<p>flipchick1127, I just bought a Toshiba with those same specs at Best Buy for $900.</p>
<p>Most Toshibas I'm seeing come with XP home and not Pro. I thought pro was better for networking. Also, was the 60 gb one with 7200 rpm? If so, that's a great deal. I'm ordering on thursday, but my dad and I are going to look around at a few stores beforehand just to make sure.</p>
<p>ok... my cousin is supposedly a big computer expert... he told me to go toshiba or hp... followed by him saying that hps are normally less expensive, and toshibas cost more but are worth the money... ive found a toshiba for like 900 which is really reasonable i think... the hp i like is more than that? go for the toshiba?</p>
<p>yeah Sheila, I'd agree with your cousin about Toshiba, go with the Toshiba one you like.</p>
<p>We discussed the state of affairs in the laptop industry (and, more specifically, college 'tops) in my university tech support job today. These guys (and gals) know their stuff. The consensus? None. Wait on the Thinkpads until the second generation of Lenovo branded ones come out. Wait on Apple until either the G5 or Intel chipset notebooks hit the street. Wait on Dell until they use hardware that works with anything but the current version of Windows. Wait on Toshiba until the prices lower to eye-level. Same goes for the Sony and their VAIO line. Avoid eMachines and Alienware (yes, Alienware) like the plague and kuru, respectively. HP is just satisfactory, nothing more.</p>
<p>In other words: damned if you do, damned if you don't. . . and no, I'm not just being cynical. I, too, am in the market for a laptop.</p>
<p>Re: tech support staff</p>
<p>Apple can't release a G5 laptop because IBM couldn't deliver a chip that ran cool enough, cost less and consumed less power than it's rival Intel's chipset. This is one of the principal reasons for Apple moving to Intel. You can't wait for something that will never appear.</p>
<p>IBM/Lenovo: The Lenovo Group has been manufacturing Thinkpads for years. Virtually all of IBM's Laptop Group has been transfered to Lenovo and it's R & D/marketing unit is based here in the US. The new Thinkpad X41 Tablet PC is just coming out in the marketplace and promises to move Tablets into the mainstream.</p>
<p>Toshiba/Sony/IBM laptops are expensive. Their construction and quality costs money. Look at the refurbished/used market.</p>
<p>So for students needing a laptop for this fall, there are no easy answers. Especially vexing is the Apple transition from IBM to Intel. The new MacTel machines that come out next year could cause a lot of "buyer's remorse"...</p>
<p>as of right now im leaning towards an apple ibook. im a pc person and have never used an apple before, so i am wondering, what accessories should i get with it? how important is the extra battery, the case, the mouse, etc.? and do i need to buy software for word processing and everything? also, what is this bluetooth business? do i need to buy another printer or will my old canon one work (or is it just for pc)? ahh i am very confused. thank you for any help</p>
<p>I have an apple iBook, I didnt really need any extra accessories... I just put the iBook in my backpack with my books. Bluetooth is a wireless technology for short range devices, I opted not to get it, the only bluetooth device I have is my cellphone. Most printers work with macs but you can probably look up your specific printer on the canon website and see if they have a mac version of the drivers.</p>
<p>Bluetooth can, among other things, permit you to dial up to the internet through your cell phone when you're out of range of both wired ethernet and wifi. If you don't know what it is then you don't need it. Being form a reputable manufacturer, your printer should work fine. You won't need a different type of cartridge no matter what. Laptop cases are like pricetags; throw them away before you strut around town. They're giant targets. Your touchpad should be fine alone-- you shouldn't need a peripheral mouse. What I DO recommend is packing as much ram into the iBook as you can. This will net you a huge performance gain (more than the equivalent Intel PC would have). You should buy it separately and install it yourself for a large savings.</p>
<p>Where would you buy RAM and how would you go about installing it in your computer?</p>
<p>Online store. Ask a friend to.</p>
<p>Try <a href="http://www.crucial.com%5B/url%5D">www.crucial.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.newegg.com%5B/url%5D">www.newegg.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pricewatch.com%5B/url%5D">www.pricewatch.com</a></p>
<p><a href="http://froogle.google.com%5B/url%5D">http://froogle.google.com</a></p>
<p>I back NewEgg 100%. I am a customer for life. Heck, I'm even wearing their t-shirt right now.</p>