blog.bharper: the blog of brandon harper

I’ve been rolling the decision over in my head about a new laptop for quite awhile. Originally I really wanted to wait awhile longer and move to a MacBook Pro once it had a revision or two under it’s belt as I’d /really/ love to have a Unix powered workstation, but after researching and thinking about it for quite awhile I couldn’t quite justify purchasing one given my current needs in a laptop. Why? Well, here were the reasons I decided it was time to give the laptop thing a try (traditionally I’ve stuck to workstations mostly for ergonomic and cost reasons):

• I’m a college student during the evenings and weekends, and have actually enjoyed going to class more than doing the online classes despite the online ones being a bit more flexible. That said, it would be fairly useful to have a laptop with me for a lot of my CS related classes.
• I don’t travel more than a couple of times a year usually since it’s hard to get away, but when I am traveling I find myself wishing I could utilize wi-fi during downtime.
• I would be able to travel more if I could do classwork from somewhere other than home
• I hate being stuck in my house all weekend at my workstation when I have homework to do– a change of scenery would be nice, even if I’m just downstairs
• What self-respecting geek doesn’t have a frickin’ laptop?

Here are the reasons why I decided to hold-off on a Mac until my next computer purchase:

• After talking to a friend of mine in the same program who’s getting through it on OSX, it sounded pretty frustrating
• I’m not sure switching OS platforms is the best idea when I spend most of my free time outside of work doing homework
• I’m not big on buying first versions of Apple hardware, especially with such a major change. Just look at how the iPod has been refined over the years.. I waited for the 4th Gen before purchasing one.
• Why keep waiting for a new revision when I can just get a traditional PC laptop right now?
• Lets face it, price is a consideration too

That said, I decided to order a Dell Inspiron E1505 with the following specs:

• Intel® Core™ Duo processor T2400 (2MB Cache/1.83GHz/667MHz FSB)
• 15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife™
• 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
• 100GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
• Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition
• TV Tuner w/ Remote Control
• 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
• 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (this is the long-life one)
• Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)

I decided to give Windows XP Media Center a try since it was the only way I could also get the TV Tuner card. I guess if it sucks I’ll wipe it and move to XP Pro.

So those are just the specs for the laptop.. I also ordered this stuff with it as well:

• Netgear WGT624 108Mbps Wireless Firewall Router
• Dell 1100 Laser Printer
• Dell 2000 Page Black Toner Cartridge for 1100 Laser Printer
• Sandisk 1 GB Cruzer Mini USB Flash Drive
• 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery
• Notebook Expansion Dock w/ Stand

Seems like a lot of stuff, right? I found a coupon online for $650 off and was able to pick all of this stuff up with an out the door price cheaper than the baseline MacBook Pro.

Time will tell if I actually use the laptop a lot I suppose– frankly the ergonomics (or lack thereof) scare me quite a bit as I already have to use ergo-friendly mice and keyboards to keep my wrists and forearms from hurting since I’ve been using computers for a bajillion years. If the ergos kill me, I have the docking station to make it act like a workstation, so it shouldn’t be a big deal, but still…

Update: I’ve posted a review of the Dell Inspirion E1505 laptop here.