and purchase from their trial offerings.



Everything I have so far installed and begun using has been easy for me, not a computer wiz, to accomplish, though I'm very thankful for the reviewers who mentioned the Windows VISTA habit of always asking via a dialogue box pop-up if the user or "administrator" (me) initiated the action. Even though this pop up sometimes feels disruptive, I've become more comfortable knowing I will be asked and informed before uploading and installation will occur from the hordes of automatic updates seemingly offered by everyone on every program on my computer.



I was thankful to the reviewers who mentioned that with VISTA drivers are often needed for installations of programs and hardware. I loved the Plug & Play capacity with XP, but can easily see why the incredible increase of hardware and software might have caused the necessity of a specific CD driver to be used for installation, and so far all programs and equipment have come with necessary drivers. The reviews, however, alerted me to this necessity, so I wasn't surprised by this seeming backward change from XP to VISTA, which to me, now, is clearly a forward motion taking into account the current and growing progress in the computer industry, and the plethora of variety available.



I was able to easily install the driver of the HP All in One (with FAX) I purchased, along with the wireless mouse and USB hub. I hope to have time to review some of those, too, because I'm butterfly thrilled with each of them!



I want to conclude by thanking the huge number of reviewers on Amazon, who commented on various brands of notebook PC's. Each of those reviewers was directly and practically helpful to me in one way or another. Personally, I would rather read Amazon customer reviews on computer hardware, before reading PC magazines or other more complex sources of information. For me, reviews from everyday people, purchasers/users of specific pieces of equipment, say just what I need to know, in an easily comprehensible language. I do a lot of research on Amazon's buying pages, under customer reviews.



Flying off to ready more of my novels for publication on KINDLE, I remain a wing-ed author at your reading service!



Linda G. Shelnutt

Author of several books on Amazon's KINDLE and Amazon Shorts



Note: This laptop is a very similar model to mine (model number noted in my review), but this one has slightly less RAM and HD space than mine, and doesn't have the web cam, which mine does. Also, this LT has an Intel processor; mine has AMD Turion. My LT cost was enough more than this one that I feel the values for cost would be equal on both machines, especially if you don't need a web cam.

13.3 MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 2GB 250GB SuperDrive - Black

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Macbook 2.16ghz/3gb ram/160gb hd/superdrive w/ OSX 10.5.5
westinghouse 24" LCD monitor @ 1920x1200
fantom drive 250gb firewire external hd
western digital passport 320gb usb external hd
pinnacle hdtv stick for mac(hdtv tuner)
logitech wireless keyboard & mouse

As you can see i have my macbook plugged in with a lot of accessories and i run 7+ programs at once when im using my mac, including eyetv(hdtv), isight cam w/ sightspeed video conferencing, as well as other less intensive applications. If you want a great dependable and quick mac this is the one to get, especially now that you can find it at discounted prices since the new macbooks came out. The only con that I have is that my old mac has the old 950GMA integrated graphics which can be an issue if you like to play/edit/encode high res videos or play graphic intensive games, especially full hd 1920P. I can play 1920P videos fine but it will get bogged down if im using a lot of other cpu intensive programs. im sure this won't be an issue for the majority of users since those people would probably get the macbook pro instead. i have had no issues at all that people have complained about(fans, cracked plastic, screen flicker, etc) and im sure i'll use this mac for another 2-3years before upgrading again.

pros:
fast, lightweight, long battery life
cons:
slow graphics chip

FPCM11381 T1010 LifeBook 13.3" Tablet PC

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card I believe. But this in itself is really nobiggie at all, because as of this posting, I have never used WWAN. I have been an avid Dell user/ purchaser util now. I went to the Dell website and built a latitude with similar specs, give or take one or two, and that Dell laptop would have costed me close to $2300.00, almost a thousand more than what I paid for this one, and the Dell had the same ratings and reviews as this one did. I asked a computer repair technician for his unbiased opinion and review of Fujitsu laptops, and he said that either they haven't sold too many of them (which I have learned now that quite a few Fujitsu laptops are sold), or they are built very well, because of his 10+ years at computer repair, he has not seen but one Fujitsu come through, and that was just for a spyware issue. He said that apparently Fujitsu are one of the best on the market today. To close this out, if you are thinking about purchasing this type of laptop/tablet pc, then go ahead! Get it! You will Not regret it I assure you. And its sexiness will run the women wild. I have used mine in public, and a few times now, a crowd gathered around me in awe of this fine laptop. Thanks for listening.

Sony VAIO NR260E/W Laptop (Refurbished)-Sony VAIO VGN-NR260E/W Notebook

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card I believe. But this in itself is really nobiggie at all, because as of this posting, I have never used WWAN. I have been an avid Dell user/ purchaser util now. I went to the Dell website and built a latitude with similar specs, give or take one or two, and that Dell laptop would have costed me close to $2300.00, almost a thousand more than what I paid for this one, and the Dell had the same ratings and reviews as this one did. I asked a computer repair technician for his unbiased opinion and review of Fujitsu laptops, and he said that either they haven't sold too many of them (which I have learned now that quite a few Fujitsu laptops are sold), or they are built very well, because of his 10+ years at computer repair, he has not seen but one Fujitsu come through, and that was just for a spyware issue. He said that apparently Fujitsu are one of the best on the market today. To close this out, if you are thinking about purchasing this type of laptop/tablet pc, then go ahead! Get it! You will Not regret it I assure you. And its sexiness will run the women wild. I have used mine in public, and a few times now, a crowd gathered around me in awe of this fine laptop. Thanks for listening.

Sony VAIO® VGN-SZ760NC 13.3" Ultra Mobile Notebook PC

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have your office or adobe cds ready, you can use the trial versions in the meantime for a while...

The overall design is really sleek, and keyboard really feels soft and nice, your fingers are sliding on the keys. The downside is after a year of frequent use there is a slight wear that you can guess from the outer look which keys are used most frequently (may be this is a problem in all computers out there). It is still fully functional however a better material should be used.

Some people say it doesn't come with a restore cd, well it has a very nice restore program, you can just say go and it restores the computer to after factory state, and if you like you can burn your own DVD's too. It would good to have an xp downgrade cd though for those who want to use xp.

As it comes to the service I don't have experience with other brands to make a comparison however I can comment on my personal experience. In the past I have sent my previous computer for the fan had started making too much noise. The next day I called sony service, a prepaid overnight ups box arrived to send the computer to them and the computer came back within a week with the fans cleaned up and problems fixed.

As to compare between different models although initial models had some problems, it is improving in time, going quieter and faster.

The only problem I have is that I have to pay attention extra care to protect the lcd as the casing is pretty thin and doesn't feel strong enough. I wish they made it a little more sturdy.

In the overall it is definitely a fast, sleek and very portable computer. I would definitely recommend this computer if you want a portable one yet you do not want to sacrifice performance.

17 MacBook Pro - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz 2GB 250GB SuperDrive

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simply has the best user interface engineers on the planet working for them. Now to be fair I haven't yet used Vista (haven't felt compelled at all so far based on what I have seen) so I don't have a basis for direct comparison to MS newest product.

Wireless works great, bluetooth works flawlessly. OH and the DVI out is amazing! I can plug the DVI out to my receiver and watch full screen HD video on the plasma! I tried this with my old PC, even bought a new video card to do it, but frankly it couldn't hold a candle to the mac. Macbook pro also has Optical audio out for connection to the receiver, very nice. Speakers on the machine are better than average for a laptop but still not anything approaching audiophile quality.

The machine comes packed with software that is actually useful, fun and has no crap on it. ILife is great and easy to use. The display is crisp, clear, vivid, etc, etc. The best screen in the business.

If I had to pick a con, I'd be price, though in comparison it is really not but a couple hundred bucks more than the equivalent PC. What you get for that extra cash is a better user interface, better styling, smoother operation, faster performance. Personally I'd rather spend a few hundred bucks more and get more enjoyment, more functionality, and in the end more usefulness from the computer than to worry about saving $200 and end up with something that feels like it is just some "tool". Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

IdeaPad Y510 - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz Notebook

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that I could not get to work on my Desktop machine. I had no problem with programs like CS3 which are normally resource intensive, and no crashes in Vista. I might even get to like Vista after getting this computer.

And the price? Unbelievable for the quality I received. It even has little things that other brands lack - like printed documentation and backup disks. All round I believe this is the best laptop I have ever owned.

Toshiba Portege R500-S5006X Notebook - Intel Centrino Duo Core 2 Duo U7700 1.33GHz - 12.1 WXGA - 2GB DDR2 SDRAM - 160GB HDD - DVD-Writer (DVD-RAM/ R/ RW) - Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth - Windows

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that I could not get to work on my Desktop machine. I had no problem with programs like CS3 which are normally resource intensive, and no crashes in Vista. I might even get to like Vista after getting this computer.



And the price? Unbelievable for the quality I received. It even has little things that other brands lack - like printed documentation and backup disks. All round I believe this is the best laptop I have ever owned.

Apple MB403LL/A 13.3" MacBook - White

...

(or run Parallels, Fusion or Crossover) if you have one or two legacy Apps that you absolutely can't do without. A PC can't run OS X or any of its great applications, but a Mac can run Windows right along side Mac OS program with Parallels, VMWare Fusion or Crossover.

So, if you're trying to decide between a Mac for OS X and the easy of use I talk about below and a PC for old Windows programs, you can choose both by buying this or any Intel based Mac (which is all shipping models).

The Hardware is simply top notch. In its stock configuration you can do anything 99% of computer users do. And with a third party app, you can do the last 1%. OS X is Unix. Then you have the Mac OS (OS X) and you have he option of running Windows. So, really Macs these days are THE machine IT professionals are turning to in droves.

The Software (is what makes Macs shine):
OS X is extremely stable. It is a Unix OS, so advanced users can easily do anything from a command line they can do on any Unix system from a command line using the terminal application. If you don't understand the previous sentence you don't have to because the user interface as easy or easier than Windows and you never have to learn complex commands to unleash the power of the system.

The only time I reboot is when I install software that requires a reboot. (Currently My Uptime is over 21 days -- since I installed an OS Update, and I have no doubt the system could remain on for months without needing a reboot). That's almost unheard of in Windows land, where often the machine chokes on some process and the only option is a reboot.

You can't mess up the system by clicking the wrong button, or putting the wrong file in the trash -- OS X doesn't allow that and requires an administrator password to change any important settings.

Adding Users is as simple as clicking a new account button, typing in their name and a password. Then you can switch users with a click and be secure in the knowledge that your kids or grandma can't mess up the system or your settings (because they'll have their own set), or applications.

The system is very secure out of the box, and configuring to server web pages is a simple click and drag documents into a folder and flip the Sharing panel switch on. There's a built in Firewall that's extreme easy to configure. Wireless performance is top notch. There is zero downside to buying this machine.

Installing Applications is often a simple process of clicking and dragging the application into any folder or subfolder you want. Uninstalling is a simple matter of dragging thhe program, or program folder into the trash. No messy registry, no dicey uninstall apps that might delete a shared DLL, nothing like that at all.

Adding Other hardware to the machine is also a simple process of double clicking an installer (if it's even needed) and plugging in he hardware. You never experience hardware conflicts like you do in Windows. You just plug it in and it works.

If you've never used a computer or want to migrate from Windows or another Operating System, a Macintosh is an excellent choice. I've never had a person I recommended a Mac to come back and say, "This was a mistake, " or "I hate it" or "I can't figure out how to use it." They usually thank me and gleefully tell me they never realized using (and even administrating) a computer could be so easy.

Mac VS. PC (Real world stories):
I HAVE had many, many people come back to me after purchasing a Windows only Machine against my advice months or years later regretting it. They didn't realize a Windows based computer would be so much work, or that it wouldn't be reliable.

Windows XP is a bear to manage and Vista is the same bear, but just in a shiny coat with a bow. And all you can get on new computers these days is Vista. And I have yet to run into anyone, technician or layman, who even likes Vista. Sure you can downgrade to XP, but you have ot make sure there's XP drivers available for your system before you downgrade it, because if not, you'll end up with Audio or Wireless not working, and have to put Vista back on. A friend went through this exact experience.

There are some quality PC makers out there, but most are junk. If you're wondering why the MacBook costs hundreds of dollars more than a PC, remember, you get what you pay for. The margins Apple makes for a Mac are comparable to what PC manufacturers make nowadays. So, realize that most PC manufacturers are using cheaper (read "low quality") parts, and they're going to fail a lot sooner than a typical Mac would.

Viruses and Security:
Windows is way behind the Mac when it comes to security and virus prevention. Microsoft's solution was to pop up a dialog box for anything and everything a virus might do to try to gain control of a Windows PC. The effect: annoying the hell out of users. The OS X way: run in a mode where only things such as installing applications will bother the user. That and only check the first time if someone wants to run a new application. Once that's done the OS gets out of your way and let's you get your work done. Also, if this sounds too open, you can tighten down security simply by checking boxes in most cases. If you want to secure your machine's network connections even more try Lil Snitch.

Caveats:
Almost all computers will have problems. The Mac is no exception. You might get a lemon, but apple's return policy is great. With Applecare you're covered for the practical usable life of the computer (3 years). A hard rive might die on you: that's where backing up comes in. Backup your data. The more important, the more often you should backup. Other than that most Mac problems are simple and might just require a setting change or (at worst) a reinstall of the application. With Windows you might have to reinstall the OS and each and every application. For software and hardware problems Apple's tech support is top notch. If something needs ot be replaced -- like a bad LCD (which is rarer and rarer these days), you'll often have the machine back in a few days if you choose to ship it in for repair. Just get Applecare with your system and you'll be set.

The Bottom Line:
Macs are far superior to PCs. Take it from a guy who makes money off of repairing computers. If this is to be your first computer, you probably couldn't make a better choice. If you're a Windows user considering a sea change, you couldn't pick a better time to do it -- especially considering that with a third party App you can still run Windows apps if you want to. And believe me you won't want to after experiencing the level of usability of the standard OS X application. And if you're one of those RARE Mac users considering saving money, and thinks computers are all the same: save your sanity and not just a couple of bucks, and turn away from Sony, Dell or HP.

IdeaPad Y510 - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz Notebook

...

(or run Parallels, Fusion or Crossover) if you have one or two legacy Apps that you absolutely can't do without. A PC can't run OS X or any of its great applications, but a Mac can run Windows right along side Mac OS program with Parallels, VMWare Fusion or Crossover.



So, if you're trying to decide between a Mac for OS X and the easy of use I talk about below and a PC for old Windows programs, you can choose both by buying this or any Intel based Mac (which is all shipping models).



The Hardware is simply top notch. In its stock configuration you can do anything 99% of computer users do. And with a third party app, you can do the last 1%. OS X is Unix. Then you have the Mac OS (OS X) and you have he option of running Windows. So, really Macs these days are THE machine IT professionals are turning to in droves.



The Software (is what makes Macs shine):

OS X is extremely stable. It is a Unix OS, so advanced users can easily do anything from a command line they can do on any Unix system from a command line using the terminal application. If you don't understand the previous sentence you don't have to because the user interface as easy or easier than Windows and you never have to learn complex commands to unleash the power of the system.



The only time I reboot is when I install software that requires a reboot. (Currently My Uptime is over 21 days -- since I installed an OS Update, and I have no doubt the system could remain on for months without needing a reboot). That's almost unheard of in Windows land, where often the machine chokes on some process and the only option is a reboot.



You can't mess up the system by clicking the wrong button, or putting the wrong file in the trash -- OS X doesn't allow that and requires an administrator password to change any important settings.



Adding Users is as simple as clicking a new account button, typing in their name and a password. Then you can switch users with a click and be secure in the knowledge that your kids or grandma can't mess up the system or your settings (because they'll have their own set), or applications.



The system is very secure out of the box, and configuring to server web pages is a simple click and drag documents into a folder and flip the Sharing panel switch on. There's a built in Firewall that's extreme easy to configure. Wireless performance is top notch. There is zero downside to buying this machine.



Installing Applications is often a simple process of clicking and dragging the application into any folder or subfolder you want. Uninstalling is a simple matter of dragging thhe program, or program folder into the trash. No messy registry, no dicey uninstall apps that might delete a shared DLL, nothing like that at all.



Adding Other hardware to the machine is also a simple process of double clicking an installer (if it's even needed) and plugging in he hardware. You never experience hardware conflicts like you do in Windows. You just plug it in and it works.



If you've never used a computer or want to migrate from Windows or another Operating System, a Macintosh is an excellent choice. I've never had a person I recommended a Mac to come back and say, "This was a mistake, " or "I hate it" or "I can't figure out how to use it." They usually thank me and gleefully tell me they never realized using (and even administrating) a computer could be so easy.



Mac VS. PC (Real world stories):

I HAVE had many, many people come back to me after purchasing a Windows only Machine against my advice months or years later regretting it. They didn't realize a Windows based computer would be so much work, or that it wouldn't be reliable.



Windows XP is a bear to manage and Vista is the same bear, but just in a shiny coat with a bow. And all you can get on new computers these days is Vista. And I have yet to run into anyone, technician or layman, who even likes Vista. Sure you can downgrade to XP, but you have ot make sure there's XP drivers available for your system before you downgrade it, because if not, you'll end up with Audio or Wireless not working, and have to put Vista back on. A friend went through this exact experience.



There are some quality PC makers out there, but most are junk. If you're wondering why the MacBook costs hundreds of dollars more than a PC, remember, you get what you pay for. The margins Apple makes for a Mac are comparable to what PC manufacturers make nowadays. So, realize that most PC manufacturers are using cheaper (read "low quality") parts, and they're going to fail a lot sooner than a typical Mac would.



Viruses and Security:

Windows is way behind the Mac when it comes to security and virus prevention. Microsoft's solution was to pop up a dialog box for anything and everything a virus might do to try to gain control of a Windows PC. The effect: annoying the hell out of users. The OS X way: run in a mode where only things such as installing applications will bother the user. That and only check the first time if someone wants to run a new application. Once that's done the OS gets out of your way and let's you get your work done. Also, if this sounds too open, you can tighten down security simply by checking boxes in most cases. If you want to secure your machine's network connections even more try Lil Snitch.



Caveats:

Almost all computers will have problems. The Mac is no exception. You might get a lemon, but apple's return policy is great. With Applecare you're covered for the practical usable life of the computer (3 years). A hard rive might die on you: that's where backing up comes in. Backup your data. The more important, the more often you should backup. Other than that most Mac problems are simple and might just require a setting change or (at worst) a reinstall of the application. With Windows you might have to reinstall the OS and each and every application. For software and hardware problems Apple's tech support is top notch. If something needs ot be replaced -- like a bad LCD (which is rarer and rarer these days), you'll often have the machine back in a few days if you choose to ship it in for repair. Just get Applecare with your system and you'll be set.



The Bottom Line:

Macs are far superior to PCs. Take it from a guy who makes money off of repairing computers. If this is to be your first computer, you probably couldn't make a better choice. If you're a Windows user considering a sea change, you couldn't pick a better time to do it -- especially considering that with a third party App you can still run Windows apps if you want to. And believe me you won't want to after experiencing the level of usability of the standard OS X application. And if you're one of those RARE Mac users considering saving money, and thinks computers are all the same: save your sanity and not just a couple of bucks, and turn away from Sony, Dell or HP.

VAIO NR430E/L Intel Pentium Dual-Core T2390 1.86GHz Notebook - Nightfall Blue

...

(or run Parallels, Fusion or Crossover) if you have one or two legacy Apps that you absolutely can't do without. A PC can't run OS X or any of its great applications, but a Mac can run Windows right along side Mac OS program with Parallels, VMWare Fusion or Crossover.





So, if you're trying to decide between a Mac for OS X and the easy of use I talk about below and a PC for old Windows programs, you can choose both by buying this or any Intel based Mac (which is all shipping models).





The Hardware is simply top notch. In its stock configuration you can do anything 99% of computer users do. And with a third party app, you can do the last 1%. OS X is Unix. Then you have the Mac OS (OS X) and you have he option of running Windows. So, really Macs these days are THE machine IT professionals are turning to in droves.





The Software (is what makes Macs shine):


OS X is extremely stable. It is a Unix OS, so advanced users can easily do anything from a command line they can do on any Unix system from a command line using the terminal application. If you don't understand the previous sentence you don't have to because the user interface as easy or easier than Windows and you never have to learn complex commands to unleash the power of the system.





The only time I reboot is when I install software that requires a reboot. (Currently My Uptime is over 21 days -- since I installed an OS Update, and I have no doubt the system could remain on for months without needing a reboot). That's almost unheard of in Windows land, where often the machine chokes on some process and the only option is a reboot.





You can't mess up the system by clicking the wrong button, or putting the wrong file in the trash -- OS X doesn't allow that and requires an administrator password to cha