anyone check out the 17inch hp p4 2.8+ machines and anyone know how much they are
[quote=“champaignj”]Hi all,
I’ll be travelling to Taiwan in for about 4 months time, and am interested in using a laptop while I’m there. I’m torn between buying a laptop here in Canada before I go, or in Taipei once I arrive.
I’ve heard that in Taipei you can get cheaper machines, but that you’re on your own in the break (whereas buying them in North America offers some protection if it breaks).
Do people here have any suggestions as to where I should buy?
Thanks,
John[/quote]
I had a really negative experience with Apple in Taiwan about 4 or 5 years ago. I bought a Mac (my first and only one), and wanted the optional “Intel card” (or whatever it was called) that allowed you to run both DOS and MacOS on the same machine. The card was an Apple-branded part, not a third-party add-on. Anyway, the card was defective from day 1, and I sent it back three times, and each time it came back from the Apple Repair Center with a comment that there was “nothing wrong with it.” Well, there was something wrong with it - with the card installed, the monitor would flicker, the screen would change colors, etc. I installed it in another Mac just to be sure it was not my machine causing the problem - same result. Apple pretty much told me to piss off, and no, they would not refund my money. The card cost NT$10,000.
OK, I know your question was about laptops, not desktops with an Intel card. But anyway, I was not impressed by Apple-Taiwan’s service.
I’m currently using an IBM laptop, which I purchased 3 years ago. Very reliable machine, if nothing else - I can’t comment on their service, because this machine has never needed service. I bought it locally, and the price was right. The only complaint I had was that it came with Windows, and I hate Windows, and you have to pay for Windows even if you erase from the hard drive immediately (it’s not free - it’s included in the price). So if you want a laptop, you pay the mandatory Microsoft tax, which is around NT$3000 these days. This is true with all the big brands - the only way I know of to avoid the Microsoft tax is to buy a “white box” (no brand name).
I’m running Knoppix Linux as my OS of choice. Very nice. Hot tip of the day: visit Tianlong Bookstore, 107 Chongqing S Rd, Sec 1, Taibei - best place (I know of) to pick up Linux CDs, English computer books, etc.
“That dumb betelnut-chewing trigger-man couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. Next time, hire a professional.”
- Annette Lu, in secretly-recorded phone conversation last Friday night…
Secondly, it’s true that Dell Taiwan has a limited selection, and they have yet to offer the latest video cards, but I wouldn’t call it outdated.[/quote]
Outdated maybe wasn’t the right word, but what is available are not the latest models. I just went to the Dell Taiwan site the other day, and they only sell the Latitude line, which maxes out at 1.x GHz, and 1G RAM. The Inspiron line in US goes up to 3.x GHz, and 2G RAM now. So, the best Dell notebook available in Taiwan is one generation behind the best Dell notebook available in the US.[/quote]
I looked around for notebooks this weekend, and this seems to not be just a Dell thing. All of latest and greatest notebooks sold in Taiwan seem to be one generation behind the latest and greatest sold in the US. So, looks like I’ll be bringning another notebook back from the US, and dealing with the service/warranty issues that this will present.