Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ultralight

Is a Toshiba Portege tough enough?

Idcoytco — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:02:40 -0800

Is a Toshiba Portege R500 just too light and delicate for mobile use? What else should I consider? Trying to locate a good laptop for a friend who puts "light" as their top priority. They can afford an R500, but the build looks a bit delicate to me and the mouse buttons small and plastic. Has anyone got any experience to report?

The laptop will have to be usable for hours of word-processing on trains and planes (so I reckon not less than a 12" screen, and preferably not wide-screen). It will need to be tough enough for crowded commuter trains. I like the low-end Panasonic Toughbooks for their sturdiness but for the money the spec is much less. What else is there worth considering that is ultralight?

Ultralight laptop with a docking station option?

krisjohn — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 16:20:43 -0800

Ultralight laptop with a docking station option? I'm looking for an ultralight-class laptop that has a real docking station option, not one of those USB port replicator things. It needs one chunky, hard-wearing port that connects everything (including a monitor) in one go. Sharp don't sell anything in Australia anymore, apparently, and I'm not getting a Sony. I've seen a small Dell that might have been bought recently that still has a port replicator, but Dell's ultralight/sub-notebook models appear to have removed the docking station connector.

Should be less than 3lbs (~1.3kg). A 10" screen is probably the absolute minimum, as it will be used on occasion (which, I think, rules out the Librettos).

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thinking of a new laptop. Should I switch to Mac/Apple?

coriolisdave — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 20:37:14 -0800

I'm thinking of getting myself a new laptop to play with. Do I want to switch? [~~Intel~~ More Inside] I don't _need_ a new laptop, but it would be useful to have for home use. I have a Toshiba for work, but if the argument is strong enough it could be replaced with a Mac. I'm a sysadmin for an almost pure Win2k/2k3 network, but most of that work is done remotely (i.e. RDP). I play with some webdesign (teaching myself PHP, etc) but am not a web- or code-monkey. I do travel somewhat, so this beastly heavy Toshy is a pain. I have a PC for (very light) gaming at home, but would like to be able to watch avi's etc on my television from the laptop. I detest IE with a passion unholy, and Opera is having my baby.
Price-wise, the AppleBooks are fairly equivalent to the IBM offerings which I've played with extensively. I like their X-series (particularly the X40) mainly for size/weight reasons (tiny, 1.6kg) and the excellent battery life (6hrs on main batt alone).
In realistic terms, how does a G4 1.33 stack up against the Intel boxen? What's the battery life like on an iBook? Is the PowerBook's battery better? How heavy is the iBook? What sort of gaming performance will they give me? Most importantly, Will the Apple do what I need it to do, and how long will it take me to be up-and-running?

Looking for Light Laptop <$1.5k for Web and Word Processing, And/Or Website to Compare Laptops

CunningLinguist — Sat, 17 Jan 2004 10:25:09 -0800

Suggest an ultralight laptop? (more inside) Yes I know I could go to epinions and cnet but I trust you guys more.

I’m looking for something really light that does wireless - a new and mystifying realm for me. I’d like to spend less than $1,500, if possible. Dell’s website makes comparing laptops very easy, but I get lost when they start offering all these choices. And the other manufacturers are even more confusing.

All I really need to do is browse the web wirelessly and do word processing. A DVD player or burner would be nice, but not crucial. Are external DVD drives a good idea?

Are all new laptops pretty standard about wireless capability? There seem to be different types and I don’t understand the differences.

Also, is there some sort of website that allows you to plug in the features you want and spits out suggestions? (If not, there should be. Then I wouldn’t have to expose my ignorance here.)