Wow - Very unhappy with new Dell Laptop...

[HardDrive]

Well, no. I just picked up up a Canon PowerShot SD630 camera. I have another digital, but its much larger. I wanted a pocket size. Very happy with it. HUGE 3 inch display on the back. Quick recovery so you can snap pics quickly. I love how you have very fast access to the ISO control, so you can make changes about exposure/shutter speed with your thumb, on the fly. My sister is a commerical photographer in LA, and she uses this as her test shot/knock around camera.

So I'm pretty happy with my latest tech purchase.

[pwd72s]

Not just Dell, Wayne...it's all part of the brave new world we live in, I guess. The age of buying through the Internet or big box stores...nobody to really ***** at when a purchase disappoints.

[Jim727]

Wayne, sorry to hear that. For whatever it's worth I'm a big fan of ThinkPads -- but they are now Lenovo and I have no knowledge of whether they have maintained the quality that IBM put into them. I gave up buying new laptops since they have become suitcases for junk software and the good ones carry a premium price. Have been buying refurbished laptops with great results and have saved a bundle of money. Eritech (https://www.eritech.com/) - down in your neighborhood - has given me good service and they have a big choice of machines.

The other good thing about buying a refurb is that you won't get vista foisted on you.

Jim

[john70t]

I once bought a Micron before they went out of business and was suprized at how many fans it had...5!
The thing sounded like a wind tunnel. That normally wouldn't have been a bad thing, but the BIOS showed the CPU as being identified at about 70% the speed of the one I ordered, and I began tho think the thing was overclocked to capacity.
Speakers didn't work, crashed on setup. Back in the box.

My Sony buying days are through. Everything from t.v.s to tape recorders have failed.

[Hoots]

I couldn't be happier with my MacBook. This is the first time I have used Apple in 20+ years. And now I can get software to run Windows in the background. I can't wait to see the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH on my MacBook!!! Another great use of the Apple is the FREE open source programs that allow me to read and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.

I am so trilled with the Apple, I doubt I'll ever by another PC for me. The kids, on the other hand, like the PC for games, so they have a $600 e-Machine.

[kach22i]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
I

Gosh, I feel so bah-humbug these days, as I get excited about getting a new toy, and then it turns out to be a HUGE disappointment. I guess I'm just going to have to stick with my old equipment...

Anyone else feel the same, or is it just me?

-Wayne

I guess there is a reason over the counter retail stores with sales people still exist.

Finding a store with people (not kids) who know the product, well that's another matter.

[HardDrive]

Wayne, I have an Acer tablet, and I have been very happy with it. I'm now past 2 years with it. I'm a network engineer, and I teach, I seriously doubt anyone abuses their machine more than I do. On 18 hours a day, contantly being hibernated, power/usb ports being abused.

Most people don't think of Acer as a top flight company, but my experience has been good, and I know Microsoft employees use their boxes as well.

I bought it through newegg.com.

As a sidenote, I would like to state for the record that there should be a UN charter item banning Sony laptops. Not sure whats worse, the laptops themselves, or the abusive spunktrumpets you get on the phone if there is a problem.

[Joeaksa]

Wayne,

Wonder if you got a refurb instead of a new unit? As for the PCMCIA slot, keep looking. They went from a type 2 slot down to a single slot a few years ago but believe that most if not all of them still have a PC slot somewhere on the unit.

I would still send it back anyway and get the issues corrected but they have some very nice laptops. Have used a Dell laptop for the last 6 years and was sold on IBM thinkpads before that, so it took a lot to make me switch.

Give them another try or go somewhere you can lay hands on a new Dell and change to that model. Sounds like you got a lemon.

[Seahawk]

I've had my Dell Inspiron 710m for almost two years with zero issues. I unfortunately travel a lot and drag it everywhere for the wireless connectivity and entertanment on the road.

Hope you have better luck...

[artplumber]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
.....

The nail in the coffin is the fact that this machine has a big slot on the side, and I went to stick in my Wireless PC card - it didn't fit! It's not a PC slot - it's a memory card reader? What laptop doesn't have a PC Card slot? I guess this is my fault for not reading the fine print, but Dell's site doesn't have the tech specs and product views up there like they used to....

Anyone else feel the same, or is it just me?

-Wayne

Could be a memory card reader or a slot for a TV card. This would be esp true if you bought a "media" config.

Everything still comes with a PCMCIA slot AFAIK, so that's news to me. I just bought an HP and its got PCMCIA and card reader ports. It also has a slot for their TV card.

Did you guys config this with a rep or just direct on the net?

[bigchillcar]

which model is it, wayne? i've run dell towers for years..on my second laptop - this one a refurbed inspiron 9300. love it so far.
ryan

[ChrisBennet]

I bought a Thinkpad (by Lenova) Z60m this summer and I'm very happy with it. 2GHz, 2G memory, 89GB drive, 1680x1050 screen for around $1600.
-Chris

[jyl]

Had two Thinkpads this year, T60 and now X60s. Happy to report Lenovo (bought from IBM) has maintained the quality of the machines. Really excellent - from a hardware perspective, even better than my MacBook.

Wayne, I suggest you spend the $ for a T60. Mine was very powerful, ran huge spreadsheets, drove dual LCD monitors (w/ docking station), never hiccupped. An excellent product.

Edit: Three, actually. Also X41 Tablet, that one I bought w/ own $, others were/are work machines.

Edit2: I've only ever owned the "corporate" Thinkpads. These are 100% work machines, no effort to provide consumer features like SD card slots or convenient MP3/DVD buttons. But I think there are consumer-oriented Thinkpads too.

Edit 3: Some new laptops are coming w/ just ExpressCard slots instead of PCMCIA slots, beware. The best ones have a slot that accepts both.

[}{arlequin]

just like chinese-made porsche hardware, you get what you pay for....

there are only two good laptops out there: Mac and Thinkpads. i'm a nipple man

[stomachmonkey]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
We bought a Mac for testing the other day. Took us several hours, and we still couldn't get the computer to recognize the scanner. Also, many elements of the user interface seemed very counter-intuitive. I used to be a Mac-exclusive person 10-12 years ago with System 8, but this new Mac software seems to have gone in the opposite direction of being easy to use...

-Wayne

The UI is different, you need to invest 10 minutes in setting up the defaults for your preference.

I use column views which you will find is very similar to windows.

What scanner are you trying to hook up to it? What SW are you using to access the scanner? Did you install the SW's plug in?

[stomachmonkey]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
We bought a Mac for testing the other day. Took us several hours, and we still couldn't get the computer to recognize the scanner. Also, many elements of the user interface seemed very counter-intuitive. I used to be a Mac-exclusive person 10-12 years ago with System 8, but this new Mac software seems to have gone in the opposite direction of being easy to use...

-Wayne

The UI is different, you need to invest 10 minutes in setting up the defaults for your preference.

I use column views which you will find is very similar to windows.

What scanner are you trying to hook up to it? What SW are you using to access the scanner? Did you install the SW's plug in?

[motion]

Originally posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts
Also, many elements of the user interface seemed very counter-intuitive. I used to be a Mac-exclusive person 10-12 years ago with System 8, but this new Mac software seems to have gone in the opposite direction of being easy to use...

-Wayne

Spoken like a true engineer!!! Amazing how different the Windows/Mac Os's are. I have a couple PCs but using them for more than a few minutes makes me want to throw them out the window.

[wludavid]

Originally posted by }{arlequin
i'm a nipple man

I thought that was a clit pointer: small, red, hard to find. And then even when I do find it, I don't know what the hell to do with it!

Wayne, that's odd that your Mac didn't recognize the scanner. All accessories I've plugged into mine have fired right up, and that seems to be "normal." As for useability, it's just different. After working wth Windows for so long, OS X might seem non-intuitive in comparison. Play with it a little longer it'll make more sense.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Bah, I'm an engineer and it took me about 15 minutes to learn to use the Mac faster than I can navigate through WinXP. Now, with Spotlight (Searchlight? Whatever....), you can just hold down the command key and press spacebar, then start typing the name of the app you want to reach. Cmd-W closes windows and Cmd-Q quits the app. Most dialog box buttons can be pressed by pressing Cmd-(first letter). You rarely need to even touch the mouse unless you're surfing the web.

As for Dell laptops...read my thread from 3 years ago. Apparently they haven't changed a bit. My PowerBook (G4, no less) is still going strong. My wife uses it several hours a day and in the evenings/night time I use it to squash video for my iPod via iSquint.

[stevepaa]

Wayne, that is starnge about the scanner. What Mac are you using and which scanner?