Neil, (subject changed) On Tue, 4 Oct 2005 15:27:40 -0500, PicDude wrote: > On Tuesday 04 October 2005 03:07 pm, Mark Rages scribbled: > > > So, back to laptops: Which manufacturer would you buy from (and pay > > > extra) to get something that lasts longer than average? > > > > I don't know how this plays into your thesis, but I bought an IBM > > laptop after seeing my friend's 486-based IBM laptop in daily use and > > working perfectly. My laptop still works fine, but it still has one > > year left until the fateful three-year birthday. > > Same here -- I have used many laptops and have 3 here currently. The ones I > hate are Compaq and Toshiba. I used to hate HP, which we were issued with at my previous firm. They needlessly messed about with the keyboard layout, so things like , which should always be in the top-right where you go for it instinctively, were moved - I think was there, so instead of correcting a typo you end up at the beginning of the line typing on from there instead! One of my first criteria when looking at a laptop is whether the keyboard is as it "should" be, with things like the arrow keys in the inverted-T formation, not strung out in a line, and the six editing keys (Ins, Del, Home, End, PgUp, PgDn) together in the right arrangement. If that's not right, I move on straight away. > One here is a Dell, which has been "averagely" > used, but is falling apart -- mechanically and certain components dying. My > IBM Thinkpad 600x (which I'm on now), has travelled with me extensively, and > in on almost always, has been a real workhorse and running smooth for many > years now (about 4 yrs old). And I've used other IBM's as well with great > results. Only real problem I've had is hard-drive failures, which are not > IBM-specific drives. > Everytime I look into a new laptop, I look at IBM first. Me too, but sadly they're now out of the laptop business, and it remains to be seen if Lenovo, who bought the business from them, will maintain their standards. I've had half a dozen IBM laptops, and although the earlier ones (which must have lasted at least 6 years) fell apart physically, this seems not to have happened with the later ones. I think they saw the problem and designed it out. I always buy second-hand, by the way, so when I get them they are already some way into their life, and showing no signs of it! I recently bought a T23 that's approaching its 4th birthday, for what I consider a bargain price (about the same as 2 ICD2s!) and having changed the US keyboard for a UK one, and put in more memory, I reckon it should last me at least three years - possibly much more. Batteries are the only things that need replacing at intervals, and that's obviously an issue for proprietary formats, but it's possible to get them "refilled" with new cells. Cheers, Howard Winter St.Albans, England -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist