Latitude D800 -- Good or bad?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hello all...

I'm looking to buy a new notebook computer as my beloved old Compaq LTE is
finally beginning to have some odd problems. (Not that I could blame it
after all of these years!) After much shopping around, I have found the Dell
Latitude D800 to be a notebook computer that has just about all the features
I desire. Add that to the fact that Dell is presently willing to drop $350
off of the price tag, and I think it's a pretty good deal...though I do need
to see what they will do on financing...

Does anyone here on this group have this model? Have you been happy with it?
Specifically, how is the performance and battery life? Will the machine take
a different operating system and remain completely functional/function
properly? (I'm looking towards running Windows 2000 Pro or maybe even a
Linux of some kind on this machine...I don't like WinXP and try to avoid
it.)

Thanks!

William

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The D800 is solid (as is the Inspiron 8600, the same system with different
cosmetics and options, minus the track stick, serial and parallel ports of
the D800).

Don't downgrade to Windows 2000 - you may not yet know, but Microsoft has
pulled the plug on future Internet Explorer updates for all OSes except XP -
and while you can (should) use an alternative browser, the lack of patches
will eventually render IE too dangerous to use with anything older than XP.




"William R. Walsh" <newsgroups1@saveyourspam.walshcomptech.com> wrote in
message news:KLpsd.440729$wV.364533@attbi_s54...
> Hello all...
>
> I'm looking to buy a new notebook computer as my beloved old Compaq LTE is
> finally beginning to have some odd problems. (Not that I could blame it
> after all of these years!) After much shopping around, I have found the
Dell
> Latitude D800 to be a notebook computer that has just about all the
features
> I desire. Add that to the fact that Dell is presently willing to drop $350
> off of the price tag, and I think it's a pretty good deal...though I do
need
> to see what they will do on financing...
>
> Does anyone here on this group have this model? Have you been happy with
it?
> Specifically, how is the performance and battery life? Will the machine
take
> a different operating system and remain completely functional/function
> properly? (I'm looking towards running Windows 2000 Pro or maybe even a
> Linux of some kind on this machine...I don't like WinXP and try to avoid
> it.)
>
> Thanks!
>
> William
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In article <KLpsd.440729$wV.364533@attbi_s54>, newsgroups1
@saveyourspam.walshcomptech.com says...

<snippety>

> Does anyone here on this group have this model? Have you been happy with it?
> Specifically, how is the performance and battery life? Will the machine take
> a different operating system and remain completely functional/function
> properly? (I'm looking towards running Windows 2000 Pro or maybe even a
> Linux of some kind on this machine...I don't like WinXP and try to avoid
> it.)

Smart person. I'm no fan of X(tra)P(ain) either. ;-)

Anyway... I have been a satisfied Dell user since about 1996. I
had an old Latitude CP-XT notebook in service for about six years before
I finally had to retire it (still in great shape, I'm happy to say) in
favor of a Latitude C640.

I looked at the D-series, and compared their specs to the C640
pretty carefully. Yes, the D-series look like really nice machines, but
some things that gave me pause were the fact that the display was only
0.9 inches bigger (diagonally), and that the battery life was rated
about 40 minutes shorter.

In short: It's amazing how much more power an increased size of
backlight for that big LCD panel pulls. For my specific application, the
gain did not seem to justify the higher (refurbished) price (I bought
mine from a Dell reseller on Ebay who resells off-lease units).

I doubt very much you'd be disappointed with the D-series. Coming
from the Latitude family, they will most likely be durable workhorses
(though not in the same class as, say, a Panasonic ToughBook or Dolch
portable, but I don't think you're looking for military specs here). ;-)

Happy hunting.



--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi!

> The D800 is solid (as is the Inspiron 8600, the same system with different
> cosmetics and options, minus the track stick, serial and parallel ports of
> the D800).

I really think the D800 is going to be it. If there was only one reason not
to buy a Dell right now, it would be that I don't like talking to tech
support in India, because I can't understand a word they say and I think
that Dell's support people cater to those who are trying to find the power
switch...but then again, who isn't outsourcing their support today???

> Don't downgrade to Windows 2000 - you may not yet know, but Microsoft has
> pulled the plug on future Internet Explorer updates for all OSes except
XP -
> and while you can (should) use an alternative browser, the lack of patches
> will eventually render IE too dangerous to use with anything older than
XP.

I had heard that with the advent of IE6SP2 that the only new versions of IE
would come out with Windows service packs. Now I have heard that there will
be no Windows 2000 SP5 I suppose that there will be no IE6SP2 for Win2k
either. But then again, Microsoft also states that Win2k will be supported
for updates through 2010 and I doubt very highly that they don't release a
service pack at some point in that time. Judging by what the world has to
say about "no SP5" so far, I have to wonder if MS will change their mind. I
sent them a letter today by mail...and it may do nothing, but without making
the effort, who knows?

There's just too much I don't want, don't need, don't care for and won't
have in XP that I am not going to use it. I really wish that I could order
the machine "blank" with only some software (Corel Wordperfect 12) but Dell
doesn't offer that FAIK.

William

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"William R. Walsh" <newsgroups1@saveyourspam.walshcomptech.com> wrote in
message news:hnssd.200639$R05.145201@attbi_s53...
> Hi!

> I really think the D800 is going to be it. If there was only one reason
not
> to buy a Dell right now, it would be that I don't like talking to tech
> support in India, because I can't understand a word they say and I think
> that Dell's support people cater to those who are trying to find the power
> switch...but then again, who isn't outsourcing their support today???

You can opt for US priority support if you're willing to pay for it - it's
not an option for the Inspirons, but it is for the Latitudes.

 

[BT]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Busman" <texaseitz@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:e%Gsd.27322$fC4.482@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com...
> Thanks! Have installed Firefox and looking at differences.
> Andy
>

You will need to use IE if you want to use Windows Update...and some other sites
that require Active X controls.

BT

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In article <QTwsd.512451$D%.244078@attbi_s51>, newsgroups1
@saveyourspam.walshcomptech.com says...

<snippety>

> The only thing left from IE that I use is Outlook Express--and only as a
> newsreader at that. It too is very dangerous to use, but I have yet to find
> another newsreader that does as well in the interface department. Plenty
> more powerful, but none yet that's as straightforward.

Well, all you had to do was ask! ;-)

I would recommend Microplanet's 'Gravity.' I was so impressed with
it at first glance that I bought it right away, back when it was still
shareware (it's been released as open-source now, if I recall correctly,
and I can send you the installer for it if you can't find it with
Google).

It has a fantastic UI, excellent security, and so many filtering
features I still haven't figured them all out. It would certainly be a
lot better than OE.

> I have another problem I haven't yet figured out--and that's how to replace
> IE on my older machines. I have a lot of early Pentiums, 486 boxes and even
> a 386 or two still running. Some of the Pentiums will do Firefox just fine,
> but I don't know what to pick on the 486 boxes. The 386 boxes (mostly
> running Win 3.11 or NT 3.51) don't worry me that much from a security
> standpoint.

You may want to consider earlier versions of Netscape for them. I
find that most such worked just fine.

> I had a devil of a time trying to find permissions controls on files and
> folders. This was dead easy in NT and 2K (and is pretty much unchanged in
> Windows Server 2003) but I can't find ANYWHERE to do it on XP. That's
> unfortunate, because I did use that feature every now and again. I suppose
> (I hope?) that XP would support such basic functionality, but I can't find
> it anywhere.

XP strikes me as something that was designed to hold the user's
hand as much as possible, even in the 'Pro' version. Yet another reason
why I won't touch it with a 3.048 meter pole (perhaps with a 1.5 meter
Italian, but that's another story).

Keep the peace(es).



--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In article <o1Gsd.27311$fC4.9981@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com>,
texaseitz@sbcglobal.net says...

<Once again -- Top-posting corrected. Please do NOT top-post!>

> "Dr. Anton T. Squeegee" <SpammersAreVermin@dev.null> wrote in message
> news:MPG.1c1c29e0d29afa7998982e@192.168.42.131...
> > In article <31evv2F3a46bqU1@individual.net>, ejn63@netscape.com says...
> >
> > <Top-posting corrected. Please don't top-post in Usenet groups.
> > See http://www.html-faq.com/etiquette/?toppost for why.>
> >
> > > "William R. Walsh" <newsgroups1@saveyourspam.walshcomptech.com> wrote in
> > > message news:KLpsd.440729$wV.364533@attbi_s54...
> > > > Hello all...
> > > >
> > > > I'm looking to buy a new notebook computer as my beloved old Compaq
> LTE is
> > > > finally beginning to have some odd problems. (Not that I could blame
> it
> > > > after all of these years!) After much shopping around, I have found

> What issues will I have when switching from IE to Mozilla's Firefox? Have
> tried Firefox at work and it seems simple enough to use but I wonder how
> many issues I'll have when I pull the plug on IE in my new 4600 with XP. Any
> suggestions?
> Andy

<snippety>

You shouldn't have any issues at all. Firefox can easily import
IE's bookmarks, so you shouldn't lose anything there. Firefox loads
faster, and has better security. I can't see how you'd lose anything
other than a heap of worry about virus vectors.

Keep the peace(es).

--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi!

> Well, all you had to do was ask! ;-)
>
> I would recommend Microplanet's 'Gravity.' I was so impressed with
> it at first glance that I bought it right away, back when it was still
> shareware (it's been released as open-source now, if I recall correctly,
> and I can send you the installer for it if you can't find it with
> Google).

It wouldn't be the first time I had heard of Gravity, and I'll admit that it
wasn't half bad. It's been a long time since I used it so I don't remember
what all I wasn't comfortable with...

Mozilla's own Thunderbird came *awfully* close but seemed to have problems
with thread ordering. (I mean to say that it displayed each and every reply
that OE would display "under" the main title posting as a separate posting.
I found that very hard to follow.)

I suppose that if anything I have some bad OE-induced habits that need to
leave.

> You may want to consider earlier versions of Netscape for them. I
> find that most such worked just fine.

I have some, and they work pretty well...maybe that's something I will have
to think about. For some of the machines I found a great solution in the
OffByOne browser. Unique, basic, but it's a 32 bit browser that will run on
NT 3.51. Never tried it with Win32s...hmmm...

In the meantime, I have to wonder how much a 16-bit IE 5 on Windows NT 3.51
is really vulnerable to!

William

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Dr. Anton T. Squeegee" <SpammersAreVermin@dev.null> wrote in message
> You shouldn't have any issues at all. Firefox can easily import
> IE's bookmarks, so you shouldn't lose anything there. Firefox loads
> faster, and has better security. I can't see how you'd lose anything
> other than a heap of worry about virus vectors.

Firefox does not load faster on all systems.
On mine, it is much slower.

There are areas where Firefox does not give you some capabilities in IE, but
those discussiuons are best found at the Firefox forums at Mozilla's web
site.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I had the use (for a while) of a Latitude D600 with DVD burner that simply
knocked the SOCKS off my Inspiron 8200, which is (was) a top-of-the-line
model (when it was built.) Everything about the D600 was nicer, slicker,
faster, cooler.

"William R. Walsh" <newsgroups1@saveyourspam.walshcomptech.com> wrote in
message news:KLpsd.440729$wV.364533@attbi_s54...
> Hello all...
>
> I'm looking to buy a new notebook computer as my beloved old Compaq LTE is
> finally beginning to have some odd problems. (Not that I could blame it
> after all of these years!) After much shopping around, I have found the
> Dell
> Latitude D800 to be a notebook computer that has just about all the
> features
> I desire. Add that to the fact that Dell is presently willing to drop $350
> off of the price tag, and I think it's a pretty good deal...though I do
> need
> to see what they will do on financing...
>
> Does anyone here on this group have this model? Have you been happy with
> it?
> Specifically, how is the performance and battery life? Will the machine
> take
> a different operating system and remain completely functional/function
> properly? (I'm looking towards running Windows 2000 Pro or maybe even a
> Linux of some kind on this machine...I don't like WinXP and try to avoid
> it.)
>
> Thanks!
>
> William
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Howard,

Firefox is not perfect yet. Report the bug to the Firefox development team...
Ben Myers

On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 05:38:07 -0500, "Howard Kaikow" <kaikow@standards.com> wrote:

>I encountered a significant problem using Firefox yesterday.
>Macromedia Flash and Firefox are not playing nice together.
>
>Macromedia needs to be passing a file URL, or Firefox is misinterpreting
>the passed URL.
>
>--
>http://www.standards.com/; See Howard Kaikow's web site.
<SNIP!>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

It may not be a Firefox bug, could be a flash bug that IE handles properly.

Details are provided in a thread I started yesterday in te Firefox General
forum.

--
http://www.standards.com/; See Howard Kaikow's web site.
<ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)> wrote in message
news:41b4ec26.34012871@nntp.charter.net...
> Howard,
>
> Firefox is not perfect yet. Report the bug to the Firefox development
team...
> Ben Myers
>
> On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 05:38:07 -0500, "Howard Kaikow" <kaikow@standards.com>
wrote:
>
> >I encountered a significant problem using Firefox yesterday.
> >Macromedia Flash and Firefox are not playing nice together.
> >
> >Macromedia needs to be passing a file URL, or Firefox is misinterpreting
> >the passed URL.
> >
> >--
> >http://www.standards.com/; See Howard Kaikow's web site.
> <SNIP!>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I am loving my D800, if you can get the extra warranty. They will do
on-site replacement of any component (had my screen and mobo replaced!)

One thing that bugs me is the airflow requires that the unit have
adequate clearance underneath. I had to use a riser for mine. Also with
1Gb RAM the unit gets _HOT_

Other than that it's frekkin fast.
Live audio and video for performance.
Gaming.
Terracnosaur

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<terracnosaur@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1104798952.032225.232930@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>I am loving my D800, if you can get the extra warranty. They will do
> on-site replacement of any component (had my screen and mobo replaced!)
>
> One thing that bugs me is the airflow requires that the unit have
> adequate clearance underneath. I had to use a riser for mine. Also with
> 1Gb RAM the unit gets _HOT_
>
> Other than that it's frekkin fast.
> Live audio and video for performance.
> Gaming.
> Terracnosaur
>
Greetings,

What was the extra warranty you got with your purchase? Also, did you add
the floppy drive? If so, what is the quality of the floppy?

Thanks in advance for your help and comments.

Leigh

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The extended warranty was offered by Dell to my reseller. It's awesome.
On site repair and next day usually. no one else in the biz can
compare.

No floppy with mine, but I plan on getting one some day.
@ $30 for the floppy drive it's cost is on par with any standard USB
floppy, and the fact that it is used inside the DBAY means you can swap
it for a DVD+RW when you need to, or pull out your optical drive and
use the floppy in your book if you need to.


Terracnosaur