Re: Off-topic: What laptop to buy for my daughter for college?

[Carl Distefano cld@xxxxxxxx]

Reply to note from Lisa Kleinholz  Sun, 15 May
2005 11:13:28 -0700 (PDT)

> Any recommendations, advice, etc.?

Don't put too much weight on individual experiences and prejudices,
including your own. The fact that you had a lousy experience with a
Dell rebate, x number of years ago, doesn't mean your daughter
shouldn't get a Dell today. (Rebates aside, how was the computer?)
For every user that swears at brand X, you'll find one that swears
by it. Judith detests Dell. Just the other night, my cousin was
saying how much she likes her Dell laptop. Where does that leave
you?

When I buy a new system, I don't pay much attention to brands. I
list my minimum requirements, add a few wish-list items, decide on a
price range, and then comparison-shop to find the best bang for the
buck. It almost never comes out to the same brand twice. (Well,
just this week, for the first time in my life, I bought a second...
aw, I'll never tell. Rhymes with "tell", though.)

This site might be worth a browse:

http://www.laptopadvisor.com/

Also, here's something from Consumer Reports (Feb. 2005), in:
(http://shopping.msn.com/softcontent/softcontent.aspx?scpId=3879&scm
Id=1498)

"The Consumer Reports top-rated Windows laptops in the workhorse
category are:

*     Compaq Presario x1000 1.7 GHz Pentium M 735
*     Dell Inspiron 8600 1.6 GHz Pentium M 725
*     HP Pavillion zt3000 1.7 GHz Pentium M 735

"These are the three models listed at the top of the most recent
Consumer Reports Ratings of Windows laptop computers in the
workhorse category. Their price, type, features, and other
attributes may--or may not--make them among the best choices for
you. The full Ratings and recommendations for all categories of
laptop and desktop computers, along with the latest information on
thousands of other products and services, are available to
ConsumerReports.org subscribers."

Good luck!

--
Carl Distefano
cld@xxxxxxxx