Laptop update

Despite the overwhelming support for a Powerbook (6 comments left today lobbying heavily for a Powerbook, none recommending anything else), I ended up going with what I know: a ThinkPad. I liked how Ars Technica put it — the Powerbook is the supermodel. But I’m not a supermodel. (Bite your tongue.) Then again I don’t really see myself as the button-up three piece suit that purportedly gravitates to the ThinkPad.

Here’s what I do know: for the past 15 months, my laptop of choice was a ThinkPad T30. And I loved it — rock-solid, fast, and reliable. It had a few downsides — it wasn’t quite as thin or as light as you’d like, for starters. Well, the T40 solves that: it weighs just 4.5 pounds, just under 5 pounds with the DVD/CD-ROM drive. It’s faster than the T30 (though the clock speed is slower, apparently the Pentium M chip is significantly faster than the P4 I had in the T30; I’ve given up trying to understand this stuff).

The specs on the machine I bought:

• 80 gig hard drive


• 512 megs RAM


• 1.6 ghz Pentium M


• 14.1” display


• WiFi built-in (the antenna is built into the case, dramatically improving connectivity)


• Gigabit ethernet built in

• WinXP Pro

And I got it at eBay for a steal. So I’m pretty happy. Will report back once I receive the goods.

Now… anyone out there who knows how to install a drop ceiling in a basement? I’m getting a bit antsy to finish the damn thing.