Some resolution. Ended up sending it out for repair. Well finally the laptop is back from being repaired. $300 later and it looks good as new. Frustrating but behind me now and honestly can’t think about what I could have done differently other than lessons learned for next time.
So that said, in efforts to actually use this thing going forward, and prevent further damage, does anyone harbor any any strong laptop bag/backpack recommendations? I’m looking for a 15.6" form factor, minimal size, simple lines. Should be able to comfortably fit some headphones, chargers, cables, maybe some other assorted travel goodies, but I don’t want an “everything and the kitchen sink” bag as I already have two backpacks to choose from when I need to load for bear.
There’s of course some fancy high-end bags that cost hundreds of dollars, and there’s $30 obviously Chinese-branded bags online of uncertain quality; but I imagine there’s some good options in the mid-range that stand out without being overpriced. I’m not in a position to blow money for brands’ sake, but I won’t be shy to spend for quality when its called for, and this situation could call for it.
I have gone through many laptop backpacks over the years and none have satisfied me until I got the eBags Professional Slim (Junior) Laptop Backpack. I actually bought the regular version before they came out with the Junior and I made the switch and haven’t even considered another bag in nearly 3 years.
The Junior holds my laptop with a bit of space to spare (14" wide / 16.5" diagonal), essential cables and accessories, with just enough room for noise cancelling headphones when traveling and not much else (which means no wasted space, tight organization).
Thanks for the heads up! That’s the second recommendation I’ve gotten for that exact bag so it sounds like there’s a there there. It does look about like what I am imagining; clean and modern, but classic and not flashy or crazy. Good organization of space, and I like the orange interior feature. I’ve never heard of eBags before, but the reviews seem good.
Looking at their lineup, a year ago I would have been interested in the weekender, because I was traveling to the city for the weekends, and so that would be so perfect. But I got some other bag, and I no longer travel to the city on the weekends. But as-is, the Junior looks about right.
I just tried to use my old Lenovo. It works just fine, but is very very sad. I’ll just live with the iPad, though. I feel like if I buy a Surface, it’s not going to get used much.
I bought an x230 used for my college classes, it’s been a solid computer for that, but it is starting to show it’s age and I don’t think I’ll be able to get another good battery for it. (I already killed the 9 cell battery and switched to the 6 cell one that came with it.)
I probably wouldn’t hesitate to buy another used Thinkpad to replace it when it dies. (I have another aging laptop I use like a desktop, and I’ll probably replace it with a desktop when I decide I need something better.)
Honestly Microsoft wants way too much for a tablet with keyboard.
There’s a sweet spot I look for in mobile devices between Power/Reliability, Physical Durability, and Price. The Surfaces I’ve worked with don’t even hit anywhere close to that.
That does remind me, if anyone can suggest a good Android Tablet I’m in the market for one.
The closest I think there is to anything like that is the Chromebook convertibles. But saying that is very much like saying a rhino is a unicorn; technically right, but not what you’re looking for.
Yeah. It’s funny how the “Surface Book” tablet thing is actually the super powerful one with a real video chip (GTX1060 currently), but the “Surface Laptop” is actually waaaay weaker.
I could legit use a Surface Book 2 as my primary computer including for most video editing and even rendering…
I pulled the trigger. I decided on the Surface Laptop 3:
While I was originally planning on waiting for the Surface Book 3, I don’t actually need that powerful of a laptop. I have my workstation for heavy video processing/editing. I considered the Surface Pro 3, but I don’t actually have much of a use case for a tablet form factor.
90% of what I do with a laptop is typing, making slides, messing with audio, and playing games.
I got the most tricked out version. 13.5", i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD