Levono to Offer Choice: AMD or Intel

[Keith]

In our area small local stores tend to charge more for the same model,
and never have any stock, so you have to wait a couple of weeks for
the delivery. Maybe local stores offer greater selection, but I just
don't need extra "features" that take hours of manual reading to
learn, and then never utilized. And having a wagon, I don't want to
pay extra $50 for the delivery. Same about e-tailers - the delivery
charge eats up all the savings on base price, and then some, and you
still have to wait. Therefore the choice is between BBY and Sears
after Circuit City went out of appliance business. PC Richard is more
expensive, at least when you shop for basic models. They run good
promotions on fancier stuff, but I don't pay $500 for a microwave, no
matter how many extra buttons it has.

I generally pay for deliver, even though I have a pickup (though I picked
up the dish washer from Sears). For $35ish the local stores will deliver
the new unit, put it in place, and cart packing materials and the old
appliance away. There are a few local stores around that are very good,
so I deal with them, mostly. They usually get a delivery every Thursday
from Boston, so if I order it by Monday it's here the same week (the
refrigerator was a close call).

Our microwave was $650. ;-) It had to fit in the hole in the copper
range hood over the island and have an exhaust fan upward. SWMBO wanted a
convection oven too (useless).

They have to fit the store into existing mall config.

Hmm, all the BBYs I've seen have the building built around the store.

 

[Del Cecchi]

It wouldn't hybernate? I tend to use hybernate when I pack the
ThinkPad in its case to take it home. All my windows (other than
Exceed) hang around.


Sorry, I meant the 'Z'. New models... ;-)

You are still using exceed? didn't that get kiboshed a while ago in
favor of vnc/vncserver?

 

[Keith]

You are still using exceed? didn't that get kiboshed a while ago in
favor of vnc/vncserver?

Nope. We also use Citrix, but I like the more open nature of the windows
with exceed. The Citrix server is also more limited.

 

[The little lost angel]

It wouldn't hybernate? I tend to use hybernate when I pack the
ThinkPad in its case to take it home. All my windows (other than
Exceed) hang around.

It would, but coming back from hibernation requires several random
stabbings of the aforementioned petulant power button

Sorry, I meant the 'Z'. New models... ;-)

Don't really like the widescreen thing. Maybe it's good for viewing
movies but for work and school stuff, I tend to find I lack length
rather than breadth even on a normal screen. Maybe I'm just too used
to paper's portrait orientation.

What's really going to be bad is I just saw Lenovo having a vote on
Black vs Titanium. Almost 200,000 votes in and Titanium is winning.
I'm like OMG, WHY? I like the Thinkpad matt black, it's classy unique,
hard to dirty and looks strong to me. If I wanted a cheesy metallic
looking laptop that looks like it would break like cheap chromed
plastic, I would had bought a Fujitsu or Toshiba.

 

[George Macdonald]

It would, but coming back from hibernation requires several random
stabbings of the aforementioned petulant power button


Don't really like the widescreen thing. Maybe it's good for viewing
movies but for work and school stuff, I tend to find I lack length
rather than breadth even on a normal screen. Maybe I'm just too used
to paper's portrait orientation.

What's really going to be bad is I just saw Lenovo having a vote on
Black vs Titanium. Almost 200,000 votes in and Titanium is winning.
I'm like OMG, WHY? I like the Thinkpad matt black, it's classy unique,
hard to dirty and looks strong to me. If I wanted a cheesy metallic
looking laptop that looks like it would break like cheap chromed
plastic, I would had bought a Fujitsu or Toshiba.

I guess that after years of tasteful and durable, people just want the
cheap, tacky look. That cheap 70's Hi-Fi look is even showing up on car
dashes again - hate it.

Oh, and if anybody wants to vote: http://www.whichsideareyouon.com/

 

[nobody]

....snip...

I generally pay for deliver, even though I have a pickup (though I picked
up the dish washer from Sears). For $35ish the local stores will deliver
the new unit, put it in place, and cart packing materials and the old

$49.99+tx delivery and another 49.99+tx installation. Isn't it too
much for a $199 appliance? And the town collected the old one.

appliance away. There are a few local stores around that are very good,
so I deal with them, mostly. They usually get a delivery every Thursday
from Boston, so if I order it by Monday it's here the same week (the
refrigerator was a close call).

Our microwave was $650. ;-) It had to fit in the hole in the copper
range hood over the island and have an exhaust fan upward. SWMBO wanted a
convection oven too (useless).

GE in basic black for $199. If you really cook on the range over
which it is mounted, anything else, especially stainless, gets that
dirty, greasy look in no time. Black is more forgiving. And one more
thing - I wanted it to be the exact replacement of the old one that
got its door accidentally smashed. Old folks come to us daily to
babysit, and it would be a pain to teach them the new button location
and functionality(got this wish - GE didn't change the controls in 6
years). Also hoped to re-use old mounting bracket and holes in the
cabinet above (no luck - they changed the mounting so I had to drill
new holes in the wall for the bracket and in the cabinet, too). If
not for that, I could've picked a Magic Chef for $130 (model year end
sale or something like that) - same functionality, same wattage, just
different control configuration.

$650 for a microwave is beyond my comprehension. Is it gold-plated,
or encrusted with diamonds? I woud've rather picked a couple of
opty250 for that kind of money.

Hmm, all the BBYs I've seen have the building built around the store.

Our area is so densely developed that they had to get whatever space
was available for rent. But since it is in the center of the mall,
they get good traffic.

NNN

 

[Keith]

...snip...
$49.99+tx delivery and another 49.99+tx installation. Isn't it too
much for a $199 appliance? And the town collected the old one.

Crap! I've never bought a $199 appliance. Ok, the coffee maker was less
than that. ;-) Lessee; refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and microwave in
five years (house's 15-year-itch) total about $4K. Installation? Crap!
They don't install anything. They put it it place. Even with the
dishwasher they wouldn't even connect the water for over $100, so I did it
all myself. OTOH the refrigerator was a PITA to move around (even though
I had to do the water thing there too).

GE in basic black for $199. If you really cook on the range over which
it is mounted, anything else, especially stainless, gets that dirty,
greasy look in no time. Black is more forgiving.

Who said sainless? It's all black, except the refrigerator (almond
matte). Stainless sucks pond scum (and looks it). The range is a
glass-top though. It's not easy to keep spotless, but it's easy to cook
on.

And one more thing - I wanted it to be the exact replacement of the
old one that got its door accidentally smashed. Old folks come to us
daily to babysit, and it
would be a pain to teach them the new button location and
functionality(got this wish - GE didn't change the controls in 6 years).

Grin. No problems with sitters here (the brat is 27 and long gone).
Maybe for us soon...

Also hoped to re-use old mounting bracket and holes in the cabinet
above (no luck - they changed the mounting so I had to drill new holes
in the wall for the bracket and in the cabinet, too). If not for that,
I could've picked a Magic Chef for $130 (model year end sale or
something like that) - same functionality, same wattage, just different
control configuration.

Yeah, I had to change the whole superstructure above the island. What a
PITA and crinkled the custom copper hood in the process. :-(

$650 for a microwave is beyond my comprehension. Is it gold-plated, or
encrusted with diamonds? I woud've rather picked a couple of opty250 for
that kind of money.

Nope, just a Sharp convection microwave. Opterons weren't around five
years ago. Besides P-4s would do a better job today! ;-) No, the
microwave had to fit in the custom hood that has more copper in it than
Wisconsin.

Our area is so densely developed that they had to get whatever space was
available for rent. But since it is in the center of the mall, they get
good traffic.

Never seen such a place. Good thing; I don't like *dense*, even if it's
only one person. ;-)

 

[Keith]

You are still using exceed? didn't that get kiboshed a while ago in
favor of vnc/vncserver?

Maybe I misunderstood... What do you use VNC for, exporting displays?
Collaboration? No, I use exceed to get to my (and many others) RS6000
from Windows. The displays on the laptop make the RS6000 look sick.

 

[Keith]

It would, but coming back from hibernation requires several random
stabbings of the aforementioned petulant power button

Hybernate on lid closing? Wake up on open?

Don't really like the widescreen thing. Maybe it's good for viewing
movies but for work and school stuff, I tend to find I lack length
rather than breadth even on a normal screen. Maybe I'm just too used
to paper's portrait orientation.

I like both. I often have 20-40 windows "open" (perhaps minimized) and my
important icons sit on the right side. I'm happy with 1024 vertical.

What's really going to be bad is I just saw Lenovo having a vote on
Black vs Titanium. Almost 200,000 votes in and Titanium is winning. I'm
like OMG, WHY? I like the Thinkpad matt black, it's classy unique, hard
to dirty and looks strong to me. If I wanted a cheesy metallic looking
laptop that looks like it would break like cheap chromed plastic, I
would had bought a Fujitsu or Toshiba.

You're not alone. I do remember people beating IBM up for boring laptops
though. IMO, boring is sometimes goodness. Boppin' into an interview
with matching pink iBook and iPod isn't really my style. Subtile has its
own reason.

 

[Keith]

I guess that after years of tasteful and durable, people just want the
cheap, tacky look. That cheap 70's Hi-Fi look is even showing up on car
dashes again - hate it.

Swirls in the dash? I though everyone was hooked on blue LEDs now.

 

[The little lost angel]

Hybernate on lid closing? Wake up on open?

Hmm, are we confusing definitions here?
For me, standby is what happens when I close the lid. The Crescent
Moon LED lights up in this mode. If I had enabled Hibernation, it
would dump contents to the hibernate file on disk after say 5 minutes
and totally power down, nothing is on.

Opening the lid while on Standby will reactivate the laptop, whereas
in hibernation, it won't cos it seems at least nothing's alive to
detect the lid switch.

Unless I've missed out on some advanced PM function all these years

I like both. I often have 20-40 windows "open" (perhaps minimized) and my
important icons sit on the right side. I'm happy with 1024 vertical.

Ah, I don't do that. I get confused by too many windows. Hence I love
Firefox and tabbed browsing since browser windows are the most often
opened for me. The rest would largely be PhotoShop, Excel/Word which I
try to avoid having more than a handful at any time. If necessary, I
put my laptop next to my PC so work

The new XP style of consolidating everything into a single button
however is however even MORE confusing.

You're not alone. I do remember people beating IBM up for boring laptops
though. IMO, boring is sometimes goodness. Boppin' into an interview
with matching pink iBook and iPod isn't really my style. Subtile has its
own reason.

I don't understand why a single color "black" done well is considered
boring compared to a badly done single color like red or silver or
grey. Frankly, it's a lot easier to match my IBM with a black bag and
a black working outfit than to find an outfit that goes well with a
silver plasticky laptop. Not to mention my SO thinks I cut a very
attractive and sharp professional look in black with my laptop.

Silver however is still better on my accessories and pink's great for
weekends

 

[George Macdonald]

Hybernate on lid closing? Wake up on open?

Hmm, that doesn't give you problems with two different net connections and
a dock at the office? We had all kind of probs with that with an A20
series and the manual said "don't do that". I followed the "instructions".

 

[George Macdonald]

Swirls in the dash? I though everyone was hooked on blue LEDs now.

My eyes are bad enough without having to cope with blue lights. I had
to umm, compromise with my new car last year (RSX-S) - really wanted the
motor/drivetrain, handling etc. but I'm having to "live" with the dash:
center-dash/knobs is dull chrome look and it's like a bleedin' carnival
show at night.

 

[Keith]

Hmm, that doesn't give you problems with two different net connections and
a dock at the office? We had all kind of probs with that with an A20
series and the manual said "don't do that". I followed the "instructions".

Any PM action drops all connections. Hibernate does cause other
problems when too many applications are open. Seems Gates' boys
lose track of everything that's going on and it refuses to
hibernate. The A21p didn't like to dock/undock (it wouldn't allow
an undock without a crowbar) unless it was completely shut down.
The T42p figures out the port replicator fairly well (even adjusts
for the presence/absence of the second monitor and wired/wireless
automatically).

 

[nobody]

Crap! I've never bought a $199 appliance. Ok, the coffee maker was less
than that. ;-) Lessee; refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and microwave in
five years (house's 15-year-itch) total about $4K. Installation? Crap!
They don't install anything. They put it it place. Even with the
dishwasher they wouldn't even connect the water for over $100, so I did it
all myself. OTOH the refrigerator was a PITA to move around (even though
I had to do the water thing there too).

They would've done that drilling and screwing (possibly up ;P). This
service could be of value for those unable or unwilling to touch any
tools heavier than a spoon ;-)

....snip...

Nope, just a Sharp convection microwave.

Please pardon my curiosity, how often you use the convection feature,
and how big is the benefit thereof comparing to conventional microwave
for under $200?

Opterons weren't around five
years ago. Besides P-4s would do a better job today! ;-)

In the kitchen - no doubt, you can fry an egg on a Prescott ;-)
But 250s are the upgrade for my old trusty MSI K8T board I am thinking
about (currently run a couple of 242s).

No, the
microwave had to fit in the custom hood that has more copper in it than
Wisconsin.


Never seen such a place. Good thing; I don't like *dense*, even if it's
only one person. ;-)

Bergen county, NJ

NNN

 

[Keith]

Hmm, are we confusing definitions here?

Perhaps. Hibernate dumps state to the dis drive and powers down
completely. Standby shuts down the processor and much of the logic
but keeps memory alive.

For me, standby is what happens when I close the lid. The Crescent
Moon LED lights up in this mode. If I had enabled Hibernation, it
would dump contents to the hibernate file on disk after say 5 minutes
and totally power down, nothing is on.
Ok.

Opening the lid while on Standby will reactivate the laptop, whereas
in hibernation, it won't cos it seems at least nothing's alive to
detect the lid switch.

Hmm, haven't tried it (my lit switch is set to do nothing, since
it's usually docked at night).

Unless I've missed out on some advanced PM function all these years

Probably not. ;-)

Ah, I don't do that. I get confused by too many windows. Hence I love
Firefox and tabbed browsing since browser windows are the most often
opened for me. The rest would largely be PhotoShop, Excel/Word which I
try to avoid having more than a handful at any time. If necessary, I
put my laptop next to my PC so work

Oh, I wasn't counting windows within Excell (never use Word - don't
think I even loaded it on this laptop).

The new XP style of consolidating everything into a single button
however is however even MORE confusing.


I don't understand why a single color "black" done well is considered
boring compared to a badly done single color like red or silver or
grey. Frankly, it's a lot easier to match my IBM with a black bag and
a black working outfit than to find an outfit that goes well with a
silver plasticky laptop.

What can I tell ya'. Why is silver/chrome/brushed aluminum colored
plastic coming back for AV equipment? I want the stuff to
disappear into the background. ...and YOY silver or white monitor
frames?

Not to mention my SO thinks I cut a very
attractive and sharp professional look in black with my laptop.

I'll bet.

Silver however is still better on my accessories and pink's great for
weekends

You have a laptop for weekends? ;-)

 

[Del Cecchi]

Maybe I misunderstood... What do you use VNC for, exporting displays?
Collaboration? No, I use exceed to get to my (and many others) RS6000
from Windows. The displays on the laptop make the RS6000 look sick.

We use VNC for what we used to use exceed for. Opening a window in AIX
on a pc.

 

[The little lost angel]

Oh, I wasn't counting windows within Excell (never use Word - don't
think I even loaded it on this laptop).

Neither do I have them on my personal computers, fully OpenOffice now.
But places I work at and in school, it's still pretty much the
standard fare.

What can I tell ya'. Why is silver/chrome/brushed aluminum colored
plastic coming back for AV equipment? I want the stuff to
disappear into the background. ...and YOY silver or white monitor
frames?

heh, wrong person to talk to about AV equipment, as long as it makes
decent sound I don't know one from another My SO however have some
fangled plan for a music/movie room in our planned new place with
nothing but a big screen, 6 or 7 speakers (can't keep them straight)
and a couch. I'm more concerned about where the money's coming from
first

You have a laptop for weekends? ;-)

Well yes, however that laptop is little on the hairy side and doesn't
do much computation on weekends but makes for a great cushion

 

[Keith]

We use VNC for what we used to use exceed for. Opening a window in AIX
on a pc.

Ok, I was wondering if I'd understood you. AFAIK we only use VNC for
remote presentations/collaboration (didn't know you could use it as a
normal telnet client). Exceed is the norm for business desktops, while
Citrix is mostly used from home (client licenses are cheaper/free).

 

[Keith]

My eyes are bad enough without having to cope with blue lights. I had
to umm, compromise with my new car last year (RSX-S) - really wanted the
motor/drivetrain, handling etc. but I'm having to "live" with the dash:
center-dash/knobs is dull chrome look.

I guess you pay for "pizzaz", whether you want it or not.

and it's like a bleedin' carnival show at night.

LOL! The Japanese (and to a lesser extent the Europeans) like lotsa LEDs.
Maybe their blue period is over. ;-)