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  • Laptops! Who's got an opinion to share? (p.4)
2016/08/08 08:16:25
ston
I've gotten v good mileage from my Lenovo Ideapad; it's been my dev. machine for a few years now and is still going strong.  The HDD blew up a bit, so I fitted an SSD which I would highly recommend.  I've had one lappy with a hybrid drive which insta-failed, so I personally am sceptical about that storage tech.  Ensure that it has a good screen and a k/b you're comfortable with; k/b's especially are *highly* subjective; I frikin' love my Ideapad's k/b but many others who've tried using it absolutely hate the thing.  Point is, you need to try typing on the machine before you commit to buying. 
 
Almost everybody else at my company has a work-provided Dell laptop.  I was given one too but hated it beyond measure, it was absolutely everything I didn't want so told work to shove it and bought my own machine.  I'd rather spend £660 I think it was of my own money than have a machine I have to use every day that I can't stand.  The Dell was about the size of the monolith in 2001 A Space Odyssey, weighed the same as the moon, had a bog-awful k/b, crap screen and came with a 32-bit OS (wtf).
 
Whatever you buy, it'll doubtless come with a bunch of Don'tCareWare.  I 'managed' mine by installing W10 Enterprise which we have a bulk licence for.  Note that you almost certainly won't get an install disk, so creating a rescue disk is essential.  (My laptop at home suffered a MBR corruption which I was able to repair via this method).
2016/08/08 09:18:07
bent4life
I bought a Dell XPS13 recently, replacing a MacBook Air. Great machine. Light, fast, thin. The keyboard's a little small but it doesn't cramp my style. 
2016/08/08 12:25:29
craigb
My co-workers both have MacBook Air's.  How close in size & weight is the XPS13?
2016/08/08 17:06:19
bent4life
craigb
My co-workers both have MacBook Air's.  How close in size & weight is the XPS13?




My MacBook Air is a 2011 model so the latest models are different. The XPS13 has a smaller keyboard but the screen is better (for me) and it's got what Dell calls a "borderless display" - it certainly takes up less space than the Mac. Macs have better battery life but that doesn't bother me. It seems to weigh slightly less than the Mac but the difference for me is negligible. 
2016/08/08 17:23:04
craigb
Cool.  Thanks!  Being a rather large guy (6' 4" and 250 lbs.), I may want to get something with a large keyboard.  We'll see, I'll have to do that try in person part soon. 
2016/08/08 20:26:21
craigb
Well, I just got the good news!  My new employer HAS ordered a new laptop for me!  
 
Eventually I would like to get something for myself so I've kept notes from the responses.  Thanks to all who contributed! 
2016/08/09 07:45:38
ston
craigb
Well, I just got the good news!  My new employer HAS ordered a new laptop for me!  

 

 
?
2016/08/09 08:59:22
Moshkito
Hi,
 
I might be in the market for a new laptop .. the last one I have is a small one, and not worth the discussion, but it's good enough to do a lot of typing. And, yeah, the small keyboard is a problem for me, also.
2016/08/09 09:57:23
BobF
An opinion?  OK.  Laptop cooling fans blow.
2016/08/09 12:19:41
craigb
BobF
An opinion?  OK.  Laptop cooling fans blow.




Bob airs an opinion!
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