... er ...

I was hoping you'd supply the answer... I'm starting my MFA in Creative Writing this year, and will need to travel to Hong Kong 3 times a year to do my residencies there. And yes, I need to purchase a new laptop to write whie travelling. I do have an EeePC - but it is really far too small to use for extended periods of time every day.

Any ideas?

I do know the 'writer's' laptop should have an ergonomic keyboard for ease of typing, that the screen shouldn't be too small, that there's enough RAM to keep the thing running while working on multiple documents, that I should have a backup external drive, and that I should have a CD-burner as well as at least 3 USB ports...

Any other bells and whistles you've added to your laptop that make writing a pleasure instead of a pain?

What laptop do you use?

My budget tends towards the practical and efficient over the fancy and unnecessary. Any recommendations?

Posted: 05/05/2011 15:59:14

If you're travelling a lot, make sure you can get an extended warranty to cover accidental breakage. I dropped my laptop and the Sony wanted to charge me more than I paid for it to replace the screen. They told me if I didn't go through them I would void the warranty.

So - I voided the warranty and saved myself about $700 (no lie).

There are a lot of moving parts and possibilities for breakage if you are travelling regularly.

Posted: 05/05/2011 16:02:04

Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely make sure I'm covered for travelling... and to make sure I backup all my work in case my laptop decides to go walkabout...

Posted: 05/05/2011 16:04:52

Lenovo with the little red button in the middle.

If you like chicklet keyboards, go with the apple's lappy lines.

Other than that, Lenovo (formerly IBM) is the way to go. Stellar keyboards.

Also, you can drop the laptop from outer space down onto a bed of nails and it'll survive.

Has holes for the spilled coffee.

http://www.laptopmag.com/uploadedImages/Multimedia_Assets/Images/2008/Reviews/laptops/Lenovo-SL300-keyboard_sh.jpg

Lenovo with the little red button in the middle.

If you like chicklet keyboards, go with the apple's lappy lines.

Other than that, Lenovo (formerly IBM) is the way to go. Stellar keyboards.

Also, you can drop the laptop from outer space down onto a bed of nails and it'll survive.

Has holes for the spilled coffee.

http://www.laptopmag.com/uploadedImages/Multimedia_Assets/Images/2008/Reviews/laptops/Lenovo-SL300-keyboard_sh.jpg

That's what I should have got . . . next time. (when I'm rich and famous and deserving of a new laptop!)

I bought a laptop specifically for writing. It's about the only thing I do with it. I personally looked for light and compact. My labtop doesn't have a disk drive, which makes it thinner and lighter. It's 11.2 inches wide. Any smaller and the keyboard gets cramped. It's widescreen, which is nice. Speed, bells and whistles, and all the fancy stuff is always nice but not necessary for a word processor. You shouldn't have to speed a lot of money on a laptop for writing. I think I paid $699, which is fairly cheap, but you can get a good one for $399 for writing. I just wanted a little more power.

Posted: 05/05/2011 16:17:48
Last Edit: 05/05/2011 16:21:37 by Robert Mourningstar

The X series also turns into a tablet, monitor spins around so you can write on it like a piece of paper.

I have the T-61.

It also reads your mind and makes excuses to your wife/girlfriend/mistress why you are not in the office.

She's handy.


I was kidding about that last one. She doesn't have hands.

How much time do you spend on it on average per day?

Posted: 05/05/2011 16:21:51

Exactly who do you work for in your day job, Ephraim?

Lenovo's are good, but they are expensive for what they are and they do break regularly.

My previous company used them and they were always breaking in business use.

The big question is which features are important to you? Screen size, keyboard, battery life.

I bought a Toshiba recently because the screen is massive (17.2) and LED bright, plus a four hour battery life. It's always horses for courses.