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Ask Slashdot: How Do You Choose a Windows Laptop?

Posted by samzenpus on from the throw-a-dart dept.

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?"

1 of 898 comments (clear)

  1. How to be a pussy in three easy steps. by gavron · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    > I'm a mac guy.

    Step 1: claim to be something you're not

    LOL no, you're not. Instead of being a mac guy you're a pussy-guy. That means when your wife said "I want Windows" you went windows-shopping.

    Now let's look at your real question. What about this poor lack of choice?

    Well first, we can agree Microsoft doesn't make hardware. It's interesting, really, because IF THEY DID we know they'd sell it with Windows. Yet, they don't. It's almost like they CAN'T make hardware. There's the Zune. Oh, sorry, that's cancelled. There's the Kinect. Oh, sorry, they actually bought the company that makes that. There's the... well never mind about hardware.

    We can agree Microsoft doesn't make software. After all, they got DOS from Digital Research, took over the support contracts from IBM, and went from the largest distributer of (chuckle loudly) BASIC for PCs to the guys with DOS. Then they saw how cool the Mac and the Amiga were, and put some rudimentary fatures into DOS, and voila... Windows. They "redesigned" it for w95. They "redesigned" it for w98. they "redesigned" it for ME. They "redesigned" it for 2K. They "redesigned" it for XP. They "redesigned" it for Vista. They "redesigned" it for 7. DESPITE ALL THOSE SUPPOSED REDESIGNS there are still zero-day attacks that work well on everything from Windows 3.1 on DOS to Windows 7. The only thing they redesigned was next year's budget. Never mind about software.

    Microsoft Office? Sorry, that's just a name for a collection of software programs they bought. Never mind about software. Really.

    What does that really leave... ah yes, lawsuits. Microsoft is the largest patent troll in existence. They sue everybody they can as often as possible. They don't actually "make" anything. They just allow other people to "license" their "intellectual property" which for all purposes they purchased and didn't invent, create, originate, nor envision.

    Step 2: Embrace the devil. Maybe he will be your friend.

    In short Microsoft is the largest patent and copyright and trademark troll in existence. But it's ok to whine that when your boyfriend said "Wah" you said "How high should I jump?" and are now whining about the lack of choice in the market.

    Lack of choice? I wonder why that would be. Could it be that competition is so fierce that all competitors agree on the same outcome? Could it be that those with novel ideas get spanked and sent back home to sit in the corner by the IP lawyers. Could it be that instead of suggesting to your boyfriend that he/she/whatever use Chrome/MacOS/Linux you just wet your pants and hoped it wouldn't matter.

    Step 3: Whine whine whine

    It doesn't matter. One more pussy supporting microsoft doesn't make a difference. But to not only support them but WHINE ABOUT IT and BITCH about a lack of freedom of choice, that's a truly unenlightened pussy.

    With regards to the mods no links were put in here. Mods too stupid to use google can mod this down.

    Cheers,

    E