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It seems just a few weeks ago that I was typing my 2008 Favorites article which concluded with a plea for sending healing thoughts to John Potis who fought cancer at the time. Little did I know that John would depart this world just a few days later leaving a wife and two daughters behind. I miss John—one of the stronger voices of reason and common sense in our hobby—but I am sure this is as nothing compared to the grief his family has lived through every day since. The Potis family relief fund is still active. As the first anniversary of his untimely death approaches, a little help from all of us sure wouldn’t hurt. If I were to guess, one of the things that would probably have irritated John this year—it certainly irritated me—was the sudden appearance of "World Premiere", "North-American Premiere", "Exclusive" and such ahead of a good chunk of reviews published online. I have no gripe whatsoever when such claims follow true journalistic work - like unearthing a new manufacturer or technology that brings something revolutionary to the market where the writer goes out on a limb to let the world know. Then a little bragging might be well deserved. Just don’t have me believe that all reviews published every month in any given magazine qualify.
My biggest hesitation at the time I got it was knowing nothing about the tech support. The 3-year warranty was attractive,
since I had just had a Dell that went to pieces right after the 1-yr warranty had expired. I was also concerned that I am
just too rough a guy to successfully own a laptop, because the Dell I had bought a year before was in such bad shape (I
hadn't actually dropped it on the floor or anything, just jostled it a lot in my backpack and briefcase). I was also wary
because it was a pretty new product, and there weren't any customer reviews from people who'd owned one longer than a month
(Hence this review- I hope it helps someone.)
Here we are a year later- the battery life is still coming in at 5+ hours and the computer is performing well. I'm still the
coolest guy around, even though my officemates all have thinkpads. My back is also thanking me- the difference between the
4.5 lb dellie and the 3 lb toughie is so much bigger than I ever expected.
Unfortunately, I had a device conflict when I monkeyed with my network settings and had to call tech support. I'm pretty
savvy, but this wasn't an obvious problem. After holding for about 30 seconds, I talked to this very chill guy who diagnosed
my problem pretty easily, sent me an email summarizing how to fix it, and gave me his email to keep in touch with how it
went. I compare this, of course, to Dell's famous customer service where I'd hold for 5 minutes and often get talked down to
(not that they were bad or anything- overall Dell support is fine).
Example of another Article
So yeah, one year later I'm still really psyched about my toughbook elite. If you're looking for an ultralight, this guy has my recommendation. You can't really go wrong with a thinkpad, of course, but if you're like me then the panasonic's bling is turning your head. Yes, the superspy flip-up DVD is as cool as it looks. Yes, the touchpad wheel is fun. Yes, the SD card reader is surprisingly useful. Yes, it's mind-bendingly light for a computer with these features. Yes, I can type fine with my sausages on the reduced keyboard. Yes, my seatmates on airplanes and at conferences all want to play with it.