laptops

[Quadruple Bypass]

uhh, i am in need of some major help right now. what kind of processor should i be looking for on my laptop? should i be looking at pentium M's or centrin duo/solo?

please share your experiences

it needs to be fast AND have longer battery life.

PLEASE HELP!

[robphy]

I believe core-duo has better energy management, as well as more processing power. However, you might find a deal on pentium-M/centrino laptops.

As usual, the questions to ask yourself:
what will it be used for?
ultraportable (say, 13" or less) ? or desktop replacement (say, 15" or more)? or something in between?
how heavy should it be? (on some, you can get longer battery life with secondary batteries... which, of course, weighs more)
how much are you willing to spend?
when do you need it by?

[Quadruple Bypass]

I believe core-duo has better energy management, as well as more processing power. However, you might find a deal on pentium-M/centrino laptops.

As usual, the questions to ask yourself:
what will it be used for?
ultraportable (say, 13" or less) ? or desktop replacement (say, 15" or more)? or something in between?
how heavy should it be? (on some, you can get longer battery life with secondary batteries... which, of course, weighs more)
how much are you willing to spend?
when do you need it by?
well it will definately replace my desktop, but i want it to be portable too, so it will be somewhere in between.

i want it to be around 5-6 pounds

i am willing to spend no more than 1200

and i need it ASAP

thanks for the response

[robphy]

When shopping for laptops (for myself or others), I usually consult
http://www.gotapex.com/ on a daily basis for deals... usually for Dell laptops. The E1405 and E1505's might work. Now is a good time to be looking for deals. In my experience, you have to patient... then be quick to react to the deals. You need to do some homework to check out the quality of the particular model. For a little more than 1200, the XPS M1210 looked good... but, at the time I was shopping around, it was a little more [after customizing beyond the base model] than I wanted to spend. So, I got something else. [I really wanted a core-duo tabletpc... but they were at least a month away from when I wanted it.]

[robphy]

...on that note, [this just in...]

http://news.com.com/Dell+to+recall+over+4+million+batteries/2100-1044_3-6105486.html
Dell to recall 4 million batteries

By Tom Krazit
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: August 14, 2006, 3:17 PM PDT

just in Dell and the U.S. Products and Safety Commission plan to recall 4.1 million notebook batteries on Tuesday, a company representative confirmed Monday.

The recall affects certain Inspiron, Latitude and Precision mobile workstation units shipped between April 2004 and July 18, 2006. Sony manufactured the batteries that are being recalled, the representative said. ...




http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/14/technology/14cnd-customer.html

What to Do About Those Batteries

Owners of Dell notebook computers affected by the recall will be notified in most cases by mail, e-mail and an online software-update system that sends messages directly to the computer screen, company officials say. Corporate customers will be contacted by sales representatives. The recall involves more than 30 Latitude, Inspiron, Precision and XPS models.

Dell is telling its customers to follow these steps, beginning Tuesday:

Go to www.dellbatteryprogram.com to determine if a Dell notebook you use is affected.

If so, remove the battery from the notebook. Use the power cord and adapter to run the computer. Do not dispose of the battery.

Call Dell’s customer service line at 866-342-0011. Dell will send a new battery and a prepaid shipping box for the return of the suspect one.

Send the suspect battery back to Dell in its prepaid mailer.

Owners of other brands of notebooks curious about who made their battery may be able to check the battery maker by opening the computer’s power management program.