ideal laptop recommendations?

Jesse D. Guardiani jesse at wingnet.net
Mon May 12 11:21:38 PDT 2003


M. Warner Losh wrote:

> In message: <20030505233428.DC5565D04 at ptavv.es.net>
>             "Kevin Oberman" <oberman at es.net> writes:

<snip>

> I *LOVE* the 1600x1200 resolution.  However, I gotta get new batteries
> because in the last 20 months I've nearly worn out the ones I have...
> I also agree with the weight issues.  My next laptop likely will be
> something like the Libretto L3

I think high res flat screens must be easier to read than CRTs. 1600x1200
was always blury on my CRTs. But I just don't see that happening with a
flat screen. They're always crisp and clear, in my experience anyway.

Well, I finally decided on a laptop. I purchased an IBM A30p on ebay over
the weekend for $1,350, including insured shipping. 

Specs?
------
15" 1600x1200 screen (the key factor for me. Lotsa code on screen.)
802.11b (FreeBSD support unknown at this point, but has a better chance
of being support than an 802.11b/g card)
CD-RW/DVD (but I think I'll probably be able to upgrade to a DVD-RW
when IBM starts shipping them)
42Gb HD
1.2Ghz PIII -M
Exact memory config unknown, but I plan to upgrade to at least 384M if it
ends up having only 128M.
32M ATI Radeon graphics accel w/AGP 4x (supported well by XFree86)
------

Should be fine for what I do, and I should be able to play Half-Life
at a decent res under windows with that amount of video memory, so
I'm pretty darn happy.

I could have gotten a much faster/beefier Sony VAIO for only $800 more,
but from what I've heard from everyone here, the IBM seems to be a much
more sound investment. I really hated the Sony's keyboard when I played with
it at Bestbuy anyway. And I like the price of this system better. What
can I say? I'm cheap. :) I think I got a pretty good deal though.



<snip>

-- 
Jesse Guardiani, Systems Administrator
WingNET Internet Services,
P.O. Box 2605 // Cleveland, TN 37320-2605
423-559-LINK (v)  423-559-5145 (f)
http://www.wingnet.net



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