Are We There Yet?

I've been using the same notebook computer since 2000, when my parents bought me a Sony VAIO notebook for my final two years of college. My college had implemented a "technology package program" my 2nd year in college, which meant that all new students from that year on purchased a notebook computer through the school (with $2000 added to their annual tuition, of course). Existing students could also "buy-in" to the program as well. After 2 years, you exchanged your existing notebook for a new one. At the end of 4 years, you got to keep your 2 year-old notebook (with a clean hard drive, of course). Considering this huge change in computer infrastructure on campus and the fact that I had gotten married that summer and was now a commuter, owning a notebook computer became a necessity in order for me to get work done.

Long story short - the VAIO did its job, but I lost all respect for Sony as a company during that time. Over the next 5 years of owning this notebook:

1. Sony refused to provide download links for Windows 2000 drivers for the notebook even though they shipped the exact same notebook with Windows 2000 pre-installed on it. Several years after the Windows 2000 release, their web site eventually contained the necessary driver downloads.
2. The screen died 2 weeks before school started my senior year. Fortunately, it was still under the CompUSA extended warranty. Unfortunately, it had to be shipped to Sony to get fixed and took a month for me to get the notebook back. When I did get it back, the hard drive had been wiped and re-imaged. For a screen replacement.
3. The battery was useless after year 1.
4. The DVD drive died at year 3.

The most unforgivable of their sins actually happened to my Dad, who purchased the same computer as mine (with Windows 2000 instead of 98) a couple weeks after buying mine. He decided within the first week that it wasn't for him and shipped it back to them for a full refund. I'm not going to get in to details since it's his story, but let's just say it took many phone calls, demands, and a month to get the promised refund. Oh, and it took additional phone calls and threats in order to get his SALES TAX refunded in addition to the purchase price.

So, the joke's on you Sony. Not only did this hopefully addicted gaming addict not buy a PlayStation 2, but you've missed out on me as a customer for many big ticket consumer electronics items since then. Digital camcorder? Check (Thank you, JVC). Digital camera? Check (Thank you, Kodak). Big screen television? Check (Thank you again, JVC). And now, a new notebook computer to replace the aging and decrepit VAIO (Thank you, Compaq. Er, HP).

My employer uses all Dells for our computers. i haven't been satisfied with my Dell notebook for a while now, so I ruled Dell out. Besides, I like to buy AMD processors (both desktops at home are AMD) and Dell only sells Intel. Thankfully, my Dad is about as well-tuned in of a technical consumer as you could ever hope for. He tipped me off to a great deal on a Compaq notebook at Office Depot.

It's a Compaq Presario R4000. The basic setup was an AMD Sempron 3000+ with 256 MB RAM, 40 GB HDD, DVD-ROM/CDRW combo, and 15.4" WXGA. After rebates, the grand total was $429.99. Oh, and that included an HP 3847 printer. They had some great deals on upgrades, so I spent $75 to upgrade to an AMD Athlon 64 3200+, (which included an upgrade to a 128MB ATI Radeon graphics card) and $30 for integrated wireless. Grand total on this beast after mail-in rebates? About $650, which includes tax and shipping (about $45 for each of those). Considering this notebook was sitting in Shanghai, China at 9:30pm on Sunday night and the FedEx man knocked on my door at 8:30am this morning to deliver the notebook, I don't mind the shipping cost.

All R4000's are custom built notebooks. I was told 10 business days for manufacturing and another 5 business days to ship. In actuality, the notebook was built in 5 business days and took 2 business days to ship. Seven business days from time of order to time of delivery. Not bad for a custom-built notebook, huh?

Now, I've just gotta wipe the hard drive, get a virgin install of the OS on it, and put some more RAM in to this beast. I love being a geek.