Help me pick a laptop

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I'm buying a new laptop (under 400$) and I've narrowed down my selection to a few.
It has to be ultralight-because I'm really weak physically, and a good keyboard, because I'm gonna touch-type the hell out of it.
Here are my selections:
Dell Latitude 410D

Toshiba Portege r100

PANASONIC Toughbook CF-T2
IBM ThinkPad T30

As you can see I'm gonna buy an used notebook. I've narrowed down my selection to those four. I'm not searching for a fast computer, I just want something to take notes in school with, and maybe ocasionally watch a lecture.

Last edited by PsychonautChaos on 29 Sep 2008, 11:47 am, edited 5 times in total.

hi 'naut, my vote for Toshiba, very sturdy and well made

I needed a small, light, inexpensive computer and got the Asus EeePC. It's good for my purposes but runs out of memory fairly quickly. Couldn't find any of the ones you mentioned that cheap, even used. The Toughbook ads look very attractive, if they really are that durable- I'd love to have one of those.

ThinkPads are simply the best notebooks out there from a hardware standpoint.

I use a Mac for the OS, but if I didn't, I would use a ThinkPad.

Go for an Asus EeePC. Cheap, really light, and matches up to the purposes you've specified. I would want one, except I'm not certain if I'll need more speed/power in the future.

Finish your geek-apprenticeship! Build a computer! You'll make Patrick666 proud.

Oh, what did you tell your neighbour about arch-linux?

The keyboard in Asus EE PC is only 93% of the normal one, and in the older models only 83% of the mormal keyboard.
Here's a comparison:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... endoDS.JPG

My Macbook is pretty nice, and if I keep on using Linux it should stay good for another decade or more. Gotta love the ability to run decrepit hardware as though it were brand-new.

As an aside, wouldn't it be harder to build your own computer if you were going for a laptop? I don't have any need for/interest in a desktop system.


Meh, I'm sticking with Ubuntu for now. He insists I'll eventually get bored with it and move on, but he's happy to help me out with any issues that come up with Ubuntu (it was his first distro too) just because he's pleased to see another Linux user, even if I am running the ultimate noob distro.

Ah, so the keyboard size is an issue. Well, I'd advise against Toshiba. They overheat, and they're pretty bulky (at least the ones I've seen). My vote goes to Thinkpad. IBM (or rather Lenovo now) is good, reliable hardware. No to Dell, just because pretty much every single person I know who's gotten a Dell has had tons of problems with it. Including a comp sci major, so don't tell me it's because they don't know how to use it.

I think the ThinkPad is worth it for the keyboard alone... ThinkPad keyboards are way better than any other notebook keyboard I've ever used.

I also think ThinkPads are better-designed and better-made than any other notebooks.

Yes you dont build laptops. Nibble fingered Chinese ladies do that in factories.

You can, however, mod them sometimes.

I'm still not bored of Ubuntu. IT must be two years now and I am still so pleased an an OS thats clean, functional and flexible.

OK I've boiled down my selection to two
http://hardware.earthweb.com/computers/ ... hp/3342851
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=1915

As I said before I'm gonna use it at school to write looooong word documents

(And I mean long)
So basically I will basically use it only for touch typing.
I'm thinking about the IBM thinkpad because it suposedly has a sturdier case, what do you guys think about it?
The portege is cheaper though

upgrade the RAM in the one you choose, at least add another 256MB

Oh yeah the Toshiba I'm buying will come with 525 ram, and the IBM will come with 525ram

Have you checked Craigslist? If I had $400 to allot to a laptop that is where I would begin my search.

Short of a "ruggedized" notebook, the ThinkPad T series is probably the toughest notebook you'll find.