I created the above table to help me decide which laptop to buy. The base requirements included UXGA (1600x1200) display, touchpad, PCMCIA and built-in 10/100 ethernet. My previous laptop, a NEC Versa 6200MX, had to last me 5 years -- and I expect to be living with his choice for a simlar period. I won't mention the brand of my first laptop, but suffice it to say that it would take a lot for me to consider anything but a "name brand" today.

If you surfed here directly instead of through my Linux support page, I bought the UK Toshiba. I spent the extra $1200/£850 for (1) no stress/hassle of trip or remote purchase tricks, (2) return/warranty support, (3) the default UK keyboard with non-shifted '#' key.

The nearest contender was the Dell, with the plus points of better (perceived) Linux support and all the legacy ports. In fact, I initially was planning to buy an i8100 (I'm still finding the web bookmarks!). The first point against it was the four mouse buttons: from all accounts these are simply wired together so the software only sees a two button mouse, which I perceive to be a 'biz dev' rather than 'engineering' or 'user' design decision. Next, I had been confused by conflicting accounts of build quality on these systems from Usenet and other sources, and several owners of new or apparently well-cared-for Dells reported no problems. Thus the final datapoint here was when an i8000 user sitting next to me on a train showed me how to press and flex the case in a way that opened a gap of several millimeters between the two halves at the back.

I also considered HP, but no UXGA display option. 'fu-si' above is Fujitsu-Siemens.

I am very happy with the Toshiba, but I also would have been happy to have had more options.