I don't disagree that Lenovo has nice machines, but they are more expensive, I have had my hands on both Lenovo and Toshiba, and I can tell you from first hand experience, Toshiba quality and reliability and durability matches and in some case exceeds Lenovo in certain classes of machine, and with Toshiba you get a lot more computer for your money. If your looking for a business class machine Lenovo is the way to go for sure, if your looking for a Game/3D Level machine then Toshiba blows Lenovo out of the water hands down.<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 7:25 PM, Dr Ramesh Ramloll <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:r.ramloll@gmail.com">r.ramloll@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Thanks for all the fast and detailed responses. I am absolutely grateful.<br>
I also found this info that am sharing. Looks like Lenovo is currently<br>
the most reliable choice as well.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2012.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.rescuecom.com/news-press-releases/computer-reliability-report-2012.aspx</a><br>
<br>
<br>
Manufacturer U.S. Computer Market Share2<br>
(Percentage of Share computers shipped) RESCUECOM Computer Repair Share1<br>
(Percentage of service calls to 1-800-RESCUE-PC) Computer Reliability Score1<br>
LENOVO/IBM 7.3% 2.6% 281<br>
TOSHIBA 10.3% 5.4% 190<br>
SAMSUNG 1.7% 1.1% 156<br>
APPLE 11.0% 7.3% 151<br>
ASUS 3.8% 3.0% 126<br>
HP/COMPAQ 23.2% 23.3% 100<br>
DELL 22.6% 33.2% 68<br>
SONY 2.2% 3.4% 64<br>
ACER 8.2% 20.7% 40<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5">On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 8:01 PM, Patrick Elliott-Brennan<br>
<<a href="mailto:mail@elliott-brennan.id.au">mail@elliott-brennan.id.au</a>> wrote:<br>
> I have to say that I agree with Sean and his reasoning.<br>
><br>
> Excellent summary, Sean.<br>
><br>
> I've seen lots of various makes in a very 'hands-on' profession which<br>
> required the laptops to be used by many people on lots of different<br>
> environments.<br>
><br>
> The Thinkpads did best.<br>
><br>
> So much so that when it came to buying our first new laptops, I bought my<br>
> wife and I an X200 each.<br>
><br>
> That's not to say other machines aren't good, just that the Thinkpads do<br>
> very well in multi-user environments.<br>
><br>
> Note: I avoid laptops generally as I find the 'use' argument usually more of<br>
> an 'excuse' argument. ie. Most people who have them don't really need them<br>
> and would be better served (money wise) with desktops.<br>
><br>
> Regards,<br>
> Patrick<br>
><br>
> On Apr 7, 2012 10:27 AM, "Sean McNamara" <<a href="mailto:smcnam@gmail.com">smcnam@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> Hi,<br>
>><br>
>> For workloads involving OpenSim and/or Second Life derived viewers,<br>
>> you will definitely want a discrete graphics card in the laptop. This<br>
>> increases cost, weight and size of the unit, as well as reduces<br>
>> battery life, but it's well worth the downsides. Using integrated<br>
>> graphics with a simulator is just unwise; the experience will be...<br>
>> unpleasant. Maybe Ivy Bridge CPUs will change that, but don't count on<br>
>> it.<br>
>><br>
>> I personally have a very low opinion of the build quality of all<br>
>> currently-available retail laptops except for two brands which really<br>
>> stand out: the Panasonic Toughbook, and the Lenovo ThinkPad (notice:<br>
>> *NOT* IdeaPad!).<br>
>><br>
>> Notice I said *build quality*. This says nothing about:<br>
>> -Value/price<br>
>> -Weight<br>
>> -Battery life<br>
>> -Performance<br>
>><br>
>> What IS build quality? Build quality is a trait of a laptop which is<br>
>> measured by judging how well the laptop withstands the pressures of<br>
>> typical use and typical accidental damage / misuse. To me, build<br>
>> quality goes far beyond the physical characteristics of the unit.<br>
>> Build quality encompasses things such as:<br>
>><br>
>> -The reliability of the parts. Will your HDD last 2 years, or 8? This<br>
>> is a build quality question.<br>
>><br>
>> -The robustness of the firmware and drivers for all of the parts. Will<br>
>> your wifi card have a bug that randomly hangs the entire system when<br>
>> it scans for new networks? Will your BIOS have a bug that refuses to<br>
>> boot from USB flash drives? These little annoyances can add up to a<br>
>> completely unusable product, if build quality is not a constant point<br>
>> of attention by the manufacturer.<br>
>><br>
>> -The ability of the hardware to survive in more extreme environments.<br>
>> Is your laptop only going to survive if you keep the internals<br>
>> completely clean of all dust and dirt, and keep it on a flat,<br>
>> heat-conducting table at all times? Or will you be able to hold it at<br>
>> odd angles against your knee (both a poor conductor and a small<br>
>> surface area) for extended periods while running intensive<br>
>> applications? Will the unit overheat if the temperature in your house<br>
>> or lab is over 80 Fahrenheit? If you accidentally drop the unit, will<br>
>> it shatter into a million pieces, or will it sustain a dignified scuff<br>
>> mark on the case? All of these are build quality questions.<br>
>><br>
>> -The degree to which your hardware was tested during development,<br>
>> believe it or not, is a build quality question. The more well-tested a<br>
>> device, the longer its time to market; but at the same time, the end<br>
>> result will be far superior in reliability and will be able to support<br>
>> more general use cases than products that are rushed to market only<br>
>> expecting the top few most common use cases.<br>
>><br>
>> Personally, I think there is a tragic disease in the laptop and<br>
>> embedded device market today, that build quality is being thrown out<br>
>> the door, in favor of other factors, such as:<br>
>><br>
>> -Reducing cost<br>
>> -Reducing time to market<br>
>> -Reducing weight<br>
>> -Reducing the labor-intensive parts of product development<br>
>> -Increasing the "raw stats" (MHz, number of cores, amount of RAM, etc)<br>
>> in the unit without increasing price<br>
>><br>
>> This disease is as damaging to the overall satisfaction with a device<br>
>> as it would be to eat a diet of pure sugar with no nutrients. Build<br>
>> quality is the nutrients, fiber and protein of computing: it makes the<br>
>> device *usable* in the same way that protein allows you to *survive*.<br>
>><br>
>> I won't disagree directly with Nebadon, but let's just say that I<br>
>> definitely, positively would not recommend Toshiba as a laptop<br>
>> manufacturer, especially with the target of a "lab" environment where<br>
>> people who may not have your organization's best interests at heart<br>
>> (or whom may not care about accidental or purposeful damage they might<br>
>> attempt to inflict upon the units) will have regular access to the<br>
>> PCs.<br>
>><br>
>> It is for these reasons that I encourage you to think carefully about<br>
>> build quality, and not just cost and specifications, in your selection<br>
>> of laptop; and I urge you to look at Lenovo ThinkPads and Panasonic<br>
>> Toughbooks should you be interested in a unit with very rugged build<br>
>> quality which I can proudly recommend from years and years of personal<br>
>> experience.<br>
>><br>
>> Aside from that, chances are good that, getting down to specs, any<br>
>> unit with >= 4GB of RAM, >= 200GB HDD, >= 2 cores, a discrete (and<br>
>> current-generation!) GPU, is going to be more than enough to enjoyably<br>
>> run a workload such as OpenSim alongside a Second Life derived viewer.<br>
>> For such a unit, you might look at the ThinkPad T-series laptops.<br>
>> They're even fairly price competitive these days, if you omit frills<br>
>> like fingerprint reader, bluetooth, and an SSD.<br>
>><br>
>> Best of luck to you.<br>
>><br>
>> Sean<br>
>><br>
>> On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 5:44 PM, Dr Ramesh Ramloll <<a href="mailto:r.ramloll@gmail.com">r.ramloll@gmail.com</a>><br>
>> wrote:<br>
>> > Hey there,<br>
>> > I am a little sheepish when it comes to buying laptops. Couple of<br>
>> > years ago, I bought about 24 alienware latops for a lab based on the<br>
>> > recommendation of a hardcore gamer that I trusted. Within a short<br>
>> > period, about 50% of the machines developed various issues from basic<br>
>> > cracked screens because of over tight hinges, failed hard drives<br>
>> > etc..., over heating.<br>
>> > Now am on the market for some more. What are your recommendations?<br>
>> > Needless to say am staying clear of Alienware ...<br>
>> > Thanks for your time.<br>
>> > R<br>
>> ><br>
>> > --<br>
>> > 'Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin.'<br>
>> > Rameshsharma Ramloll PhD, CEO CTO DeepSemaphore LLC, Affiliate<br>
>> > Research Associate Professor, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID<br>
>> > 83209 Tel: 208-240-0040<br>
>> > Blog, LinkedIn, DeepSemaphore LLC, Google+ profile<br>
>> > _______________________________________________<br>
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><br>
><br>
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<br>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
'Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin.'<br>
Rameshsharma Ramloll PhD, CEO CTO DeepSemaphore LLC, Affiliate<br>
Research Associate Professor, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID<br>
83209 Tel: 208-240-0040<br>
Blog, LinkedIn, DeepSemaphore LLC, Google+ profile<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Michael Emory Cerquoni - Nebadon Izumi @ <a href="http://osgrid.org">http://osgrid.org</a><br>