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.
Subject:RE: Laptop for graphics, writing and fun From:"McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:51:18 -0500
Well now.
You folks have given me some stuff to consider, and perhaps changed the
weight that I would have assigned to aspects that I was already
considering.
Hmm.
The last time I was lookin' - many years ago, the reputation of HP was
quite tarnished. Now they look to have been rehabilitated to one of the
higher-rated options. A nicely outfitted laptop from them would come in
around two grand and should fill the bill for several years (that
includes a Blu-Ray-capable drive built in, 4GB memory, 7600rpm internal
hard drive, etc.). For now, the outward design is attractive, too.
Macbook Pro 15.4-inch is certainly attractive (both in appearance and in
function). They appear to use older processors, but to have superior
engineering in other aspects, so they still get very good (claimed)
work-time out of the battery. I like that dual video processor notion
(like an 8-cylinder engine that can run on 4 cylinders when the extra
power is not needed) and the LED backlight (which helps make the
battery-life claims more believable). Bootcamp takes care of
Windoze-only apps, or I could (later perhaps) spring for Parallels or
VMWare if rebooting got tiresome.
On the other hand, I'm getting the impression (perhaps not justified)
that Apple has skewed the HW and software toward heavy users of iTunes,
iMovies, and other purchased-from-Apple content. My Googling is
inconclusive about whether Apple has a Blu-Ray drive option (it seems to
keep surfacing as a rumor that never pans out). Does the SuperDrive
include Blu-Ray capability? Any of you Mac users want to clarify,
please?
I note that Blu-Ray DVD versions of movies are gradually taking over
shelf-space at the local rental stores, so this could become a concern.
Not that Blu-Ray is a big deal in terms of a work computer, but a guy
has to relax, too.
On the third hand, this would be a private machine for working from home
(I normally work at the employer's office using their supplied Windows
XP-Pro 64 desktop machine) or while traveling, and for recreation... for
_me_... so having a Mac instead of a Windows laptop (that she's
accustomed to) would lessen the likelihood of Dear Wife taking over the
new pride-and-joy.
Decisions, decisions.
DELL Laptop descriptions refer to Core 2 Duo, but don't mention Centrino
2.
What does one want in a laptop for the best blend of power versus
battery life?
My understanding is that Centrino 2 combines the processor and other
elements to optimize portable performance, so Core 2 Duo is just the
processor flavor (covering a line of speeds), but not necessarily
integrated as thoroughly as when it's Centrino-ized. What am I missing
here, when I try to comparison-shop DELL laptop offerings against HP
laptop offerings? I feel that I'm just one or two smidgens of
information short of being able to make a confident choice. Not that
there's a rush, but we have to start somewhere.
- Kevin
The information contained in this electronic mail transmission
may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected
from disclosure. If you have received this communication in
error, please notify us immediately by replying to this
message and deleting it from your computer without copying
or disclosing it.
ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
