So, as some may know, I’m heading back to school to follow a new path. Heading toward a degree in Web Development & Design, with the emphasis being on the development aspect. With that in mind, I needed to get some mobile computing power to lug around with me, to do work, and get other things done.
The first laptop I purchased was an Apple MacBook Pro. Looking forward to enjoying everything about the Apple experience, I brought home the first one and found a problem with the workmanship of the navigation pad. I was annoyed. Not a deal breaking development but when you plunk down the kind of cash Apple wants, the computer better be close to perfect. I returned it, and picked out another one. For about 24 hours that one was fine, until I put it down on a flat surface. Low and behold, the computer wasn’t, uh, level. Yeah, it rocked back and forth. I checked the underside and noted all the rubber feet were correctly placed, but sure enough, the thing just wobbled enough to make it annoying. So, you guessed it, I returned that one too. However, I decided not to pull the trigger on a third one: I just wasn’t feeling it.
Then I turned my attention to Dell. The M1550 was my first purchase. Dell shipped it out promptly, gave me a substantial discount, and the computer arrived well before it’s initially declared date. I unpacked it, and enjoyed the 15″ of goodness. It was fast, it was mean, and it was … uh, HUGE. Woah. Missed the mark on that one. The laptop could have been a desktop replacement. I realized I’d made a mistake and Dell was very, very understanding. They assigned a special “Resolution Expert” to my case. They returned the laptop at their expense, didn’t charge me a restocking fee, and refunded my credit card promptly. Aside from the snafu, I was quite pleased. So, I pulled the trigger again.
This time Dell shipped out the M1330, a much smaller, lighter, but just as mean and fast as the previous model. Okay, we’ve finally arrived at the destination I’ve been looking for all along. Small, powerful, sleek, and with all the goodies, this laptop (on which I’m typing right now) should fit the bill perfectly. Plenty of storage space, plenty of speed, and oodles of charm. It took a while, but I think I’ve finally found my new best friend. Dell, meet Max. Max, “say hello to your little friend!”