<p>The Toshiba is nice, but the cons are: 1) a bit larger than I'd like; 2) I've read that the Satellite series can have shutdown problems; 3) mediocre battery life (around 3.5 hours); and 4) XP Media Center instead of Home or Pro. But I like everything else.</p>
<p>As for the Thinkpad, I like the smaller size, added security features, and that it has XP Pro. It also has a better battery life at 4-4.5 hours. But: 1) Keyboard can be pretty loud; 2) poor GPU; 3) less RAM; and 4) processor eats up more power.</p>
<p>Suggestions? I'm not looking for anything too fancy; just something efficient and durable with good performance.</p>
<p>I think I would go with Toshiba. Toshiba's a financially sound company while Levono or whatever could go bankrupt any minute. I'm saying this because of service issues. :)</p>
<p>You do happen to realize that Lenovo is a bigger computer maker (#3 in the world) and has better quality/customer support than Toshiba right? Lenovo/IBM has always been a business centered company vs Toshiba which is consumer centered. Businesses buy computers that are reliable and has good support, albeit more expensive.</p>
<p>nether one of these laptops has a good gpu. I have used xp media center and can say that it has more features than xp home but a little less than pro. you will most likely never need any of the features that are availible only in pro. Id personally go with the toshiba, the battery life is decent enough and you can always buy an extra battery if you need it.</p>
<p>XP Media Center is XP Pro. One of Microsoft's dirty little "secrets".</p>
<p>I think the Toshiba is a bad choice. Either go with the Thinkpad if you plan on carrying it around alot, or buy a Dell if you want it to sit on a desk.</p>
<p>Thanks for input guys. I'm keeping (got it as a gift) the Toshiba because none of the stores carry a new Thinkpad, only displays, and I can't get it delivered either. I would've preferred the Thinkpad, but oh well.</p>
<p>ive had a toshiba for 2 years now, (a satellite), and it has had some shutdown problems such as if u leave it idle it freezes in a half shutdown mode and u have to cut the power and completely manually reset it. Also, there are overheating issues at times. The fan is SO loud and it's always on, and the battery life isn't that great. Aside from those hardware issues, Toshiba's are great computers and everything else has worked just fine.</p>
<p>I'm posting from a Toshiba Satellite right now. I've had this for a few weeks and I think it's pretty good. I've had to shut it down a few times and it's really really loud when I'm installing software but oher than that I think it was a good investment</p>
<p>i woud recommend the thinkpad. I have had a toshiba satellite pro and it gave me a lot of problems. it had everything u would want in a laptop but crashed too many times. The thinkpad has better security features and is a business oriented machine, plus its mobile.. therefore it is made to be reliable. ultimately, its ur decision. good luck</p>
<p>i wouldnt use lenovo for several reasons. one reason is the united states state department wont even use them for classified activities. if the state department doesnt trust it i dont trust it. even though im not doing anything classified on my computer.</p>
<p>To be honest I don't think either are worth the price. First off, the Toshiba is big runs on windows media center, and Toshiba built quality is questionable. </p>
<p>The IBM isn't bad however it's still running on a Pentium M. If your going to spend that much money, then go for the computer with the core duo.</p>
<p>Another thing to note is to <em>never</em> buy a laptop from Amazon. Shipping takes forever and most of the time, your item will be beaten up from delivery. If your going to buy a laptop I'd recommend apple(now runs on windows) or Sony. When you buy, get it directly from the company site or, if it's cheaper CDW or Newegg.</p>
<p>"i wouldnt use lenovo for several reasons. one reason is the united states state department wont even use them for classified activities. if the state department doesnt trust it i dont trust it. even though im not doing anything classified on my computer."</p>
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i wouldnt use lenovo for several reasons. one reason is the united states state department wont even use them for classified activities. if the state department doesnt trust it i dont trust it. even though im not doing anything classified on my computer.
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<p>So because the State Dept. is showing unwarranted paranoia, you're going to follow suit?</p>
<p>The whole Lenovo thing was like the most cooked up BS by media this year. For one thing if you are not going to buy a lappy from China might as well not buy one at all since all have parts of it made in China...if not the whole thing. Heck people should chuck their Ipods into the Pacific Ocean since it may steal their 1337 song secrets and faciliate the Red Chinese invasion into California.</p>
<p>Your ultra secret spy data has a much better chance of being stolen by some random people wanting your stuff than by the Chinese government using some kind of device (that we know nothing about), probably a chip made by aliens from Mars for their ultra cool Alien(spy)ware computers to infiltrate the Earth. The Chinese government will undoubted want to know what kind of p0rn you are watching and report it to your parents if not worse use it for their next nuclear warhead aimed right at your bedroom.</p>