[tlug] Where to buy a laptop (was: Is it the hardware or the software...)

[Dave M G <dave@example.com>]

TLUG,

Well, I think it's the hardware. As of today, my laptop is going 
freaking nuts, and I can barely keep it on long enough to do any kind of 
diagnostics.

The real hassle is that I don't really want to go through all the bother 
of shopping for another laptop. If I had money to burn, I'd just get the 
latest Panasonic Let's Note, but it's 200,000 yen, and comes with an 
inexplicably stupid handle on it. Who carries a laptop around just 
naked, without a case?

Instead, I'm looking for 40,000 yen if I can, and up to 60,000 yen if I 
feel it's a really worthy laptop.

So I'm probably looking for a used laptop, or low end new.

What's annoying me is that most laptops these days seem to be offering 
this stupid "wide screen" format (1366×768 resolution), which really 
just means lots of screen real estate trimmed from the top or bottom. 
Like this one:

http://www.dospara.co.jp/5goods_pc/pc_detail.php?h=d&f=d&m=pc&mc=1210&a=1

It's a nice shape and reasonable price for the specs, but don't let the 
picture on the web site fool you. I looked at one live in person, and 
there's a lot of frame around the screen.

Or, if they don't have the minimized screen, they have the huge keyboard 
with the number pad on the right, making the whole laptop huge and heavy.

It just seems that it's hard to get a combination of decent screen and 
still portable these days. The Panasonic Let's note series offers the 
best balance, IMHO, they're just freaking expensive.

Anyway, I'm just kind of thinking aloud, but if anyone has any 
suggestions for where to get a laptop, please share your knowledge. I'm 
probably going to spending a day this weekend wandering around 
Akihabara, considering both used and new.

--
Dave M G