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Pastimes : Dream Machine ( Build your own PC ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zeddie88 who wrote (9796)	12/28/1999 12:44:00 AM
From: peter michaelson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14778

Take him on vacation, Sue!!! :=)

To: Zeddie88 who wrote (9796)	12/30/1999 1:14:00 PM
From: Howard R. Hansen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14778

A few comments on Sony's Vaio PCG-F340 and Acer's Travel Mate 340T notebook computers and an alternate choice. A notebook computer with a 366 megahertz PII or faster CPU and 64 megabytes of memory should be more than adequate to use for trading when traveling on a vacation. I have no hard evidence to back this statement up. But instead I assume a person who trades when traveling on a vacation will be doing position trading and not scalping for sixteenths. A position trader does not need to keep a lot of windows open and programs running simultaneously. If this is a bad assumption than a notebook with 128 megabytes of memory is a better choice. The Sony Vaio PCG-F340 uses a 13 inch HPA, high performance addressing, display. A HPA display is an improved dual scan (passive matrix) display. It is much better than the early passive matrix displays. But it is still not as sharp or as fast as a thin film transistor (TFT), (active matrix) display. Hence I suggest you compare a HPA display with a TFT display before deciding which notebook computer to purchase. I found a couple comments in news groups from people who complained the touch pad, mouse, on the F series of notebook computers is to sensitive, a small movement on the touch pad produces a large movement of the cursor on the screen, and they said Sony has not as yet been able to fix this problem. PC Magazine gives Sony an A rating for support and service. For more information on Sony notebook computers see their web site at: ita.sel.sony.com The Acer Travel Mate 340T does does not have a built in floppy disk and CD-ROM drive. Instead it has an external floppy disk and CD-ROM drive which is attached to an external port. This design feature reduces the weight of the Acer Travel Mate to 4.1 pounds. If not needed the floppy disk and CD-Rom drive can be left behind when traveling. I did not find any negative comments posted in news groups. PC Magazine gives Acer a C rating for support and service. For more information on Acer notebook computers see their web site at: acer.com An alternate choice for a value notebook computer is an IBM ThinkPad i Series 1420. It comes with a 433 megahertz Celeron CPU, 32 megabytes of RAM, 4.8 gigabyte hard disk, CD-ROM drive, 56K modem, a 13 inch HPA SVGA display, 800 x 600 resolution, Ni-Mh battery, 2 hr run time, weighs 7.8 pounds and costs $1,399. Even when adding 32 megabytes of RAM at a cost of $100 it still cost less than the Sony Vaio PCG-F340. PC Magazine gives IBM an A rating for support and service. For more information on IBM notebook computer see their web site at: pc.ibm.com However, the web site is mostly sizzle and not enough detailed specifications. No where could I find what I/O ports, serial, parallel or USB, or how many memory slots come with either a 1420 or 1460 i Series ThinkPad. An alternate choice for a mainstream notebook computer is an IBM ThinkPad i Series 1460. It comes with a 433 megahertz Celeron CPU, 64 megabytes of RAM, 4.8 gigabyte hard disk, DVD-ROM drive, 56K modem, a 14.1 inch TFT XGA display, 1024 x 768 resolution, Li-Ion battery, 3 hr run time, weighs 7.5 pounds and costs $2,099. My main hope now is others will chip in with their comments and give you a more balance view of the strengths and weakness of various notebook computers.