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**weirdlookinguy** · 08-10-2010, 12:00 AM

Re: Laptop Search

I'm looking and the pickings are slim for 12 inch notebooks. I can settle for a 13.3".

Here's one that caught my eye, Sony Vaio Z
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5773

13.3 inch, Core i3 CULV, Magnesium Casing, 5+ hours battery. $820.

**ratdude747** · 08-10-2010, 12:09 AM

Re: Laptop Search

i get the idea a pentium M donthan will not do (it would kick the sh!t out of a semperon thoguh)... i found a dell latitude d400 for $93 on ebay recently (it has a 12.x screen)... you obviously have more than that to spend...

i would look for the ibm thinkpad x series... very durable, not too heavy, small screens, and within budget.

for battery life, they tended to have that amount with both batteries...

either find a used one and buy new batteries or find a new one in budget...

i agree with no netbooks, they all seem to have pretty trashy quality (my eee was klunker...)

careful with the sony... i heard they might have quality issues...

**weirdlookinguy** · 08-10-2010, 12:42 AM

Re: Laptop Search

No used ebay notebooks, I want something new that runs Windows 7 and will hopefully go for a few years.

**weirdlookinguy** · 08-10-2010, 01:36 AM

Re: Laptop Search

The more I look at that Sony I posted, the more I likey. 4GB RAM, webcam, Bluetooth, HDMI out, and I've always liked the stylings of Sony laptops. I'd rather have a 12.x" display, but 13.3" isn't too bad. I need the laptop for email, web surfing, MS Word (LOTS of ms word), Powerpoint, and music for those long study hours. It must be small enough to fit on a small desk and those tiny tables they have at the library.

I took a few night classes at the community college during high school. While a laptop isn't necessary, I found it to be a helpful tool. It would have been nicer and more useful if the laptop I was using at the time (the HP 15" Sempron tank) wasn't such a pain in the ass to carry around. This is why I want a small (12"-13") laptop.

**ratdude747** · 08-10-2010, 02:01 AM

Re: Laptop Search

if you think the quality is ok, go for it! looks good...

**PCBONEZ** · 08-10-2010, 02:29 AM

Re: Laptop Search

Originally posted by weirdlookinguy View Post

The more I look at that Sony I posted, the more I likey. 4GB RAM, webcam, Bluetooth, HDMI out, and I've always liked the stylings of Sony laptops. I'd rather have a 12.x" display, but 13.3" isn't too bad. I need the laptop for email, web surfing, MS Word (LOTS of ms word), Powerpoint, and music for those long study hours. It must be small enough to fit on a small desk and those tiny tables they have at the library.

I took a few night classes at the community college during high school. While a laptop isn't necessary, I found it to be a helpful tool. It would have been nicer and more useful if the laptop I was using at the time (the HP 15" Sempron tank) wasn't such a pain in the ass to carry around. This is why I want a small (12"-13") laptop.

I think you might find such a small screen annoying after a while if you do much in in MS Word.
At least I would. - Too much scrolling.

**ratdude747** · 08-10-2010, 02:37 AM

Re: Laptop Search

my 12" screen (1024x768) does fine... granted i always use a microsoft 5 button desktop mouse... scrolling is not a big issue for me.

i see his point about the size, those little desks do not behave well with bigger laptops... trust me, i know.

**weirdlookinguy** · 08-10-2010, 02:50 AM

Re: Laptop Search

You've got a great point there Bonez. I think the scrolling on a 1366x768 screen shouldn't be too bad though, the monitor on my main rig is 1440x900 (132 pixels difference vert.) and the scrolling in word has never really bothered me. It'll be at least a month before the money for this comes through, so I've got some time to check out models in stores with the same size screen and resolution and see if the screen size will be a problem.

**weirdlookinguy** · 08-21-2010, 11:26 PM

Re: Laptop Search

I did some typing on a 1366x768 screen and the scrolling didn't bother me. It felt the same as my 1440x900 screen on my main rig.

The funds for this came through much sooner than I thought they would, and I'm pulling the trigger Monday afternoon. Any final yays or nays before I buy?

**ratdude747** · 08-22-2010, 12:04 AM

Re: Laptop Search

have fun... keep the warranty card handy in case you have troubles!

ps- wanting a notebook that does not look like sh!t is not

... you seem to have a life. a good one i might add... not like the a-holes who need to buy a new one at walmart- the ones there suck less!

good luck with it! be glad it isn't ball state where yours would have to have one only one mouse button (mac)! (they have an apple contract)

**weirdlookinguy** · 08-24-2010, 08:20 PM

Re: Laptop Search

I picked up the lappy on yesterday morning and have used it heavily since. After two full days of use, I have the following observations:

Very crisp display. Eye catching, almost.

Great keyboard for it's size and no complaints about the trackpad.

Battery life: 3 hours solid with screen bright and all the energy saver crap turned off. 4.5 hours with a dimmed screen and the energy saver crap turned on.

Runs nice and quick, much quicker than I expected a CULV i3 to run. I'm sure the 4GB of RAM are playing no small part in this though.

Fits in my backpack perfectly. Watching me walk down a hall or something, there is no way you could guess I've got a laptop on me (I have one of those tiny high school style JanSport backpacks).

All in all, this laptop was a great choice for me. A HUGE stepup from a netbook while retaining full mobility. Pics are coming soonish.

**ratdude747** · 08-24-2010, 08:59 PM

Re: Laptop Search

good to hear... my eastport backpack has a laptop spot so i use it there... my other backpack, a fuel by eastport, is for school since no laptops in high school, i used to have a subcompact targus laptop case, but it is MIA...

**weirdlookinguy** · 08-24-2010, 09:32 PM

Re: Laptop Search

I don't like the big dorky backpacks with ten million zippers

Carrying cases for laptops are lame too. Small laptop + sleeve inside a regular backpack is the only way to go for me.

**ratdude747** · 08-24-2010, 10:07 PM

Re: Laptop Search

you would call me a dork then... the fuel has 3 main sections, 2 side sections with bottle holders, and an upper puch (for glasses i guess?). the outer main section has a key hook and 5 zillion little pouches...

the eastport one has 1 main section with laptop pouch built in... 2 side sections and 2 outer sections (a glasses type section and a larger one with an external pouch).

considering my school schedule, i kinda need a big bkpack as:

before school- locker stop, drop off bike gear, load english book and binder

1st to 2nd- locker stop, swap english crap for ethnic foods binder and did. electronics stuff

2nd-3rd- head across basement for electronics

3rd- 4th- locker stop, drop off DE and foods, pick up econ book

4th-lunch- stash backpack in locker, load backpack for german III (binder/book), pre-cal (big book and binder), and bus. law (bigish book), go to lunch (no time limit to lunch

lunch-4th- pick up backpack and hightail it (not much time and my class is the longest distance from lunch in the whole school)

4th-5th- go down stairs to german, far from locker

5th-6th- go across floor 2 to pre-cal, longest one can travel on that floor. no time to hit locker

6th-7th- go up a floor and across to law, still no time

after school- dump books, load hw, grab bike gear

the bit from lunch to after school is the biggest pain. stuffed backpack. weighs a ton! back hurt!

**weirdlookinguy** · 09-11-2010, 08:02 PM

Re: Laptop Search

Picture time. Please excuse my scratched up desk!

Yes, that's the same wallpaper on the two displays for my main rig AND on the lappie. I love space themed stuff.

Attached Files

**ratdude747** · 09-11-2010, 08:12 PM

Re: Laptop Search

nice... and don't sweat the desk, my dead one looks a lot worse! (it died due to other causes)

off topic- could you attach the wallpaper? looks nice from here...

**weirdlookinguy** · 09-11-2010, 08:23 PM

Re: Laptop Search

Pick your resolution:

http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper_b...cryosleep.html

I've had that desk for ten years. It has survived far more than its fair share of abuse. At one point I had three Trinitron (read: heavy) CRTs on it.

**ratdude747** · 09-11-2010, 08:59 PM

Re: Laptop Search

sweet... thanks! doesn't look the best on my crt (17" envision)... seem like the kind tat would look nice on my laptop, when i get it back (robotics buddy has it right now, long story), i shall see. it might look better on my imac g5 as well...

my desks do get some mistreatment. the only one i got new is the dead one. one of those corner desks with the metal tube supported speakers and shelves., broke when i assembled it. i was able to fix that but that repair eventually that failed and by then the speaker stands were lose as the support's threads had stripped over time.

my main one (still in my old house) was a goodwill find, cheap but nice. it wil nned some touching up when i get it out of the house but shall br nice (the monitor is a 19" samsung CRT)

my server desk i got from my friend as a freebie since nobody bought it at his yard sale (i would have but i had no room to transport it that day). it needed the casters adjusted and new keyboard slides (i stole the ones off the dead desk). good for a smooth cement basement, mobile but sturdy.

**weirdlookinguy** · 09-11-2010, 11:39 PM

Re: Laptop Search

It looks OK on my 17" Trinitron (that's the beige monitor you see in the picture) but it looks breathtaking on my DVI-connected LCD. It also looks very good on the lappie.

RD you need to get rid of that Envision. Why would you settle for anything less than a Sony Trinitron when CRT's are a dime a dozen at any thrift shop?

(Can you tell I love a good Trinitron?)

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