Recommendations for a Laptop?

[ISalzman]

Thanks Scott. There is probably wisdom in your words. At this point however, I'm going to let sleeping dogs lie. I recently got a new HP laptop and am hoping for better results with this one. My last HP laptop was a truly sorry experience. I'm kind of surprised that I went back to the "HP well." But I did. Perhaps they will redeem themselves with this new one that I bought. I surely hope so. By the way, and totally off-topic, do you follow the MLS (Major League Soccer)?

[Adelphos]

By the way, and totally off-topic, do you follow the MLS (Major League Soccer)?

Nope, afraid not. My neighbor across the street has four kids, and they are soccer fanatics. I was a swimmer in college, and the swimmers and soccer players would play soccer pick-up games and the soccer players said that the swimmers were the only other people who could play with them because the swimmers were in such good shape.

Unfortunately, that didn't apply to me... I was a sprinter, and two minutes on the soccer field was more than enough for me.

[ISalzman]

No problem. Thought I'd mention it since one of the wild card playoff matchups this week pits the New York team (the Red bulls) against FC Dallas. If memory serves me correctly, I think I remember from way back when that you were originally from Texas? Or currently?

[Adelphos]

Not FROM Texas, but went to college there -- Texas A&M, and lived in Texas in various places a few times. I have mostly only good memories from my stints in Texas.

[ISalzman]

That's right, an Aggie ... Yes? They say, "Once an Aggie, always an Aggie." For the record, I'm not an Aggie, but I've heard that's what they say.

[Adelphos]

You can generally recognize an Aggie by the ring... almost all of us wear it. I've run into Aggies all over the world that way, including one old boy who was about to get himself into trouble in a certain situation in Germany one time. Had I not recognized the Aggie ring, he would have gotten into the trouble!

[ISalzman]

Cool. One Aggie saved by another.

[Adelphos]

When I lived in Houston, there was NOTHING, and I do mean NOTHING (within reason, of course) that I couldn't get or find out about or do or whatever from my Aggie network. Still, today, if I really need something or what-have-you, all I have to do is make it known to the network and somebody will get it done. The esprit de corps of Texas A&M is unmatchable, even if I do say so myself.

[ISalzman]

When I lived in Houston, there was NOTHING, and I do mean NOTHING (within reason, of course) that I couldn't get or find out about or do or whatever from my Aggie network. Still, today, if I really need something or what-have-you, all I have to do is make it known to the network and somebody will get it done. The esprit de corps of Texas A&M is unmatchable, even if I do say so myself.

That's good. I imagine that's probably true about a number of different schools and academic institutions.

[Lee]

That's good. I imagine that's probably true about a number of different schools and academic institutions.

Maybe so, but I have never seen it anywhere to the same degree as the Aggie good ol' boy network in Houston.


In case anyone was wondering how my story ended, I ended up going a little cheaper than I planned: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pav...1304&cp=1&lp=1

I did make sure it was at least expandable to 8 gig of RAM in case that gets to be a problem.

I went for a lower tier model in part because it sounds like Windows 8 has the potential of being a real game changer, and I may want to get a laptop made to work with that O.S.