sonki - I have used both DSL and cable modem, but have now shifted permanently to DSL. I have all of the computers in my house on the internet all the time via DSL, including the 2 laptops which are connected wireless so I can wander around the back yard with the kids or sit by the pool and still follow SI!! My DSL is faster than the cable modem, although that varies depending on your line quality - I happen to be close to a switch so I get fast service. The cable guys are out to lunch if they say "only 1 connection". Perhaps they mean only 1 physical connection - I put the DSL connection into a hub and run the rest of the network off of that.
The DSL or cable modem connection is a standard 10baseT ethernet connection, so you just need a standard ethernet hookup in your laptop. While that is easy to add with a PCMCIA card, most high end laptops have ethernet built in.
The inspirion I was looking at was the 7500, which is the high end model. If you order any inspirion by tomorrow you get a free battery, which is a pretty nice perk, especially if you do long plane rides as I occasionally do. While it is a little larger than the super-small products from Toshiba and Compaq, it has a great display, built-in hardware assist for DVD which lets you play DVD movies full screen with the same quality you get at home, and a bunch of high-end features built in. The super-XGA+ display is 15 inch and the best quality in the business.
I ended up getting a Compaq Armada M300 rather than an insperion - because I could get it with Win2K installed, which was not an option at DELL when I made the purchase. Also I liked the very small size - about an inch thick and smaller than a standard letter sheet, but still with 1024x768 graphics, 11GB hard drive, and ethernet and 56K modem built in. I could have gotten 700MHz by going to a slightly bigger form factor, but the ability tp throw it in my briefcase along with all my other junk dictated the smallest full feature system I could get.
BTW - I went to the DELL website to get latest specs and the response on the site at the moment is terrible - it takes several minutes to get a screen update, usually times out...I wonder if someone is doing a denial of service attack... now I can't get any response. oh well... |
