Nom de Plume

I’m one of those people who is a lot less knowledgeable about computers than I like to think I am. In other words, I am A-OK dinking around with things I have no business dinking around with. For instance, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cleaned up my registry to the point of having to reinstall the OS. But hey, it’s all an adventure, right?

And so, when it came to buying a new laptop this time around, I decided to go with an ODMed machine. Don’t know what an ODM machine is? Here, read this. I should say that my last laptop was great–the HP Compaq NC6000. It was solid and had fantastic battery life. (And my HP XE2 from 1999 is still alive and kicking; even though it only runs Windows 98, Steve uses it regularly, though he will now upgrade to my new old laptop.)

After months of obsessive research, I finally decided to go with the Compal HGL30, which I bought from discountlaptops.com. The specs are:

14.1″ WXGA (1280 x 800) Glare TFT Glossy Display
Core 2 DUO 2.16 GHz Processor (Merom/ T7400 / 4 MB L2 Cache / 677 FSB)
Upgrade to Artic Silver 5 (AS5) Thermal Cooling CPU Compund Paste
nVidia GeForce GO 7600 (G73M) 256MB VRAM
2048 MB DDR2 (667 MHz) Corsair Memory (1 GB x 2)
80 GB Hard Drive (7200 RPM) - SATA (Hitachi)
8X DVD / 24X CD-RW Combo Drive w/ Software
Internal 56 kbps Modem (V.92)
Internal 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN
Internal IntelPRO 3945ABG Wireless Ethernet/Lan (802.11 a+b+g)
Smart Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell / 10.8V x 7200mAh)
3 in 1 card reader for SD/MS/MMC
S-Video, VGA, 3 USB 2.0 Ports

And then of course, I had to install Windows Vista Ultimate and Office Ultimate. So my little mini-review of the machine itself is intertwined with Vista experiences. And in no particular order, they are:

1) I like the laptop. The screen is amazing. I had this open side by side with my old NC6000 as I was transferring data, and my faithful old laptop just faded into obsolescence before my very eyes.

2) The CTRL and FN keys are reversed; this is messing me up, though I suppose I’ll get used to it.

3) Even with the Artic silver upgrade, the handwrests get pretty warm. But the fan works so I don’t think this is much of an issue in terms of function. But I don’t particularly like it.

4) I’m not sold on the keypad, which seems solid, but a little springy for my taste.

5) This shipped with a BIOS that was 6 versions old–and of course running Vista 64-bit puts a kink in things. The Compal web site has the most current versions–though it’s hard to figure out which it is–and THEN the zip files are password protected. HMMPH. I got mine from Bizcom instead.

6) Am I an idiot? (Don’t answer that.) I didn’t even realize this was 64-bit. This is a Vista issue, but can I tell you? There is NO SOFTWARE (non-MS) that works with this. I am trying to find a podcast receiver program, and NONE OF THEM WORKS!! This is a problem. Also, the IKEA kitchen planner software doesn’t work either, which is another issue, but deserves its own post as it concerns Mr. Demo wielding a sledgehammer stop a sawed off kitchen counter.

7) No microphone. My NC6000 had one built in, and I used it often enough for interviews. So I have to buy one. Not a big deal–they’re ten bucks–but it’s yet more stuff to lose/misplace/not be able to find it when I need. I would happily trade in the webcam for a microphone.

Media Office, which does use the webcam, seems supremely useless to me, as are the buttons on the top righthand corner dedicated to it. And there’s no external volume button. Again, not a big thing, just a minor inconvenience.

That’s about it for now, but I’ve only been running this for three days. I’m sure there will be aand lots more. All in all, though, I am pleased. (Knock on wood.) Especially considering that I’ve spec’ed out similar machines from HP and Dell, which would have cost a minimum of a grand more.

Update***
The speakers STINK.