| Author |
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C.J.Patten
Guest
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 Posted:
Wed Apr 13, 2005 11:31 pm Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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FYI: I don't have ANY issue with the *quality* of Sony notebook computers.
(though I see some have had problems) I've had friends and colleagues with
Sonys and I've been impressed with them all but they only do basic "office"
type work with their computers.
The criteria I used to select a notebook DISQUALIFIED all the Sonys I saw.
The Pavilion has a 1680x1050 17" WSXGA+ screen - I NEED that real-estate for
the work I do. (graphic design, video editing)
The Sonys either had smaller screens (15 inch) or lower resolution (WXGA is
only 1280x800)
At the time I bought the Pavilion, anything I saw in Dell, Apple, Toshiba or
Sony were double the price for the same features - and in many cases were
still lacking.
Some had 17" screens at 1440x900 resolution - again, less resolution than I
was willing to tolerate.
You've got to be so critical of what you're getting for your money these
days or put up with getting less for it. You've got to educate yourself -
sadly, most people don't.
One other thing: someone commented "there's no place for desktop replacement
notebooks."
Perhaps in your world but I travel constantly (pilot) so a desktop is
nothing more than a piece of furniture to me - laptop or nuthin'.
Good luck!
C.
"E Brown" <epbrown01@att.net> wrote in message
news:4jqq51d7jl89pqkfftg95kfmqntqhsdano@4ax.com...
| Quote: | On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 07:57:57 -0600, Notan <notan@ddress.com> wrote:
Sony may have donated the laptops, in return for advertising and
"positive feedback."
It's done all the time.
And yet somehow, I think if the folks at VASST were praising the
IBM Thinkpad, this theory wouldn't be suggested quite as promptly as
an explanation. When talking about Sonys on this group, the bad news
is gospel, the good news is heresy, lies, and/or corporate shilling.
I've owned, at last count, 7 VAIOs. Paid for them with my own
money, still own two of them and have no interest in the company
unless those nice folks at Fidelity have included them in some of my
mutual funds. Here's my take:
They aren't bad.
Perhaps not a ringing endorsement, but it carries with it the
weight and authority of years of actual ownership experience, rather
than hearsay passed on by people whose last Sony purchase had the
suffix "man" and used cassette tapes.
Emanuel |
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Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:12 am Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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| Quote: | I must say that my experience with both laptops made it clear to me
that my next computer ought to be a desktop, and I personally built one
last year exactly how I want it and I like a lot. I really no longer
see the point of desktop replacement laptops.
|
So your advice is if you REALY don't need a laptop then
don't get one? get a desktop instead?
Maybe get a desktop and a PDA is a better solution than
a laptop only?
Advice? I'm in market for new PC and considered a
laptop even tho I don't "really" need the mobility of a
laptop. Hence the question. |
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David Chien
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 1:46 am Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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| Quote: | Centrino = best general purpose choice for laptop.
Pentium 4 = best (current) choice for video editing.
|
For most purposes a 2.0Ghz P-M (centrino) will match or beat a 3Ghz
P4 desktop CPU. (www.pcworld.com laptop benchmarks)
But, there's a lot of factors involved - you'll have to check the
benchmarks for your particular laptop of interest and see (sometimes,
slower something will slow the entire system down).
Most 1.6Ghz+ P-M processors will be just fine handling most basic to
moderate video editing tasks.
For desktops, benchmarks here:
http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20041221/cpu_charts-18.html
---
Honestly, once budget comes into play, you're not talking about the
fastest laptop on the planet anyways, so whatever works, works.
----
Although dell.com has that crazy sale today ($300-500 off : see
www.techbargains.com) on their Inspiron 6000 and other notebooks,
between the Inspiron 6000 and the Sony FS, it'll come down to price vs.
performance.
Today, you can buy a 2Ghz/512MB/80GB/WSXGA/8xDVD DL Inspiron 6000 for
$1412 and this will run rings around any of the on-sale Sony FS models
at this price (1.6 or 1.7Ghz only) due to the faster processor. Even
cheaper if you go for a simpler model, eg. 1.8Ghz+above = $1212 for the
Dell.
Other, non-widescreen models even cheaper.
----
The sony FS models are the only ones with super-bright LCD screens.
The Dells benchmark around 150-250 cd/m.sq.; the FS benchmark around
350-450 cd/m.sq. in brightness in the latest PC User Japanese computer
magazine tests.
Thus, you will be able to see the FS screen easier in harsh
environments, and get a more 'plasma'-like display than any other
laptop. Just looking at the FS next to all of the other notebooks at
Microcenter.com stores made me realize that right away! - a great plus
to have! No more muddy colors or hard to see display with the FS! |
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David Chien
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 1:54 am Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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| Quote: | So your advice is if you REALY don't need a laptop then
don't get one? get a desktop instead?
|
Not necessarily. With desktops around $300-400 complete; and laptops
around $500-600 complete for a basic unit, the price difference of a few
hundred dollars isn't that significant for most buyers, but the mobility
and space savings does add a bunch to the benefits of buying a notebook.
Here, you can easily put the notebook anywhere in your house or
coffeeshop, take it to the film location for on-site editing, put it
into your drawer and have the entire desk free, or leave it on the desk
and have more space free vs. a desktop.
My feeling is that unless you need something high-end - eg. multiple
RAID HDs, video TV tuner card, dedicated MPEG/HDTV
capture/editing/acceleration boards, then a laptop will be the 'better'
choice moving into the future for most home and consumer buyers.
It's quite like the move from the HUGE tower PCs and CRT screens that
took up oodles of space to the tiny mini-PCs and LCD panels, and now
laptops. Natural progression I'd say.
You can still use a large monitor as well with most laptops, so
that's not an issue either.
| Quote: | Advice? I'm in market for new PC and considered a
laptop even tho I don't "really" need the mobility of a
laptop. Hence the question.
|
Need is something most people don't need to consider for purchases.
Does everyone need a credit card? a car? a TV? a radio? etc. Nope.
Lots of things we really don't need. But what we want or can help us
make life more efficient is out there, and that's what a laptop can
bring to you - more options for living and enjoying life in a more
mobile manner than a desktop.
Anyways, again, with most laptops starting off at $500-600 (see
www.dell.com www.fatwallet.com/c/18/), it's a great way to reduce the
clutter in your house and open up the possibilities of a mobile PC platform. |
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Notan
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 2:01 am Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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E Brown wrote:
| Quote: |
On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 07:57:57 -0600, Notan <notan@ddress.com> wrote:
Sony may have donated the laptops, in return for advertising and
"positive feedback."
It's done all the time.
And yet somehow, I think if the folks at VASST were praising the
IBM Thinkpad, this theory wouldn't be suggested quite as promptly as
an explanation. When talking about Sonys on this group, the bad news
is gospel, the good news is heresy, lies, and/or corporate shilling.
I've owned, at last count, 7 VAIOs. Paid for them with my own
money, still own two of them and have no interest in the company
unless those nice folks at Fidelity have included them in some of my
mutual funds. Here's my take:
They aren't bad.
Perhaps not a ringing endorsement, but it carries with it the
weight and authority of years of actual ownership experience, rather
than hearsay passed on by people whose last Sony purchase had the
suffix "man" and used cassette tapes.
|
I've owned a Sony. My wife has owned a Sony.
I'm not saying they're bad while they're up and running, but
after-the-sale support and their high priced proprietary parts
make it, in my opinion, not the best choice in laptops.
If you're looking for hot *looking* laptops, you can't beat 'em!
Notan |
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Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 3:31 am Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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| Quote: | Need is something most people don't need to consider for purchases.
Does everyone need a credit card? a car? a TV? a radio? etc. Nope.
Lots of things we really don't need. But what we want or can help us
make life more efficient is out there, and that's what a laptop can
bring to you - more options for living and enjoying life in a more
mobile manner than a desktop.
|
thanks David
good advice I will heed! <G> |
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Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 3:34 am Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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| Quote: | Anyways, again, with most laptops starting off at $500-600 (see
www.dell.com www.fatwallet.com/c/18/), it's a great way to reduce the
clutter in your house and open up the possibilities of a mobile PC platform.
|
question David
I'm a 47 yr old man going to college again.... I.e. a
"student"
I'm actually thinking that if I'm gonna go for a
"mobile" solution that I night go really small and go
for something like an NEC MobilePro style PC. see link
http://tinyurl.com/6pqzd
what's your advice on going for something THIS small vs
a conventional "laptop"? |
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C.J.Patten
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 3:58 am Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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These "ultra-portables" are halfway between a notebook and a PDA. You'll pay
a premium for the compactness.
If you don't have a PDA, they kinda make sense. Sony actually makes some
very nice ones!
http://tinyurl.com/3njqo
Do your homework on these though - look through all the online reviews, dig
deep for nightmare stories that may turn out to be chronic problems with
certain models - it happens and neither the manufacter nor the store clerks
are going to tell you about this.
HP/Compaq makes the "nc" series ultra-portables - I'm sure there are others
from Dell, Sony, Averatec, Acer etc.
Stay away from the REALLY tiny ones unless you already have a desktop
machine and this really is a PDA on steroids for you (in which case, why not
get a PDA with a keyboard for hundreds less?).
The really tiny ones end up being SO limited you'll be wishing you had
something larger for regular use - and they still won't fit in your pocket
like a PDA will.
Personally, I carry a Palm Tungsten T2 for addresses, notes etc (takes the
place of a daytimer) - have the keyboard for it when I need to write notes.
For *production* level stuff - video editing, graphic design, HEAVY work
processing etc, I have an eleven-pound, 17"WSXGA, firebreathing P4HT
"notebook" though it's more like a waffle iron.
A large waffle iron.
A waffle iron with Wi-Fi.
BTW: good on ya' for college! I have a dream of going back to get my degree
in business. (I've done the "Harvard MBA from the school of hard knocks" but
it doesn't present well on a resume ;)
Chris
<me@privacy.net> wrote:
| Quote: | I'm a 47 yr old man going to college again.... I.e. a
"student"
I'm actually thinking that if I'm gonna go for a
"mobile" solution that I night go really small and go
for something like an NEC MobilePro style PC. see link
http://tinyurl.com/6pqzd
what's your advice on going for something THIS small vs
a conventional "laptop"? |
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Mike Kujbida
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 5:15 am Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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Notan wrote:
| Quote: | Mike Kujbida wrote:
Notan wrote:
Mike Kujbida wrote:
snip
You've gotten a number of opinions, mostly negative, so here's a
positive one.
The folks at VASST ( www.vasst.com ) do tours and training all over
the world and the Vaio (currently the K series) has been their
laptop of choice for years.
Do you know, FOR A FACT, that VASST purchased their Sonys
and didn't receive them as "gifts" from Sony?
Notan
No, I do not know FOR A FACT, that VASST purchased their Sonys and
didn't receive them as "gifts" from Sony. However, if you do a
search on that site for links to the various Vegas forums, you'll
discover just how rugged they have been and how happy they are with
them. Also, the fact that they have said, numerous times, that they
buy them personally and do NOT get them from Sony.
Sony may have donated the laptops, in return for advertising and
"positive feedback."
It's done all the time.
Notan
|
I'm almost positive that's not the case but I'll be able to tell you for
sure next week after NAB as I'll be talking to several of the VASST trainers
there.
Mike |
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Notan
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 5:57 am Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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Mike Kujbida wrote:
| Quote: |
Notan wrote:
Mike Kujbida wrote:
Notan wrote:
Mike Kujbida wrote:
snip
You've gotten a number of opinions, mostly negative, so here's a
positive one.
The folks at VASST ( www.vasst.com ) do tours and training all over
the world and the Vaio (currently the K series) has been their
laptop of choice for years.
Do you know, FOR A FACT, that VASST purchased their Sonys
and didn't receive them as "gifts" from Sony?
Notan
No, I do not know FOR A FACT, that VASST purchased their Sonys and
didn't receive them as "gifts" from Sony. However, if you do a
search on that site for links to the various Vegas forums, you'll
discover just how rugged they have been and how happy they are with
them. Also, the fact that they have said, numerous times, that they
buy them personally and do NOT get them from Sony.
Sony may have donated the laptops, in return for advertising and
"positive feedback."
It's done all the time.
Notan
I'm almost positive that's not the case but I'll be able to tell you for
sure next week after NAB as I'll be talking to several of the VASST trainers
there.
|
I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but any "bad mouthing,"
in similar business transactions, can be construed as a breech
of contract.
Ask somebody "unofficially!" <g>
Notan |
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Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 5:37 pm Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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me@privacy.net wrote:
| Quote: | I must say that my experience with both laptops made it clear to me
that my next computer ought to be a desktop, and I personally built
one
last year exactly how I want it and I like a lot. I really no longer
see the point of desktop replacement laptops.
So your advice is if you REALY don't need a laptop then
don't get one? get a desktop instead?
Maybe get a desktop and a PDA is a better solution than
a laptop only?
|
This is my current setup. I decided I no longer wanted a laptop but
will use a dekstop and PDA, but I will not suggest all do the same,
because people have different needs.
My laptop experience frustrated me when I wanted to upgrade storage
capacity or change components. I wanted a desktop because it would be
modular and I can choose or alter components at need, hence I built it
myself. I run it with 320gb storage and 1gb ram right now and if i need
to I can easily add to it, and I have two 21' CRT monitors, or if i so
wish to upgrade from its current athlon 64 chip to the upcoming
dual-core processors then all I'll need is a the the new chip and a
motherboard; I wouldn't advice her to do the same because her needs are
different... she'll be moving, possibly living in a constrained space
in the city, and so on.
I'll reply on your mini-laptop query in another post in a few minutes
to retain thread flow.
| Quote: | Advice? I'm in market for new PC and considered a
laptop even tho I don't "really" need the mobility of a
laptop. Hence the question. |
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Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 6:16 pm Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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| Quote: | This is my current setup. I decided I no longer wanted a laptop but
will use a dekstop and PDA, but I will not suggest all do the same,
because people have different needs.
|
what kind of PDA did you buy/use? |
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Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 6:17 pm Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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| Quote: | BTW: good on ya' for college! I have a dream of going back to get my degree
in business. (I've done the "Harvard MBA from the school of hard knocks" but
it doesn't present well on a resume ;)
|
Thanks!
Yes school of hard knocks is BEST school..... but for
some reason not so good on a resume as you said |
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E Brown
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 6:29 pm Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 18:34:14 -0500, me@privacy.net wrote:
| Quote: | what's your advice on going for something THIS small vs
a conventional "laptop"?
|
Couple of considerations: I think something this light makes a good
supplement to a desktop or desktop replacement, but it isn't a good
stand-alone. With WinCE devices I always wind up wishing I had a true
PC. I went with the Sony Picturebook for travel/ultraportable needs -
used in conjunction with W2K, WiFi, and big drive upgrades (mine's got
80GB currently) it's a near flawless tool; even more versatile with
Verizon's Broadband Access.
However, working at this size means a small keyboard and small
screen. I'm 41 myself, and the small display sometimes bugs me. By 50,
I suspect my eyes will give out before the battery ;)
Emanuel |
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David Chien
Guest
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| Posted:
Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:47 pm Post subject:
Re: please help choose a sony vaio laptop within budget for |
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| Quote: | I'm a 47 yr old man going to college again.... I.e. a
"student"
I'm actually thinking that if I'm gonna go for a
"mobile" solution that I night go really small and go
for something like an NEC MobilePro style PC. see link
http://tinyurl.com/6pqzd
|
A WinCE palmtop !?!?!?!
What in the world are you thinking! "Please, sir, just put the gun,
er WinCE palmtop down slowly... =P"
WinCE palmtops are just that - wince! - a big problem when you use
them because a) they're not 100% compatible directly with any PC Office
documents (we're not talking plain text, but Word, Excel, etc) b) can't
edit Office documents and retain 100% of the original formatting c)
can't handle huge documents with multiple attachments, images embedded,
charts, etc., etc. etc. Just plain ignore these for anything except a
fancy PDA, please! Far too much trouble, IMO!
---
Here, I'd even buy a used Toshiba Libretto 110CT series instead and run
true Windows 98/2000/XP in a 2lbs mini-notebook for notetaking and
editing Office documents. $200-350 off ebay.com nowadays, and you can
easily drop in a 100GB notebook HD.
http://www.silverace.com/libretto/
---
Also, that's a huge PDA - 1.8lbs?!? How about a <8oz Palm PDA
instead? Or even a Treo 650? The latter is far more useful as a
all-in-one PDA/Cellphone super-portable, and with limited Office
application editing and built-in keyboard, something that can be put to
use in more locations, IMO.
(and actually, smaller than that, the Fossil Wristwatch Palm PDA -
now that's a really, really small PDA for text entry!)
Anyways, world's smallest brand-name notebook made today are the Sony
U-series notebooks (eg. U50/U70) at 880grams/<1.2lbs.
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/LC_ViewPage-Start?isurl=true&basetemplate=/lc/base/lc_hf.isml&page=static/lc/vaio/notebooks/u/index.isml
http://www.dynamism.com/u71/
These are super-portable, and you can easily write text in the
touch-screen as well (portable mini-notepad). Fold out accessory
keyboards make them very friendly for touch-typing.
---
But really, if you want to read the screen, then I'd pick from the
following (not in any order):
Fujitsu P7000 series
Sony T-series, S-series
Panasonic Y/W series
Sharp MP30 series
My top picks from these would be the Fujitsu P7000 series for the top
end - powerful, 100GB HD option, swappable drive bay, etc.; or Sony T
series - lightweight, DVD player buttons, smaller than P7000.
Sharp MP30 is a good option cheap at Bestbuy.com stores and is a
good, basic notebook that's decently light.
Panasonic W/Y series are super-light at ~2lbs-3lbs, have larger screens,
but are very expensive for what they are. Still, they do have the
lightest 14" laptop around!
----
If you do have the $$ and want to go with a tabletpc, then the
various $$$$$ VersaPro from japan:
http://www.express.nec.co.jp/products/versapro/tablet_pc/index.html
2lbs and super-thin & light. Perfect for on-screen notetaking in class! |
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