| Sidor om ämnet: < [1 2 3] > | new laptop Trådens avsändare: Oliver Pekelharing
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Oliver Pekelharing 
Nederländerna
Local time: 02:57
Nederländska till Engelska
TOPIC STARTER | Warranties etc. | Aug 16, 2011 |
Thanks for your input everyone.
You're right that the business editions have much more earnest-sounding warranties with years of NBD full coverage and this and that. I am actually more inclined to a standard warranty as my experience with computers is that they don't start really breaking down until after 3 yrs +. Before that I can deal with most problems myself or with the help of my friends. Windows prof is indeed standard on most business systems and again, unnecessary for my pur... See more Thanks for your input everyone.
You're right that the business editions have much more earnest-sounding warranties with years of NBD full coverage and this and that. I am actually more inclined to a standard warranty as my experience with computers is that they don't start really breaking down until after 3 yrs +. Before that I can deal with most problems myself or with the help of my friends. Windows prof is indeed standard on most business systems and again, unnecessary for my purposes. So its starting to become clear to me why I don't need a top-of-the-range business model laptop... ▲ Collapse
| | | | | laptop keyboard and display | Aug 16, 2011 |
I have Acer Aspire 5738Z with Intel T4200 dual core 2.00 GHz processor and 3 GB RAM, two years old now. This configuration is fast enough for me - maybe because I never open 12 web browser tabs and 5 other programmes at a time.
I paid approx. EUR 400, can't recall exactly.
The display is unfortunately glossy, but I connect a 22" matt display TV set (1680x1050 resolution) as the main working monitor. The laptop display serves as secondary.
As I don't like laptop... See more I have Acer Aspire 5738Z with Intel T4200 dual core 2.00 GHz processor and 3 GB RAM, two years old now. This configuration is fast enough for me - maybe because I never open 12 web browser tabs and 5 other programmes at a time.
I paid approx. EUR 400, can't recall exactly.
The display is unfortunately glossy, but I connect a 22" matt display TV set (1680x1050 resolution) as the main working monitor. The laptop display serves as secondary.
As I don't like laptop keyboard (too small, low strength), I have a standard separate keyboard connected. The keyboard I use now cost me approx. EUR 7 (from the lowest supermarket shelf), is beige colour (black keyboards are too dark to my eyes) and has been no problem at all for more than 3 years.
In short, I tend to keep the configuration close to the budget side.
AM
[Zmieniono 2011-08-16 19:24 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Nederländerna
Local time: 02:57
Medlem (2006)
Engelska till Afrikaans
+ ...
Michal Glowacki wrote:
A new though came to my mind, you can leave the warranty as is and simply extend it before it expires if you see fit. If you feel like it may come in handy - do it in a years (less) time, if you don't - leave it.
Careful... some laptops require you to buy the warranty within X number of days after you bought it. This could be as little as 30 days or as long as 360 days. Oh, and when you do get the warranty, make sure you actually activate it -- we bought a 5 year extended warranty with my wife's previous laptop but she didn't know that one has to follow a certain process to activate it, and when the laptop broke after 3 years, the warranty (that we paid EUR 100 for) was worthless.
| | | | Michal Glowacki
Polen
Local time: 02:57
Medlem (2010)
Engelska till Polska
+ ...
A new though came to my mind, you can leave the warranty as is and simply extend it before it expires if you see fit. If you feel like it may come in handy - do it in a years (less) time, if you don't - leave it.
I'm not sure about particular procedures, but a Dell sales person told me that I can extend my warranty at any time, as long as the old one hasn't expired yet.
Laptop keyboard - yes, it's a much better idea to get an external one. Some say a mechanical keyboard is great, others say that the cheaper is equally good - I'm not sure who's exactly right, but if you have the space - get a proper keyboard with the num pad, etc. Just make sure it's comfortable.
As for my laptop's keyboard - it's actually quite OK, I just reprogrammed one of the useless keys next to the left arrow and now it's a delete - very handy! And please please remember - you have to use a mouse. Anyone who tries to talk about productivity but uses the touch pad is just a heretic. Touch pads are the last resort when travelling or sitting in the garde, in all other cases they're useless (I switch mine off when not in use, it irritates me). A proper mouse is the way to go.
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Ulf Samuelsson
Mexiko
Local time: 18:57
Medlem (2007)
Engelska till Svenska
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| My recommendation | Aug 17, 2011 |
I recommend that you go for the Dell Vostro series, but to find it you'll have to look under business users on the Dell site.
The 17.3 inch model gives you the most for your money, in my opinion. I bought my first 17 inch Vostro 4 years ago, and it's still working perfectly, even though it has been used roughly by the kids every day since I got a more recent Vostro model 18 months ago.
Both have been in use practically 10 hours a day, every day in a hot climate, without... See more I recommend that you go for the Dell Vostro series, but to find it you'll have to look under business users on the Dell site.
The 17.3 inch model gives you the most for your money, in my opinion. I bought my first 17 inch Vostro 4 years ago, and it's still working perfectly, even though it has been used roughly by the kids every day since I got a more recent Vostro model 18 months ago.
Both have been in use practically 10 hours a day, every day in a hot climate, without AC, so they are durable, and the older one has even hit the floor a few times by now, but still keeps going.
Here you have a link to the current model: http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=n08s7520&c=nl&l=nl&s=bsd&cs=nlbsdt1&model_id=vostro-3750 ▲ Collapse
| | | | Oliver Pekelharing
Nederländerna
Local time: 02:57
Nederländska till Engelska
TOPIC STARTER
I'm wondering what the added vale of a 17,3" screen is as opposed to a 15,6". I use a 15,6 screen now which is fine for my preferred combination of Word with WFC, though a bit on the small side when I have to run Trados with Word (not very often, if at all). What can you do on a 17,3 that you can't on a 15,6? I would have thought the main advantage of upscaling would be being able to do more on your screen at once, but I assume that if I've got Word open to my preferred size (certainly don't nee... See more I'm wondering what the added vale of a 17,3" screen is as opposed to a 15,6". I use a 15,6 screen now which is fine for my preferred combination of Word with WFC, though a bit on the small side when I have to run Trados with Word (not very often, if at all). What can you do on a 17,3 that you can't on a 15,6? I would have thought the main advantage of upscaling would be being able to do more on your screen at once, but I assume that if I've got Word open to my preferred size (certainly don't need more than 15,6"), that will only leave a space to one side of the screen which won't be useful for much else than a sidebar? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Nederländerna
Local time: 02:57
Medlem (2006)
Engelska till Afrikaans
+ ...
| Screen size *and* resolution | Aug 17, 2011 |
Olly Pekelharing wrote:
I'm wondering what the added vale of a 17,3" screen is as opposed to a 15,6". I use a 15,6 screen now which is fine for my preferred combination of Word with WFC...
Just make sure the resolution of your 17" screen is also higher than your 15" screen, because some laptops give a bigger screen but the same old resolution, which means your icons are bigger but you don't have more space on the screen.
However, with one example (Dell Inspiron), the 17" screen has 250 horizontal pixels extra, so you can use that for your taskbar. If you place your taskbar on the side, and make it 200 pixels wide, you can add one or two custom toolbars to it with quick links to various folders or programs... and you'll gain an extra 100 pixels vertically, which is great for WFC.
A taskbar toolbar is basically a folder somewhere on your hard drive with some shortcuts in it. I have toolbars with links to each of my month's jobs folders, links to my dictionaries, and links to commonly used programs. The QuickLaunch no longer exists in Windows 7, but you can create your own.
| | | | lidija68
Italien
Local time: 02:57
Italienska till Serbiska
+ ...
| external hard disc | Aug 17, 2011 |
I would buy (and I have already bought) a normal lap-top and an external hard disc for backup (50 – 100 €). Your warranty coveres your hardware, but your documents are not included. And it can be very expencive (in Italy 1000 – 1500 euro) to do data-recovery. So if something happens, you can buy another computer for 450€ and continue to work.
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-english is not my working language-
[Modificato alle 2011-08-17 07:44 GMT]
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Oliver Pekelharing
Nederländerna
Local time: 02:57
Nederländska till Engelska
TOPIC STARTER | Great for WFC | Aug 17, 2011 |
Hi Samuel,
I'm definitely going for maximum pixels, but why is the extra vertical space great for WFC? I don't use anything in WFC that doesn't merge into the Word window as is. That taskbar with custom toolbars sounds like a good idea; is that a standard feature or do I need to download third party software?
| | | | Tom in London
Storbritannien
Local time: 01:57
Medlem (2008)
Italienska till Engelska
| Just a thought.... | Aug 17, 2011 |
What is the point of a laptop that's as big as a desktop computer? What size is your lap?
| | | | Oliver Pekelharing
Nederländerna
Local time: 02:57
Nederländska till Engelska
TOPIC STARTER
The point is you can work anywhere in or out of the house, depending on the needs of your wife, kids, customers, parents-in-law, or just because you for some reason like working at the kitchen table best... This is also the reason why I forgo the second monitor. I have a roomy office upstairs with a fine view, big second monitor, hardcopy dictionaries all on hand, but still I prefer to work downstairs, even if there are no kids to mind and I've got the house to myself. Hence the laptop...
| | | | Samuel Murray
Nederländerna
Local time: 02:57
Medlem (2006)
Engelska till Afrikaans
+ ...
| WFC, and toolbars | Aug 17, 2011 |
Olly Pekelharing wrote:
...why is the extra vertical space great for WFC? I don't use anything in WFC that doesn't merge into the Word window as is.
Less vertical space means more scrolling in WFC, especially if you use zoomed text.
That taskbar with custom toolbars sounds like a good idea; is that a standard feature or do I need to download third party software?
Standard feature. Right-click the taskbar and "unlock" it, and then right-click it and select "Toolbars". Or, see what happens when you move a folder all the way to the edge of your screen and release it there.
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Ulf Samuelsson
Mexiko
Local time: 18:57
Medlem (2007)
Engelska till Svenska
+ ...
Olly Pekelharing wrote:
I'm wondering what the added vale of a 17,3" screen is as opposed to a 15,6".
As what you need is more of a desktop replacement than a laptop to be literally used on your lap, then a bigger screen is better.
A higher resolution means that you can fit more on your screen, and it is important when using Trados Studio and Wordfast Pro.
But that isn't all, with a 17 inch screen, you also get a full-sized keyboard. An important point to consider.
| | | | Oliver Pekelharing
Nederländerna
Local time: 02:57
Nederländska till Engelska
TOPIC STARTER
One more question (I think):
I'm thinking of a 17.3" Dell Vostro or an XPS. Now the Vostro only offers only one kind of screen, a 1600x900 with HD LED with anti-glare (AG). My current 15" Vosto has resolution of 1440x900 (which I'm reasonably happy with, though I'd prefer even better quality), so I assume 1600x900 on a bigger screen amounts to about the same quality screen? The XPS offers the following four:
44 cm (17.3") HD (1600x900) WLED - with TrueLife™
... See more One more question (I think):
I'm thinking of a 17.3" Dell Vostro or an XPS. Now the Vostro only offers only one kind of screen, a 1600x900 with HD LED with anti-glare (AG). My current 15" Vosto has resolution of 1440x900 (which I'm reasonably happy with, though I'd prefer even better quality), so I assume 1600x900 on a bigger screen amounts to about the same quality screen? The XPS offers the following four:
44 cm (17.3") HD (1600x900) WLED - with TrueLife™
44 cm (17.3") FHD (1920x1080) 3D WLED 1080p - with TrueLife™
44 cm (17.3") HD (1600x900) WLED 900p met Multi-touch - with TrueLife™
17.3 FHD WLED AG (1920x1080) with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera
Which would I opt for if if I want the screen that is most restful on my eyes and useful for my work (I'm not interested in watching films or gaming or anything else on it). Do I go for more more pixels above all else? Do I need to avoid this 'TrueLife' technology for my purposes? Do I want FHD?
Thanks again for your input. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Nederländerna
Local time: 02:57
Medlem (2006)
Engelska till Afrikaans
+ ...
| Different people have different eyes | Aug 18, 2011 |
Olly Pekelharing wrote:
...so I assume 1600x900 on a bigger screen amounts to about the same quality screen?
A small resolution on a big screen will result in bigger icons (or: more haziness). A high resolution on a small screen will result in smaller icons (or: more crispness). What you need to calculate is the dot pitch (the physical distance between pixels on the screen).
Since you're going to be working on a laptop without an external keyboard, your eyes will always be reasonably close to the screen (and usually the same distance, too), and you won't be able to adjust your view by much by simply moving the screen further or closer to you. If you're happy with your current laptop's dot pitch, try to find something similar.
For your laptops, the dot pitches are:
Your laptop: 15" Vosto 1440x900 = 0.2244 mm
17.3" Vostro, 1600x900 = 0.2394 mm
17.3" XPS, 1600x900 = 0.2394 mm
17.3" XPS, 1920x1080 = 0.1995 mm
So the two 1600x900 laptops will look like they have slightly larger icons than your old laptop, and this may take time getting used to. The full HD laptop (1920x1080) will have icons (and text in MS Word files) that look smaller than those of your current laptop. Of course, you can cancel out the smaller icons by using a zoom factor in MS Word (my zoom in MS Word is usuall 200% or more).
The two 1600x900 laptops' dot pitch are closer to what you are currently used to, but... if you think you can get used to the smaller icons (if you think your eyes can manage it), then I suggest the 1920x1080 laptop, because once you are used to the smaller text, you can fit more stuff on the screen.
Dot pitch isn't everything, though... different screens are just different, and different people have different eyes. Some people prefer matt, some prefer glossy, etc.
Do I go for more more pixels above all else? Do I need to avoid this 'TrueLife' technology for my purposes? Do I want FHD?
I have no idea what those TrueLife thingies are. I'm more concerned with stuff like viewing angle (you can see that on the reviews of the laptops). Techie people may complain about the colours being washed out etc, but that is because they compare laptops all day long. You're going to use just one laptop, and once you're used to it, you're used to it.
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