Considering a new laptop

[YaP]

I'm usually pretty tolerant when it comes to computers. I can live with 'issues' rather than looking to get them fixed. For example, I knew before I bought this laptop I was going to have to get used to it, because it didn't have standard keys for "Home" and "End" -- two keys I use a lot when writing. Instead, I have to use the FN button to get to these. It's a quirk I'll get used to, I'm sure

 

oooh, the ideal customer for all IT professionals.. a tolerant user

haha

good for you.. and for your nerves ;-)

[Former Member]

You know, if battery life is a major concern for you, why not dual-boot with an small linux distro, like dsl or puppy or xubuntu. They'll use up a lot less battery life when all you need it for is something simple like writing, and you can boot into Vista for the heavy duty stuff.

[Graeme]

oooh, the ideal customer for all IT professionals.. a tolerant user

Yep! I'm a 90% guy. I'll get something to 90% of what I want and accept that, because that last 10% is usually too much work.

 

You know, if battery life is a major concern for you, why not dual-boot with an small linux distro, like dsl or puppy or xubuntu. They'll use up a lot less battery life when all you need it for is something simple like writing, and you can boot into Vista for the heavy duty stuff.

I've just discovered the power-saver setting.... we'll see how the battery goes when I change it and try again. Thanks for the suggestion, though. My main word processor is OpenOffice which I know is available on other O/S's, so if I have any problems, I might give that a go.