For some quick recommendations, see
ConsumerSearch Cheap Laptops Reviews
ancient laptops
Ancient Greeks were mostly interested in geometry, since their numerical system was based of denoting numbers to alphabets. The word geometry was derived from measuring (metry) and geo (land, earth). Before 400 B.C., Thales and Pythagoras among others, proved theorems that are still useful and being taught in schools. These ancient mathematicians had their own laptops. A laptop was usually a wooden tray contains smooth sand. They used a finger or a stick to draw and provide their convincing arguments about geometric figures. To restart the laptop, they smoothed the surface and started another session. This was the first laptop. -- http://home.ubalt.edu/ntsbarsh/zero/ZERO.HTM
more modern NoteBooks
paper notebooks:
43folders: note taking
paper notebooks wiki currently offline 2005-07-09
notebook computers
See CustomNotebook for custom notebook computers. The rest of this page discusses standard off-the-shelf notebook computers.
WikiPedia:Laptop
… plain-talk explainations of the abbreviations used below …
low-cost (under $990) laptop computers
In no particular order,
- Office Depot has a [http://www.officedepot.com/browse.do?Ne=6+1+10313&Ns=p_Price|0&N=1000000447+10324 “sort Notebook Personal Computers by price”] page. The cheapest laptop there today (2005-07-13) was $750.
- The ECS A535 (Wal-Mart “Balance”) 14.1” Laptop: 1.1 GHz Mobile AMD Athlon 4; 14.1” XGA; 40 GB HD; 128 MB RAM; DVD-ROM drive; 802.11b wireless; Microsoft Windows XP Home
- “I … bought the $698 model, which turned out to be $775.80 with tax and shipping. First advice: Skip the $598 model. … [On both models] … PCMCIA/Cardbus … was left out to save cost … it only runs for ~90 minutes on its “extended” battery … Noisy fan” – review
- $548
- $648.00 Balance upgrade: Additional 128 MB of RAM, CD/RW burner
- Gateway® M520CS: Intel® Celeron® D Processor 330 (2.66GHz); 256MB RAM; 40GB HD; 15” XGA; CD-RW/DVD
- Acer Travelmate 2301LC Notebook PC 1.3GHz Intel Celeron, 256MB, 30GB HDD, CD-RW/DVD, 512 cache, 400MHz bus, 15” TFT Screen, Windows XP Home
- Compaq Presario 2200 Notebook “Build-Your-Own”: Intel Celeron M 330 1.3GHz, 256MB DDR SDRAM, 40GB drive, 8x DVD-ROM drive, Windows(R) XP Home, 15.0” XGA display
- HP ze4900 series 15.0” XGA; 256MB RAM; 40 GB HD; DVD/CD-RW;
- $699.00 (after $50 rebate) (free shipping ?)
- Medion MD95154 Notebook w/ Celeron-M 1.4GHz 15in XGA DVD+RW 802.11g, 256MB RAM, 40 GB HD,
- Apple iBook 12-inch: 1.2GHz PowerPC? G4, 12-inch TFT Displays, 1024x768 resolution, 256MB DDR266 SDRAM, 30GB Ultra ATA drive, Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW), AirPort? Extreme (WiFi? 802.11g) built-in.
- http://Amazon.com sells Apple laptops for lower cost than http://store.apple.com/ ?
- Acer TravelMate 4000WLCi-XPH-2MB; Intel Centrino M 1.4 GHz; 15” XGA TFT; “wireless” (?); 512 MB RAM; 40 GB HD; DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive; 3 USB 2.0 ports; IEEE 1394 (Firewire); TV out.
- …
- Circuit City lists a few computers in its “Under $1000” category: http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/catOid/-12963/N/20012961+20012963+312963001/link/ref/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do
- …
- http://HPshopping.com/ lists a few Compaq and HP laptops under $1000
- As of 2005-01-05, there were 39 notebook computers listed at the http://notebookreview.com/ “search” tool for under $590. (Most of them IBM ThinkPads).
- …
- As of 2005-01-05, there were over 300 “under $900” refurbished laptops listed at http://nextag.com/ (search for “refurbished laptops”)
- …
- … other laptops to be listed Real Soon Now …
- …
- …
- … If you mention a price, please note where (URI) and when (day of year) that you saw that price.
- …
Yes, but does it do Linux ? http://tuxmobil.org/ Chapter 1. Which Laptop to Buy? http://TuxMobil.org/Mobile-Guide.db/mobile-guide-p1c1-which-laptop-to-buy.html http://linux-on-laptops.com/ http://www.linux-laptop.net/
I’m going to move text to here from http://rdrop.com/~cary/html/laptop.html Real Soon Now.
under $500 laptop computers
- http://usanotebook.com/ has a “under $300 laptop” category. Most of their laptops are used/refurbished. USAnotebook.com also buys used laptops.
- Compaq Presario M2000Z – 15” screen (1024x768), 6.55 lb, AMD Sempron processor, (pay more for integrated 54g 802.11b/g WLAN)… Choose from a DVD-ROM, a DVD/CD-RW combo, or a DVD RW/CD-RW combo with double-layer support … USB 2.0, S-Video for TV out … Windows XP Home … pay extra for an IEEE 1394 FireWire? port.
- starting at $499.00 (after rebate) (not including shipping) direct from HP 2005-07-28
- Compaq Presario M2000 15” (1024x768) 6.3 lbs, Intel(R) Celeron(R) M 360 (1.4 GHz), integrated 10/100 Ethernet and high-speed 56K modem, (pay more for integrated wireless LAN 802.11b/g)… choose DVD-ROM, DVD/CD-RW, DVD±RW?/R combo drive… USB 2.0 … Windows XP Home … pay extra for Firewire.
- starting at $499.00 (after rebate) (not including shipping) direct from HP 2005-07-28
- Acer Mobile AMD Sempron “2800+” notebook computer (1.6 GHz) 256MB 40GB 15” XGA (1024x768) DVD-ROM/CD-RW “integrated 802.11g”
- Tiger Direct : laptops : shop by price : under $500
- Compaq Presario R4000 AMD Mobile Sempron 3+ GHz 256MB 40GB DVD-ROM/CD-RW WinXP? 15” XGA (1024x768)
- $500 after rebates Office Depot 2005-06-12
- Compaq Intel Celeron M 1.3GHz 256MB DVD-ROM/CD-RW 40GB “integrated 802.11g” 15” XGA (1024x768)
- $500 after rebates Circuit City (web id: M2010US) 2005-06-12
- PentiumIII 750MHz 256MB 20GB CD 14.1” SXGA (1280 x 1024) Win98SE
- Geeks.com has a few refurbished laptops for under $500 that meet these specs. (2005-04)
- HP Pavilion ze2308wm notebook computer: AMD Mobile Sempron 2800+ 1.6 GHz; 256 MB; 40 GB; CD-RW/DVD-ROM; 54G 802.11 b/g wireless; 15” XGA (1024x768)
- $398 (Is this a typo?) according to a Walmart advertisement I got in the mail 2005-11-23. (The ad claims it’s also avialable at http://Walmart.com/ , but I can’t seem to find it anywhere on that web site).
- Balance AMD Athlon 1.1GHz Notebook: 14.1” XGA (1024 x 768) display, 40GB hard drive, 96MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, 802.11b, Microsoft Window XP Home Edition
"SubNotebook"
laptop-like ... things
the Dana http://alphasmart.com/ is very quiet.
Compared to a desktop computer, the AlphaSmart Dana appears to be overpriced ($429), underpowered, colorless, etc.
However, There are 2 things it can do that desktop machines cannot do. I’ve never seen a laptop that could do them either:
Many PDAs can do those 2 things, but the Dana is the only one that
- 3. It has a full-size keyboard that I can peck on while standing up.
Tell me if you find any other computing devices with all 3 characteristics. Even #3 alone would be interesting.
– David Cary http://david.carybros.com/html/wearable_electronic.html#dana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart
Another device with all 3 characteristics: The StudentMate?(TM) and DataMate? ( from http://one2onemate.com/ ) for $480 runs Linux. It seems very similar to the Alphasmart Dana, plus a color screen. “the DataMate? will be shipping by March 2007”.
See HandHeld.
notebook accessories
links to reviews
eBay lists lots of laptops and other computers. For example: http://computers.listings.ebay.com/Apple-Macintosh-Computers_Apple-Laptops-Notebooks
(stuff scavenged from another wiki that is going offline)
General Recommendations
- My last desktop box I bought used, and it works just fine. Would you recommend buying a used / refurbished laptop, or would that be too much like buying a used toothbrush ?
- The keyboard must have a proper “inverted T” arrow key layout.
- It must be able to run Linux. Do you agree with “How Open Source Software Harms the Environment” http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1411021 ?
- I prefer a track pad over the little ____ (what’s it called, the pencil-eraser looking thing).
(I don’t mind having both. I’ve seen a few laptops with both).
- built-in Ethernet would be nice
- I prefer a real serial port
- How important is WiFi?? ?
Anything else I should look at on a used laptop before plunking down my cash ?
Budget Laptops http://www.consumersearch.com/www/computers/budget_laptops
places to buy laptops
Naturally if you want a Dell, you go to http://Dell.com/
What other places sell low-cost laptops ? (used, refurbished, …)
Do TulsaComputerStores sell only “new laptops”, or are there any that sell used / refurbished laptops ?
Specific Recommendations
“The Toshiba S-121 is good, except it doesn’t have a real serial port … has built-in Wifi”
some low-cost laptops
Asa Dotzler of mozilla.org fame asked for laptop recommendations; http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=4297 e-machines VPR Matrix from http://bestbuy.com
- The VPR Matrix, when it was on sale with rebate from BestBuy?? for $850.00 (2004?), was a good purchase. Though I think they were buying and repackaging this brand: http://www.averatec.com/index.htm . (Totally random) In case you want to reprogram the hot button on the VPR matrix, you’ll have to modify the “link to” file in the Chicony keyboard link within the default/0/ folder in the registry! Wiki’s are awesome. Spread the knowledge.
near-laptop choices
There’s a wide spectrum of laptops, and an even wider spectrum of computers.
DesktopComputers
Apple iMac (slightly more portable than most desktop machines)
portable wall-powered computers http://cybernetman.com/ (some look just like laptops)
LaptopComputers
What do you think about this ? $399.99 Dana http://www.alphasmart.com/ (It’s an actual PalmOS?? device, except with much wider screen and a laptop-style keyboard; has a much longer time between battery recharges than any laptop I know) ( Any of you actually touched one of these yet ? What do you think ? )
HandheldComputers? (PDAs)
$100 laptop
Have you heard about the $100 Linux laptop ?
Quanta to build the $100 laptop article by Michael Kanellos, 2005-12-13
"Negroponte's now $130 PC due in April 2007" by Dan Farber “The ruggedized, two pound Linux … system, with mesh networking will sell for about $130 to $140 (san shipping) to governments starting in April 2007. Negroponte expects to reach the $100 price point by the end of 2008.”
People attempting non-traditional funding path for the $100 laptop: http://www.pledgebank.com/100laptop
The OLPC Wiki (one laptop per child).
further reading