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Last week's Web chat had me pinned down for a good half an hour past the scheduled end, and I still didn't answer all of the questions submitted. Here are a few that I missed:
Chantilly, Va.: My father wants another laptop. He does not want a Celeron. Are there any inexpensive laptops with Pentium 4s? He does not play games - just checks the news and types e-mails.
A: I know it's always awkward to tell a parent "you're wrong," but in this case Chantilly's pop is wrong. A Pentium 4 is massive overkill for anybody who will be using their computer for the Web and e-mail. Even a Celeron processor is overkill; however, that's the cheapest chip Intel does make, and that's what I'd recommend Chantilly shop for.
Worcester, Mass.: What are your thoughts on the Powerbook G4 17-inch machine? Weight is not a huge issue for me. Thanks.
A: I still think it's awfully expensive for what you get, and its size alone makes it difficult to carry (it barely fit into my own workday bag when I reviewed it last year). If you are going to keep it parked on one or two desks and need the largest screen possible, it will be cheaper to buy the 17-in. PowerBook than to get a 15-in. model and add an external LCD. But I don't think that many home users fall into that description.
Arlington, Va.: What's your take on extended warranties? It seems most manufacturer warranties do not cover the screen. Is it worth the extra bucks to do so?
A: I can attest from personal experience that laptop-screen repairs aren't cheap! However, extended warranties aren't cheap either. My usual strategy is to pay for a computer with a credit card that doubles the warranty period, then be careful when I use the laptop.
Arlington, Va.: I'm getting ready to buy a laptop for law school. Between an Apple G4 and a Dell Latitude D600, which would you go for?
A: What, is everybody here from Arlington?! Anyway, Arlington should see if this law school has any software requirements that would preclude one platform or the other. If that's not an issue, and weight is, the 12-in. iBook will be hard to beat, not least since it's both lighter and cheaper than the 600m.
But if a 12-in. screen will be too small, it's a balancing act. A 14-in. iBook will weigh more than the 600m while offering a lower resolution. On the other hand, a 15-in. PowerBook will provide a significantly larger screen but will also cost several hundred dollars more than a 600m. There's also this angle: Out of the box, an iBook or PowerBook will be far more secure online than the 600m.
