[screwballl]

Originally Posted by 454_72_4X4

Wellscrewball, That helped a bunch and answered one of my questions before I even asked! LOL

I just seen one of the Netbooks at Wally world tonight. I didn't even notice there was no disc drive. Guess that puts those out of the running.
Just curious though, with no disc drive how do you get more software on them? Do ya have to buy an external disc drive?

The netbooks are typically so low power that you would not really want to install anything from disc anyways (except maybe some old programs from 5+ years ago). They call them "netbook" because they are pretty much only good for connecting to the "net" and doing basic stuff. For Office/Word related stuff, there is the free OpenOffice which will run decent on the netbooks but that is about as far as you may want to go.
Yes they require an external disc drive of some sort.

Couple other items to ad to my want list;
Media card reader (needs to support XD and SD cards at least. My camera uses XD, everything else uses SD or micro SD)

I myself just use a USB adapter piece I picked up for $10 that handles xD and SD cards so I can plug it into whichever computer I want. Since there are so many different flash card types nowadays, it is usually easier to find the USB piece than to find it built into a computer.

Built in bluetooth capability would be nice. I have a USB Bluetooth gizmo though, so it wouldn't be absolutely necessary.

I looked at a 15.4 screen size at radio shack while I was there gettin thermal paste. That's not a bad size. I can live with that. LOL

DVD Super Multi or DVD±R/RW Is there a difference in these?

Bluetooth is still more or less in the "testing the water" stage.
My preference is around 15" or larger LCD for laptops.
DVD super multi and DVD +/- R/RW are pretty much the same. this is standard on most laptops nowadays and only differs by name, not by functionality.

Processor GHz (Bigger number is better?)

In some cases... typically you will see better performance overall with a 2.0GHz dual core than you will a 2.5GHz single core. The main reason is that the dual cores also have faster bus speeds so everything just runs faster overall.

Bloatware removal (Seein this alot on Vista systems. Is this somethin I can do or do I have to have it done?)

Nope it comes with all OEM computer of any type shape and size. I always go through and remove it all the first time I boot it up.

2Gb minimum for Vista (is this gonna have to be upgraded as time goes on? I know it helped my DV when I installed an additional 1Gb after the first year or more)

Windows 7 seems to run very nicely on as little as 1GB, yet Vista runs like crap on anything 2GB or less. Based on the typical lifespan of laptops, I usually do not worry about this. By the time Windows8 or whatever comes out, you will need a laptop with 4GB of memory... yet even if the laptop you buy now still runs well, it will still have Vista (or XP) and should still run fine with what it has. Of course if you choose, you could upgrade it to 4GB of memory... then you would run into the memory limitations of 32bit Windows which is where XP and Vista comes in, and they would only see around 3.2-3.7GB of that 4GB of memory.

Expansion port (My DV has one of these but I've never used it. Good to have or just excess for most of us? What's it actually used for anyway? LOL)

Serial bus card slot (Again my DV has one. It usually has the remote stored in there, but I bought a 2 port USB card for it awhile back since one of my USB ports got destroyed.
Wouldn't mind havin the slot on the next computer since I already have the 2 USB card.)

Power cord (Off the wall question here. Are most of 'em interchangable as long as the connector is the same? My main concern here is that I have a power cord for my DV that plugs directly into a cigarette lighter so I don't have to use an inverter. makes it alot more handy for GPS navigation.
Is there a name for the different plug in styles so I could compare without seein them in person? [Online])

For the power cords, each and every laptop is different... even if you buy a new HP dv4000, it will most likely have a different connector than your HP dv1000. Even if it is the same or fits, the polarity may be different and may end up frying something in the process.

Originally Posted by 454_72_4X4

Found these in the cheap catagory... LOL

Differences I've noted.

AMD CPU vs Intel Pentium dual core

Intel still tends to be faster but the AMd tends to be a bit cheaper and uses less power (electricity).

3gb on the HP, 2Gb Toshiba (Both max at 4Gb)

HP has bluetooth and lists XD card capable. Toshiba doesnt.

HP 101 key keyboard compatible Toshiba 86 key (important?)

look a bit deeper, some "have" a 101 key keyboard which means it is a wider laptop and has a layout similar to a desktop keyboard with the number pad to the right... versus the 86 key is the standard laptop setup. some says "101 key compatible" meaning it is compatible with a plug in standard keyboard like what a desktop uses, but all computers including laptops since the 486's pretty much have this compatibility.

I'm really leanin toward the HP...
Still lookin though! Hahaha

HPdv6810
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147935

Brand HP
Series Pavilion
Model dv6810us
Part# KN828UA#ABA
General
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium
CPU Type AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 2.0G
Screen 15.4" WXGA
Memory Size 3GB DDR2
Hard Disk 160GB
Optical Drive DVD Super Multi





TOSHIBA Satellite L305-S5921
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834114611

Brand TOSHIBA
Series Satellite
Model L305-S5921
Part# PSLB8U-079025
General
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium
CPU Type Intel Pentium dual-core T3400(2.16GHz)
Screen 15.4" WXGA
Memory Size 2GB DDR2
Hard Disk 160GB
Optical Drive DVD Super Multi

of those 2 I would say go with the HP... BUT, the HP is out of stock and especially on recertified like that, usually once they are out, it may be a while before they get them back in, IF they ever get anymore.