From: Steven N. Fettig (snfettig_at_hillsdale.edu)
Date: Thu May 06 1999 - 08:18:20 EDT
Hi to Won - and all,
I am also new to this mailing list. I bought my 770ED around the
middle of Dec. and have honestly never been more pleased with a laptop. Of
course, the one I bought is an absolute powerhouse (P II 266, 128 MB RAM,
8.1 Gig HD, DVD w/ Hdware Decoder, 14.1" TFT screen, 10/100 Etherjet
PC-Card, etc.), but I bought it after doing quite a bit of research and
asking a lot of Thinkpad owners what they thought of their laptop. Within
the last 18 months, I have had a Compaq, Gateway, and access to a Dell.
Dell came the closest to this one - which is a story in itself - but I am
most pleased with my IBM. I bought my IBM for two things - and paid for it,
but it has proven worthwhile on more than one occasion - Service and
Quality. Anyway, because I buy most of my equipment through the net, I
thought I might be able to answer your question.
Opinion: Stay with a reputable online dealer - ask of people who buy a
lot online. If you come to rely on your TP like I do (practically the 2nd
half of my brain - ask my girlfriend), you will really be happy if you go
with someone who can help you in pretty much any situation. (When I talk
about service, I mean going to the extent of wiping my "sweated brow" while
trying to fix a problem - which you can have many of when trying to run Win
95, 98, NT 4.0, and Linux on the same "box".) I travel a lot and required
just as good of international service as I would get when in the US (you
would be surprised how many outfits offer international service, but when it
comes to doing something they don't understand how tricky import laws and
tariffs can be - especially to Europe, not an uncommon traveling zone).
Most of the main support comes from IBM itself (IF bought from an IBM
partner), but it is also nice to have the help of the company where you
bought your equipment, too. I have come to rely on CDW (Computer Discount
Warehouse - www.cdw.com) so much so that I am on a first name - voice
recognition - basis with my sales manager. As a person who works in the
world of Academia, I know how important price can be, but I have found that
there tends to be a correlation between cut-throat prices and service. I
watch prices quite a bit, and CDW (also Warehouse.com - for PCs
www.microwarehouse.com) are very competitive while remaining in the business
of advertising a product they actually have in stock at a low price and
their quality of sales and technical support. You may get a good price
somewhere else, but watch out for sites even like Buy.com, where they
advertise things at such a low price and then either won't have it in stock
for 2 weeks (unacceptable - I want the thing yesterday when I finally decide
to buy - c'mon, "boys and their toys...") or have overpriced shipping and
handling costs (my experience with a Palm IIIx - good price, but not in
stock and high shipping costs...). So, my suggestion is either through IBM
itself (your prices will be higher, however, than with an IBM partner -
don't ask me why), CDW, or Microwarehouse.
Sorry for being long-winded myself (did I mention that I study/ied
philosophy?).
Steve
________________________________________________________________________
Steven N. Fettig Assistant Network Administrator
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale, MI
Email:
snfettig_at_hillsdale.edu <mailto:snfettig_at_hillsdale.edu
snfettig_at_pensys.com <mailto:snfettig_at_pensys.com>
Tel:
(USA & Canada - Voicemail) +1 888 835 3268 x2567
(Int'l - Direct) +49 171 812 9667 (from the USA & Canada 011 49 171 812
9667)
________________________________________________________________________
-----Original Message-----
From: WonSeok Choi [mailto:wc6_at_duke.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 1999 8:06 PM
To: thinkpad_at_cs.utk.edu
Subject: (TP 570) accessories
I'm actually a newbie in ThinkPads but I'm considering a
TP570. I'm just wondering if anyone here has any shopping
experience at Time Trend (www.timetrend.com).
They do have some of the lower prices (well..buying a
ThinkPad, price is not the main point, but cheaper is
cheaper). Otherwise it might be another bargain on-line
vendor with poor service and delivery even if it is a IBM
Partner.
Where do you guys then get your accessories for the
thinkpads (especially for tp570)?..there are quite a lot of
additional things going into this sub-notebook:
-CD-ROM/DVD-ROM,
-Margi card (if I want to see movies..probably not)
-Ultrabase
-Etherjet 10/100 PC Card
That's quite a big list multiplying the highly priced TP570
quite substantially to around $4,000 (maybe this is the
norm for thinkpads)..
Well..i have been too talkative to this point..
where do you guys get your parts and where are some
recommended places..please help this newbie out. I would
appreciate it.
Cheers.
Won
----------------------
WonSeok Choi
wc6_at_duke.edu
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