My current Dell laptop (a maxed-out top-of-the-line Inspiron 8000 bought in early 2001) has been nothing short of a nightmare. I foolishly bought it with a 1 year warranty, expecting things would be okay--my previous 10+ years of computer purchases being largely fault free.
Of course, a few weeks out of warranty things started to go bad. First the screen developed a fault--intermittently casting a green/purple haze over its entire area. A faulty connection somewhere I presumed. Dell quoted me some exorbidant price to get it fixed--I declined, instead opting to purchase an external CRT to use as a dual monitor when needed.
Not soon after, with no prompting, the built-in ethernet port somehow disappeared off the Windows Device Manager. Boom, without a trace. I reinstalled drivers, reinstalled Windows, upgraded and then downgraded the BIOS--nothing fixed the problem. Dell were unwilling to help, even downright condescending--that *I* had somehow done something wrong, that nothing was wrong with their computer. Needing a quick solution, as I was flying off to Europe in a few days, I bought an ethernet PC Card.
A few months ago, the keyboard decided to stop working. Well, I could temporarily correct the issue--by unscrewing and taking the keyboard out, and reseating the cable. Tape didn't help. After much frustration, I gave up.
Currently, it's connected to an external monitor and a external keyboard, tucked under my desk. So much for a "laptop".
And there's Windows XP--that ugly bloated mess that has me pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL a few times a day to terminate some crashed application. Forcing me download some large patch every few days to block some newly found security hole. Startling me with the stupidity of its UI as I wade through screens and screens to turn of some enabled-by-default annoyance.
I ordered a 15.2-inch PowerBook the other day, and I can't wait.
Of course, a few weeks out of warranty things started to go bad. First the screen developed a fault--intermittently casting a green/purple haze over its entire area. A faulty connection somewhere I presumed. Dell quoted me some exorbidant price to get it fixed--I declined, instead opting to purchase an external CRT to use as a dual monitor when needed.
Not soon after, with no prompting, the built-in ethernet port somehow disappeared off the Windows Device Manager. Boom, without a trace. I reinstalled drivers, reinstalled Windows, upgraded and then downgraded the BIOS--nothing fixed the problem. Dell were unwilling to help, even downright condescending--that *I* had somehow done something wrong, that nothing was wrong with their computer. Needing a quick solution, as I was flying off to Europe in a few days, I bought an ethernet PC Card.
A few months ago, the keyboard decided to stop working. Well, I could temporarily correct the issue--by unscrewing and taking the keyboard out, and reseating the cable. Tape didn't help. After much frustration, I gave up.
Currently, it's connected to an external monitor and a external keyboard, tucked under my desk. So much for a "laptop".
And there's Windows XP--that ugly bloated mess that has me pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL a few times a day to terminate some crashed application. Forcing me download some large patch every few days to block some newly found security hole. Startling me with the stupidity of its UI as I wade through screens and screens to turn of some enabled-by-default annoyance.
I ordered a 15.2-inch PowerBook the other day, and I can't wait.
I umm eviscerated a few cd rom drives it was awesome 
