TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
It's worth noting that most laptop graphics cards are shippd with 0
RAM. This means they have to get it somewhere and they end up
stealing it from the chip. This can slow down overall response time
by as much as 1/3 to 1/2. I know that HPs used to have cards that
had 128M of RAM on them, so you were safe in that regard, but that
was a couple years ago and I haven't checked since then. Whichever
computer you buy, make sure the video card is populated with at least
128M of RAM. It's worth the extra money.
Yours truly,
John Hedtke
Author/Consultant/Contract Writer
www.hedtke.com <-- website
Region 7 Director, STC
541-685-5000 (office landline)
541-554-2189 (cell)
john -at- hedtke -dot- com (primary email)
johnhedtke -at- aol -dot- com (secondary email)
At 06:21 AM 5/13/2008, Al Geist wrote:
>Deborah Hemstreet asked:
>
>
>"Does anyone know the difference between a Vostro and Latitude?"
>
>I used Gateway and have for nearly 10 years without a problem, so I can't
>answer this question. Gateway experienced service problems several years
>before Dell, but has since put them behind them. Dell is still working out
>their service issues.
>
>"Would you think that the default graphics card provided with Dell
>laptops is good enough for my needs, or do I need an upgrade?"
>
>How complicated are the graphics you intend to do? That will determine if
>the built in graphics will suit your needs. Often, with a laptop, what you
>get when you get it, is what you end up with. Upgrading graphics and such in
>a laptop is not as easy as a desktop, so my recommendation is to get
>graphics capability that is greater than you need, but within moderation.
>
>"Does a 720 rpm hard drive make that much of a difference."
>
>Okay, I know this is a typo, because a 720 rpm hard drive is
>reeeeeaaaaallllllyyyyy slllllooooooowwwwww. I have a 7200 rpm drive in my
>laptop and it's great. I also have a 7200 rpm external drive that I can hook
>up either via USB 2.0 or Firewire. Together, the combination even does video
>without lags.
>
>"Maybe this is offtopic, but maybe not, since we all of us who work from
>home need to buy our own supplies."
>
>I've worked for companies that allow telecommute and provide laptops to the
>telecommuters. It's rare, but they do exist.
>
>"I have until June 16 to be able to buy a Dell with Windows XP (Home
>Edition) (a system admin said not much diff between XP home vs XP
>Office)..."
>
>XP Home is not the same as XP Office. One is an operating system and the
>other is an office suite (Word, Excel, etc.). All of our Gateway systems use
>XP Professional. Some of my staff have newer laptops (HP, IBM and DELL) and
>they have Vista. My XP systems blow their system away in speed, and they
>have had problems using older programs on their systems that I don't
>experience. XP Home is not XP Professional. Home lacks some of the security
>features that the professional edition offers. We had an older laptop that
>had XP Home on it and found that it connected to networks easier, but that
>was primarily because it didn't have as robust security as the Professional
>edition.
>
>Hope this helps.
>
>Al Geist
>Technical Communicator, Help, Web Design, Video, Photography
>Office/Msg: 802-872-9091
>Cell: 802-578-3964
>Website: www.geistassociates.com
>See Also:
>Fine Art Photography
>Website: www.geistimages.com
>
>"...I walked to work, quit my job, and kept walking. Better to be a pilgrim
>without a destination, I figured, than to cross the wrong threshold each
>day." (Anon.)
>
>
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
>printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
>Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more.
>http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
>
>True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
>Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
>documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
>
>---
>You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as john -at- hedtke -dot- com -dot-
>
>To unsubscribe send a blank email to
>techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/john%40hedtke.com
>
>
>To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
>http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
