I sprung for a Dell Latitude Z (10.5") NetBook, mostly on the theory
that I'd try it out and if it was too small for my gargantuan fingers,
then I'd regift it to my wife.
As it turned out, the darn thing was too slow to be usable for all but
the most rudimentary tasks. The unit shipped with Windows Vista
Home edition (although Win 7 had been out for about a month at that
time), and running Microsoft Office applications was impossible on the
maximum 1 Gb of RAM the machine supported - the apps took
forever to load and there was zero responsiveness when Alt-Tabbing
from screen to screen. Outlook 2007 was impossible to run, and OWA
to her company's Exchange server was only slightly better despite our
fat 6 Mbps pipe to the Internet. I should also mention that navigation
was impossible due to the compactness of the full-size keyboard -
even my slender0fingered wife had difficulties getting the right key
when banging out an urgent email, so extensive spell-checking and
correction was required.
We then decixded to try upsizing it to Win 7 Home Premium, only to
find it was no better. So, we zapped it and put a Ubuntu Linux distro
on it and tested it again - and it was a little bit zippier on changing
from one active task to another, and our install of Firefox was great
for web-wurfing and webmail, but otherwise it was still a dog - not an
old dog - maybe a middle-aged one.
We ended up reinstalling the factory suite of apps (Win XP Home,
Microsoft Works 9), and putting it up on Ebay. I was candid with the
purchaser about my opinion of the unit, but she still was delighted to
get the unit at about $100 off Dell's then-in-effect retail price (it was
a factory refurb, so I lost zero money on the deal!).
At best, these tiny, underpowered machines are really made for those
who desire only web surfing and webmail access, all in a travel-ready,
ultralight package - maybe perfect for a road-warrior in a creative
slot or an upper-management type - someone who is web and email
focused, and who doesn't care Jack about other apps. For a serious
business-class user, Netbooks are like trinkets, paperweights or other
trade-show swag - which is where I suspect we'll see them ending up
by 2015 or so. Save your money, buy some dumbbells to beef up
those biceps, and drop your wad on a 7 lb, business-class notebook.
You'll be glad you did, even if it does suck carrying it through airport
after airport.
Dell's new Vostro 3000 series laptops aims for entrepreneurs
by Andrew Nusca | March 8, 2010 8:27pm PST | Image 1 of 23
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Dell's new Vostro 3000 series laptops aims for entrepreneurs
The Vostro 3000 series.
Dell's new Vostro 3000 series laptops aims for small business entrepreneurs. Here's a look at the 13-inch 3300, 14-inch 3400, 15-inch 3500 and 17-inch 3700.
Read the original post: In bid for entrepreneurs, Dell introduces new Vostro 3000 laptops: Core i3, i5, i7; start $768
Dell's new Vostro 3000 series laptops aims for small business entrepreneurs. Here's a look at the 13-inch 3300, 14-inch 3400, 15-inch 3500 and 17-inch 3700.
Read the original post: In bid for entrepreneurs, Dell introduces new Vostro 3000 laptops: Core i3, i5, i7; start $768
Just In
RE: Dell's new Vostro 3000 series laptops aims for entrepreneurs (Dell's new Vostro 3000 series laptops aims for entrepreneurs)
Dell is the latest PC vendor to update its small business lineup and it?s clear that there will be a real battle between HP, Lenovo and others to target that market.
Why the interest? We?re all small businesses and if we?re not today we will be at some point in the future.
A confluence of trends are spurring technology vendors? interest in small and mid-sized businesses. For starters, unemployment is pushing 10 percent and the ranks of underemployed are even higher.
These folks, many of them are highly skilled, are tech savvy and being forced to launch their own businesses on the side. These people are referred to as accidental entrepreneurs. ZDNet?s Brian Sommer just did a series on accidental freelancers.
Sommer sets up the profile of the folks who may buy into these new fangled SMB plays from tech vendors. Speaking of two executives he knew
Both of these fellows are doing some freelance work, looking for full-time gigs and are trying to stay connected with executives at established service firms hoping some crumbs (or a permanent gig) fall their way.
These guys are freelancers who really don?t want to be freelancers.
Instead, these are employees who are without an employer and are doing freelancing as a means to provide an income.
Worse, since both are over 50, they expect to be freelancers until they retire as they aren?t finding prospective employers too interested in people of their age.
In either case you get the idea: Former stalwarts in Corporate America are going out on their own.
We?re all consultants, freelancers and entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, a lot of these folks are tech savvy. HP, Dell and Lenovo obviously see the trends and are making their pitch.
Courting SMBs will be one of the larger tech trends of 2010.
Dells Vostro line (above right) is geared toward SMBs and is pitching a mix of form, functionality and service to appeal to business owners. Dell has the usual notebook PC features with a few perks, but the real message from the company is that support is available when your business hits the ipad bag blog of best sutudeg community the technology education news and fan.
I think you have these confused with a netbook. These laptops sport full blown Intel I series CPU's and up to 8GB of RAM.
i have a vostro 1510 with Nvidia, here is my review.
1. They get easily affected by dirt
2. The keyboard is too small.
3. Motherboard crashes frequently, you need to buy additional warranty to avoid those kind of things.
4. There is no mute button.
5. Laptop batteries are easily perishable, mine lasted only for 8 months. Now i will have to buy a new one (even though it was a nine cell).
6. Its not designed for any rough use.
7. Waste of money, better buy an hp,lenovo or viao.
1. They get easily affected by dirt
2. The keyboard is too small.
3. Motherboard crashes frequently, you need to buy additional warranty to avoid those kind of things.
4. There is no mute button.
5. Laptop batteries are easily perishable, mine lasted only for 8 months. Now i will have to buy a new one (even though it was a nine cell).
6. Its not designed for any rough use.
7. Waste of money, better buy an hp,lenovo or viao.
The Dell Vostro 3700 would be great except for one thing.
Sound.
This is a 17.3" widescreen laptop. Users would normally want to watch multimedia content on it with or WITHOUT their iPhone headphones/externals.
The Win 7 how-to video from Microsoft is barely audible on the 3700.
I can hear the same sound track from one story below on my Dell Inspiron 8600. Born in 2004.
This "feels" like a codec problem though I could of course be wrong. Suggestions and feedback always welcome.
Sound.
This is a 17.3" widescreen laptop. Users would normally want to watch multimedia content on it with or WITHOUT their iPhone headphones/externals.
The Win 7 how-to video from Microsoft is barely audible on the 3700.
I can hear the same sound track from one story below on my Dell Inspiron 8600. Born in 2004.
This "feels" like a codec problem though I could of course be wrong. Suggestions and feedback always welcome.
PS: Meant to add:
Vostro 3700, i5, 500GB/7200RPM, Win7Pro/nvidia 1GB
Vostro 3700, i5, 500GB/7200RPM, Win7Pro/nvidia 1GB
I agree with this sentences. Save your money, buy some dumbbells to beef up those biceps, and drop your wad on a 7 lb, business-class notebook. You'll be glad you did, even if it does suck carrying it through airport after airport. m k l
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