1/8/15 5:58 PM

When I get a new laptop, the previous one becomes the backup. Until now, the backup has not out lasted a new one.

2 years and a few months Lenovo Dual Core, not only has been limping on 1/2 hinges, but apparently the HD is finished. USB booted and diags can't repair it sector wise.
zero track I suspect. It was only 319.00, so you get what you pay for?

So out comes the ASUS which was the Computrainer dedicated machine. 6 years old, hinges fine, battery not so good, lasts 45 min max. So leave it plugged in.

I hate computers! ;)

1/8/15 6:23 PM

Get a Mac. 😀

1/8/15 6:59 PM

I guess you missed the part about $319.00?

And BTW, a neighbor in TN had me over a lot working on his wife's Mac Laptop with printer and broadband issue less than infrequently..

If I was smart I would have said I only know PC.

AND, only just today when I shared this crash in an eMail the respondent replied "My MacBook Air bricked Saturday"
And then, "I have go to the Apple Store for it to be repaired. So much for Apple being bullet proof."

So spare me the fruit fanboying please. ;)

1/8/15 7:16 PM

And I was asured on here that PC's last a long time....

Seriously, I think notebooks in general are much shorter lived than desktops.. I have a desktop and a phone, but no tablet or notebook. I have poor eyesight and when I can I prefer my 27" iMac. I realize I'm one of the last dinosaurs that buys desktops but I like swimming against the tide.

1/8/15 7:28 PM

Agree, the lighter the laptop, the more flimsy the hinges in particular seem to be.

1/8/15 9:55 PM

another forumites <1 year old macbook pro hard-bricked a week ago. needs a new motherboard. i think apple calls them logicboards. so fancy.

1/8/15 10:43 PM

quote:

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I realize I'm one of the last dinosaurs that buys desktops but I like swimming against the tide.

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1/8/15 11:41 PM

quote:

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I can't see why I'd want to submit myself to an indifferent keyboard and a small display except when I have to.

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1/8/15 11:47 PM

I gave up Desktops by 2000 probably. For all the reasons April sites and more. I did the Laptop and desktop of maybe a year or two and made an Exchange Server out of my Desktop PC.

Now I want them under 5lb max. Although this 6+ lb backup ASUS sure has held up better than a few 4-5lb ones I mowed through...

1/9/15 8:11 AM

My Lenovo X120e was in an unpadded bag on my back when I got hit a couple of years back and lost my hip.

Worked perfectly before and after the accident--came right out of hibernation in the hospital, and it's still my main machine.

My only concession was to replace the HD with an SSD before the accident, and replace the feet as they've come off with stick-on rubber, but the thing is just solid. Part of that is because it's tiny--an 11.6" screen. Oh, and I did replace the battery when it stopped holding a good charge. I can run 5-6 hours now.

The hinges continue to be fine, in spite of daily use.

If I needed a new machine today, I'd probably buy the follow-on X140e--I've seen them with 4G/500G for around $270.

1/9/15 11:12 AM

Ergvideos rock on my new Dell 28" monitor.

Actually, I use everything. Around the house for email and surfing, usually iPad. I have a Dell 13" thin laptop I load up with pdfs and take to hearings. For actually doing work (reviewing files or writing), I like 2 big monitors so I have desktops like that at the office and home (which doubles for the CT/Erg machine). And I also get email and surf on the cell. It's all good!

1/9/15 11:26 AM

Big monitors are nice, but I can just hook them up to my tiny notebook. But things are merging--I have my important stuff on a well-protected cloud, so I can get to it from anywhere.

I am about to start playing with a cheap tablet...we'll see what that does to the mix.

1/9/15 2:19 PM

You can run the monitors from a laptop, but if you're using two in a couple locations, I'd rather have dedicated boxes than schlepping the laptop around everywhere, connecting and reconnecting etc. More than one way to skin a cat.

I haven't gone to the cloud, I run my office desktop remotely. Though I'm a semi-Luddite.

1/9/15 2:39 PM

Just prior to going all Lap Top, I did the docking station route. I like this solution in the day before being able to get to most peripherals via air.

Plugging a VGA cable in and out continually wearing out the VGA port in a Lap Top was eliminated. Actually having a 3 second connect of the laptop to desktop mode with monitor, mouse, printers, scanners, phone [yeah, back then] on the fly was ultra convenient. And no managing syncing of the data etc...

1/9/15 4:18 PM

The X120e lacks a docking port, but I have yet to wear out the VGA port. As for the rest, it's two connections for everything: power and one USB.

I do notice that Lenovo has a new system that combines power and USB (about time!) and Apple is rumored to be doing the same with a new USB Type C connector on the upcoming MBA. And with USB3, I understand that running video over USB works pretty well, too--so, we're moving toward single-plug systems.

1/9/15 7:14 PM

The now dead N580 had HDMI, I used that a few times, but that and DVD/RW, that wrote CD and DVDs, was nice for 319 space bucks...

1/9/15 9:43 PM

quote:

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if you're using two in a couple locations, I'd rather have dedicated boxes

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1/10/15 4:19 AM

The X120e series has HDMI as awell as VGA, but no optical drive--you'd have to hang that on the outside. Plus, of course, you'd give up the large screen...

Construction-wise, my impression is that there is a big difference between Lenovo's Thinkpad and Ideapad lines.

1/10/15 5:49 AM

April, my post wasn't clear but I was referring to using two (big) monitors. I can work much more efficiently with 2 big monitors as I am usually looking at file documents or something on the Internet, while writing a brief or whatever. Now some people can probably do that on their cellphone, but for dinosaur me it's much easier with 2 monitors. So I have 2 at work and at home. Tried it in a laptop, yuck.

If you're going to have 2 big monitors sitting there, a box isn't that much more expensive and eliminates a need to schlep a laptop back and forth (I commute by bike much of the time, and carry the laptop in a padded backpack when I need to, which adds some hassle). As I operate my office desktop remotely from home, I don't worry about synching data or whatever. I'm certainly not claiming my system is the best or most efficient, it just works for me. I also love my laptop but it's pretty much reserved for when I'm doing work stuff other than at office or home. If I'm just checking email and surfing, I take the iPad (or cell).

TTF historical trivia: I got hooked on 2 monitors when I was replacing my office network in 2007, posted some questions here, and poster emeritus TTCC strongly recommended 2 monitors.

1/10/15 7:43 AM

My low cost Acer net book is still regularly used since I purchased it in 2008. My first PC was a Gateway 486 computer. That lasted more than a decade. It was replaced because my wife complained it was too slow; better it then me.


The replacement computer is a Dell dimension 8300 computer. More than a decade later, it is still running fine. I have upgraded to more memory and hard drive space and the Windows operating system has been upgraded a couple of times.

Now that Apples operating system can run on an Intel chip, I would have upgraded to Apple OS X, but for some really strange reason I could not find the software to be purchased. Hmmm....

Anyway, Sparky's problem is with the laptop hinge. I cannot imagine Apple or any other company for that matter would make a much better hinge or be much of a selling point for doing so. Besides the next big thing, for PC users, at least is the Surface tablet, which solves that problem.

1/10/15 7:48 AM

Dan, what I was trying to say is those "boxes" can still be laptops.

I do have big monitor at my house at Westchester which I hook up to when I work from home (remote into office). Big monitor doesn't preclude laptop. Or I should say laptop doesn't preclude big monitor.

1/10/15 9:05 AM

I'm sort of the opposite of Dan...

Ten years (or) ago, when I was writing software, our machines were set up by IT with dual 19" monitors. I hated it. It felt (to me) like it made it hard to concentrate on what I was doing--and for comparisons, I prefer using a tool to show me a line-by-line compare.

Anyway, I finally persuaded management to let me work with one monitor, and another member of my group promptly installed it as a third, so he had a full wrap-around environment.

Different strokes, I guess.

Also, except for movie watching, I tend to prefer the 11.6" screen on my little laptop. And although I have played upright bass, I like the smaller keyboard as well. I have a 19" monitor in my study, so I do plug into that (and a USB hub and my power supply) when I'm home, but most of my computer use is done away from home, so...go figger.

Tastes do vary.

I have a 7" tablet en route to try, but I'm still a little skeptical of the idea.

1/10/15 12:15 PM

"Anyway, Sparky's problem is with the laptop hinge"

And the HD or else I would keep using it and just leave it in the open position...

1/10/15 3:02 PM

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Besides the next big thing, for PC users, at least is the Surface tablet

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1/10/15 3:11 PM

Seems obvious the the smaller/lighter the device becomes the keyboard is the biggest compromise.

I am glad Elaine had the smart phone for a year or more before the Yoga came on scene.

As for me, I am actually remembering and frankly enjoying how good the keyboard is on my backup Laptop.
I remember saying when I first got the Lenovo the keyboard was not great. Both LapTops same size keybrd and screen 15.6" screens.

I do use it to enter text a lot more than Elaine does, and she almost never unfolds/opens the Yoga to use the keyboard.

Although I had to reverse the mouse buttons and getting used to that. Elaine destroyed the left button playing cards and Mahjong using it for a year-ish...