<p>Didn't see one of these immediatly on hand, so I figured I'd do it myself, </p>
<p>I'll post mine a few posts in ... never liked the tooting-one's-own-horn technique</p>
<p>So what've you got?</p>
<p>Sony VAIO FJ 270/B:</p>
<p>Intel Pentium M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz)
XP Professional
1 GB RAM
DVD+R Double Layer
100 GB Hard drive
14.1" Widescreen</p>
<p>How much did that cost you Sylvania? </p>
<p>I want a Core duo but there doesn't seem to be any reason to get one.</p>
<p>i am also kinda confused between macbook and macbook pro...</p>
<p>bringing a desktop</p>
<p>cheaper and durable</p>
<p>Macbook pro has a nicer graphics card; a choice between matte and glossy screen; a larger, higher resolution screen; backlit keyboard; a faster processor (if you pay for it, high end on macbook = low end on macbook pro); and larger hard drive.</p>
<p>If you buy from Apple, make sure you buy through the educational store and save yourself some money.</p>
<p>Hey guys, </p>
<p>Thought I'd clear up a few questions you might be having about laptop usage at CMU.</p>
<p>As most of you know, there is wireless available EVERYWHERE on campus. This is great if you have a laptop... I found myself doing papers outside on the cut and taking my laptop to class to either talk on AIM (:)) or type some notes if needed. </p>
<p>Very few have desktops. Even if you don't plan on carrying a laptop with you, using it as your primary computer in the dorm is very useful. It's nice to be able to put away your computer to clear up desk space for work. </p>
<p>On top of all this, group-work at CMU is big. Being able to bring your laptop to a group meeting is very useful. If there are any other questions, let me know</p>
<p>I agree with fool about the laptops. It also makes it easier to go to programming class office hours, because the CAs/TAs can see what's going on with your code without having to deal with transferring the files. I like being able to check my email during classes, because it seems everyone on campus is constantly sending out emails.</p>
<p>Haha, KrazyKow is exactly right. One day I didn't take my e-mail to any of my classes. Came back to my dorm. Checked my e-mailed. I had 30 something e-mails. Some urgent. </p>
<p>You'll find that as you join more and more organizations on campus, your e-mails will grow at an exponential rate. D-lists-a-plenty.</p>
<p>Havaldaar, it usually sells for 1299 or so, but Best Buy had a sale a few weeks back for 1049. I think they started the sale again - its definitely a great buy.</p>
<p>im planning to purchase a lap top and my friend is building me a desktop, so im goin both. With the desktop, my friend is getting all the parts and he assured me it will be badass. laptop im looking to get something rather simple. light weight but not a weakling. any suggestions. my cap is 1500$ on lappy</p>
<p>check out HP's pre-built section....they keep updating it and you can find the perfect combination....heres the [url=<a href="http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/generic_subcategory.do?storeName=computer_store&subcat1=rts&catLevel=3&landing=computers&category=notebooks/hp_pavilion/ready_to_ship%5DLINK%5B/url">http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/generic_subcategory.do?storeName=computer_store&subcat1=rts&catLevel=3&landing=computers&category=notebooks/hp_pavilion/ready_to_ship]LINK[/url</a>]</p>
<p>thank so much dexter</p>
<p>Dell, IBM (Lenovo), Apple, and HP computers can be fixed by the campus computer matainance people (definitely preferable to taking a computer back to Best Buy, which then ships it somewhere so you don't get it back for 2-3 weeks).</p>
<p>Windows, OSX, and Linux are all supported by campus, so get whatever you like.</p>
<p>My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 600m. I've been fairly happy with it, but I think the color quality of the screen is crappy, and I wish that the case was not junky plastic. However, for $1200 a year ago, it's pretty good (even has a 4 year warranty including accidental damages).</p>
<p>Get at last 1 gig of RAM, at least a 60 GB hard drive if you have much of a music/movie collection or would ever consider dual booting, and something with a reasonable battery life (at least 2 1/2 hrs, 3 1/2 and up is better). Don't bother paying for Windows XP Pro if you can help it, since you can buy it on campus for $15. Same goes for MS Office (or you can just use OpenOffice).</p>
<p>Simple, lightweight, well built, with a desktop to use for gaming... I vote a Macbook. :)</p>
<p>Thanks Sylvania. It does sound like a great buy. I really wanted a Vaio but I assumed they were too expensive. Im waiting till the new processor from intel releases( dual core 2?). Maybe prices will go down more.</p>
<p>I got mine almost a year and a half ago.
HP dv1170us</p>
<p>Intel Pentium M Processor 725 (1.6 GHz)
14'' WXGA High-Definition BrightView Widescreen
100GB Hard Drive
512MB DDR SDRAM
DVD+/- RW and CD-RW Combo
etc.</p>
<p>When I bought it I was told that I could get 6 hours of battery life, but the most that I have ever gotten is about 2.5 or 3 hours, is there a problem with my battery?</p>
<p>I would recommend a laptop. When I came to CMU I just had a desktop, and I decided to get a laptop for sophomore year. I got a nice Dell laptop, nice enough that I could run Half-life 2. Of course it was quite hefty, and I decided after a semester that I should get a smaller one. My mom is now using this laptop for home/work stuff and I got a <a href="http://www.averatec.com/notebooks/1000series.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.averatec.com/notebooks/1000series.htm</a>
Mine is just a celeron 1 Ghz processor although you can get a centrino processor if you want. Only cost about $800. It is super light and has a battery life upwards of 4 hrs. It runs sluggish sometimes in Windows, but if you put linux on it (which is very useful at CMU) then it runs great. Anyway, definately think about getting a small laptop, unless you need super high processing power on a regular basis</p>
<p>ivyguy, I don't know if this applies for you, but I used to have Windows on my laptop and I got up to a 4 hour battery life. I recently installed Ubuntu, and running it I get 2 1/2 hours. Apparently not enough work has been done on power management in Ubuntu, and the modem is always on, which causes it to drain the battery. There's some other things, too.</p>
<p>Are you sure that 6 hours wan't the battery life with a larger, higher capacity battery? Also, if you dim the screen some, you should get a longer battery life. As the batteries age, you'll get shorter lives.</p>
<p>The people at BestBuy told me that the standard battery should work for 6 hours and I use Windows xp home edition. I get free battery replacement with my warranty so I guess i'll just bring it to the store and get a new battery and see what happens. I'll dim my screen and see what happens also, thanks.</p>
<p>i have compaq v3000t
core duo t2300 1.66ghz
512mb ram
60gb 5400rpm hd
intel gma 950
14.1" wxga
12 cell battery</p>