I expect to be looking for a new laptop in the not-too-distant future. The one I currently use is owned by my employer, and it's about time that I get my own.
I know.. this isn't PHP-related, but it IS related to my ability to write/maintain/manage PHP, comfortably.
Click through if you have suggestions (and to see my wishlist).
UPDATE: I ordered my new laptop last Thursday. I'll post a new entry when it comes in.I currently have a Dell Inspiron 5150 (P4M@3GHz, 512MB, SXGA screen). It's been pretty good to me, but it has its flaws. Mostly: low battery life, bad linux hardware support (especially power management -- no sleep=bad), and it runs really hot.
So, here's my wishlist--I can't seem to find this anywhere.
- Display - 15" is good. I'm not interested in a 17" screen, because I value portability; I'm equally uninterested in a 12" book, because my laptop is my primary workstation. Screen resolution is also important to me. My current screen does 1400x1050. I don't think I'd be able to go much lower than that. 1024x768 just won't cut it. I code in a really small font, and I highly value my screen real estate. SXGA doesn't seem to be the norm, yet, on commodity laptops -- many of them are XGA only.
- Platform - I'll admit it: I'm tempted by OSX (and thus, powerbooks). I don't think I'm ready to make the switch, though. Especially considering Apple's current state of flux (moving to Intel). Incidentally, while I know that the Mac take advantage of multiple mouse buttons if you have a mouse that has these, the lack of multiple buttons near the trackpad is unacceptable. I also have a decent set of Windows software, that I'd rather not have to trash. Linux if possible (with windows dual boot/emulation).
- CPU - This is one of my least concerns, believe it or not. I've been noticing that there's a major price jump between 1.7 and 2.0 GHz chips (1.4GHz = $x ; 1.6GHz = $x + $20 ; 1.7GHz = $x + $40 ; 2.0GHz = $x + $200). I'm thinking that I'll go with the top of the "cheap" processors. Centrino CPUs look interesting, but I don't really care. Speed scaling would be good for battery life. A fast FSB seems necessary (at least 400MHz, but more like 533MHz)
- Video - I'm not much of a gamer, so high-3D acceleration isn't a big concern for me. I DO, however, require a good enough card to drive the display that I've outlined, above. Additionally, I use my video (SVideo _and_ composite) out, regularly, so this is necessary. Dual-head support is also a necessity (second monitor attached as a secondary display, by VGA). Dedicated video RAM is a need. If RAM is shared, a LOT of bandwidth is used to refresh my (high resolution) display. This REALLY sucks for performance.
- Disk - Size is secondary. 40GB will be enough, but 60GB is preferable. I'm MORE concerned about the rate at which it spins. I have a 4200RPM drive, now (or perhaps 5400). I've heard of great speed increases by a simple upgrade to a 7200RPM drive.
- RAM - not TOO concerned about speed. PC3200 looks like the way to go, and a single 1GB DIMM is preferable.. I'd like to leave 1 DIMM slot open for future upgrades.
- Ports - Necessary: USB2 (>=3 ports), Firewire, VGA, Video, PC Card Expansion slot (whatever that's called, now), Microphone-in, earphone out. Not necessary: Parallel, Serial.
- Networking - 100Mb ethernet, 802.11g + b (and a, if possible, but not necessary) WITH GOOD RANGE. The range on my dell sucks. The antenna is internal, and unreliable. I see half of the access points that others see. Modem: unnecessary.
- Input devices - comfortable keyboard. GOOD touchpad, with possible multi-finger sensing and good drivers (I can, for example, tap the left of my touchpad for a middle click, and the right of it for a right click -- middle is left click. I can also scroll by running my finger down the right, or across the bottom).
- Sound - The sound on my Dell is noisy, and all-around garbage. I have an external, USB soundcard that I use at home, but when I use the in-built card, I notice the noise. Especially hard-disk noise. A built-in microphone would also be very nice, since I'm using VOIP more and more.
- Battery - Batteries are always a problem. I need to get at least 4 hours out of my battery (without dimming down to invisible -- speed scaling is OK). My Dell's Pentium-M drivers don't work properly on WinXP SP2, so I only get 2-3 hours, now, depending what I do during those hours. Preferably, I'd get 8 hours, but I doubt that'll happen, without some sort of external battery (like Wez' battery-matt thingy).
- Warranty - This is the best part of my Dell, but it was expensive. I think we paid ~$450 for the extended warranty (2 years, next-day onsite), but it's been amazing. I can drop my Dell, and a service tech will be in my office, the next morning to fix it. No shipping, no waiting -- it's been very good.
I think that's it. I'm sure I forgot some stuff -- if you think of something I forgot, please let me know.
Thanks in advance for the input!
Get a powerbook ! Perfect for PHP development.
I'm sorry, but Powerbooks absoutely suck.
The mac is way too overhyped right now. There's a reason it's market share is abysmal.
Apple needs to get out of the computer business and stick to what it does well. MP3 Players.
The Averatec 6100A is good , but the battery might not last long:
http://www.averatec.com/notebooks/6100series.htm
That is probably the one I would get if I were buying a laptop.
I recently ordered an IBM Thinkpad T43p and it's quite comparable to your needs:
(depends on the config, here's mine, it's basicly an avarage config of a T43p)
Intel Centrino Pentium-M 2.0 Ghz
1GB RAM (1 slot taken)
60GB 7200rpm HD
ATI FireGL V3200 128MB dedicated RAM
1600x1200 UXGA 15" screen with Flexview
DVD-RW (not dual layer IIRC)
56k V90 Modem, Gigabyte ethernet, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth
WinXP Pro
The bad side of this thing is that you only get 2 USB ports and no firewire. Everything else you listed is supported.
What people like most about Thinkpads in general and why they're always a good buy is that they are sturdy, secure and have an excellent keyboard with pointer (as alternative to the touchpad, but touchpad is included too). There's spill protection for the keyboard, the notebook is made out of high-quality material (no simple plastic), drop protection for the HD, and a fingerprint reader for extra security.
The notebook comes with a 6-cell battery only offering 3-3.5 hours of battery life but they also have a 9-cell battery which offers about 6 hours.
I don't know how much the warranty costs but I got mine with 3 years next business day on-site warranty at no extra cost.
They're a bit expensive though compared to other notebooks but it's worth the price imho. If it's too high for your budget you can always look for regular T43's, T42's or models from the R50-R52 range. Sometimes there are also great student or EPP discounts, got mine for about 40% of the total price.
Get an IBM. The T42-43 series are great. Light, sturdy, and reliable. This is if you really dont want a PowerBook! And if the only reason you're not buying a powerbook is because of the Intel switch, then consider this: the switch is going to take 2-3 years to complete. I dont know your IDE of choice, but Mac OS X is great for PHP development - it has Eclipse, Vim, Emacs and all that good stuff. You'll have access to Safari, IE & Firefox. And if you're a command line junkie, you have access to all the unix tools - sed, awk, grep and others. All your req's are fullfilled by a powerbook. You get speed scaling (and it works in linux too, if you decide to dual boot), 4 hour battery (well, that *really* depends on what you're doing, and that's not specific to the powerbook). I can say the sound is better than dell (i've owned the Inspiron 5000, 4000, 4100, 5150), although I tend to use headphones most of the time. And you get the keyboard backlight, which is very useful IMHO. Well, I could go on, but as a recent switcher, and a 4+ year linux user, I can say OS X has been a dream. All the power without any of the fuss.
Another vote for the IBM T43. Some of the SUNY schools have good deals, which are open to the public. Best win32/linux laptop that money can buy.
All laptops suck. As far as sucking the least goes, Apple wins followed by IBM.
I had a Dell, do yourself a favour and lay the brick to rest. Now have the best laptop I've had in years, a Samsung X15, highlights are:
- 15.1" screen w/1400x1050 res
- 2kg light
- 4 hours battery
- runs linux out of the box, easily supported hardware
- it's 1.6Ghz centrino is WAY faster than a previous pIV 2.0 Ghz I had
- one of the best laptop keyboards around
- sony memory stick well-supported in XP
I bought this almost a year ago and still haven't seen anything that comes close including T42, especially in the price range (i paid £800)
So, after much searching, I think I found the perfect laptop (for the price).
The short: Asus sells a barebone laptop that is missing many key components, allowing the builder to supply his own parts.
I've got photos online.
The Long:
Wow. Wha
Although it's much more expensive, I can only recommend the Thinkpad T43P. It's the perfect machine produced in a wonderfull quality and runs flawlessly with Linux.
It's been a long time since I blogged. You might remember that I was looking for the perfect laptop. The search was due to imminent changes in my work-life (imminent at the time, but have been in place since the middle of September).
If you've read pas
apple doesnt do mp3 players well, it pretty much sucks at everything.