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hwiya320
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2010 Laptop discussion 24 May 2010, 12:10
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Call me boring, but I decided to get the Thinkpads. While I was trying to figure out why there were more expensive than other laptops from Bestbuy/Microcenter/Fry's, which I still haven't figured out, I went with it with good discount on the SPP site.

I played around with it and it just felt sturdy. I think I do like day to day components on HP/Toshiba and other walk-in consumer friendly laptop, such as shiny monitor, better speakers, blu-ray, multimedia cards, I just wanted something that's going to last me longer with simplicity (or just dumbed down for me..).

I-5, 4Gigram, 320gig 7200rpm, dvd, Intel integrated videocard, 3 year accidental warranty, webcam, fingerprint for 1170 2nd day air shipped. That's after $740 discount. I'll give it a review once I get it. I'll have to find me a copy of the Office.
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2010 Laptop discussion 26 May 2010, 13:40
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hwiya320
I'll have to find me a copy of the Office.
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Check with your school before you go out and spend $$ on Office. Some schools give free copies to students at the start of the school year.
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2010 Laptop discussion 27 May 2010, 09:42
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What do you guys think of the Thinkpad X201 Tablet?

https://shop.lenovo.com/us/notebooks/thi ... 8006850841
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hcb
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2010 Laptop discussion 27 May 2010, 10:47
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I love my Mac and hope I'll be able to use it in school!

Any thoughts re: the Mac tablet for b-school purposes?
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2010 Laptop discussion 29 May 2010, 13:28
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For mac lovers, if the only think holding you back from using your mac in school is MS Office, then get parallels Desktop 5, as mentioned in prior posts.

It works wonderfully, even on my not-so-new macbook 13 2ghz white. You don't even have to "see" windows - I just click an icon for Excel 2003 for Windows, and it just pops up. Works extremely fast, and there's no issues with drivers whatsoever.

I was worried I'd have to get a new laptop, or switch back to windows.

No need!
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2010 Laptop discussion 31 May 2010, 18:19
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For people looking for a budget laptop ($500-600), I just bought the Toshiba Satellite L500-ST2543 (link). It's even cheaper if you buy it with the AMD Athlon chip. I wasn't sure about that so I just went with the Intel option. After upgrading to Windows Professional and adding a Bluetooth, it came out to $547 with taxes included. Specifically for Ross people-even the cheapest option (I did not add memory etc.) exceeds Ross's basic computing requirements as listed on myImpact, with the exception that you will have to upgrade to Professional.

I went to Best Buy today to see if could look at it and I believe it's sold in the stores as the Toshiba L505-ES5018. The specs were identical to the L500 I bought online (with the exception of being installed with Home Premium).

I'm pretty happy with it. Everything is nicely sized and the keyboard has a seperate number pad, which is apparently a blessing for entering crap into Excel (have no idea how much of this is needed in b-school but whatever). The tradeoff is the weight, obviously. And I'm sure computing power compared to a snazzier Lenovo. These weren't as important to me because I bought a parking spot near the school and because the last time I bought a super-expensive laptop for school ($2000 in 2002), I used it for Word and Itunes and the internet and pretty much wasted all its potential.

The only thing I wish I'd figured out before I bought my laptop is that Ross's computer showcase sells Windows 7 Ultimate for way cheaper than the upgrade through any website. I realised this when I was purchasing Office after I completed the computer transaction. This would potentially have made the Lenovo I was looking at (SL series) competitive with the Toshiba. It doesn't really matter-but I figured I'd throw it out there for any Ross people pricing laptops.
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2010 Laptop discussion 31 May 2010, 22:12
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The only thing I wish I'd figured out before I bought my laptop is that Ross's computer showcase sells Windows 7 Ultimate for way cheaper than the upgrade through any website. I realised this when I was purchasing Office after I completed the computer transaction. This would potentially have made the Lenovo I was looking at (SL series) competitive with the Toshiba. It doesn't really matter-but I figured I'd throw it out there for any Ross people pricing laptops.
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I think everyone should look into it. it is amazingly cheap (especially at ross) for certain upgrades and licenses. Also check your work's Home Use Program. I got Office ultimate for 10 dollars through my work.
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2010 Laptop discussion 03 Jun 2010, 16:42
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I just ordered a Thinkpad X201. I've had great experiences with Thinkpads in the past but just wanted a smaller one that is easy to carry for walking around in NYC. I got a stupendous deal on it (~850 shipped w/ tax) by following the directions below:

https://slickdeals.net/permadeal/35010/l ... win-7-prem
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2010 Laptop discussion 03 Jun 2010, 16:49
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I just ordered a Thinkpad X201. I've had great experiences with Thinkpads in the past but just wanted a smaller one that is easy to carry for walking around in NYC. I got a stupendous deal on it (~850 shipped w/ tax) by following the directions below:

https://slickdeals.net/permadeal/35010/l ... win-7-prem
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Pretty sweet deal. Other than having a tiny screen, which is a plus or minus depending on who you are, looks like a great 'puter.
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2010 Laptop discussion 05 Jun 2010, 08:46
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eminent
I just ordered a Thinkpad X201. I've had great experiences with Thinkpads in the past but just wanted a smaller one that is easy to carry for walking around in NYC. I got a stupendous deal on it (~850 shipped w/ tax) by following the directions below:

https://slickdeals.net/permadeal/35010/l ... win-7-prem
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That is a great deal, I was gonna get it when it was 850 before take, now it's 802, WOW
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2010 Laptop discussion 05 Jun 2010, 17:58
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I went the cheap route and bought the HP dv4. I was looking at the T410, but the comparably equiped HP was half the price. It is about the same size, the battery life is a little under 6 hours, the music/video experience is better, and if I need to upgrade in three years I won't feel bad about it. While Lenovo quality is no doubt better, I think this HP will last me until time to upgrade. My Dell Latitude D620 had all sorts of issues after 3 years (multiple batteries, new power cable, new hard drive, and flickering monitor). Due to improvements in technology I would have probably chosen to upgrade anyway.
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2010 Laptop discussion 06 Jun 2010, 11:11
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I just ordered a Thinkpad X201. I've had great experiences with Thinkpads in the past but just wanted a smaller one that is easy to carry for walking around in NYC. I got a stupendous deal on it (~850 shipped w/ tax) by following the directions below:

https://slickdeals.net/permadeal/35010/l ... win-7-prem


That is a great deal, I was gonna get it when it was 850 before take, now it's 802, WOW
Show more

For me, it started at 802 and became 850 after taxes/shipping.

I've had 2 Dells, an Acer, and an HP in the past. Thought the HP and Acer were complete bunk after about 2 years. Dell is great if you buy a high end model, total bunk if you buy the entry level ones.

Lenovo however... Nothing but great things to say about them. The only downside I suppose would be the multimedia capabilities as these are sturdy, business laptops. They last forever. For people on a budget, you may want to check out the Thinkpad SL500 or another entry level one as I think it's well worth it for B-School.
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2010 Laptop discussion 06 Jun 2010, 13:22
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after all that, it appears that the laptop i'll be using in the fall will be.... a dell :? :)

the standard YSOM issued laptop is the dell e6410. can't say it's a favorite, although it appears to be reasonable: core i5 processor, win 7, ~4.5 lbs. i toyed with the idea of buying a lightweight notebook or netbook in addition to the main laptop, but i can't justify the additional expense.
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2010 Laptop discussion 06 Jun 2010, 19:16
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shadowsjc
after all that, it appears that the laptop i'll be using in the fall will be.... a dell :? :)

the standard YSOM issued laptop is the dell e6410. can't say it's a favorite, although it appears to be reasonable: core i5 processor, win 7, ~4.5 lbs. i toyed with the idea of buying a lightweight notebook or netbook in addition to the main laptop, but i can't justify the additional expense.
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Should be totally fine for school. Buy a Lenovo when you graduate though :)
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2010 Laptop discussion 07 Jun 2010, 01:08
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https://www.parallels.com/eu/products/de ... otutorial/
Click on Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac Experience Video.
Parallels is basically an application. You launch it, and through that application you can launch Windows (whatever version you want) on a seperate window, while you are working the Mac OS. You don't need to reboot your Mac to launch it, it's running like any other application would. Now the cool thing is that a) it's surprisingly fast (unbelievable fast to be exact, sometimes faster than just having another Windows laptop) b) it's very intuitive and user friendly c) there is no wait whatsoever when you are going back and worth from Windows to Mac and d) has great interactivity between the two (meaning that you can copy files from the Mac to the PC by simply drag and dropping, access the same hardware, usb sticks, flash drives, have coherent mode and have all Windows apps on your doc like if they were Mac applications, etc.)

For everyone not willing to compromise safety and speed of a Mac and compatibility of Windows OS, a virtual machine app is the answer.

*Note. Parallels is not the only software available, there are other great softwares like VMware Fusion which do exactly the same.

Let me know if you need anything else.

To clarify on this: to run Windows, you have to install drivers for the components (network, video card, etc). Where can you find Windows drivers fro Mac? Or the Windows use the MacOS drivers somehow?
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All the drivers you need for Windows is on the Mac Installation disk!
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2010 Laptop discussion 07 Jun 2010, 10:26
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For those looking for something a bit more budget... this looks really solid at $372

https://slickdeals.net/permadeal/35160/i ... 8-w-webcam
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2010 Laptop discussion 07 Jun 2010, 20:42
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GoBruins
That is a great deal, I was gonna get it when it was 850 before take, now it's 802, WOW
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It's $755 pre-tax now:
https://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread ... id=2067712
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2010 Laptop discussion 08 Jun 2010, 12:17
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Are they clearing the x201 out for a new model or something? It seems remarkably cheap. Makes the Kellogg laptop @ 1285+tax seem like a rip.
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boogs
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2010 Laptop discussion 08 Jun 2010, 12:46
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unhedged
Are they clearing the x201 out for a new model or something? It seems remarkably cheap. Makes the Kellogg laptop @ 1285+tax seem like a rip.
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Yeah, I am second-guessing buying the Kellogg laptop. It is quite expensive considering that you have to pay for tax and shipping from CDW. I am guessing there will be a newer version of the x201 with the ULV i5 pretty soon.
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2010 Laptop discussion 08 Jun 2010, 12:54
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unhedged
Are they clearing the x201 out for a new model or something? It seems remarkably cheap. Makes the Kellogg laptop @ 1285+tax seem like a rip.
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The X201 was only released earlier this year in February 2010. Before that, they had an X200. I'd think it's too early for a new iteration at this point... maybe next year?
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