About a year and half ago when I moved across the country, I started using my MacBook as my main machine. By now, it is way too plugged into external hard drives, external monitors, headphones, KVM switches and other devices to comfortably move around the house. I’d consider replacing it with a PowerMac desktop, but that would likely cost more than a second, cheap laptop that I can use around the house, the library, the university, the park, the coffeeshop, and other places I like to just write. A NetBook might do, but I really want a good sized keyboard. here’s what I’m looking for:
Must run Microsoft Word well. I wish it were otherwise; but OpenOffice just won’t cut it for professional tech authors. For computer books, Word is the low end. Past that, you’re looking at FrameMaker, TEX, or DocBook.
A full-sized, keyboard, preferably with a decent set of full sized arrow keys and page up and page down keys. (MacBooks are problematic here.)
Alternatively, I would be willing to consider a tablet PC with handwriting recognition that really works, especially if it works well in Word.
A 15″ screen seems ideal. I might go a little smaller but not all the way to 9″ or 10″ like most netbooks. I could go larger if it were still thin and light.
As cheap as possible, ideally under $500.
As lightweight as possible. (Will pay more for less weight.)
I will use this in my lap, so it must not heat up uncomfortably.
They’re a few other requirements there are just assumed nowadays: wireless networking and a fast web browser.
Non-requirements include:
Any particular operating system.
An internal optical drive
A big hard drive
A built-in webcam
The MacBook Air is nice, but it’s too expensive, and the keyboard layout doesn’t include all the keys I like. What’s the cheapest machine out there that meets my requirements? If it’s cheap enough, I may just grab one. If not, I may wait to see if Apple ever releases their rumored tablet.
Previous Topic
