Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Laptop Choice - Help Needed

No this is not my laptop, but it might as well be. Source gaygamer.net


I need a new laptop. Mine is literally hanging on by a wire. The screen decides to flop down when it gets tired. I get all types of pop ups and errors and it freezes a lot. I'm also pretty sure there's a cockroach inside trying to get out because it makes the weirdest internal noises. It could substitute for a heater during the winter season because there's something wrong with the fan and it gets insanely hot. The fan can also substitute for an airplane engine due to its loud noise. It also shakes when the weather is cold. I think its part human. Was once drowned by yoghurt. Sometimes used as a tray (when extremely-bright-maid decided to put a cup of tea or coffee on top, as well as the odd bowl of cereal).

Remind me why I'm getting a new one? This ones a keeper! It's multi-purpose! Actually its been through a lot and it deserves to have some rest. I'm keeping it as a substitute/side computer thing.
Also its too heavy for me now (for more on my health issues go here) and I've had it for a while now - 5 years maybe. I don't know what to get. I thought I'll ask some of my more tech enthusiastic bloggers (Read: Marzouq et al.).
Here are some of my criteria:
  • It has to be a laptop. No desktops.
  • Not heavy. I want to carry it around.
  • No tiny screens. I have poor eyesight.
  • No unknown brands.
  • Good screen - visual quality.
  • Sleek and chic looking.
  • I'm not too keen on a Mac. I'm loyal to Windows.
  • Something of good quality and available in Kuwait.
  • No extremely high prices and complicated ones. I'm no Bill Gates.
Recommendations please.

20 comments:

Hasan.B said...

I am no big expert but I was very loyal to windows. But once I switched to mac I noticed the clear difference. I despise myself for being loyal to windows for a long time. Please note that I am not saying ina I despise you;s!

Shayouma said...

Can't help you there if you're loyal to windows..

I got the new Macbook Pro ad it's great! there's also the Macbook air it's very light.. the processor could not be too strong but if you are not using it for graphics and stuff, it should be fine.. read some good reviews on it..

Unknown said...

Yeah, Mac seems to dominate at leas the laptop market. If you like light and slick, you can get yourself a MaBook Air. It can practically fit in an envelope (it doesn't have a CD but has the ability to share a drive if you REALLY need it)!

The MacBook of course if you're looking for something a little more advanced. Probably a 15 or 14 inch. Those are good, and quite handy. Don't worry about getting windows. You can run windows on your mac seamlessly using either Parallels or VMWare. VMWare actually has a cool feature called Unity, where you share the desktop with the mac, it is basically like infusing both mac and windows together!

That's for the mac. If you're looking for other laptops there are some news ones which imitate the macbook air (very thin) and light and some also have a cd player. I'm not sure about where exactly you can get them, but I'm sure some people can lead you to them, or a little google searching can help you go a long way.

Either way, I'd recommend a Mac. If you are not feeling it, then fine. But if you don't mind at least trying it then borrow one, and use it for a while see how it feels and if you like it.

A laptop is a laptop, being a mac or windows or whatever. You can basically get any hardware and have nearly any of these options on it. As I always say, if you're looking for a computer/laptop it really all depends on what you plan on using it for.

Pardon the long comment, I'm feeling a little chatty.

FourMe said...

I'm a Sony Vaio girl so would defiantly recommend it. It has all the things you mentioned and its been putting up with my aggression against the keyboard so I would have to say it gets the thumbs up from me.

Yara said...

I got this new laptop... its Sony and its pink all over and silver on the inside very very nice... there are other colors gold, white, green, blue... e9ara7a i got it for how it looks but it has great memory, speed and all that

I still have my Macbook and for 2 years it didnt break down at all even though ive been abusing it and its full of files and movies and stuff, its still fast o ma y3aliq

shoosha said...

macbook all the way

Big Pearls said...

I need a new laptop too..can't make up my mind:/

This Lady said...

this is tough :/

I'm kinda changing my mind about the Mac. But definitely not the Air one cause I want to use my CD's and DVD's.

I was thinking of a Sony. So I'm glad some ppl r recommending it.

How about a Toshiba? or HP?

Oranjina fadidra said...

MAC BABY!

Touché said...

Vaio all the way, Sony are incorporating all the essential features and that sleek phenomenal look is the ultimate icing.

13.3" for SZ series are what I think you are looking for, but there is a catch, it's a little bit on the high end price-wise. You might as well aim for CR series with what seems the latest hype in Kuwait with the colored covers.

Toshiba dominated the market but that was years ago, not anymore. They've categorized their laptops into (desktop replacement "Qosmio" which are extremly heavy, business class with no built in cam and no built in bluetooth connection "Tecra" and finally Satellite series which fits into entertainment category). If you are looking for high specs with everything embedded and built in, then Toshiba isn't the way to go since each series has a missing piece of the puzzle, it's not possible to have everything built in into a single laptop, again this is up to you to prioritize your essential features.

MAC, we'll I haven't tried it but from hardware and performance perspective, I can't figure out what's so spectacular about MACs other than their OS when all they've done with their MAC Air isn't phenomenal at all. Hell Vaio have been there for a while now and I can't find out a single advantage for MACs on that field.

Hasan.B said...

Anything except HP. Toshiba is not bad but I am sure vaio is better. Overall nothing beats mac. You wont regret buying a mac at all. Plus you can have windows just in case. Although mansa7. Cause mac is more than enough!

Silver said...

mmmmm....toshiba?

do0da said...

i cant recommend one but i can tell u to avoid LG :p

i love my LG lappy its put up with a lot plus its gr8 specs for a decent price but.. Fixing it is a pain. When it was around 1yr had a problem but the Service center in kuwait had no clue had to wait til im back in dbai to fix it and the ones here are lazy and rude

two all my friends who got LGs after me have already changed their LGs :P so the whole survival thing turned out to be a one off rather than the rule.

Moi said...

SONY, HP/Campaq, Samsung are Okay! and avoid Toshiba, Acer and DELL.. A good reputation with a less quality, I saw a story on these products ... They say that these brands make labtops with little money but they use their great name for sale.

Anonymous said...

macbook or macbook pro !!!!

Don't even think twice about it ...

just got a macbook pro a couple of weeks ago and i can't stop smiling every time i turn it on !!

Glitter said...

I bought a red Sony Vaio 8 months ago o KILLISH MA 7ABBAITAH!!

When I first bought it, and took it home, it had a major default and it wouldn't open!!
I took it back, they gave me another one, but still, it's not as fast as I hoped and it DOES FREEZE on me!!

I think I'm gonna give Mac a try!

G said...

Mac Rules :) and I agree with N. ^^

Shayouma said...

Glitter it freezes because of the windows.. you should try a mac. it will feel different at first sure but you will get used to it!

Missy said...

get a mac, use it for 3 months and if you didnt like it I WILL PAY YOU ALL YOUR MONEY BACK. ;)

Coconut said...

get a MAC!
or the one in the pic luks good :P