Yep. My Dell Vostro 1400 finally died about a week ago, after four-and-a-half years of sterling service. Its sad really because I was really hoping for it to pass 5 years. I was counting on it, and it let me down. Well, it did have a good run and it is a great computer but sad to say, we all have our threshold and I think the poor bugger just could not take anymore. But I must say…more than four years for a laptop… now that is pretty impressive. Admittedly, the tell-tale signs were there…I just chose to ignore them. Hey, don’t we all? But it was good while it lasted. Goodbye Vostro. Thanks for the sterling service. At least you lasted longer than the crappy Seagate drive that was shipped with you…
I have a second notebook, a Lenovo X61, that I use sometimes for mobile-disco parties (I hook it up to my DJ controller) and for clubs and pubs when I have to DJ. In fact, I will be taking it to the club tonight and testing it out for the first time. I have always taken my Dell Vostro 1400 but the notebook is too heavy. Besides, that is my primary notebook that I use on a daily basis. I hooked this up to a gig I was doing last Friday and it performed OK. What I am worried about is the age of the notebook because if it dies, there goes my night. I think it will perform ok. Just have to get some isolators for it.
I have had this laptop for ages, since the year 2000. It lasted me almost, no actually, more than 7 years till I changed it to my current Dell Vostro 1400. This notebook has been with me to a few countries, has played MP3s at functions and has been my constant companion for so long. After a while, its limitations (it only had 256Mb of RAM) led me to try to find another notebook. What was amazing about it was its size, and build quality. Fujitsu did not skimp on that. When it first came to me, it had a 4Gb hard disk. I upgraded to a 20Gb, then to a 30Gb one, to a 60Gb one and finally, to an 80Gb one. It has had its share of operating systems but the one which it worked best on was Microsoft Windows 2000. A rock solid performer and I would be using it still if it had note been for its afore-mentioned limitations. All I can say is that they sure do not build them like they used to.
Budgets are always tight when running a small business. You need computers, laptops and etcetera, not to mention servers. While servers are absolutely essential to store data, they can wait. What cannot wait is for your workers to hit the ground running. So you need to get the PCs and laptops first. And that is where Dell come in with their incredibly low-priced Vostro desktops, in this case, the Vostro 230
From the reviews I have been reading, this desktop is pretty good. There are heaps of things you can change and add, like for example, the hard disk drive. You can change it for one with more capacity. RAM also can be changed. It comes with Windows 7 Professional too! The Vostro 230 slim tower for one has an online price of $619. It comes with 2Gb of RAM and a 320Gb hard-disk drive. The Dell Vostro 230 minitower is out of stock at the moment and Dell confirmed that with me through a phone call but I dare say it will be cheaper. And if you do not like Widows, install it with a Linux os like Ubuntu. These Vostros are Ubuntu-friendly
I can almost hear the geeks saying, “Build your own!” Yeah…I agree, but to a certain extent. I always build my own PCs but to a business owner who just needs the goods here and now, this offer cannot be beat. And if you, dear reader, are starting a business, remember, if you cannot get a server, do backups of your data every day. I cannot stress how important backups are to any business.
I have been using this old Dell Vostro for some years now…coming up to 3 and a half years since I retired my old Fujitsu Lifebook and bought this computer in November 2007. What can I say, it is still ticking, running Windows XP and soon I will upgrade it to Windows 7. I can use all the Windows Vista drivers for it and it will be all OK because this computer originally came with Windows Vista Basic. It is a bit heavy and I did add the option of a separate video card so that it does not use a portion of my RAM for shared graphics unlike other laptops. I am quite happy with the performance this laptop brings, even though it is old by normal standards. I always say, if you want a good laptop, get a Dell. I did and my testament on its build quality is there, make no mistake about it!
