From owner-freebsd-mobile@FreeBSD.ORG Mon May 5 20:41:42 2003 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-mobile@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7364337B401 for ; Mon, 5 May 2003 20:41:42 -0700 (PDT) Received: from notus.primus.ca (mail.tor.primus.ca [216.254.136.21]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 87DBC43F85 for ; Mon, 5 May 2003 20:41:41 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from leth@lethargic.dyndns.org) Received: from dialin-150-236.tor.primus.ca ([216.254.150.236] helo=lethargic.dyndns.org) by notus.primus.ca with esmtp (TLSv1:DES-CBC3-SHA:168) (Exim 3.36 #3) id 19CtKh-0007F8-0A; Mon, 05 May 2003 23:41:36 -0400 Received: from lethargic.dyndns.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by lethargic.dyndns.org (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id h463fYOu041691; Mon, 5 May 2003 23:41:35 -0400 (EDT) (envelope-from leth@lethargic.dyndns.org) Received: (from leth@localhost) by lethargic.dyndns.org (8.12.9/8.12.9/Submit) id h463fXR4041690; Mon, 5 May 2003 23:41:33 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 5 May 2003 23:41:32 -0400 From: Jason Hunt To: "Jesse D. Guardiani" Message-ID: <20030506034132.GA41594@lethargic.dyndns.org> References: <20030505223531.6B6755D04@ptavv.es.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.1i cc: freebsd-mobile@freebsd.org Subject: Re: ideal laptop recommendations? X-BeenThere: freebsd-mobile@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: Mobile computing with FreeBSD List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 03:41:42 -0000 On Mon, May 05, 2003 at 07:00:33PM -0400, Jesse D. Guardiani wrote: > IBMs seem a bit overpriced and underfeatured to me. Still, if that is > the best suggestion I get, then I might give it a try. I have always preferred IBM over other brands when it comes to laptops. They are pretty sturdy and tend to last a long time. As Kevin stated, you get what you pay for. Also, I have always preferred IBM because of their keyboards. There is something about the layout that I really like. I think it is mainly the positioning of the cursor keys and the num/caps/scroll-lock keys. It seems kind of picky, but I do really like their keyboards compared to other brands. I also prefer the little knobby mouse pointer thing (I've never bothered to find the proper term for it :) ) over the square ones that you run your finger around on. Then again, I also prefer a simple trackball over a standard mouse, so maybe that's why. One other note that may or may not be relevant is that if you want to buy replacement parts (without scowering ebay and hoping for the best), IBM allows end users to order parts from them directly. The prices are usually the MSRP, which is usually not much more expensive than what you would pay at a reseller. HP/Compaq might let end users order parts (they do with their printers at least), but I'm not sure about other companies. It may or may not ever be relevant, but if you're a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to hardware (I assume most of us are), IBM seems to be a lot easier to buy parts for. Anyways, just my two cents.