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Storage? I am Storage!
Threads seeking laptop recommendations usually end up focusing on Lenovo Thinkpads. So here's a general purpose thread to help anyone who is interested.
I've tried to keep an open mind, with the idea that company stars wax and wane over time. Nevertheless, it's hard to ignore the evidence that for most manufacturers, form has not only triumphed over function, but shot it, buried it and ridden off into the sunset.
My daughter is starting an internship as a teacher and has been looking for a laptop. After scouring the demo units on show at various retail chains, she found most of them to have unacceptable keyboards. Note however that she is on a budget. Her first choice was a Toshiba A500 - now well and truly obsolete, but still on display at one store. I suggested she consider Lenovo, but we found consumer retail chains here no longer carry them. I also said Asus was worth considering, while acknowledging that these days they are too expensive.
I spent an hour and a half with a sales guy at one chain. I had fun with several laptops by just twisting them. The flex was amazing, almost like paperback novels. He suggested an MSI at US$650; it included 4GB RAM and a 500GB HDD. Frankly, it wasn't that bad compared to the other, more expensive dross that they had. It was by far the best value if you apply a 'magazine mentality' to your decisions.
But his personal favorite was Asus, of which he had one himself. While telling me how they were now number one in sales, he proudly steered me to a US$1000+ model (don't know which). I pressed a key ... and the keyboard sank at least 3mm. I tried again, and again the keyboard sank as if it was a cardboard cutout. Less pronounced right at the sides, but still a hugely obvious dip every time a finger met a key. I've never seen anything like it, and the sales guy looked a bit sick.
On a more positive note, I saw a relatively cheap S*ny with unslippery keys. At a different store, we'd been impressed with how smooth S*ny believed keys should be. I guess S*ny Vaio goes down a treat with your average octopus.
I've tried to keep an open mind, with the idea that company stars wax and wane over time. Nevertheless, it's hard to ignore the evidence that for most manufacturers, form has not only triumphed over function, but shot it, buried it and ridden off into the sunset.
My daughter is starting an internship as a teacher and has been looking for a laptop. After scouring the demo units on show at various retail chains, she found most of them to have unacceptable keyboards. Note however that she is on a budget. Her first choice was a Toshiba A500 - now well and truly obsolete, but still on display at one store. I suggested she consider Lenovo, but we found consumer retail chains here no longer carry them. I also said Asus was worth considering, while acknowledging that these days they are too expensive.
I spent an hour and a half with a sales guy at one chain. I had fun with several laptops by just twisting them. The flex was amazing, almost like paperback novels. He suggested an MSI at US$650; it included 4GB RAM and a 500GB HDD. Frankly, it wasn't that bad compared to the other, more expensive dross that they had. It was by far the best value if you apply a 'magazine mentality' to your decisions.
But his personal favorite was Asus, of which he had one himself. While telling me how they were now number one in sales, he proudly steered me to a US$1000+ model (don't know which). I pressed a key ... and the keyboard sank at least 3mm. I tried again, and again the keyboard sank as if it was a cardboard cutout. Less pronounced right at the sides, but still a hugely obvious dip every time a finger met a key. I've never seen anything like it, and the sales guy looked a bit sick.
On a more positive note, I saw a relatively cheap S*ny with unslippery keys. At a different store, we'd been impressed with how smooth S*ny believed keys should be. I guess S*ny Vaio goes down a treat with your average octopus.
