Now playing on your neighborhood laptop

Article Abstract:

IBM's $7,500 ThinkPad 760CD notebook computer combines a number of valuable hardware components with large power demands and the company's typically poor software and manuals to offer uneven performance. The large, 12-in screen offers resolutions of 800-by-600 pixels and uses built-in MPEG devices to support full-screen, high-quality moving images, although the brightness and tone are not as good as a television screen. Users can capture video, but the system offers no compression. A speedy 90MHz Pentium drives the machine, which hosts a quad-speed CD-ROM drive, a 28.8-Kbps modem and a hard drive with a 1.2GB capacity. On the other hand, IBM sells the system with only 8MB of memory, and users will have to pay $500 to buy the additional 8MB the system actually requires. A new design moves the keyboard closer to the screen to offer a palm rest that is too small for most users, while the speakers are better suited to a low-end system.

Hardware single product review, IBM ThinkPad 760CD (Pentium-based notebook)

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Low-cost portables with personality

Article Abstract:

Toshiba's Toshiba Satellite 305CDS, IBM's IBM Thinkpad 310 ED, Fujitsu's Fujitsu Lifebook 765Dx and Hitachi's Hitachi Visionbook Plus 5000 illustrate the differences among new low-end portable computers. The Toshiba Satellite 305CDS rates highest except for difficulties in launching Windows on two occasions. IBM Thinkpad 310 ED features 32MB of RAM, twice as much as the others, but only 1MB of video memory screen renders it incapable of displaying as many colors. The 7 3/4-pound Fujitsu Lifebook 765Dx contains a built-in K56flex modem, but its awkward Ergotrac pointing device forces users to move their fingers off the keyboard's home row. Hitachi Visionbook offers a built-in K56flex modem and Windows keys, but skinny buttons and a noisy sound system. The Toshiba Satellite 305CDS and Hitachi Visionbook Plus 5000 cost about $1,700 each; the IBM Thinkpad 310ED costs about $1,600; and the Fujitsu Lifebook 765Dx costs about $1,500.

Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd., Hardware multiproduct review, X86 processors, Fujitsu Ltd., Toshiba Satellite 305CDS (Pentium-based notebook), IBM ThinkPad 310ED (Pentium-based notebook), Fujitsu LifeBook 765DX (Pentium-based notebook), Hitachi VisionBook Plus 5000 (Pentium-based notebook)

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As snug as a bug in the system

Article Abstract:

Bugs are as common among computer systems as they are in nature. These problems can be disastrous, resulting in loss of data, decreased productivity and increased mental anguish. Bugs can be difficult to identify. For example, a bug in an IBM Thinkpad 560 notebook computer caused repeated crashes, loss of data, and corrupted existing data on the hard disk. Technicians replaced the entire motherboard, but the problem persisted. It was finally traced to an 8MB memory module that had been added to the system by the dealer. The Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Module (SO-DIMM) works well in other IBM notebooks, but its power-saving features make it incompatible with the Thinkpad 560 when operating under battery power. IBM is not responsible for this problem, since the DIMM is a third-party product, but users who are experiencing the problem are best advised to contact IBM's service facilities.

Computer industry, Product defect/failure, Product defects and recalls, Product quality, Memory cards (Expansion boards), Memory expansion device, IBM ThinkPad 560 (Pentium-based subnotebook)

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