okay, where'd my topic go?

[Russianwolf]

Not too concerned that three of them were deleted, I would have done it myself if I could, but all four?

anyway, How's this laptop?

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Toshi...oductDetail.do

It has more memory, and I can pick it up at CC instead of waiting for the mail to come.

I want to stay away from Dell, I heard of some problems with their servicing and don't have time to deal with it.

[tribalwind]

dunno about the laptop. but i had trouble this mrning with replies also.
it lagged, i tried refreshing a few times. when it finally unclogged itself it was posted like 5 times, luckily you can delete individual replies now!

[jessrice]

Let me throw in my 2 cents!

I work IT for a living, Network Administrator 10 years now at our Police Dept. In the the last 10 years i have bought over 200 laptops for the officers to use in the field. I use a 1/3 per year rotation cycle so everything gets replace every three years. I have about 80 laptops in use, over 200 desktops, and a bakers dozen of servers.

The first 9 years i went with toshibas due to thier quality and 3 year warranty on the tecra line. These computers are used in a rough eviroment, from -10F to 130F. Drops, kicks, high speed chases, left on in thier bags, coffee, chocalate milk, stairways, and ex wives, you name it, the have tried it!

We were very happy until 2 years when toshibas took a turn in quality.

About 25(almost 100%) of my 2 year old toshibas have been in to repair multiple times, for simliar reasons, screens dont work, hard drives fail, wireless burns out, mouse moves on own, ect. A few more than 5 times each!

I assumed it was just a bad year, and order another batch last year, out of these more than 15 (about 50%) have been to repair multiple times. again for simliar reason which leads m to believe that toshiba isnt using quality parts. I mailed out 4 this week to the repair center. Luckily for me i always buy 2 spares with each batch to use as loaners, because some of the repairs have taken over 6 weeks to get parts.

I will say that some of these computer do nothing but sit on desks for 3 years, (captains, sgts. and detectives) and still had the same screen, mouse, and wi-fi issues, so i know it isnt an abuse thing.

This year I researched other brands, and ulitmately ended up with HP's bought through our state contract. They were about 600.00 cheaper than any toshiba i have purchased, but came with the no fault, no questions asked, warranty, which will be handy for soem of my officers. Plus they send out a box and label for you. Toshiba made me keep my boxes (try to store 200 emptys!) and pay shipping both ways, by fedex to the tune of 40.00 a round trip! This week 160.00 was wasted to ship these in for repair. One of the milder used ones was on its 5th trip, so far costing me over 200.00 in shipping. Add that to the cost of the computer!


Anyway, i would stay away from any toshibas, and to be honest the Toshibas repair center tech told me the same thing, and he makes money fixing them if that tells you anthing.

Consider other brands, or buy the extended warranty (which i hate to do, look at the thread in tools!), or skip my advice, but i can honestly say at this moment i have over 30 new HPs that i am prepping to replace the toshibas!

Jesse

[just4funsies]

I used an HP laptop extensively until some scumbag stole it. Since then, I've used a big Sony Vaio. Much good use from both, with no problems at all, despite airport travel, taking them in the field, etc. I've heard numerous horror stories about Toshiba, so never owned one. I think you might be better served by avoiding that particular brand, but YMMV.

[leehljp]

Your Topics

Mike,

I am encountering a bug with some topics that I reply to. Not all but some. If I post a reply to a topic, go to another topic and come back to the original topic in which I posted the reply - and do this by clicking on the "Topic Name", my reply/post does not show up.

Under "Whaler's" post about his wife's passing, I am the first reply poster there. By clicking on the topic, it does not always show up. But If I click on the arrow on the left side of the topic to take me to the last reply post, then scroll back up, then my reply is there.

This has happened several times to me.

[jziegler]

Around 2000 I worked in an office where everyone had a laptop, and most were Toshibas. They tended to have a lot of small problems, like batteries failing and the like. I was never really impressed by them, but they did work for the most part. Overall Toshiba would not be my first choice.

I currently have a Dell, as do quite a few people that I know. The Dells seems to be of good quality. I don't have a specific model to reccommend to you, but check their web page. I got an email recently that they are throwing in some free upgrades right now, and they frequently have various discounts.

The ex-IBM Thinkpads have always been well regaurded as well. Although I don't know if them being made in China now has changed that.

-Jim

[sacherjj]

I haven't seen a decline in quality with the Lenovo (sp? ex-IBM) Thinkpads. They are a little more expensive than others, but are tanks. I've had problems with Toshiba and Compaqs. For Dell, you need better than the cheapest, but they are as good as most others. Their entry levels are not that great. Sony's are usually pretty nice, but pricier for what you get. The think I look for is a matte screen. Sony and others try to make the screen look nicer with a glossy glass. This also reflects almost everything. I have a Dell Latitude for work and it seems like a decent machine. Both Dell and Thinkpads have matte type screens. These are much easier to work with in any type of excess light.

[jdschulteis]

My wife has a Toshiba laptop, about 3 years old. It has the spontaneous mouse movement Jesse mentioned, but no other problems. I think it's probably a bug in the touchpad driver, not a hardware problem. From Jesse's post, it seems like Toshiba may have cut quality to keep costs down.

The other laptop I have experience with was a Dell at work. One of the mouse buttons broke under light usage.

I would maybe go for the machine you linked to anyway. Circuit City's 2 year protection plan is $140, just about eating up your whole rebate. Maybe use a credit card that doubles the warranty?

[KenBurris]

Dell

I've got a Dell - 3 years old. So far no problems, but it hasn't had extensive travel usage.

[LinuxRandal]

Another option

From my experience, ALL entry level laptops have problems. Panasonics used to be the best, with their toughbook line, but even they have declined in quality. As components are getting cheaper, it seems they would just rather shove more out, with a try this one, approach. My father worked for IBM (retired) and I think they have come down some in quality (screen and battery life). One of our locals salesmans, had Toshiba's at work, and when their quality started down, they switched to Dell's Latitude line (better luck then the new Toshiba's, but poor company support). My brother just had his, non entry levels HP, get the whole motherboard replaced under warranty. From what I have seen, unless you really, really, really, need the portability, go with a desktop, or make sure you get the extended warranty! With today's systems, I do more with a usb key and a usb hard drive.