(no subject)

[mllelaurel]

So. My laptop is a piece of shit. It won't play DVDs anymore. It freezes up when faced with anything more challenging than a pageful of plain text. It won't defrag completely.

Conclusion? I need to buy a new computer stat, before I can't access the internet anymore and thus am rendered incapable of buying said new computer.

Discuss.

Basically, I need to know what laptops qualify as non-shitty. My bare qualifications are: DVD player/burner; able to connect to the internet; more harddrive space than my current 55 gigs.

I'm none-too-fond of the Mac interface, but if I'm given assurances that Macs are less likely to break the hell down, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Cheap would be nice, as I need an external harddrive and/or an ipod to move all my junk onto. I can't think of another way to transfer it from one harddrive to another, but then I'm no expert.

Comments

[branchandroot]

If you want a PC, I've heard good things about Dell, and they look good on paper. I've also heard dreadful things about Dell /Service/, though.

I do love my macs (both of them) and you could get a powerbook or a mini, if you want to also pay out for a monitor and keyboard. The monitor and keyboard will outlast any box of any make and most work with both mac and pc, so I favor this approach; it's cheaper in the long run. My experience is that mac peripherals break down as often as pc peripherals, but the processor itself has fewer issues. Also attracts fewer viruses.

Do be aware that any pc you buy now will likely ship with the new windows, which a) looks a whole lot like the mac OS and b) is hugely bloated and will eat up processor speed and hard drive space like freaking tribbles. So if you get a pc, be sure to overestimate your speed and space needs by as much as you can afford to.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Huh. My current laptop is a Dell. It's broken down on me more than once before. On the other hand, I've found the service flawless.

I'm pretty much going to have to buy a laptop of some sort. Traveling back and forth with a monitor in a teeny tiny Toyota Corolla is fun for no one.

[rivenwanderer.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty happy with my Dell (Latitude D800)--with the exception of wanting more hard drive space and special hinge issues, it's held up nicely for all of college. It is a giant monolith, of course, but a mostly useful one. I almost wish Dell was either consistently quality or consistently prone to breaking so I knew whether to recommend it or not! I don't know what their lower-end laptops are like, since this was purchased with the idea that it would be kinda expensive but hopefully be the last computer my parents buy for me.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

It's brain-breaking, indeed. I was actually quite content with my Dell up until recent days, but if I can't watch episodes and movies, my sanity score takes a dive.