My Tecra has become my life.
Written: Aug 18 '00 (Updated Aug 21 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Light, Fast, Beautiful Screen
Cons: "Eraser" pointer, DVD glitches
|
|
|
| jeffgarret's Full Review: Toshiba Tecra 8100 (PT810U-12CP7) PC Notebook |
The title makes me sound like such a pathetic individual. In all seriousness, though, I spend a huge percentage of my day with this computer and if it was a weak link in my productivity I would suffer a lot. I am sure that another machine out there in the market would do just fine, but I happen to be partial to this one and am about to tell you why. First, let me say that I am an avid Mac user. This does not make me a Windows hater by default but I just enjoy using my Mac more.
I am a Director of Sales and my company leased the Tecra 8100 for me to use because I travel a few days a month and need to have a PC when I am out. The tasks that I perform at work with the machine mainly require it to run sales force automation software, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer and AS/400 emulation. When I am not working I enjoy playing MP3 music files (I have 2 GB on the HD) and watching DVD movies, especially when I am on the road. I regularly interface the Tecra via Ethernet to my Mac to transfer MP3s I have downloaded and other files. I even run the Mac OS on it under the Basilisk II emulation application.
My Tecra is configured as follows: Pentium III 650mhz, 128mb ram, 12gb hard dive, 8mb video ram, 14.1” Display and DVD running Windows 98. More detailed specs are available at http://www.toshiba.com.
The PC runs all of the applications that I use on it very quickly and is powerful enough to do much more than I ask of it. The display is so beautiful that I actually prefer it to a regular CRT monitor of the same size. My company also leased the docking module for my office so all I have to do is slide it in and I can use it like a regular desktop on the office LAN. The moment I un-mount the PC it reconfigures automatically to use the LCD and built in ports, including Ethernet, without shutting down. If you are concerned about weight and size you will love this machine for its feather weight and compact footprint.
The standard battery will last for about 100 minutes running at full power. With the 650mhz Mobile Pentium’s Speedstep feature and Toshiba’s power management software I can slow the processor down and dim the screen to get about an extra hour. The battery will come to a full charge in a little over an hour if you are not using the machine while charging.
There are some drawbacks that I have found. The pointer is one of those that resemble an eraser in the middle of the keyboard. As much as I think this is a stupid way of accomplishing what a trackpad accomplishes a lot better, I must admit that it works fairly well. The DVD player glitches fairly often and causes the machine to crash. I have to force the power off and reboot the machine at least 3 times during a movie. Perhaps there is a driver upgrade or something that will fix this, but this is annoying and I haven’t had the time to investigate it. The sound that comes out of the built in speakers is too weak to be heard unless you are right in front of them, but I guess you can’t expect much from a speaker that occupies an inch inside of a hard-shell plastic case.
Before this PC I used a Dell Inspiron 7500 for a few months. The Dell is a very good machine but I have found the Toshiba to be a more satisfying machine in general. The Dell was much heavier, noisier, ran hotter and had an inferior display. The Dell did have a trackpad, a feature that I miss.
Overall, I think this is a great choice for the mobile professional or anyone else who wants a powerful portable. Toshiba markets the Tecra for business use but I am sure a dealer will not refuse to sell it to you if you want one. If you are a business user I suggest that you campaign hard for your company to get you a Tecra 8100.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jeffgarret
|
|
Location: Chicago, IL
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 6 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.