[Opensim-users] current recommendation for laptops

Sat Apr 7 02:25:04 UTC 2012

Thanks for all the fast and detailed responses. I am absolutely grateful.
I also found this info that am sharing. Looks like Lenovo is currently
the most reliable choice as well.

http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2012.aspx

Manufacturer	U.S. Computer Market Share2
(Percentage of Share computers shipped)	RESCUECOM Computer Repair Share1
(Percentage of service calls to 1-800-RESCUE-PC)	Computer Reliability Score1
LENOVO/IBM	 7.3%	 2.6%	 281
TOSHIBA	 10.3%	 5.4%	 190
SAMSUNG	 1.7%	 1.1%	 156
APPLE	 11.0%	 7.3%	 151
ASUS	 3.8%	 3.0%	 126
HP/COMPAQ	 23.2%	 23.3%	 100
DELL	 22.6%	 33.2%	 68
SONY	 2.2%	 3.4%	 64
ACER	 8.2%	 20.7%	 40
On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 8:01 PM, Patrick Elliott-Brennan
<mail at elliott-brennan.id.au> wrote:
> I have to say that I agree with Sean and his reasoning.
>
> Excellent summary, Sean.
>
> I've seen lots of various makes in a very 'hands-on' profession which
> required the laptops to be used by many people on lots of different
> environments.
>
> The Thinkpads did best.
>
> So much so that when it came to buying our first new laptops, I bought my
> wife and I an X200 each.
>
> That's not to say other machines aren't good, just that the Thinkpads do
> very well in multi-user environments.
>
> Note: I avoid laptops generally as I find the 'use' argument usually more of
> an 'excuse' argument. ie. Most people who have them don't really need them
> and would be better served (money wise) with desktops.
>
> Regards,
> Patrick
>
> On Apr 7, 2012 10:27 AM, "Sean McNamara" <smcnam at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> For workloads involving OpenSim and/or Second Life derived viewers,
>> you will definitely want a discrete graphics card in the laptop. This
>> increases cost, weight and size of the unit, as well as reduces
>> battery life, but it's well worth the downsides. Using integrated
>> graphics with a simulator is just unwise; the experience will be...
>> unpleasant. Maybe Ivy Bridge CPUs will change that, but don't count on
>> it.
>>
>> I personally have a very low opinion of the build quality of all
>> currently-available retail laptops except for two brands which really
>> stand out: the Panasonic Toughbook, and the Lenovo ThinkPad (notice:
>> *NOT* IdeaPad!).
>>
>> Notice I said *build quality*. This says nothing about:
>> -Value/price
>> -Weight
>> -Battery life
>> -Performance
>>
>> What IS build quality? Build quality is a trait of a laptop which is
>> measured by judging how well the laptop withstands the pressures of
>> typical use and typical accidental damage / misuse. To me, build
>> quality goes far beyond the physical characteristics of the unit.
>> Build quality encompasses things such as:
>>
>> -The reliability of the parts. Will your HDD last 2 years, or 8? This
>> is a build quality question.
>>
>> -The robustness of the firmware and drivers for all of the parts. Will
>> your wifi card have a bug that randomly hangs the entire system when
>> it scans for new networks? Will your BIOS have a bug that refuses to
>> boot from USB flash drives? These little annoyances can add up to a
>> completely unusable product, if build quality is not a constant point
>> of attention by the manufacturer.
>>
>> -The ability of the hardware to survive in more extreme environments.
>> Is your laptop only going to survive if you keep the internals
>> completely clean of all dust and dirt, and keep it on a flat,
>> heat-conducting table at all times? Or will you be able to hold it at
>> odd angles against your knee (both a poor conductor and a small
>> surface area) for extended periods while running intensive
>> applications? Will the unit overheat if the temperature in your house
>> or lab is over 80 Fahrenheit? If you accidentally drop the unit, will
>> it shatter into a million pieces, or will it sustain a dignified scuff
>> mark on the case? All of these are build quality questions.
>>
>> -The degree to which your hardware was tested during development,
>> believe it or not, is a build quality question. The more well-tested a
>> device, the longer its time to market; but at the same time, the end
>> result will be far superior in reliability and will be able to support
>> more general use cases than products that are rushed to market only
>> expecting the top few most common use cases.
>>
>> Personally, I think there is a tragic disease in the laptop and
>> embedded device market today, that build quality is being thrown out
>> the door, in favor of other factors, such as:
>>
>> -Reducing cost
>> -Reducing time to market
>> -Reducing weight
>> -Reducing the labor-intensive parts of product development
>> -Increasing the "raw stats" (MHz, number of cores, amount of RAM, etc)
>> in the unit without increasing price
>>
>> This disease is as damaging to the overall satisfaction with a device
>> as it would be to eat a diet of pure sugar with no nutrients. Build
>> quality is the nutrients, fiber and protein of computing: it makes the
>> device *usable* in the same way that protein allows you to *survive*.
>>
>> I won't disagree directly with Nebadon, but let's just say that I
>> definitely, positively would not recommend Toshiba as a laptop
>> manufacturer, especially with the target of a "lab" environment where
>> people who may not have your organization's best interests at heart
>> (or whom may not care about accidental or purposeful damage they might
>> attempt to inflict upon the units) will have regular access to the
>> PCs.
>>
>> It is for these reasons that I encourage you to think carefully about
>> build quality, and not just cost and specifications, in your selection
>> of laptop; and I urge you to look at Lenovo ThinkPads and Panasonic
>> Toughbooks should you be interested in a unit with very rugged build
>> quality which I can proudly recommend from years and years of personal
>> experience.
>>
>> Aside from that, chances are good that, getting down to specs, any
>> unit with >= 4GB of RAM, >= 200GB HDD, >= 2 cores, a discrete (and
>> current-generation!) GPU, is going to be more than enough to enjoyably
>> run a workload such as OpenSim alongside a Second Life derived viewer.
>> For such a unit, you might look at the ThinkPad T-series laptops.
>> They're even fairly price competitive these days, if you omit frills
>> like fingerprint reader, bluetooth, and an SSD.
>>
>> Best of luck to you.
>>
>> Sean
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 5:44 PM, Dr Ramesh Ramloll <r.ramloll at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > Hey there,
>> > I am a little sheepish when it comes to buying laptops. Couple of
>> > years ago, I bought about 24 alienware latops for a lab based on the
>> > recommendation of a hardcore gamer that I trusted. Within a short
>> > period,  about 50% of the machines developed various issues from basic
>> > cracked screens because of over tight hinges, failed hard drives
>> > etc..., over heating.
>> > Now am on the market for some more. What are your recommendations?
>> > Needless to say am staying clear of Alienware ...
>> > Thanks for your time.
>> > R
>> >
>> > --
>> > 'Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin.'
>> > Rameshsharma Ramloll PhD, CEO CTO DeepSemaphore LLC, Affiliate
>> > Research Associate Professor, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID
>> > 83209 Tel: 208-240-0040
>> > Blog, LinkedIn, DeepSemaphore LLC, Google+ profile
>> > _______________________________________________
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-- 
'Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin.'
Rameshsharma Ramloll PhD, CEO CTO DeepSemaphore LLC, Affiliate
Research Associate Professor, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID
83209 Tel: 208-240-0040
Blog, LinkedIn, DeepSemaphore LLC, Google+ profile