Ask Slashdot: How Do You Choose a Windows Laptop?

jfruhlinger writes "I'm a Mac guy. When our 2004-era Windows XP laptop, which was used primarily by my wife, died last summer, I got myself a new MacBook Pro and she inherited my still serviceable 2008 MacBook. But after about six months, she hasn't gotten used to it, and wants a Windows machine. I don't have an ideological problem with this — it'd be her computer, and we've got a bit of money stashed away to pay for it. But trying to pick one out is my job, and I find the the whole process bewildering. Apple's product differentiation is great at defeating the paradox of choice — you have a few base models, the difference between which is quite obvious, and you can customize each. The Windows world seems totally different. Even once I've settled on a vendor for a Windows laptop (something I haven't done yet), each seems to have a bewildering array of product lines with similar specs. Often models that you find in electronics or office supply stores that seem promising in terms of form factor are exclusive to those stores and can't be found online. Obviously people do navigate this process, but I'm just feeling out of my depth. How would Slashdotters go about picking a solid, basic laptop for Web surfing and document editing that won't be obsolete in two years?"

Comments

Just use the hardware you have

[imashination]

Just install windows on the mac?

Re:Just use the hardware you have

[jedidiah]

> Just install windows on the mac?

That only works if you don't despise Apple keyboards.

Try using the thing first. Then work from there.

Re:Just use the hardware you have

[mjwx]

Yeah, that's probably the best answer of all. Just run Windows on it. Also, I might say "make it dual boot" so that she has something to fall back on when her machine gets trashed and/or unusable... as we all know it will.

Actually it's about the worst answer.

1. the laptop is 2.5 years old. The battery will be almost gone and there will likely be other HW issues developing.

2. the wife does not like it.

I can tell that everyone suggesting you just put Windows on the Mac has never been married, or probably had a LT girlfriend but if the wife wants something, a half arsed solution like slapping Windows on top of it wont help, in fact it will make things a lot worse.

My advice for the OP, let the wife choose. Pick about 5 different models that you know are good (Dell Latitude, Lenovo Thinkpad, Asus and Toshiba, wife will probably like the look of the Asus) put some pictures into a document and let her pick which one she wants. That way the onus is on her to like it, having her make the decision reduces the likelihood that she'll turn around and blame you for any issues (as she is currently doing with the Mac).

Re:Just use the hardware you have

[Mr. DOS]

...so that guys like you don't know the difference.

Then please explain: in implementation (on either platform), what is the functional difference between Enter and Return?

the windows key is useless, no one really uses it.

Unless you're 1) on Windows and 2) like saving time. In my case, Win+E and Win+R get used multiple times per hour, Win+L gets used every time I leave my desk, and Win+Pause is one of the first things I hit when I start work on someone else's computer.

Also, one thing that hasn't been brought up yet (that I've seen) is the misbehaving Home and End keys. They're supposed to move the input cursor to the beginning and end of the current line of input, not... whatever it is they do under OS X – I've never managed to figure out exactly what that is.

Why hasn't she gotten used to it?

[thinbits]

You say "she hasn't gotten used to it, and wants a Windows machine". Do you mean she hasn't gotten used to Mac OS X and wants to use Windows? Just use Boot Camp and install Windows on your MacBook, problem solved. If you mean she is using Windows on your MacBook and there is something about the MacBook itself she doesn't like, perhaps you should elaborate on what specifically it is she doesn't like about the hardware as that's probably something you should take into account in your next purchase.

Latitude or Thinkpad

[Animal Farm Pig]

Just buy a Latitude or Thinkpad. You can't go terribly wrong with either.

Business laptop

[loosescrews]

Almost all consumer laptops are terrible. Get a business laptop if you want something that is any good. Some examples are HP's EliteBook and ProBook lines, Dell's Precision and Latitude lines, and Lenovo's ThinkPad line. Generally speaking, if a laptop doesn't have a trackpoint/pointing stick, it isn't worth having. It doesn't matter if you want to use it or not, it is a good indication of the quality of a laptop. Business laptops generally have: Better Battery life Better reliability No crapware More durable designs Higher performance Better keyboards and Anti-Glare screens Better conductivity and support for a docking station Better and longer warranties

Re:Lenovo

[lophophore]

I will throw out my vote for ThinkPads.

If you travel through a major airport, and watch the business people go through security, you will see a ton of ThinkPads. Why? The damn things are nearly indestructible. When it came time to buy my kid a laptop for college, we looked at the deals the school had (a major university) and they had Mac, Dell, and Lenovo. My kid now is using a Lenovo T510 with an i5 and Windows 7. Her friends' Dell machines have all had to be serviced in the first semester. That's right, the Dells did not even make it through a semester.

At work they recently bought me a fancy-schmancy Dell notebook. I compared the build quality to my personally-owned T61 Thinkpad, and thought to myself "this Dell is junk". The Dell did not make it three months before it had to be serviced. I've been using my three year old T61 for the duration, and I cannot imagine why the three year old $1000 thinkpad is superior in almost every way to the brand new $1000 Dell laptop.

Here's another thought. Just like cheap tools are not worth the money, unless you plan to use them only once... cheap laptops are not worth the money, either. Buy a commercial strength unit. Don't buy a consumer-class laptop. You can usually tell the difference by looking for a docking connector. The consumer class laptops don't have a dock, the commercial strength ones do. Sure, it is a few more bucks up front, but after a couple years the consumer grade laptops are junk, but the commercial ones are still kicking.

Good luck with your purchase.