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The Best Traveling Laptop?
Subaiku asks: "Next semester my girlfriend will be traveling to Japan to continue with her studies. As a going away gift I plan on buying her a laptop of some sort. I've been thinking about going with a PowerBook, or maybe a Dell, but I really need advice as to which brand/configuration/platform would be best in terms of ease of use/connectivity in foreign places (namely Japan). Any suggestions?"
or powerbook, but youll want a good quality screen so stay away from the 12"ers. Battery life is awesome on the g3 ibooks, so it is great for travel. Pretty good shock resistence, resilient case, etc. If your going the pc route, ibm thinkpads beat the hell out of dell imo. There are new centrino based thinkpads with great battery life too, so mac is not the only lower power platform. Only problems Ive found with owning a mac are the little apps all cost 10 bucks or so, and you really need em.
Sleep is for the weak.
It depends on what she'll use it for.
:-)?
:-)
AS a deskop replacement, portable workstation, or just another mobile email station
I love the Powerbook (and I'm not huge into macs, tho OS X is nice). I personally have an IBM T20 that's slim, light, and rugged. I love it, and I've taken it all over the world, including Japan.
Mostly, it'll depend on her expertise (if she has to do on-the-fly configuration), and just personal preferences. I dunno. Ask her.
[este]
Your first thought was a good one. .jp, Apple has done a GREAT job in preparing the system.
Get her the 15 inch Powerbook G4.
While certain features of OSX (such as the movie listings) don't work properly in
The Japanese support in OSX is top-knotch, and there is a lot of BSD support for Japanese.
The machine is strong, and gets great battery life. And, I must admit, Apple's Technical Support and customer care is Top of the line.
I had had a number of problems with my laptop due to physical manafacturing, and after working with Apple, and describing the problem, they not only replaced it, but gave me a faster model as an apology.
I cannot recomend Apple laptops enough.
Colin Davis
I like a big thick laptop that does everything... a real brick with two batteries... I know others that like their smaller machines, it is a trade off. I will say get her at least one extra battery for the flights
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them
Just for the sake of its Japanese Language support, if she does anything related to translation or typing, it will allow her to localize settings for Japan or the US/English. Also there is a very strong following of Mac fans in Japan, so finding support / connectivity should not be a problem.
I can't really say if either an Apple or a x86 based laptop will be better in therms of ease of use. Many people swear by Apple, on the other hand, you might get a better bang for the buck when buying an x86. I'd say it's probably just being used to something. I've been working for years with Windows, now i'm hooked on Linux and Gnome. I've never had my hands on an Apple PC so can't say.
I'd say the only thing you need is to find some sort of either an travel adapter or some replacement power brick for Japan, which shoulnd't be that hard to get. Ethernet and stuff is the same all over the globe, so connectivity is nothing I'd be worried about. Problems could arise when using an analog modem, since these can be quite a pain in the butt sometimes. But you can get some adaptors for the differnet plugs, so again, no problem.
So as you can see, it's just a matter of getting the best bang for the buck, everything else is pretty much a no-brainer, just a matter of getting some adapters and/or power brick. Just ask your hardware dealer to help you out.
Small, yet usable.
Great battery life.
Last years models are pretty cheap!
Asian font support is second to none.
Cloud City Digital: DVD Production at its cheapest/finest
Comment removed based on user account deletion
She will probably be able to buy something better at the same price, or roughly equivalent at a cheaper price, once she is there.
Get a nice iBook, or 15" powerbook if you can afford it. Stay away from the 12" powerbook (its basically an ibook) and gets VERY hot.
:)
MacOS X has excellent multilingual features, and can be completely in Japanese, or English with Japanese language support and Japanese text input.
Just my opinion, anyway.
Actually, the only problem with getting her the powerbook is you won't want to let her take it... you will so badly want to play with it yourself
D.
You can tell how powerful someone is by the magnitude of the crime they can commit and be able to get away with.
Next semester my girlfriend will
/. need more help than you.
Sorry, I stop reading from there. I'm afraid majority of
Now if I would have said that, that "Offtopic" would have been "Troll". Fucking moderators. Thank god I get mod points all the time, it helps to give payback.
Get either a most portable latest ThinkPad for ruggedness and prolonged quality service. Dell has got the best video cards best quality and longevity of dimensions not previously reached, however Dells are the most bulky heavy looking thing with bigger screens. If too heavy get IBM if not get Dell. QoS. That's why in the long run you'll be happier with Dell. IBM and Dell are the best, your choices should only range between them. Mmm I can squeeze two hard drives in my laptop; those yummy Raid 1 backups. Mmm redundancy. "Hey I pulled a Homer" And if your OS dreams contain something other than crippled windows management of 98, run VMware on XP or better yet on 2.4.20.
Don't buy dell. Everyone knows Dell's are crap.. everyone. You get what you pay for (esp with laptops). You don't want that Dell crapping out while you are overseas.
Invest in a good quality laptop (Toshi, Apple, Acer or IBM). All three companies support international travelers and Acer has a 2 _hour_ turnaround on their repairs.
And for godsake buy the extended warrenty, worth it's weight in gold (literally unfortunatly)
I was at a trade show yesterday and was looking at the IBM laptops. I notice that the sales guy was throwing them around quite abit and I questioned him on it. Well he closed it and _stood_ on it for a while, then he opened it up and passed it to me by the _monitor_ and lo and behold still worked fine. I was impressed.
As for battery life, those new Centrino systems are sweet, as are the Transmeta ones. Up to 8 hours battery life on a standard battery.
One last one was the new laptop from Toshiba it was about as thick as a finger and wieghed 1.2kg. PIII, 30GB HDD, 512 ram, wow. Expensive though.
Just a thought, try buying the laptop on the way if possible, they are often cheaper (and higher speced) in Asia.
Robert
I would recommend either the 12" iBook or Powerbook. I think the iBooks are much tougher than the powerbooks, and certainly less precious. I use a 12" PB, and yes it does get warm but it's not really a problem. It's not like it melts or anything. I think the 12" iBooks make the perfect travel laptop - tough enough to throw in a bag, great battery, cheap, built in modem, lan etc, no flaps to snap off. The 15" PB is big, scratches easily, costs a fortune, and you don't want to drop it.
I highly recommend a PowerBook G4. Mac OS X is pretty smooth and has the best looking japanese fonts out there. If you need to go the PC route, a Thinkpad is the only way to go. We've had way too many problems with Dells and Sony, as have others.
This isn't really the answer you're asking for, but she's going to find much more advanced laptops for sale in Japan than you have a home. You're better off just giving her a raincheck, or the cash in advance. Seriously.
1) What does she use now? If she is comfortable with a Mac, go that way. If she uses a PC, then get her a PC laptop. I'm a very long-term Mac user and still have trouble figuring out the idiosyncrasies of OS X.
2) Find out what the other students in her program use. She might need to share files often with these people, or use their computer/let others use hers. Make life simple for her.
3) (OK I lied - 3 points) Figure out if she will need to use Japanese (Kanji?) or English, or both on her laptop. Input or just display?
All of this said, wait until she gets to Japan to buy the laptop.
I was advised to buy one there, since 'internat' warranties don't seem to work very well, according to many stories.
Toshiba sells Eng models delivered.
beep
If you find any other brands, let us know where their sites are.
The first has already been brought up. Basically, whatever crappy laptop you buy her in the U.S. is going to be completely too large and too heavy compared to the laptops she can find in Japan. Take the Panasonic Let's Note Light or the Sharp Mebius Muramasa as examples of laptops that are at the pinnacle of portable, not to mention that they already support Japanese out of the box.
The second thing to consider is that this is *your girlfriend*. It's not your wife, it's not your sister or your mom. It's someone with whom you do not have a determined future with. Are you prepared to give away $1,500 bucks and have it disappear forever if she decides that she likes Fuji Nakamichi more than you? Some advice (that's why you're posting here, right?) - give her a big kiss and some flowers.
I have been pwned because my
.. you are really just hoping she'll bring you back a really cool new one fresh from Japan when she returns :)
Baz
Next semester my girlfriend will be traveling to Japan and because I would just die if I lost her I am going to buy her a laptop so she will feel indebted to me. err I mean what do you think you be a good travelling laptop... heh
I wrecked my car last week and the thinkpad flew off the passenger seat (wasn't using it at the time!!!) and hit the dashboard at 40mph, not a scratch!
James
Like tinyurl, but one letter less! http://qurl.co.uk/
Just to add to the recommendations for Apple Powerbooks, I have a 15" TiBook 800Mhz and cannot recommend it strongly enough or to enough people. This machine is the best. OS X makes it just work. It is light, strong and fast (especially for the weight). Don't worry that it's too heavy...I carry mine around all day and it truly is light. DVD etc is great. If you want Japanese friendliness, Apple is the only vendor you should be looking at.
I'd recommend the 15" over the newer AlBooks if only because the screen hinge lets you attach a "tilt 'n tote" which helps with heat issues. You really will love this accessory.
Everyone should be lucky enough to have an Apple laptop.
I would suggest a ThinkPad T40, which starts at US$1369. If you want a machine that will last several years, get one based on the Pentium M (Centrino technology) which is $2179 (ThinkPad Pricing). ThinkPads in general are nice machines, and, short of getting a Panasonic Toughbook, pretty hard to break, as far as laptops go. I would give IBM's Sales line a call and ask specifically how you would go about getting warranty help or technical support overseas.
If software compatability isn't an issue, get an iBook! They're cheap, and have loads of nifty features.
Michael C. Hollinger
I'd get either the 15" pBook from Apple or an IBM T30 (particularly with the 1400x1050 display) from IBM. You might even be able to get it cheap from ThinkPad Depot. They frequently have good deals.
The one piece of advice that I would have for anyone getting a laptop is to MAKE SURE YOU GET 3 YEARS OF COVERAGE!!!
Laptops take a beating, and parts go bad. You can't easily (and cheaply) pop old parts out and new parts in, so get the extra warranty!
Buy a nice tiny unreleased in the US model in Japan. That is what I would do if I were going there myself. For the girlfriend maybe this wouldn't work as her geek factor might not be up there. But if it is, why not consider this? Some people here buy the latest laptops from Japan to use in the US. Remember to check into the warranty situation.
For young folks with good eyes I'd say to go for the 12" screen. AFAIK, The resolution is the same on the 12" and 14" inch screens.
The 12" ibook is smaller and lighter, and IMO it looks better (the 14" model seems dwarfed by it's own screen).
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
My girlfriend has one - and she loves it. It does what she needs (web, email, word) and it looks way more cool than any dumb dell or compaq. She is studying to become a teacher and has also used it to edit and burn some cd's with kids singing (when she was a trainee in a public school). That gave her geekcredibility with her fellow students WITHOUT making her look nerdish... Go with the apple - you know you want to
Unfortunately, your list of requirements is lacking. All you stated was ease of use, connectivity, and foreign language support.
Apple is the absolute best choice here.
- Ease of use/configuration/connectivity is the absolute best. Power Management works extremely well (been sleeping my PowerBook and not rebooting it for months!), OS X supports many languages and the architecture can support it within most applications if they are written properly for multi-language support. Connectivity is the best! I use my PowerBook to test network connectivity all the time. Just plug in an ethernet cable and you're online in about 5 seconds without needing to do anything at all. You can switch networks both wired and wireless with extreme ease.
You'll need to better define her needs. i.e. what software does she need? Would the OS X operating system support everything she needs?
Next you'll need to find out how portable a computer she needs and compare that to the need for raw power. i.e. iBook 12" or PowerBook 12" - The main difference is the faster G4 processor and price. The 15" Powerbook should be replaced by a new model for the Aluminum case sometime soon, so you might want to wait a couple of months if you can. If you want a larger laptop then you get to consider the other iBooks vs. the 15"/17" PowerBooks. Again, compare speed vs. price and size.
If there's an Apple store nearby, go spend an hour or two picking the Apple staff's brains. They are all very knowledgable. Not sure they will be familiar with Japanese though! Bring your girlfriend with you and have them change the language settings to demo the Japanese support.
With Windows, you may need to order a Japanese language version of Windows. This means you need to buy another copy of Windows. OS X includes all languages within OS X itself and can actually switch modes pretty easily. Windows may be able to do some switching but I believe Asian languages are more complex so require a new verison of Windows to be fully capable. OS X includes all the Asian fonts as well.
Buy a Japanese laptop so she can easily get service here or there, buy a lightweight one for convenience, buy a powerful one so she won't look like a chump to the Japanese... seems to me that all adds up to a Vaio.
You didn't set a price range, so I'm assuming price is no object. Get her the one with the full size keyboard if she doesn't like those silly little chiclet keys.
They can run linux, too. I saw Patrick running Slackware on one a while back.
We got a demo unit from Compaq. It was a TC1000. Very cool! It's what they call a convertible type of tablet PC. You can detach the tablet part from the keyboard and it has built in 10/100 ethernet and wireless. Or you can keep they keyboard attached and use it like a laptop. It runs on a Transmeta CPU so battery life is good. I'll probably buy one of these to replace my current Dell Inspiron 7500 and Compaq Armada E500.
Oh and what everyone was saying about Dell laptops is correct. They ARE junk. The Compaq is okay, pretty sturdy and reliable. I've been doing hardware support on Thinkpad 380s, 390s, T20-T23, and T30s. The T series are very rugged and reliable.
Sonny, listen to me. We geeks have a tendency to either be incredibly cheap or get so overly excited about finally having a girlfriend that we go overboard on gifts.
Giving her an expensive gift will not improve your image in her eyes. To the contrary, it will send the message "I'm so desperate I'm willing to shell $3K to impresss you". Knowing she has you wrapped around her finger will encourage her to search for another potential boyfriend, as she knows there is a fail-safe option at home.
Don't get me wrong. Be nice to your GF but don't over do it, and occasionally you might want to hold back a little on purpose so she yearns for you.
Save the $3k and promise to visit her in a few months. If she really loves you, the thought of having you in Japan (for a _visit_, you dirty minded folks) would be gift enough for her.
A lot of the smaller laptops aren't as small and portable as they seem. Most of them achieve small size by making their peripherals external. If you want those peripherals when you travel, if anything they're worse than a larger integrated all-in-one unit. (Size of original peripherals plus external enclosure plus cables.)
Whether you get her a Dell or an Apple depends on what she's used to. If she's a PC person, get her a Dell. I have an Inspiron 8200 and love it. It's big and a bit heavy, but it has EVERYTHING, including a screen that blows away all of the Apple screens except maybe the 17" one. (Bad screens are one of the biggest problems the Apples have... The 17 inch PB only has a resolution of 1440x900, the Dell 8x00 series has *two* different 15" 1600x1200 screens - If you go with Dell, *get the UltraSharp version of the UXGA screen* - The difference between the USharp screens and the original one in contrast and viewing angle is like night and day. (My dad has the original one on his 8000, although he prefers the lowered viewing angle for business confidentiality reasons, less chance of someone seeing his work on an airplane.)
I love my 8200. A number of friends had 8000s in college and loved them, my dad likes his 8000, and my research lab in school had an 8000 that all of the researchers coveted.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
And it works perfectly. (Inspiron 8200)
My dad, 3-4 friends at my alma mater, and my research lab there all had Inspiron 8000s, all of them were rock solid and we loved them.
4 years ago or so (Inspiron 7500s for example), Dells did suck, they were in a major quality slump during my sophomore year in college, but starting around the time of the Inspiron 8000 series they shaped up a lot.
Toshibas were good deals, but all were a bit on the flimsy side. This may have changed, I stopped looking at Toshibas long ago.
Acers - I never liked their form factors, and IMHO their tech support *sucks* (My old laptop was a TI/Acer Travelmate, that thing was a real mess.)
Apple - Good quality, but their displays lag behind PC laptops. And if this guy's GF is a PC person, then Apple isn't really an option.
IBM - Expensive, but I will agree with you here, the only thing tougher than a ThinkPad is a Panasonic ToughBook. ThinkPads seem to last forever. (I worked in the computer sales/service department of my campus store a few years back. The average age of IBMs coming in for service was 2-3 years or more older than everything else, and most of the problems they did have were minor ones or user-created problems like a Coke spilled in the keyboard.)
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
The screen is 1280x768 in 16x9 aspect ratio. Perfect for DVD viewing. The Crusoe processor gives 3+ hours of battery life EVEN WATCHING DVDs. The one nit was I installed a 5400 RPM hard drive to improve the performance which I highly recommend. It dual boots WinXP and Linux beautifully. And the kicker is, its only 3 lbs! Can't think of a better travel mate
Frank W. Miller
I'm sorry man, no GF is worth 3k :)
She's probably going to end up meeting another guy in Japan anyways. Do you REALLY think she'll give you the laptop back?
That aside, Apple laptops are retartedly overpriced. The only reason they sell is because there are still plenty of deep pocketed yuppy egomaniacs out there, that feel a computer needs to fulfill their "Image".
Spend 2k less on a more powerfull, less stylish laptop. And tell yer GF she can have it when she comes back:)
I bought one of these about 4 months ago; it's not as sturdy "feeling" as an ibook, and its windows (at least stock), but the Fujitsu is very well made.
It's also super-duper light, has very flexible batter options, has the best lcd screen I've seen anywhere, etc. etc. etc.
Normally, non-apple laptops are cheesy feeling; this one has a metal shell, and is made in Japan rather than malaysia or some other place, so it's really quite well built.
Mucous membranes are the part of your brain that, like, make you think about mucous. --Beavis
The Mac is better, IMO. Just had my moptherboard replaced for the second time in my Dell C600. The thing is good in terms of screen brightness and keyboard usability, but any time I try to bring it somewhere in a laptop bag, it falls apart. Knowing this, I'm gentle on it, and it still falls apart.
I have a powerbook which I've opened up to replace the HD, and it's much more sturdily manufactured on the inside. The HD sits in a frame which is mounted on bushings to ease shock, and the whole thing is more ruggedly put together.
As long as she doesn't mind the single-button mouse.
There are no trolls. There are no trees out here.
I would like to point out the smallest laptop formfactor available is the Sony Picturebook. Not only is it a tiny 1.14" X 9.8" X 6.0" and a svelite 2.2 pounds, but it also has a cheezy built-in camera (which you will come to love) and all the ports you would realistically need.
In those cramped Japanese apartments, she will want everything to be as small as possible.
Sony recently ended the line, but you can still find them around... Chicago computer sells one for 1500.
Very, very cool machine.
The ______ Agenda
I'd say look into an Apple notebook or Fujitsupc.com laptop.
Both are very big items in Japan, so finding support for the two shouldn't be a problem. Plus, the battery life of the apple and fujitsu P series laptop (whoo crusoe processors) are admirable, about 4-7hrs on standard battery, 14+ with extended and add-on battery.
Of course, main question is, is your GF computer literate? Last thing you'd want is to troubleshoot long distance how to get her wifi to work. Admittingly (not a troll), winXP on the fujitsu does make it easier to setup wifi, but why risk it.
Unless the school she is going to attend doesn't have computers I woudln't be bothered with having a lap top. Sure it's a convienient thing to have but I would much rather spend my time travelling Asia than sitting at home surfing the web or posting on /. That's a lot of money that could be spent on flights or travel arrangements. The furthest I would go would be to pick up an old p-100 lap top for cheap just to check e-mail and and type up the odd document. Is their a need for anything with more power? Personally I like the seperation of school/work and home.
"I believe in everything in moderation. Including moderation." -Dean DeLeo, Stone Temple Pilots
Dude, don't waste your money. She ain't comin' back! Once the Fuzoku industry gets their hands on fresh meat they're going to make her wealthy slave and she can buy her own laptop then!
But seriously, get a TiBook. Great computer, great sturdy casing. You just can't go wrong.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
but you might want to reconsider some factors. First off, i wouldn't use an iBook for recording, without using some nice usb audio device, which i'm not familiar enough with those to recommend any. i would use a powerbook in that situation, if i had to use a laptop. why do you have to use a laptop to record? laptop hard drives are a bit more shock-resistant than desktops, but are you talking about doing live recordings or something? cause the audio hardware on laptops is far behind that of most desktops.
Make sure to get something with a GPS locator in it.
A Multiplayer Strategy Game for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
I again, will restate that if you are going to spend that much money on her (a cheap engagement ring is about the same price, after all), then you should have her buy the laptop in Japan.
It looks like the power supplies are about the same, so you shouldn't have a huge problem there. My one word of advice: make sure you buy from a company who will let you transfer the warrenty between the US and Japan. Dell does not do that very easily. I've seen several posters on The dell msg board who moved to the US from somewhere else and now Dell wants them to ship the laptop back to where it was bought to have it fixed. (i.e. sweden).
-Ryan
AUWYHSTOT (Acronyms are Useless When You Have to Spell Them Out Too)
Score: +1, Smart Futhermucker.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
I have a Toshiba 5105-S501 myself. P4, 1.7Ghz, 512Mb of RAM, 30Gb HD, NVidia Gf4Go, DVD-ROM/CDwriter, Ethernet, modem, nice 1400x1050 display. Added WiFi as an option.
There's almost nothing I can't do with it. It's about 10 months old, and already phased out in favor of a beefier model with more HDD. I'm going to pump it up to a Gb of RAM and 60Gb HD, and then it's basically a mobile version of my desktop.
It's very well made, runs XP very nicely. I am going to install Mandrake 9.1 dual-boot on it after the upgrade, but I doubt your traveling gal needs that.
It's a bit chunky, but it has everything. No widgets or plug-in expansions needed. Well, it doesn't have a floppy drive internal, but a USB external is included. I've never used it, and don't know where it is right now.
If you want massive on-the-go power, check out the ncharge external battery system. Half in thick, slim and powerful. Not too heavy. Definitiely for the power user -- 8-9 hours (for real!) on top of your internal battery. http://www.valence.com/ncharge.asp
-- There is no truth. There is only Perception. To Percieve is to Exist.
These days, with enough additional OS packages, Windows and OS X are about equal. I've got a coworker in my office running the US version of Win2K with everything set to Japanese. It's rather annoying when I've got to use that workstation, but it's certainly Japanese. OS X, of course, is known for having excellent language support, and Apple is committed to supporting the Japanese market, so she should be fine either way.
The real issue, then, isn't the CPU. It's the overall design.
In Japan, anyone using a full sized laptop will stick out like a sore thumb. I strongly recommend something small and light, especially since she might need to carry it around a lot. No one wants to lug an 8 pound laptop around.
I used to own a Toshiba Libretto 110CT, one of the smallest laptops available in the US. It was a great system, but with a 233 MHz processor, I decided it was time to move on. As a whole, though, subnotes are completely usable systems, and I can't remember a single time that I ever left it behind due to packing constraints. Sure, I left it at home when I went canoeing, but that's just common sense. Get her something like a Libretto (almost any Japanese ultralight, really, although I've heard that Sony's stuff is somewhat flaky,) and she's almost guaranteed to have her laptop handy whenever she needs it. A good modern example might be the Fujitsu P-series laptops.
The other option, bringing you back to full-size keyboards and the like, are the Powerbooks (and iBooks, although those haven't been updated in a while.) The 17" is simply massive, and has no place in a traveling student's hands. The 15" is pretty nice, but hasn't been updated with the new Aluminum Powerbooks. The 12" Powerbook may actually be a bit more power than she needs, of course, and you may want to lean towards a 12" iBook. Out of the Powerbooks, the 12" is still the cheapest, although I'm sure if you looked at refurbished and used models, you could find a great deal on a 15", which is a bit older, and a bit more "tried and true."
In general, though, you should look at portability over power. A nice small laptop will end up in her bag a lot more often than some 6-8 pound behemoth. And, as long as she's got an Ethernet connection, I don't think there are any major issues to worry about re: adapters and the like. Power should be close enough to the US norm to work fine, and the only thing I'd really worry about are modems, and drivers if she gets some crazy Japanese cellphone and wants to hook it up to the laptop.
Raptor
"Procrastination is great. It gives me a lot more time to do things that I'm never going to do."
Thinkpads rock - they are solidly built and can take a lot of punishment.
The built-in wireless aerial and bluetooth support don't appear on all T30's, it depends on the precise model so you have to ask for it specifically.
The advantage of course is that it leaves your PCMCIA slot free should you need it - and perhaps more importantly, when you are on the move the last thing you need to be doing is rummaging around for peripherals, dropping them on the floor etc. So built-in is definitely the way to go. (AFAIK the only other laptops with these features are a couple of top-end Toshiba Satellite and Portege models. WHEN are we going to see them on affordable clone laptops?)
The Japanese are the world's leading early adopters and they are probably in wireless up to their eyeballs out there. Also, more or less everybody travels by train so there are more opportunities to get some work done while commuting to and from work etc than there would be in the US where most people seem to drive everywhere.
Your girlfriend is very fortunate. Japan is a fantastic place.
So, which one would my fellow Slashdotters recommend? IBM or Apple, or something else entirely?
Assuming you're not native to Asia, Japan is going to have a different DVD encoding than for other parts of the world. That means that you have to prepare for the possibility that (if you go with something that has Win XP), you won't be able to change the region encoding more than a few times. Seems obvious enough, but I was really disappointed with the fact that my laptop, which I'd bought for portability, wouldn't be entirely portable between my home country and South Korea, where I'm working now.
There's probably work-arounds to this limitation (as well as universal DVD players in some laptops) but I don't know of them just yet.
--------
Bleah! Heh heh heh... BLEAH BLEAH!!! Ha ha ha ha...
I had a DELL Latitude CpT which decayed rapidly despite tender loving handling. For example, The power cable insulation was brittle and cracked and its leads broke. The screen hinge mechanism was inadequate for the weight of the 15" screen and the case creaked and finally cracked when the top was opened. This also caused the mother board to flex. This may have cause the computer to suddenly die one day ... never to awaken.
... I have been unwilling to take that risk to find out.
Worse, Dell did not acknowledge a single letter that I sent them informing them of these problems. (with copies to the European and US customer service centers). The single response I did get was an 'offer' from Dell service to replace the mother board of this $1500 300 Mhz computer for $700.
Perhaps the other manufacturers are just as bad? Perhaps not
It makes a great desktop replacement with the large screen, good resolution and nice keyboard. It runs various linux distrobutions problem free, I've found that in that regard it's few problems and faster than corresponding ThinkPads. The battery life is neither good nor bad, but it's a real brick in regards to weight.
My PowerBook, on the other hand is great for travel. Fast, full of good software, lightweight, and long battery life. If I had another 30 minutes of battery, I could do long haul trips without recharging. I think the G3 might be longer.
I could go on for hours about how bad/slow/obstreperous I found Dell service for both servers and notebooks. But that seems to be the standard these days, so I won't.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
Trust me. I'm an expert on women. I've been married 5 times. (Car Wash)
Last year she plopped down $1,800 so I could build myself a new computer. And since I still owe her and she really wants a laptop to take with her... It just seemed to work out.
Go you Huskies.
You should just give her the cash and she can buy a laptop in Japan. A buddy of mine just got back from Japan, and he said that laptops there are much cheaper than they are here, and also more advanced.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
Apple is BIG is Japan. And I think it has the best user interfaces I've seen in over 25 years! My home machines have been Macs for over 10 years. Apple puts the same quality that IBM does into its products, and given the superior user interface and ease of use, this would tip my selection preference towards Apple (15" PowerBook).
Dude, she's going out of the COUNTRY. And of course, that always works wonders for relationships.
I say as I write this on my Latitude CPx. I'm replacing said machine with a Thinkpad T20 primarily because the Dell is a flimsy piece of crap and used iBooks are significantly more expensive. The Thinkpad is very light, durable and has very good Linux support (IBM even provides a driver for the winmodem on their support site).
Early adopters, most definitely.
;-)
Also, more or less everybody travels by train so there are more opportunities to get some work done while commuting to and from work etc
People travel by train In 2-3 of the major cities, but in those areas, trains are often far too crowded to work, let alone sit down. In large parts of Japan, people drive to work, ride bicycles, or take buses.
probably in wireless up to their eyeballs out there
Uh, no. Nowhere near as much as the US or Europe.
Japan is a fantastic place.
You haven't spent very much time here, have you?
Old school baby, old school. Don't be a wuss and shower her with gifts.
SIMPLY becuz they'll sell you a laptop WITHOUT winblows.
www.discountlaptops.com
I'll never buy a ThinkPad again. The one I'm about to retire (with great relief) had an MWave DSP that ran out of gas trying to serve as both the sound card and a modem.... It has never quite worked properly and can lock up the machine at random. I added a modem in the PCMCIA slot, and quickly discovered that if you populate the slots fully, or run CardBus cards, the machine runs out of IRQs. Service is also a nightmare; they take far longer than claimed and always try to find something to charge you for and/or blame the problem on you. Take my advice: Stay far, far away from IBM laptops.
You silly jackass, you are using a 5+ year old laptop (MWave hasn't been around since the 760's - circa 96-97) and bitching about it? Shut up you invalid. Doesn't it amaze you that a computer, much less a laptop has lasted this long? Especially with the abuse that a moron like yourself must give it.
Ya know what, on second thought - bitch as much as you want about it. You probably just did IBM a favour by not bothering them with another retard for a customer.
Only a week in Tokyo, on a business trip. I guess it was inevitable that anyone who'd spent more time there would have a less rosy view of the place.
- will you be expected provide remote technical support?
- will she blame you for problems?
- will she be dependent on the system for business, for school, for communication with you, her family?
You will have fewer problems which require remote administration (including the "phone walk-through" type) if you get Mac OS X. If you are going to get the blame anyway, you probably want to minimize the number of technical support incidents. If you do wind up on the receiving end of a tech support call, it will be easier to guide her through a shorter sequence of steps on a system which is delightfully less opaque than Windows. You will also have more reliable, simpler, and more secure options for performing remote administration of the laptop, in the unlikely event that it's needed.There seems to be a gender difference of note. In general, women seem to be unconcerned with the Windows vs. Mac debate. In contrast to their Monty Python-quoting, code-writing, slashdot-trolling boyfriends, most computer-using women are aware of the debate, but seem not to care. Women seem sincerely more interested in how easy it is to do what they want, which is typically: surf the web, check email, send and receive pictures in email, edit pictures, and listen to mp3 audio. They often want an email address book.
Women will almost all tell you that the iBook or the PowerBook is "cute" -- and they mean basically the same thing when they say it about you: they know it when they see it. Perhaps it translates something like: "I don't want something that weighs twice what it should and looks like a prop from an SF fan movie set with a bunch of extra mystery buttons all over that are trying and failing to impress".
One other bit relevant only to the PC world... if you put a woman in front of a trackpad and an IBM-nipple they universally prefer the trackpad. For reasons that I suspect are Freudian, about half of men prefer the nipple thing. I myself don't grok that, since it's very easy to demonstrate that even the people who *prefer* the nipple thing can control the pointer more efficiently with a trackpad. And it's really not much of a substitute for an actual nipple.
They all still use, and are universally thrilled with their PowerBooks -- and none have traded in for a different geek. (The sample size is small, so YMMV).
Finally, if she's at all interested in the iLife stuff, especially movie making, you'll want to get her any PowerBook, rather than the iBook, since the AltiVec in the G4 will be notably faster for that stuff than the G3.
Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler. -- Albert Einstein
Apple computers are like BMW SUV's. A thinkpad running slackware is like Jake and Elwood's decommisioned police car.
Apple computers are like Queen Amidalas space ship. A thinkpad running slackware is like the Millenium Falcon.
Which is best? Neither. It all depends on your skills, needs, wants and desires.
DO NOT waste your money on a VAIO. It will fall apart in less than a year and you'll be pissed and so will she. My Z505LE died not less than 24 hours after my PowerBook 12" showed up at the door.
I'd had it barely two years and it really only lasted 1 major software project and 1 technical paper(by which I mean about 9 or so months worth of 12-15 hours a day of working on it) before it started to fall apart. First the keyboard went, then the trackpad, then the finish started to dissolve off it before it's CPU fan stopped working and it would randomly freeze up.
I will never buy another VAIO. They are meant to be used by marketdroids and executives who maybe drag it out for a couple hours a few days a week to fiddle with Powerpoint presentations or Word or something. They are NOT serious traveling/road warrior laptops.
The will NOT stand up to serious development or writing work.
Just thought I would clear that up.
Common misconception. Get her an iBook in the states.
Stuff here is more expensive and will generally be Japanese-only Windows, unless you get an import, or a Mac.
An iBook or other Mac will have no such issues and be cheaper in the states. Get one there and save the trouble.
(I live 'over there')
Jim
-- My Weblog.
It really doesn't matter much what you buy. The power in Japan is almost the same as in the US (100V instead of 110V) and almost every piece of electronics works just fine. And it's the same power plug.
Japanese support is already built into WinXP, so you don't need any custom software - just enable the Japanese IME and she'll be in business (I'm not familliar with Mac OS/X but I'm sure something similar exists).
As far as the right machine for her needs, well - that's really up to what she needs to do. Take her shopping and see what she likes.