Which reviewers do YOU trust?

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

While shopping around for a new notebook as replacement for my
Tosh SP6100-lemon I got to the question which reviewer one can trust.

Hardware reviews are a business and it is clear that some of the
opinions and verdicts are "sponsored". Are any reviewers out there
that are known for a less biased position than others? When it comes
to the quality and durability of a product: do any of the reviewers go
more in depth than just telling us about the look and the feel and the
facts that are printed on a data sheet? Performance is important; does
anybody question and test if the performance is likely to last the
expected lifetime of the product? (Actually: Which is the expected
lifetime of a notebook in our throwaway-world?)

Who would you recommend to read and to trust? Who not? Did you ever
read a real devastating verdict?

Werner

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Werner R. Schilling wrote:
> While shopping around for a new notebook as replacement for my
> Tosh SP6100-lemon I got to the question which reviewer one can trust.
>
> Hardware reviews are a business and it is clear that some of the
> opinions and verdicts are "sponsored". Are any reviewers out there
> that are known for a less biased position than others? When it comes
> to the quality and durability of a product: do any of the reviewers go
> more in depth than just telling us about the look and the feel and the
> facts that are printed on a data sheet? Performance is important; does
> anybody question and test if the performance is likely to last the
> expected lifetime of the product? (Actually: Which is the expected
> lifetime of a notebook in our throwaway-world?)
>
> Who would you recommend to read and to trust? Who not? Did you ever
> read a real devastating verdict?
>
> Werner

There are no legitimate performance and reliability reviews; most are
simply hardware, as supplied. Look into www.notebookforums.com
alt.sys.pc-clone.dell, compaq, etc., this forum, and any others found
with Google: [vendor] notebook forum. Forums tend to illustrate the bad
and ugly, the good is what is left over.

Q

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I have to agree; let the warranty be your guide. I like thinkpads, and
there are 1 and 3 year warranties depending on the model. Most
manufacturers let you upgrade the warranty for a fee. The fee is worth it
to me, others gamble the warranty fee for not needing repairs.

I can make most notebooks fast if you let me spec them. Lots of memory and
fast hard disks is a good start. If you buy what in the stores, you'll
probably get a slow hard disk and 512K of memory at best. My r40 1.3 was
rated as best of the bunch way back when it was new. These days it's
holding it's own for a 2.5 year old machine. that's with a 5400 rpm hard
disk and 2 gig ram.

Oh, and fast processors need lots of batteries unless you slow them down.
then again you need a mobile processor than can be slowed.

"Andrew Fenton" <andrew-fenton@spammerscanpissoff.lineone.net> wrote in
message news:11a62rh7243jff6@corp.supernews.com...
> There's only one way to judge: look at the warranty. If they give 3 year
> warranties, it's because they're built to last that long. Self-interest
> dictates that the manufacturers, who know their own products better than
> any outsider, will build them well.
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

www.notebookforums.com & www.notebookreview.com (forums section) are also
good locations to ask questions and get info.

"Werner R. Schilling" <schilling@spamfence.net> wrote in message
news:3ggdejFc7iuaU2@individual.net...
> While shopping around for a new notebook as replacement for my
> Tosh SP6100-lemon I got to the question which reviewer one can trust.
>
> Hardware reviews are a business and it is clear that some of the
> opinions and verdicts are "sponsored". Are any reviewers out there
> that are known for a less biased position than others? When it comes
> to the quality and durability of a product: do any of the reviewers go
> more in depth than just telling us about the look and the feel and the
> facts that are printed on a data sheet? Performance is important; does
> anybody question and test if the performance is likely to last the
> expected lifetime of the product? (Actually: Which is the expected
> lifetime of a notebook in our throwaway-world?)
>
> Who would you recommend to read and to trust? Who not? Did you ever
> read a real devastating verdict?
>
> Werner
>