Laptop suggestions?

Here's a suggestion for your new laptop:

Don't let your brother download Asian porn.

No, really. Apparently, computers don't like that.

 

It's not the porn, it's the spyware that comes with it.

(Spyware works on Windows, but is a useless binary blob on Linux, Mac OS X and other Unix variants.)

(Or so I am told. I know nothing in particular about that.)

 

No, I know about spyware. It wasn't that. The site was reliable (youporn) and I'd never had any problems.

Though I must tell you, explaining what I thought to be the problem at Best Buy and later with Toshiba was a lot of fun.

 

I have never had a major problem with Dell. They are good computers. I have also had a Toshiba and Gateway before. Both motherboards were shot after less than a year and a half.

 

I am also a Macbook convert. Love the thing.

 

Dell. still. sucks.

Wannabe, my motherboard in my first hunk of shit Dell was shot in less than a year-and-a-half.

For all my anti-Dell rantings, I understand most of this is just luck. Laptops aren't built to handle the beatings we administer.

But still: Dell sucks. I'll write and file longhand before I ever use another one of those pieces of shits.

 

Then you want a Panasonic Toughbook-30. Magnesium case, shock-mounted hard drive, ports moisture-sealed to military specifications.

Break that.

 

My turn.

My 5 yr old Dell Inspiron 600 is beat to hell, and sending me to the Blue Screen of Death way too often. I need something new, fast.

I'll probably stay with Dell (love the onsite service and happy to pay for it), but frustrated by all the different lines and (inspiron, xps, blah blah). No clue what's what. Cost not really an issue if it's worth it.

I need it to be light but not too tiny; I also have a big desktop but rarely use it, so this is my main gadget.

Open to any suggestions, or really great review websites. Thanks.

 

My buddy is an IT guy, he swears by Dell.

 

Dells are in some stores now, so go by a Best Buy and see which you like the best, then you can go home and order it. And I think you can get XP instead of Vista if you specify that, if you want. Probably an Inspiron; the Latitudes are the more stripped down models (but they work great and are durable).

 

I'm a Toshiba fanboy myself; typing on the sixth that I've bought for me or family over the years; but I don't care who makes the hardware -- if you can only use Vista, then use pen and paper instead. Quill pen if you have to.

I've never seen a bigger piece o' crap than Vista. Have it on 3 computers I use, and all three have as many bugs as a Taiwanese Motel 6.