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Archiver > TMG > 2005-10 > 1129948173


From: "Peggy Baldwin" <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] OT -- Requesting advice on buying a new computer
Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 19:29:33 -0700
References: <AJEHLOMPAIPACPKGLOJJMEDPKLAA.bruce.evans@sympatico.ca>


I have had two Dell computers and have liked them both. When I called for
service for a known problem with my laptop screen, my initial contact was in
a foreign country, and
it was difficult to get past this person, since they were trying to solve
the problem from
a generic book. He had me jumping through a bunch of unnecessary tests,
until I got
testy with him. The good news is, if you can get past that intial person,
they do in home repair. It seems just about every company now has a foreign
repair department,
with that annoying generic book of fixes.

I highly recommend buying warantees that give you access to free in home
repair for the duration.

The Dell model I have is the 300M, which is no longer made. It weighs
3 pounds, if I leave the media base behind, which house the CD/DVD, some
extra
ports, and a second battery.

I had previously has a Sony laptop and I had to send it to San Diego for
repair!

And previous to that I had an inexpensive Toshiba laptop that didn't hold up
well,
but there was an authorized Toshiba repair place here in Portland, OR.

Peggy

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Evans" <>
To: <>
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2005 6:20 PM
Subject: RE: [TMG] OT -- Requesting advice on buying a new computer


> Joe's comments about his problems with Dell service are very interesting.
> It
> has been my experience that computer novices find Dell's service excellent
> while we old pro's find it terrible. I don't know what this means.
>
> Bruce
>
> ==============================================
> Bruce Evans
> Family Physician and Technical Writer
>
> "Remember, life is simpler when you plow around the stump."
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joe Makowiec [mailto:]
> Sent: Monday, October 17, 2005 9:02 PM
> To:
> Subject: Re: [TMG] OT -- Requesting advice on buying a new computer
>
>
> At 10-17-2005 03:50 PM, Joan Lince wrote:
> <snip specs>
>> Would any of the many experts on the list be willing to comment? Are
> any
>>of the specs more or less than I would probably need? Are there other
>>features I should be looking for?
>
> The computer as speced out looks good. As others have noted, how's the
> price? There are a couple of minor items, like the multi-card reader
> isn't
> all that useful unless you have a bagful of electronic gizmos all using
> different card formats. Also, my feeling is that XP Media Center edition
> is fluff.
>
>> My needs: I have a good size project (about 20,000 people, with lots
> of
>>text in memos for many of them), want to expand my ability to scan and
>>edit
>>pictures, and want to be able to print out sometimes long reports with
>>pictures. I also want to be able to keep several programs open at once
>>(including my whole TMG project twice), and my broadband net connection.
>
> The database is hardly going to tax that system. Scanning and editing do
> consume significantly more resources, but still /well/ within the specs of
> that system. For what it's worth, I'm on broadband; I frequently have
> open
> at the same time:
> - EMail client (Eudora)
> - Newsreader (XNews)
> - 3-6 browser windows (FireFox)
> - An FTP client
> - A text editor
> - A web editor (DreamWeaver)
>
> And I'll open up TMG into this to check something. I've never had a
> problem. (I even occasionally throw a couple of graphic editors and a
> copy
> of Internet Explorer into the mix.)
>
> As to Dells - I got my current system (Dell 8300 PIV/3GHz/1 gig memory)
> about a year and a half ago. I spent the better part of two months trying
> to get it working correctly; Dell's technical support was just plain
> awful. (And I'm a computer professional...) Once I got it working, when
> the Dell computer works, it works very well. However, I've gotten my last
> Dell.
>
> Shop around your area and see if there's anybody who builds 'white box'
> computers. Desktops are a commodity item now. They may very well be able
> to build a box to that specification for significantly less.
>
> Joe
> --
> Joe Makowiec can be reached at:
> http://makowiec.org/contact/?Joe
> http://makowiec.org/
>
>
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