Laptop considerations

[Genocidicbunny]

Thats why dell's pricing pisses me off. Im fairly sure I get why they do it like that though. The customer looks at the sizes, decides 1280x800 is just too small, goes for the 1440x900, then looks and sees that the huge 1920x1200 is only 25$ more, and goes for that. They're in essence pressuring customers into getting the 1920x1200, cus its such a small increase in price over the 1440x900, and even if they don't, Dell just made a load of money off the dinky 1440x900.

 

[Mr. Keith]

Haha yeah I must have spent hours trying out different price configurations on different websites before I made my decision. I am sure those companies spend a lot on researching ways to get you to click on that more expensive hardware option.

 

[Aramazd]

Thats why dell's pricing pisses me off. Im fairly sure I get why they do it like that though. The customer looks at the sizes, decides 1280x800 is just too small, goes for the 1440x900, then looks and sees that the huge 1920x1200 is only 25$ more, and goes for that. They're in essence pressuring customers into getting the 1920x1200, cus its such a small increase in price over the 1440x900, and even if they don't, Dell just made a load of money off the dinky 1440x900.

I don't see the problem.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I don't see the problem.

From a purely technical viewpoint, the price doesnt match the upgrade. From a marketing viewpoint, it makes perfect sense. And I hate them for that. The studio 15" is almost perfect for what I need it for, save for that one thing

 

[Aramazd]

I suppose I can understand that.

 

[Mr. Keith]

The T400 has arrived. I think I am going to do a clean install, but I will give my impressions on this thing probably tomorrow.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

I suggest you make a backup image of the HDD as it is now, just in case.

 

[Mr. Keith]

I'll look into it.

I am not sure if this is all getting done tonight. I am tired and a little stressed, and I am not even sure if I can do this right now since the computer did not ship with an installation disc.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Oh, their install discs usually have all the same crapware. Honestly, my suggestion is to get the serial off your machine and download a matching version of the OS. You are using the legal serial and you did pay for the OS, so it should be legal; dont quote me on that though.

 

[Mr. Keith]

Right....I am looking at some other website trying to figure this out. My dell computer came with a OS installation disc that I have used several times....just pop in the disc and let it work its magic....no crapware to be found.

This I am not so familiar with. I will still do this, but it is going to take some more looking into, since I am still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of downloading an operating system off the internet, among other things.

 

[Mr. Keith]

Oh, their install discs usually have all the same crapware. Honestly, my suggestion is to get the serial off your machine and download a matching version of the OS. You are using the legal serial and you did pay for the OS, so it should be legal; dont quote me on that though.

So where would you get this download from? After a quick look, it doesn't appear that you can get it directly from MS's website. You can ORDER a DVD for a nominal fee. I am not sure I like the idea of downloading the OS off a randome website.

Also, how do you create the backup image of the HDD? For that matter, what is a backup "image?"

 

[taper]

I am still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of downloading an operating system off the internet, among other things.

May I humbly suggest Linux downloads? This is just a sample of the more popular ones. Here's a timeline of many, many more. I'm also seeding 8 different distros on bittorrent, which is my preferred way of downloading an OS.

 

[Mr. Keith]

May I humbly suggest Linux downloads? This is just a sample of the more popular ones. Here's a timeline of many, many more. I'm also seeding 8 different distros on bittorrent, which is my preferred way of downloading an OS.

Duly noted.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Simple: you torrent it. Lots of torrent sites provide said files, although they are of questionable legality. Needless to say, I wont be providing instructions here. Google it and read up on it though if you are interested.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Simple: you torrent it. Lots of torrent sites provide said files, although they are of questionable legality. Needless to say, I wont be providing instructions here. Google it and read up on it though if you are interested.

And if you go that direction, make sure to do a virus scan. I accidentally picked up a rogueware through torrenting. (I thought it was an open-source proggie I was downloading. So I burned the ISO, put it in the drive and everything started popping up. )

 

[Genocidicbunny]

No, just make sure to read the comments. If you arent an idiot and down download the first thing that pops up without looking to see if its legit, then yeah, you're in trouble. And no virus scanner will save you then.

 

[Aramazd]

And if you go that direction, make sure to do a virus scan. I accidentally picked up a rogueware through torrenting. (I thought it was an open-source proggie I was downloading. So I burned the ISO, put it in the drive and everything started popping up. )

Nah just take the MD5 Hash and compare it to the known value.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Nah just take the MD5 Hash and compare it to the known value.

It didn't have an MD5 hash. No comments either.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Then you find one that does. Simple as that.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

You learn by experience.

Anyways. I can't remember what it was. Maybe a Knoppix disc.