Looking for a Laptop

Originally posted by ZENGHOST
I am a little more confused now, since I skimmed over a PC World mag and the Gateway wasn't in the top five, but the Dell was on top as a best buy. Don't get me wrong, I love Dell, but that Gateway deal is really tempting. But, in the end--you usually get what you pay for. I'm definitely going to have to put more thought and research into this.
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I was in the exact same situation you were on my decision. The Dell's, while being a little more expensive, were also rated well, and you always see their advertisements (something Gateway doesn't really do). Although the Gateway's do round out the top ten on zdnet.com I can only speak for Dell customer service but it took me over 30 minutes just to cancel an order! I was routed to this person, then they couldn't help me so they transfered me to someone else saying they didn't have the authority and I'd have to talk to a manager and blah, blah, blah... My sister has had a Dell laptop for 3 years and has had no problems with hers.

But, what bought me over was indeed the value of the Gateway. Plus that chrome color looks better than just plain old black ;). So far I've been happy with my decision, but time will tell how it holds up in the long run.
 
I followed this thread with interest while doing research on the 'net and ended up buying a Toshiba Satellite 2405-S201 from Office Depot. Got the PC and a LINKSYS wireless network for about $1600 and expect to receive $75 in mail-in rebates in a few weeks. Seems like a good deal and after a little configuration problem, finally got the laptop connected to the 'net through the wireless router. Works good and can access the 'net with the laptop from any room in the house and/or from the deck. Won't work reliably from my hammock which is about 60 yards from the den, but didn't really expect it would.:)

Realize there's a potential security problem with the wireless connection and wonder if anyone out there knows of a failsafe system to defeat the occasional "hacker"?

Any info would be appreciated . . .

regards,
 
There is no way to defeat the physical security problems inherent in the current WLAN. The next standard should contain some form of security, but right now it's possible to drive around a bigger city and watch your WLAN laptop find different WLAN networks.. not to mention hearing all the traffic.

Of course you can encrypt the whole traffic, this requires you have access to a server with suitable characteristics.

This is how you do it with Secure Shell, and some ordinary Unix server:

- use SSH to go on the server
- instead of running a web browser on your laptop, run it on the server through SSH bridge. Tou need an X client on the laptop. I've used XWinPro.
- same goes for FTP and others

I'd be happy to hear about other ways to do this.. I know there are some VPN (Virtual Private Network) solutions, for Windows networking as well as TCP/IP networking. Anybody used them?

The VPN covers all networking security in one swoop, but is difficult to set up, might prove a bit expensive, and requires that the VPN be installed on a server. This is the solution a company would use for WLAN security.

- Gon
 
I would rather have a 1.6GHz machine from a better company. IBM would be my choice because I don't like the touchpad mouse. I used to be partial to Toshiba as a little better value than the IBM, but they are going touchpad these days as well. So much for choices. I can't tell the difference (operating applications) between the 1.6 and 2.0 machines. The faster machine loads applications a bit faster, but once that is done, they operate in an entirely equivalent manner. Better to have spent the money for a strong box and a good tactile feel and a better display. All computers WAIT at the same speed. - Lee
 
Here it is, folks--my brand spanking new Sony Vaio GRX520P
Here's a link to the full spec sheet if you're interested.
Here's the short version:
Pentium 4 1.60Ghz-M (mobile) processor
15.0 XGA
512MB DDR RAM
30GB Hard Drive
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500 Graphics chip with 32MB DDR SDRAM
CDRW/DVD combo drive
and the usual yadda yadda yadda (i.e. modem, integrated NIC, etc.).

I got the XP Pro upgrade and it even came with a light version of Adobe Premiere which helps me with my video editing goal.
Price was ~$2030 and I have a $100 mail in rebate coming as well. I bought it from a local computer store/Sony distributor.

There's still a bunch of stuff I need to pick up--external floppy (I hate when they don't come with floppy drives), carry case/backpack, etc., but so far I'm pretty pleased with it (I've only had it less than 24 hours). I plan to pick up a wireless card and contact my cable company to set up my cable modem so I can set up my wireless network in my house. Then I can logon to bladeforums from anywhere in my house.

Appreciate all the input guys--this was a very big purchase for me.

Here's a pic:
 

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i currently have a 15.9" gateway laptop. it was top of the line last summer. p3 900mhz i think

i have been disappointed with it.

whole chassis had to be replaced after one month due to bad lcd ... it took a month for them to get it back to me

if you notice i dont use a lot of caps ... its because my left shift key fell off a few months ago and i have not gotten around to getting it replaced.

the battery life is too short ... there has also been a little noise that sounds like a short in it.

i had a dell before this one ... they do not have the same number of features but their reliability is better


but i tire of the windows operating system and will probably get an apple next go round......
 
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