Toshiba labtop's with Harman/Kardon built in

[thxsubwoofers]

I just got my toshiba labtop, and it has a harman/kardon speaker system built in. I just love the logo integrated in the computer.[]

[kenratboy]

Some new laptops actually have built in powered subwoofers! It

may only be a 3" driver or something, but if it can get some mid-bass

out, that would not be bad for a freaking laptop!

[fini]

My wife and I were at BB and CC today looking at the Sony Vaio VAIO VGN-TX650P/B. Pretty cool little machine (it SHOULD be cool, at $2200), only about 3#, which would be great for my wife on business trips. Anyone familiar with them? I'd imagine an extended warrantee (including accidental damage) would be a good idea...

[Jay481985]

fini I would read this article first if your about to buy a laptop

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1739&ncid=1729&e=1&u=/ttzd/167015

[customsteve01]

Jay,

Thats a good article, makes me feel good about buying the Dell 6000.

Steve

[toddvj]

I didn't read the whole article, but :

Geek: "So, what else does it do?"

Rich guy: "Oh, I don't know. I think it has a video editor, HD something-or-other, and a 3-D gee-force gizmo. I just use it for paying bills."

Geek: "I will hate you forever."

That was hilarious.[]

[Jay481985]

yeah ahahahaha.... I come to the conclusion that all the gizmos are

useless. I use my computer (dell dimension 8200 2001 year)/ laptop

(dell inspiron 8200 top flagship 2002)/ (Ibm t40 2003 college gave me

free) for nothing more than browse websites, winisd min power needed,

watch dvd (college), listen to music on ifi/ultras.... some editing

with photoshop... I keep spyware to a min and firewall and use firefox

so my computer does not have as much spyware adware. they work fine

except for the occasional I wish this would open up fast!!!

I found my 10 pound (dual battery really 6 hours) dell inspiron 8200 is

great for watching movies and everything just your back and shoulders

will hate you for the rest of your life. Its mostly stationary. Heck

its faster than my desktop but the screen is only 15 inches.

I found the IBM is a workhorse. Magnesium body with a rubberized shell.

It has a nice feel but greasy fingerprints show. The inside is

titanium! really well this one was pre lenova chinese made so I dunno.

But I had to open it up to change the bios battery once and wow its

nicely built. I can pick the computer up by the screen and not fear the

screen lcd being smushed in or the hinges snaping (cannot do that with

dell)

If I had a chance to do it over again I would definitely get an IBM yes

there drab and one color but there soo strong. I know why they use it

for business, and now that X81 notebook/touchscreen interests me very

much but its only a 12 inch screen. I used to work with a 30 inch

screen with 4 windows open. But If I had a limited budget I would get

as light and thin a computer as possible, I don't need more megahertz,

more hd (buy an external), faster graphics card (this is a laptop not a

top gamer computer), etc Make sure it is big enough for your hands and

use but not to big that you need to buy a new or xl computer case and

that in 10 years gonna cause you 10000 dollars of chiropractor bills.

[thxsubwoofers]

Some new laptops actually have built in powered subwoofers! It may only be a 3" driver or something, but if it can get some mid-bass out, that would not be bad for a freaking laptop!

Wow, it must be real loud. []

[fini]

Jay,

Thanks for the link! I've been poking around the web for a few days looking at stuff about the Vaio. My wife seems set on it. She's a sales manager, and has to travel all over the place. She'd need a laptop to be light (she lugs around a lot of stuff), play DVDs (on planes, in hotel rooms, etc.), have wirelessness to check emails, etc. Powerful enough to do Powerpoint presentations and other "sales manager" stuff (connectability to projectors for sales training, etc.). Oh, and other etc. things. ;^)

[Jay481985]

Jay,

Thanks for the link! I've been poking around the web for a few days

looking at stuff about the Vaio. My wife seems set on it. She's a sales

manager, and has to travel all over the place. She'd need a laptop to

be light (she lugs around a lot of stuff), play DVDs (on planes, in

hotel rooms, etc.), have wirelessness to check emails, etc. Powerful

enough to do Powerpoint presentations and other "sales manager" stuff

(connectability to projectors for sales training, etc.). Oh, and other

etc. things. ;^)

Thanks

I would really check out IBMs since there strong, does everything your

wife and you want. Heck some IBMs have 8 hour battery life. Also She

travels as you said, their built like tanks. No need to buy a new

computer bag just put it with your carry on. Look at IBM's website

there actual accounts of what some IBMs survived... fires, hurricanes,

water, coffee, numerous drops.

[fini]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger last night on the Sony from Amazon. With a $200 rebate, it's under 2Gs. I appreciate the IBM tip, but I'm researched-out, and down to the wire. She'll be happy, that's important. I'm gonna spring for an extended accidental damage warranty though...

[maxg]

Well for what it is worth I think the Sony was a good choice. They look so much better than any of the others and they usually have screens to die for.

I am toying with getting one myself - my current laptops overheats if it has to work too hard. It is fine for email and such - but rip a DVD into WMV format and it crashes in about 10 minutes.

Why am I ripping DVD's into wmv? Good question. My phone plays wmv files in its media player and I use them to keep Junior quiet in restaurants, the car etc. etc. Quality is amazing on such a small screen and file sizes are around 250 mb for a typcial movie.

This is probably an illegal thing to do so I am not maxg - just someone who has nipped in and borrowed his computer.

On the other hand - if the movie in question is not available in the format I need is it legal for the recording company to restrict where I watch the movie and on what equipment?

[Jay481985]

Well for what it is worth I think the Sony was a

good choice. They look so much better than any of the others and they

usually have screens to die for.

I am toying with getting one

myself - my current laptops overheats if it has to work too hard. It is

fine for email and such - but rip a DVD into WMV format and it crashes

in about 10 minutes.

Why am I ripping DVD's into wmv? Good

question. My phone plays wmv files in its media player and I use them

to keep Junior quiet in restaurants, the car etc. etc. Quality is

amazing on such a small screen and file sizes are around 250 mb for a

typcial movie.

This is probably an illegal thing to do so I am not maxg - just someone who has nipped in and borrowed his computer.

On

the other hand - if the movie in question is not available in the

format I need is it legal for the recording company to restrict where I

watch the movie and on what equipment?

first why is it illegal??? well I am not sure since different countries

have different laws. Canada will not hear any lawsuits from the RIAA.

But just like ripping an mp3 from an audio cd its not illegal? That is

what mp3 players are based about before itunes. The fact of sharing

them and allowing anyone to obtain it is the illegal part. Kinda like

you cannot make copies of a cd and distribute them at say a public

event.

Also I agree with the sony having good looks and a sharp screen to die

for. The weak part of IBMs are the screen. I am sure that the sony

model will do fine, hopefully it comes pre christmas-eve? I was just

pointing my IBM bias.

Also MaxG did you try different positions with the laptop. Placing it

on a bed usually causes laptops to go on fire!!! yeah there people who

died because they used it on their bed and it overheated and caught

fire. My Dell laptop gets quite hot and the vent is toward the right

back. so when I am doing something like grid.org where no person is

really required, I leave the laptop on it's side with the screen a bit

out to prevent tipover. Grid.org is a website that uses personal

computers to do the work of a supercomputer without the cost. Its for

cancer research and so forth. Also they do sell usb fan plates that

actually give proper space between the bottom of the laptop and blows

cooler air on the bottom of the case. Heck though I have a metal filing

cabinet at home and place the laptop on there since its a big heatsink

lol

[toddvj]

The legal issue with ripping DVDs is that in order to rip them you have to circumvent the copy protection on the disk. While not technically legal, I doubt you would get into any trouble for doing it. I have a HTPC with over 100 DVDs ripped to the hard drive for easy access, and I'm not the least bit afraid of getting in trouble for it, since I own the originals.

[Jay481985]

was it not sony's fighting the law to make the tape/vhs recorder

legal??? they now I bet want to take that back, since it technically

allows you one copy from your original.

[maxg]

Now who was that using my computer?

OK - seriously - the DVD protection thing is a funny one - it used to be that I couldnt copy a DVD at all on the computer - then someone gave me a copy of a program called DVD shrink or something and that not only allowed itself to copy a DVD but all the other programs that couldn't before - including the AVS Video Converter that I use to make the WMV files. I get a message about it being a protected file and then something like - continue anyway?

Jay,

As for the overheating thing - I am already ahead of you on this one. I bought a USB powered fan thing that the computer now sits on and it does help - but it is not enough to keep the CPU cool for more than 10 minutes of running flat out.

Taking part of the bass of the computer off - and running the CPU directly over the fan - with it own fan working in tandem does keep it running throughout - although it still switches down on the speed. Basically it needs a service or something - but who can live without a PC for a couple of days?