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The 10-20% performance difference between laptop models is nothing compared to the ergonomics and quality of the hardware. Remember, this isn't a box sitting under your desk which you can connect any keyboard or monitor to - once you buy it, you're going to have that box sitting on your lap, be staring at that screen, and be using that keyboard for hours per day. (Unless you're using it docked all the time, in which case it's more like a luggable desktop.)

That's why laptop owners are so religious about their machines - this is an area where idiosyncratic unexplainable personal preference really is the most important factor. It's also why comparative laptop reviews are generally useless. Go out and get your hands on a bunch of different machines - that'll tell you more than any magazine article.

That said, PC Magazine's Support and Satisfaction Survey will give you some useful hard data on laptop reliability, and reading lots of comments on epinions can give you a dim impression of common trends in owner experience.

My personal experience: I bought a ThinkPad T21 about a year ago, but I found the keyboard painful to use and had to sell it. (Which is a shame, considering how good previous IBM and ThinkPad keyboards have been.) Compaq has a good keyboard, but Compaq sucks for build quality, reliability, and service. I tried HP and Toshiba models at a local store and was unimpressed with their ergonomics and general quality. I recently used a Dell Inspiron 4100 for a month - it was cheap, and the three-year CompleteCare service plan is awesome, but I found the machine itself to be mediocre in every way. Mediocre build quality, mediocre ergonomics, mediocre screen, a little too heavy, and really ugly.

I'm now using a PowerBook G4 - it has a few quirks, the main one being that it's not i386/Linux :-), but aside from that it's a a pleasure to use. Lightweight, excellent quality, gorgeous screen, and everything Just Works smoothly out of the box with a tolerable operating system, unlike the many hours I usually spend getting all the random quirky hardware in a PC laptop working under Linux. And there's no Windows Tax.

http://www.pcmag.com/article/0,2997,s=1487&a=25260 , 0.asp

I hate to say this to all you Linus-junkies, but the Crusoe processor runs SIGNIFICANTLY slower than a similar Intel or AMD processor.

For instance, check this out. The Crusoe laptop does SIGNIFICANTLY worse than the other "ultra-portables". The hyped "larger cache" is an absolute necessity for the Transmeta processors; they rely on the larger cache to do stuff like "code morphing", because Crusoe is naturally a 128-bit proc, and all these apps are 32-bit, kinda like an emulation mode. That's really why the larger cache is necessary.

I would imageine, however, that a Linux distro with all software compiled on a crusoe would run a lot faster than Windows XP.

This article is filled with misinformation.

Somehow... the numbers don't add up.

Traditionally, IIS on Windows was the leader of the pack on static web serving, beating Apache on Linux by a factor of about 4.5 to 1, Windows (5500 req/s vs ~1200 req/s). Apache on Windows scrubbed the bottom of the graph at a measly 500 (yes, five hundred) req/s. Now, suddenly, Apache 2 for Windows is beating/matching IIS? That would effectively place it in the lead of every other web server on the market, free and commercial. Yet at the same time Apache for Linux and other Unicies is retaining "approximately the same performance." (~1200 req/s). So, what's the moral of the story here? Everyone running a unix box should throw it out, install a copy of NT or 2k and install Apache and be home free?

Of course not. The attitude of the journalist is evidently anti-MS.

Which would mean, if these numbers were in fact true (I don't remember reading any numbers in the article anyway), that Apache on Windows is about 4.5 times faster than it is on Linux and Unix.

Once again, it doesn't make sense. This guy is tying two granny knots with a loop, and it ain't happenin'.

I'd really like some information on these tests that they ran. What, did they run an ASP database call on IIS and compare it to a print "Hello, world\n"; perl script on Apache? Come on, there is obviously something fishy going on here.

I trust this article like I trust The Register... about as far as I can throw the box it's running on (and that, my geeky friends, is not very far at all).

• Lay Language Summary of a paper presented by Stuart Parkin at the 1999 APS March Meeting
• Magnetic RAM cures your computer of short-term memory loss by Richard Butner
• IBM, Infineon looking to shake up memory market
• Instant Access Memory by David Voss
• How Magnetic RAM Will Work by Kevin Bonsor
• The Possibility of Commercial MRAM by John Dvorak
• Nanomagnetics (a chapter of Nanostructure Science and Technology: A Worldwide Study)
• Magnetic Random-Access Memory Promises PC Changes
• IBM says breakthrough will enable commercial MRAMs

Interesting highlights:

The trasentric paper quoted Electronic Buyer's News:

"Honeywell Inc. and Motorola Inc. are hoping to spin volume quantities of MRAM through a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract that is also shared by IBM. DRAM powerhouses Micron, NEC, and Samsung are said to be developing the technology, while Hewlett-Packard has a design team looking into the viability of chip-level magnetic storage."

1. Much of this research is funded by a DARPA contract which means it is the money of US Taxpayers at work.
2. Samsung is part of the same contract.

The Wired article is fairly lengthy and also details the biography of Stuart Parkin. Parkin is the IBM fellow that has been driving most of the MRAM research.

Ciao.

Dvorak reports on insects and harddrives.

• Requires: 64MB RAM; 30MB free hard drive space; Microsoft Windows 98, 98SE, 2000 Professional, Me, NT 4.0 SP6, or XP

You want links? Right here, bitch. IIS tops the list at around 5,900 requests per second, with Zeus close behind at about 5,500 requests per second. Where is your POS open sores Apache server in the rankings? About 1,200 requests per second.

Never question Bruce Dickinson.

Soon HDTV copy protection will be built into the display, not some external box. This will severely limit the ability to decode signals before they disappear into your set.

The really bad news is that once this takes place, the current HDTV sets will be worthless. Yes... your $3k set will be need to be replaced again.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article/0,2997,s=1493&a=24658 , 0.asp

PC Magazine's Jim Seymour has periodically advocated special PRIO computer eyeglasses. ("The Civil Workplace") Apparently eyestrain is due to standard eyeglasses being tuned for a printed page, which doesn't refresh like a CRT does. PRIO's explanatory page goes into further detail. I don't know personally how well this works, but it might be worth a shot.

PC Magazine's Jim Seymour has periodically advocated special PRIO computer eyeglasses. ("The Civil Workplace") Apparently eyestrain is due to standard eyeglasses being tuned for a printed page, which doesn't refresh like a CRT does. PRIO's explanatory page goes into further detail. I don't know personally how well this works, but it might be worth a shot.

Sorry, here's the real link:
http://www.pcmag.com/article/0,2997,s%253D1711%252 6a%253D4126,00.asp

m o n o l i n u x :: All Linux. No Ads.

The giveaway that cult thinking is present in any environment is how responses are given from possible cult members to probable nonbelievers. If you disagree, then you "don't get it." Werner Erhard of EST (the über-cult of the 1970's) used to use this phrase over and over. Tell Erhard that something makes no sense. "You don't get it." Tell him that something is self-contradictory. "You don't get it." Tell him that something is just plain stupid. "You don't get it." This is the level of debate you can expect when cult thinking is present. But, of course, "I don't get it."

sPh

I'm in total agreement with John Dvorak about this ridiculous BS.

Here's an interesting read : Linux SUCKS! Slowaris too, but more so Linux!

Propz to all dead homiezz, hobbits, and hot grits.

Here's Dvorak's latest...

Contrary to much popular belief, a good data recovery contingency (off-site back-ups, etc...) is only half of a sound DRP. When it comes to recovering from a cataclysmic disaster of this nature - the second, and equally critical component of a well thought out DRP is an all-inclusive BCP (Business Continuation Plan)...

Without this vital aspect, companies such as Deutsche Bank (who were ravaged by the WTC disaster on 9/11), would have been down for days/weeks while attempting to relocate, rebuild and restore their data center operations...

I, for instance, work at a rather large, international fortune 500 company and we have BCP strategies that include a complete off-site location. This facility houses fail-over systems for all business critical processes including a 1.2 terabyte, mirrored SAP database that can go online within minutes notice, and a phone bank/workstations for our 50+ CSR's (customer service reps) and our global helpdesk. Even more, we frequently (twice yearly) perform non-production drills to validate the systems health and improve upon our strategies...

This is obviously a bit late for you, but I would suggest reading up on the matter a bit more thoroughly prior to redesigning your future systems and developing your next DRP...

In a piece dated October 26th, John Dvorak (pc mag) stated "Lindows, has a name that in itself is genius. It's software that combines Linux and Windows without violating any trademark or copyright--although I bet Microsoft will sue at some point." The article is actually pretty good, check it out here

I am undergoing a massive computer overhaul. A couple months ago I went out and bought a new monitor. Of course I bought a LCD. The LCD I bought was the Sony SDM-N80. I had never even seen the product. I just bought it on Sony's good name and the price I had to pay. The LCD is very good quality. The picture is crisp and clear. The space it cleared on my desk was immense. I never knew I had a desk until I bought it. LCD's require less power which also was a selling factor as well as the max. resolution is 1600*1200, 18.1" display, and has a Mac adapter for when I do decide to ever buy one for the reasons of a certain iPOD. Here are some specs for it. Not too many places have reviewed it (arsTechnica and Tom's did not), maybe because it is so expensive. Here is one review of the product.

The following page also reviews the more expensive LCDs.

DigitalOutput.net

Anyways that's my two cents take it with a grain of salt.

Guess you don't follow the research community much do you.

Prior to this crazy thing called the "World Wide Web", you had to cough up some serious tuition money if you wanted to follow the research community.

I come here now to get my scoop on new inventions, but Dvorak still keeps his ear to the ground on some stuff that the editors here either aren't privy to or just aren't interested in (article I submitted here and got rejected...)

No OS can run Windows apps better than Windows itself.

While this is true now there is no reason why it should stay that way.

Does MS Windows serve files via Microsoft's SMB-protocol really better and faster than Linux? I don't think so

Does Intel-chips run apps using Intel's IA32-ISA really better and faster than AMD? I don't think so.

Is an IBM-PC really running better than the clones like Dell, Compaq or HP?

There is absolutely no reason why Wine shouldn't be able to run Windows-applications better/faster than Windows itself one day. Of course the Win32 API is much more complex than the SMB-protocol, but it the same kind of problem.

Note that dvd+rw and dvd-rw drive can both write dvd-r disks that can be played in a standard dvd player. So it's not quite vhs vs. betamax.

C|net Editor's Choice

New York Times Review

Business Week Sweet Music

Wall Street Journal Review

LA Times Review

PC Magazine 5/5 Rating

But more to the point, who has played the cell-phone style hidden game on the iPod? With new hacking sites popping up all over, has anyone found a firmware update that gives them any more games yet? Or playback of even more media formats or other abilities? Of couse it will soon have Windows compatibility and people have been booting off their iPods since the beginning, but lately I've seen someone modifying it for use as a simple address book, people trying to get it to work under *BSD and Linux, and development of a new graphic EQ for it. Anyone else made cool hacks?

Just thought I'd throw this into the soup; it's a cut from John Dvorak's Inside Track [pcmag.com] column, 10/30/2001:

"...Meanwhile, will Win XP reignite the PC market? Many people think so, because it crashes less and people will flock to it. Every new Microsoft operating system crashes less when you first get it. Only after your system is loaded up with too many unruly applications will your PC begin to degrade. This might take years. TechTracker (www.techtracker.com) is trying to document system failure on a grand scale by monitoring the Registry and other aspects of a statistically significant number of systems in hopes of finding the odd combinations of applications that make Windows suddenly become unstable. Currently, TechTracker software and its acclaimed cohort VersionTracker.com maintain a database of up-to-date versions of software, which may help people isolate nagging problems. This concept interests me, since I have a Windows 2000 system that has become unstable and reboots itself every half hour. This kicked in after I installed some USB devices. Ack!"

Then again, it's Dvorak, so make of it what you will.

My laptop running Win2k has gone for up to a week without rebooting - that's going between multiple network environments, hardware configurations, and going in and out of suspend and hibernate.

Work-around for failure to startup from a FireWire drive Dik Gregory found that, after updating to Mac OS X 10.1, his external FireWire hard drive with Mac OS 9.1.1 installed, appeared in the Startup Disk System Preference. In Mac OS X 10.0.x, it did not. "However, selecting it had no effect. My system still booted from the OS X 10.1 system on my Cube's internal drive. To actually boot from the FireWire drive, I needed to first boot from 9.2.1 on my internal drive and then select the FireWire drive from the Startup Disk control panel."

There are some other problems with 10.1 but for the most part I'd say the upgrade is well worth it.

CNET also has a review of OS 10.1. There's some contraversy surrounding The "Free" OS X 10.1 Update that costs you $20. TechTV (formerlly ZDTV) also has a review of Mac OS X 10.1. I'd recommend anyone interested in Mac OS X 10.1 read all these reviews to get full coverage, and unbiased opinions.

I was about to ask 'Whut in da heck is NetStumbler' but instead I got off my butt and
found out for myself:

Network administrators deploying an 802.11b wireless network need site survey tools to help plan locations for access points. Once installed, the access points need to be checked periodically to ensure they are providing adequate coverage.

Some wireless network cards provide reasonable survey tools, but the freeware Network Stumbler is far superior to most. The program captures signal strength and signal-to-noise statistics, but perhaps more important, it helps network administrators identify and locate rogue access points--those that employees may have installed without central IT's permission--as well as determine whether or not WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is being used, to help prevent potential security breaches.

You need to read Tom's Hardware or Sharky Extreme. Even PC Computing (best for long flights, bird cages and darts). Tom's and Sharky's does the kind of detailed, intensive reporting that most magazines avoid.

Quite true. His article makes alot of sense, now if he had only included
The Register he would have rounded it out nicely. I can see that some posts are trying to take to task his portrayal of Slashdot as a Linux-Centric site. Come on. We all KNOW that this site is devoted to Linux Advocacy before tech journalism. There is nothing wrong with that. The main problem seems to be the rabid "knee jerk" reactions shown by the community in general here. (You only need to look at any story do do with Microsoft, and then read the comments therein.)

The authors comments towards the PC Mag Review are bang on. ZD net has always had a positive bias toward Microsoft products just as (as the author mentions) Macaddict has favorable review of Macs. Not much of a surprise there. The reason that ZD is still around is that it is very business oriented, and it's reader base is very much entrenched in the Microsoft world.

Maybe the net public realized this bias (or, perhaps I should say "lack of news") before the author did though. Myself and my friends frequently visit tech sites that are indepentant. In fact, in the list of independant sites we regularly visit we have noticed no layoffs of staff, or any change in the way they run their websites. If we the readers ignore the biased sites (and thus ignore the advertising) the site (which cannot now make any money sitting in their Aeron chairs) then the website dies.

I have not noticed that many of the "dotcoms" are dissapearing. This is probably because I realized long ago what was a good website, and what was not. I think most of us have.

All they'd have to do is get someone to argue that nobody really needs that much processing power except for registered business users, spread their side of the story over the major media outlets (Which, apart from Zif f-Da vis, the BBC, and possibly the non-MS bits of NBC, are almost all owned by **AA/BSA/etc. members.), take a cue from Pepsi/Coke and buy some propaganda space in schools, and viola, no more 16-year-old hackers.

Didn't see these posted, so check these out:

SharkyExtreme, and pcmag.com.

Naturally, those seeking the zdnet advertising-big money-enhanced (tm) view should choose the latter, while those seeking that of an enthusiast should check out Sharky's. ;o)

-S

I think it's important to research web hosting provider's before you pick one. Make sure they have a good reputation.
I chose Interland for my site after reading that they won Editor's Choice in PC Magazine's review of web hosting providers. Interland will host you on either Linux or NT, whichever you prefer. They allow cgi-bin scripts, database access, and other "extra" stuff you sometimes don't get with the other guys.
I've been very pleased.

>what is the best digital camera out there anyway

It really depends on your needs. There's megapixel cameras for ~$300 that are pretty nice, some of which were reviewed in PC Magazine. But then what they find best might not be best for you, depending how important things like storage medium type, time between shots, transfer mechanism, etc. matter to you. A two megapixel camera may be great, but if you're taking pictures for a web site, it's overkill.

My recommendation? Figure out what's important to you, and then look for magazine and on-line reviews. The reviews will help judge image quality as well as describing the feature sets of the individual cameras.