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Re: PC recommendations?
From: Dan Allen
Date: 2000 Oct 09, 9:08 PM
From: Dan Allen
Date: 2000 Oct 09, 9:08 PM
The Dell Latitude has won the torture test 5 years running done by one of the PC magazines. It is the best made PC laptop, hands down. The Apple PowerBooks are excellent as well: they were originally designed by the same guy (John Medica) that now designs Dell Latitudes! Dell has several different Latitudes. As someone remarked on this mailing list, there are some that are very small, but the CPi and CPx family of Latitudes have XGA screens (1024x768, with larger ones coming next month), fast processors, built-in CD-ROM drives, etc. I have two Dell Latitudes that I have bought with my own money, and I highly recommend them. I've had one drop six feet onto concrete out the back of my minivan. I thought I would see the entire machine shatter into zillions of pieces. Instead one shift key came off. The display was completely unphased, as was all of the internals. I picked it up and booted it up, all data intact. Very impressive. Dell also makes a family of laptops called Inspiron. They are not made by Dell directly, but are made elsewhere for them. They are much thicker and are nowhere near as well made. To find the Latitudes you have to say that you are a small business customer on their web site, which is poor salesmanship on their part. Inspirons usually have faster CPUs and bigger displays available than Latitudes. A friend bought an Inspiron 3800 recently and reports that their build quality has improved, so perhaps they should be considered. Until a year ago I worked at Microsoft. Microsoft bought truckloads of Toshibas for many years, but recent Toshiba Tecra laptops had been very problematic, so our department switched over to Dell Latitudes, and have had no problems. IBM Thinkpads are also excellent - I've never met a disappointed ThinkPad owner. They love 'em. Compaq laptops until recently have been made quite poorly, but the latest generation of business laptops is much improved; one I played on a few months ago seemed close to the rigidity of a Latitude. To go along with an industrial-strength laptop, do yourself a favor and use Windows 2000. It is far more bulletproof than Windows 95/Windows 98/Windows Me. It has an entirely different OS underneath the same user interface, and I've had machines up 24 hours a day for months without ever having to reboot. Windows 2000 is very Dell Latitude friendly: all of the drivers and power management are built into Windows 2000, so the install is simple and works well. I've just spent the last several months installing, using, and building software using TurboLinux, Mac OS X, Yellow Dog Linux, Mac OS 9, Red Hat Linux, FreeBSD, Plan 9, and several other alternative operating systems on a variety of machines. No operating system is as good as Windows 2000. I've used my Dells in the pilothouse of my Nordhavn 46 a lot, and I have never had any problems in that marine environment. If I was out on a sprayed-filled deck, things may be different. I think the marine laptops are a rip-off. They are always years behind the current crop of machines, for more money. Dan Allen -----Original Message----- From Navigation Mailing List [mailto:NAVIGATION-L@LISTSERV.WEBKAHUNA.COM]On Behalf Of Kliment Sent: Monday, October 09, 2000 10:45 AM To: NAVIGATION-L@LISTSERV.WEBKAHUNA.COM Subject: PC recommendations? As a delivery Captain, I have used my HAM radio to communicate while sailing to/from the islands. I recently purchased a tnc to connect to my ICOM radio for digital messages (Pactor) and weather info. I'm currently using a borrowed Dell Latitude laptop (at home), but I plan/need to buy a laptop soon. What has been the experience with those on this list, in using laptops on a boat? I'm looking at models in the $2K range. I see "marine" grade PC's advertised, but wonder how the less expensive non-marine grade will hold up? I expect to be in transit with this "system" only about 35 days a year. Any suggestions regarding brands, such as Sony, HP, Toshiba, Compaq? You can answer off list if you like. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice. Capt Joe Kliment W3HZM Middltown, DE kliment@dca.net