I haven’t even looked at Gateways really. Maybe they have some high end models that wouldn’t bug me though. It’s not that I want a Rolex of a computer. But if I spend a bunch there’s no reason for the manufacturer to put cheap plastic on it.

I laugh at the desktops in the store (literally). Their cases look like they are made out of soft drink cup plastic. I told that to one of the laptop guys I talked to on the phone, and HE laughed. At me. I am still very hurt by that. No, but the difference between Apple and the clone maker desktops is like the difference between hot magma and dry ice. Why is there so little middle ground? Doesn’t anyone else like to buy stuff that feels like it doesn’t come with a Happy Meal? Sometimes I think I’m the only one who even cares.

“Time to get your small on.” And always a good sign with something comes with a “processor we’ve yet to hear anything about.”

Two irrelevant points about that processor. 1. It’s called the Intel Core Solo 1300 ULV. That sounds like a Gateway laptop model. They at least used to have some called “Solo.” 2. The new Intel chips are “dual core.” Is this a “dual core” called Core Solo. If so, that’s weird. If not, that’s weird to advertise specifically that’s single core. Anyway, Intel = weird. Gateway = just wanted a chip that includes the word “Solo” in its name.

3.15 pounds! Wow.

Insane in the membrane.

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but right now the two I’m looking at most closely are a Thinkpad with 15″ normal screen @ very high resolution, and a 17″ HP wide screen with a normal keyboard + keypad. Actually, the only thing holding me back from buying the Thinkpad was that I was trying to figure out whether it might actually be TOO high resolution. I don’t think stuff would be too small to see, but I think Macs adjust better to different screen dpi’s than Windows — although XP is better, and my guess is Vista will take that another step further.

I would actually welcome your advice on this. (And when I say “would actually,” I don’t mean I wouldn’t normally, but rather I was guessing you would be skeptical that that was the case.)

I like the Thinkpad in that lots and lots of high caliber IBM engineering went into it. Makes it easy to love. Similar engineering time to an Apple. Just engineering crammed into every crevice, which I love. It’s also lighter, has better battery life, and has little extras like wireless internet compatibility (as in, mobile - anywhere). Of course that would require signing up. But it also has stuff like an airbag-type sensor that parks the hard drive when dropped but before landing. I noticed the Toshibas have that too but I’m not sure about HPs. Just lots of little things like that on a Thinkpad, as well as a nice keyboard, not to mention two pointing devices (eraser and touchpad).

This particular Thinkpad also has a killer graphics chip but does run at 1600×1200 resolution, which seems like sort of overkill on a 15″ screen.

HP has a ton of engineering might but it doesn’t put as much as Apple does and IBM did into its laptops. There is some, but when you look at an HP laptop you are not blown away by the elegance and engineering prowess. However, I can obviously live without that. The one I was looking at is 17″ @ 1680 x 1050. It’s not as thin or as sleek as the Thinkpad (1.3 inches and I’m guessing 7.5 to 8 lb), but it has the wide screen. And the Thinkpad design has been around so long it’s almost retro at this point anyway — though I don’t really mind that. I’d say the wide screen is a very slight advantage but not a big deal for me. While the Thinkpad has those little features that make me rationalize leaning toward it, the HP does have one — the LightScribe DVD writer. That is a cool technology. It etches labels on DVDs, using a laser, from inside the drive itself. The 17″ wide screen would be nice at times, but it’s bigger than I need and would make this thing just a tad large to lug certain places I think.

I basically narrowed these down using two criteria most people don’t worry that much about. 1. Looks. Looks are critical to me. Sorry. That is to say, it at least can’t be ugly. The HP ain’t really a looker, but it doesn’t seem to have any ugly features either. I have discovered that most American products are ugly. I would rather have minimalist design than ugly design. 2. Video chip. My current computer is so old that it’s been a very long time since I could run modern software, including games. I’d like to get one with a decent video chip, even though it would probably go to waste. I would just feel better buying a computer knowing the video chip was copacetic. Three years from now, even if I never used a single program that took advantage of it (or even used it 25%), I would still say, “Glad I got that.” The new Apples have 256 MB video, and that’s basically what I was aiming for. It does narrow the choices, however, because most laptop makers cater to people who don’t know what the hell a video chip is and skimp in that area.

One thing about Thinkpad is that it’s made by Lenovo and I get the impression that engineering has really slowed down since they took over (a real shock, right?). They bought these things about a year ago, and I think these are nearly frozen in time as far as actual engineering goes to a year ago. I’m not sure whether or not IBM would have changed over to wide screens or not, but I’m not sure Lenovo even knows how to do that without wrecking the careful IBM engineering. There are some wide screen models; I think this one may be geared for graphics people who don’t really want a super wide screen but rather just a high res normal screen, though. Computer Shopper also gave Lenovo support a C-, although the review was shaky because they only tried to resolve two issues. With the Toshiba rep, they solved the problem right away so Toshiba got an A. Sounds pretty scientific. I’m sure if one rep is good, they all must be just as good, right?

So the final issue is should I just forget about the 256 MB graphics? If I do that, I open up more possibilities. 128, etc. Honestly, I know I don’t need 256. You just can’t upgrade the video and I know there’s a chance it will be another 8 years before I buy a new computer and I’d like to start out as close to the curve as possible. (To be ahead of the curve, you really need a desktop.)

I also looked at a Viao, which was pretty cool except the resolution was only 1200 x 800 for the 15″ wide screen. Even though Sony itself MANUFACTURES high end LCDs, they apparently can’t think of any reason anyone would want anything higher than that. It just seems a little low for that size screen. If you get a 12″ ultracompact one, I would not be surprised if it came with that resolution. In fact, I think the Sony I looked at in the store was at that resolution. My parents’ 15″ Apples are 1440 x 900 (pretty sure).

IF I COULD JUST FIND A FREAKING PC LAPTOP WITH THE SAME SPECS AS AN APPLE LAPTOP I WOULD BE HAPPY! Is it really so hard to engineer a normal computer the right way? Motherfucker!

Anyway…

The two laptops above also have nice hard drives. I believe the HP allows 4 GB of memory whereas the Thinkpad allows 2, but I’m not sure about that. They also have 100 GB hard drives max, which is a little lower than they could be (for max at least), however the Thinkpad includes a fast one and the HP has the option for a similar fast one (7200 RPM Serial ATA — see, I know my nerd shit, bitch!).

Looks like the HP does have the feature to park the hard drives in case of excessive motion… I’m guessing the Apples have that as well. Not sure who else does.

I belive both have an option for a fingerprint reader. Or maybe standard on what I’m looking at; not sure. Not really my first priority.

One other note. The Thinkpad is a good deal because Lenovo has made the pricing more competitive. The Thinkpad line used to go into the clouds pricewise, like $3…, $4…, even $5…., maybe $6…. It looks like Lenovo has stopped all that, but at the same time like I said I don’t expect the same level of R&D to continue either. However, if you buy right now, you get IBM engineering at “Lenovo” pricing (whatever the hell a Lenovo is — some Chinese company).

Thoughts appreciated! Although this isn’t a big deal, it kind of irks me that more stuff that I would consider to be logically engineered (like an Apple) — and in many cases engineered in just some common sense, obvious avenues — are so hard to find among PCs. I know competition is supposed to produce better stuff, but sometimes it just produces a bunch of crap that caters to the lowest common denominator. I mean, even the high end stuff tends not to be that well engineered. In this case, Apple’s dictatorship wins. They aren’t even outrageously priced anymore.