Choosing the Right Laptop
Now, from one geek to another, what you "should" buy in a laptop will differ greatly. Arguments back and forth regarding speed, hard drive size, dvd burners, reliability, and more will get your recommendations from $700 to $3000. Finding the "sweet spot" where you're getting the most utility for the best value can be difficult, but or me, there is only one real requirement. The Screen.
Modern PC's, even pieces of crap like E-Machines, can handle just about anything you want to throw at them. Processors are insanely fast, even default low end hard drives are big enough, and memory is abundant. Everything has evolved so quickly that the normal user will never even touch 90% of their computer's potential. They just want to surf the web, watch some movies, and write a paper or two.
Even as a mega-geek, I'm firmly in this camp. I'm not rendering 3D or movies (and even when I do, I can start a render job and then go to bed), and most of the daily work I do takes place in a web browser, email client, or text editor. My main computer at home is a small-form-factor 1ghz machine that was originally going to be a MythTV box.
The only thing that hems me in when I'm working on a computer is the number of pixels on the screen. I need at least one web browser open to a decent size and a bunch of space around the edges so I can keep an eye on my other open programs and multitask efficiently.
1024x768, also known as XGA, just doesn't cut it for that basic daily work. You find yourself maximizing your web browser and all other programs and you become oblivious to other things going on on your machine, like IM windows popping up or emails coming in.
Most bargain laptops, regardless of screen size, come with an XGA resolution monitor. If you can find a good laptop with at least WXGA (or better, like UXGA, WUXGA or WUSXGA - more letters are better) for cheap, you're good to go.
I recently stumbled upon this deal. AMD Athlon 3000+, WXGA screen, DVD+-RW, for $900? If I had the cash, I'd own this thing already. Even if that laptop isn't available anymore or you want to go with a different vendor, I think the basic specs hold up well as far as what to look for in a great bargain laptop.
Anyway, until I have $1000 to throw around, I'll just have to drool over strongbad's new laptop. If you haven't seen it yet, start with the "virus" email.
