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Dark Solux posted:Any news on upcoming chromebooks? Anyone have any experience with the Acer C720? Kinda wary of a Celeron processor? Was hoping to get one with an i3 or something along those lines. It's pretty quick. Screen and keyboard are what you'd expect from a $249 machine though
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May 20, 2014 02:49
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I'll hold off until E3 in that case. Always something better around the corner.
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May 20, 2014 03:02
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Sneaky Fast posted:I'm currently trying to decide between the MacBook Air and the Lenovo Yoga 2. I basically know what I'm going to get with the macbook, but does anyone have thoughts or experience with the yoga? At that price range you should also check out the Samsung Ativ Book 9 plus. I have one and it is glorious. I picked up a consumer reports June 2014 electronics guide and they have it rated as their best 13inch laptop beating the MacBook pro and air as well as giving it the highest overall score for any laptop. Its basically what happens when a PC manufacturer decides to sacrifice nothing to cost and go balls to the wall. Its pricey (more expensive in some ways than macs) but very very well done. You get a the high resolution screen of the Yoga with better battery life (although not quite MacBook air level) and better build quality. Check out this comparison as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHAa7b19CjE
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May 20, 2014 04:27
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Dark Solux posted:I'll hold off until E3 in that case. Always something better around the corner. Haswell CPUs were announced in spring 2013, they did not see wide availability until at least October. If you wait until June you may have to wait until September for delivery...
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May 20, 2014 05:20
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Dark Solux posted:Any news on upcoming chromebooks? Anyone have any experience with the Acer C720? Kinda wary of a Celeron processor? Was hoping to get one with an i3 or something along those lines. The c720 is great for the price. I bought mine refurbished for 150 and absolutely love it. The limitations of chrome os is infuriating however. What do you mean I can't access my network shares or print from network printers without another computer turned on? You won't be able to install Windows because Acer refuses to provide drivers. Install crouton and you'll get a full os but that involves at least some knowledge of command line and Unix.
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May 20, 2014 07:56
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edit: Nevermind, bought this Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
Shapur fucked around with this message at 19:34 on May 20, 2014 |
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May 20, 2014 14:55
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lostleaf posted:The c720 is great for the price. I bought mine refurbished for 150 and absolutely love it. For years my wife has a Macbook, but after five years it was showing it's age, and the battery was dying in a couple minutes. I sold it and picked up a C720 for a fraction of what another macbook would cost. She really likes it. After moving her photos to Google+ (she uses an iPhone and iPad) and syncing her iTunes library to a shared Google Music account, she hasn't missed the Macbook. She doesn't work, so she only uses it for internet browsing, light Netflix viewing, emails, etc. I have a MBP for work, and I bring it home if she needs to do anything more substantial, like heavy photo editing or something, but in the three months of having a Chromebook that's only happened once, and she could have done it on the Chromebook, but I figured the screen was nicer on my laptop. I do wish the screen was better, but for $150 it's hard to beat. Also, my three year old loves to get ahold of our laptops, so being so cheap it's not really a big deal. For a family, if you have one nice desktop or laptop and want to get something for everyone to share, a Chromebook is a great choice. A lot of people ask me if they can use a Chromebook, given how cheap they are, and I usually tell them to try for a couple weeks just using Chrome in full screen on their existing device. If they find that they don't have an issue then by all means, get a Chromebook.
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May 20, 2014 15:15
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It's also very easy to install the latest Ubuntu on a C720 and ditch ChromeOS completely
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May 20, 2014 15:47
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Bob Morales posted:It's also very easy to install the latest Ubuntu on a C720 and ditch ChromeOS completely I had the Samsung Intel Chromebook and messed around with Ubuntu on it, and it required a lot of janitoring. A lot of the functions didn't work properly, like hibernating and sleeping. I work in Linux, so I'm 100% comfortable in that world, and I don't mind (infact I enjoy) having to mess around with it to make it work, but it just wasn't worth my time. I couldn't imaging giving that to my wife, and being like, oh, the shortcut keys won't work unless you setup udev. Also It won't hibernate so every time you turn it on it will go to a bootloader warning, you'll have to hit CRTL+D and then wait for it. And then once you get to Linux none of your programs will work anyways, so you don't gain anything that you didn't get from ChromeOS already.
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May 20, 2014 15:50
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Jerk McJerkface posted:I had the Samsung Intel Chromebook and messed around with Ubuntu on it, and it required a lot of janitoring. A lot of the functions didn't work properly, like hibernating and sleeping. I work in Linux, so I'm 100% comfortable in that world, and I don't mind (infact I enjoy) having to mess around with it to make it work, but it just wasn't worth my time. I couldn't imaging giving that to my wife, and being like, oh, the shortcut keys won't work unless you setup udev. Also It won't hibernate so every time you turn it on it will go to a bootloader warning, you'll have to hit CRTL+D and then wait for it. And then once you get to Linux none of your programs will work anyways, so you don't gain anything that you didn't get from ChromeOS already. Hibernate and sleep work fine on the Acer. And it's got an intel chip so everything works like it does on my Thinkpad. The only weird thing is the boot menu which isn't a big deal. You also need a mouse to install since the trackpad doesn't work without a script (unless they fixed it in the last few months)
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May 20, 2014 17:02
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If I buy a thinkpad from the b&n link, am I still covered by their price guarantee? I'm afraid they are about to go on sale but I don't want to wait any longer.
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May 20, 2014 20:50
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snoozeallday posted:If I buy a thinkpad from the b&n link, am I still covered by their price guarantee? I'm afraid they are about to go on sale but I don't want to wait any longer.
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May 20, 2014 22:56
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Does anyone have any experience with the lenovo outlet? Or any opinions on quality control in general with the thinkpads? Perusing the lenovo forums, particularly the thinkpad fanboy ones, it seems the quality is being called into question somewhat. I'm a little worried because I already ordered one and a friend did as well. I'm mainly interested in the t440p and t440s. Thanks.
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May 21, 2014 00:58
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Outlet quality is still generally quite high. The people "calling into question" the newer ThinkPads are comparing them to last-gen ThinkPads, and finding them slightly wanting. They are still as-good-or-better than pretty much any other laptop you can buy, though, so don't be too concerned.
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May 21, 2014 01:21
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So the new Surface Pro 3 has been announced. Looks like a pretty sweet machine, although battery life is a big question for me.
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May 21, 2014 01:28
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Client I'm at is deploying t440s. Keyboard is awful, TouchPad is horrendous, and the f keys, by default, only work while holding Fn. It's like a blind baby designed the laptop. At least they run well and the screen isn't terrible, so you can solve the awful keyboard and trackpad problems with keyboard and mouse, but you would think that before you order hundreds of thousands worth of hardware you would test it for business usability.
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May 21, 2014 03:12
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To Vex a Stranger posted:Client I'm at is deploying t440s. Keyboard is awful, TouchPad is horrendous, and the f keys, by default, only work while holding Fn. It's like a blind baby designed the laptop. lmao. Do you have to be so dramatic? Thousands and thousands of T440s sold with an awful keyboard and horrendous touchpad?
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May 21, 2014 04:43
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I read from multiple sources the touchpad in particular on the T440/540s are bad and it's one of the main reasons I ended up staying away from them 
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May 21, 2014 13:33
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To Vex a Stranger posted:Client I'm at is deploying t440s. Keyboard is awful, TouchPad is horrendous, and the f keys, by default, only work while holding Fn. It's like a blind baby designed the laptop. Fn+Esc turns on function lock. Did I miss the golden age of laptop human interfaces or something?
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May 21, 2014 14:23
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So, I'm trying to buy a laptop to use for work, with the ability to play some games, do movies, etc. like most of the other people here. I'm generally pretty bad with computer specs, but my search has been narrowed down to the Lenovo y410p that someone posted a page or two ago, and an Asus that a friend linked to me: Lenovo: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y410p/?sb=:000001C9:0000FCD0: Asus: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Asus-15-6-T...=item4d1d7afff1 They both look similar, to me, aside from the price difference. I'd be willing to pay for either of them, so are there any glaring differences between the two, or should I just get the Asus? Thanks in advance!
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May 21, 2014 17:28
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Fart Car '97 posted:I read from multiple sources the touchpad in particular on the T440/540s are bad and it's one of the main reasons I ended up staying away from them I think the touchpad is actually an improvement over older thinkpads. I was using a T420 and a T440p side by side the other day, and the T440p definitely has a better, more responsive touchpad. Scrolling and other gestures definitely work a lot better. The problem is that to give you that gigantic multitouch touchpad, they completely destroyed the trackpoint. They had to make room for it somehow and to do so they got rid of the trackpoint buttons. Also, the T420 had a wobbly keyboard that felt nothing like older IBM produced thinkpads. The backplate on the thing was quite flimsy. The new keyboard feels firm and sturdy, despite being chiclet. I also think it's an improvement over what was shipping with thinkpads in more recent years. People saying the T420 was the last great thinkpad are viewing things through rose tinted nostalgia glasses. Looking at the T420 and T440p side by side, everything was better about the T440p (screen, keyboard, touchpad) except for build quality and the trackpoint. The T420 had a horrid TN screen (vs FHD e-IPS or AH-VA on the T440p if you opt for the premium screen), crappy wobbly keyboard, and mediocre touchpad. It just had a real trackpoint, and slightly sturdier build quality. People saying Lenovo destroyed the Thinkpad line are just spewing hyperbole. I actually think that in most ways that matter to people (screen, keyboard, touchpad, size/weight, and battery life) the new thinkpads are an improvement. Dick Fagballzson fucked around with this message at 18:18 on May 21, 2014 |
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May 21, 2014 17:43
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Cmdrmonkey posted:I think the touchpad is actually an improvement over older thinkpads. I was using a T420 and a T440p side by side the other day, and the T440p definitely has a better, more responsive touchpad. Scrolling and other gestures definitely work a lot better. The problem is that to give you that gigantic multitouch touchpad, they completely destroyed the trackpoint. They had to make room for it somehow and to do so they got rid of the trackpoint buttons. I consider the T440/T540 touchpad at least an order of magnitude worse than the solid one on my T430s (admittedly I did replaced the bumpy surface sticker with something more pleasing) - the new setup is disconcertingly wobbly and clicking feels 'wrong' E. As for the keyboard you should perhaps not compare a 2+ year old laptop to a brand new one
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May 21, 2014 20:34
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Let's put it this way, I'm in IT and had to figure out that the f keys didn't work how I expected without function lock on. I'm not sure how many users you have dealt with, but I guarantee you next week we will have an absurd amount of complaints. Users already bitched that they no longer have Screensavers. Users are the worst.
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May 21, 2014 21:26
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dissss posted:I consider the T440/T540 touchpad at least an order of magnitude worse than the solid one on my T430s (admittedly I did replaced the bumpy surface sticker with something more pleasing) - the new setup is disconcertingly wobbly and clicking feels 'wrong' The keyboard on that laptop was flimsy even when new. I remember when my aunt first got it I was suprised by how flimsy it felt. I had also recommended thinkpads to a family friend who bought a T420 and I think he sent his back to Lenovo several times because the keyboard had so much flex. People saying the old keyboard was great have rose tinted nostalgia glasses. Maybe the keyboard was great on the old IBM produced thinkpads of yesteryear, but they had gotten pretty crappy on the more recent Lenovo produced thinkpads and the chiclet keyboard is actually an improvement IMO. I didn't really like the bumpy surface or buttons right on the edge on the old touchpad. I think people mostly used the trackpoint on thinkpads because the touchpad was so mediocre. Also, who still uses function keys for anything? Dick Fagballzson fucked around with this message at 22:01 on May 21, 2014 |
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May 21, 2014 21:56
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Cmdrmonkey posted:Also, who still uses function keys for anything?  , though I'm using Ctrl+R more and more.F2 to rename in explorer. And Alt+F4, which works on most keyboards with Fn both off and on, so no problem there. I'll reiterate that I'm happy with keyboard and touchpad on my E540, if that is something that applies to the discussion. I've always hated all touchpads, but not this one.
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May 21, 2014 22:29
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Cmdrmonkey posted:Also, who still uses function keys for anything? F5 refresh F6 address bar F11 full screen I use the first three several times a day.
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May 21, 2014 23:39
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Cmdrmonkey posted:The keyboard on that laptop was flimsy even when new. I remember when my aunt first got it I was suprised by how flimsy it felt. I had also recommended thinkpads to a family friend who bought a T420 and I think he sent his back to Lenovo several times because the keyboard had so much flex. People saying the old keyboard was great have rose tinted nostalgia glasses. Maybe the keyboard was great on the old IBM produced thinkpads of yesteryear, but they had gotten pretty crappy on the more recent Lenovo produced thinkpads and the chiclet keyboard is actually an improvement IMO. Cmdrmonkey posted:I didn't really like the bumpy surface or buttons right on the edge on the old touchpad. I think people mostly used the trackpoint on thinkpads because the touchpad was so mediocre. Mediocre maybe but still better than the new ones which are downright bad IMO Cmdrmonkey posted:Also, who still uses function keys for anything? Plenty have already been mentioned but the one I use most is F5 for execute in SSMS. I get that you think the new models are fine, but the fact is a bunch of us hate the direction they're going in - if you want further evidence of that just look at the T series forum at Lenovo.com. Personally I'm probably going for HP next time around as I think their current systems are less compromised.
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May 22, 2014 00:16
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F2 rename filesin explorer F2 directly edit a cell in [favorite spreadsheet here] Alt+F4 close application, close explorer window (it's like ctrl+w for your OS) F5 run/rerun query/script, recompile, execute query F5 refresh browser window shift+F5 clear cached data and refresh browser window Appication specific things F1-F4 Various camera modes F5/F9 quicksave/quickload F9 pause head tracking F11 full screen in almost any program F12 reset/recalibrate head tracking F12 Steam screenshot F12 chrome developer mode I'm sure there's more, that's all I can think of in 30 seconds that I use on a daily basis Doctor rear end in a top hat posted:F6 address bar That's handy, I've always used Ctrl+K, then backspace (chrome only) Hadlock fucked around with this message at 00:25 on May 22, 2014 |
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May 22, 2014 00:20
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Even chromebooks have F keys, they just have pictures of what they do on them. Once you're in Linux they act as F1-12. Also, add me to the list of those who function daily and what the hell are you talking about.
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May 22, 2014 02:22
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So you can't just turn the keys back into function keys in the bios of the T440p? I was leaning towards it but if that's the case I'm going to need to look elsewhere.
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May 22, 2014 02:28
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havenwaters posted:So you can't just turn the keys back into function keys in the bios of the T440p?
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May 22, 2014 02:37
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Flipperwaldt posted:You press Fn+Esc and they are function keys until you should choose to press Fn+Esc again. This is remembered between boots and everything. It's not an actual problem for personal use in my opinion. Deployment, ok, I can see the occasional ticket coming in, maybe. Oh, that's not too bad. Actually better than my current laptop (2010 HP) where you have to go to the bios to turn off quick keys so you can use your function keys again.
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May 22, 2014 03:35
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Flipperwaldt posted:You press Fn+Esc and they are function keys until you should choose to press Fn+Esc again. This is remembered between boots and everything. It's not an actual problem for personal use in my opinion. Deployment, ok, I can see the occasional ticket coming in, maybe. Yeah I just started this project Midway through and everyone was complaining about the f keys. I immediately change get Fn lock on and now none of them can use the keyboards because they keep holding Fn to run things. Didn't mean to cause such a stir, but it is clearly a step in the wrong direction. Mute, volume up/volume down, brightness up/down etc are far less used than the f keys. I'm pretty sure everyone knows alt f4, or f1 for help and f5 for refresh. Someone getting a different reaction from these standard keys definitely will be confused. My overall beef with the t440,though, is the touch pad. The entire thing depresses, it's hard to actually get it to so a right click at times, and it's far too large.
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May 22, 2014 03:50
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Hi laptop thread. I have a couple of questions about the yoga 2 pro - was the backlight issue sorted, is there any point going for an i7 over an i5 (pretty normal use, not trying to transcode or anything) and is the ram easily upgradeable from 4gb on the i5 version? Just found I get a good discount and a friend wants one...
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May 22, 2014 10:30
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knox_harrington posted:Hi laptop thread. I have a couple of questions about the yoga 2 pro - was the backlight issue sorted, is there any point going for an i7 over an i5 (pretty normal use, not trying to transcode or anything) and is the ram easily upgradeable from 4gb Yes, no, yes (see page 33 and forward)
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May 22, 2014 11:31
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Finally actually got the Asus N550JK last night. It is excellent for the price. Screen's gorgeous, great keyboard, feels very sturdy (the lid especially). Speakers aren't as useless as I was led to believe, either. They get very loud, even if audio quality drops when you push them that high. Ran the GPU and CPU under relatively heavy load last night with no throttling at all while the laptop sat flat on a table. I did have Xotic do a thermal paste upgrade, though, so I can't say how it works stock. The touch pad is nice, but the buttons are way too stiff. This isn't much of a concern for me though, as I don't use them. The included subwoofer is nice for what it is, but overall I'd rather have had them leave it out entirely and cut the laptop's price by $100. Very satisfied, and I do recommend it to anyone in the market for an all-around powerful machine in the $1k range. Biggest cons are its size and weight, but that's unavoidable when you're looking at a metal case with a glass screen in the 15" form factor.
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May 22, 2014 13:28
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Any reports on the new y40?
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May 22, 2014 17:00
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I'm not sure whether to post this to the tablet thread or this one, as I'm torn between the two. What I'm looking for is a portable device that I could use to read through textbooks and with a good stylus response in order to take notes for mathematics courses. I like my friend's tablet, a samsung note, but seeing as it is $500 I feel that perhaps a touch-screen laptop could offer much more at that price point. So basically what I'm asking is as follows:
I could pick up a Lenovo Yoga 2 11.6" at the aforementioned $500, but if a tablet truly would be better for what I'm asking for at a lower price, I'd lean towards that instead.
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May 22, 2014 19:30
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mekkanare posted:I'm not sure whether to post this to the tablet thread or this one, as I'm torn between the two. What I'm looking for is a portable device that I could use to read through textbooks and with a good stylus response in order to take notes for mathematics courses. I like my friend's tablet, a samsung note, but seeing as it is $500 I feel that perhaps a touch-screen laptop could offer much more at that price point. I can't think of a lot of laptops with pens at all anymore. I suppose the thinkpad yoga, or maybe you could find a refurbished thinkpad x series tablet for your price range but... yeah. There is though a thinkpad tablet 3 coming out, or already out, it starts at 500 I believe, runs full 64 bit win 8, and has a Wacom pen. It also has a decent looking keyboard dock but... it sure ain't a laptop, even if it can run all the standard windows software.
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May 23, 2014 08:03
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What's with the complaints about keyboards on the Tx20 series? Maybe it's a T420 thing only because I had two T520s and the keyboard, in addition to having pretty much the best layout ever, also was extremely solid and didn't flex at all. Changing the default for F keys is annoying, but what really blows about the FN situation though is that they got rid of the dedicated volume buttons and mute indicators. 
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May 23, 2014 10:44
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