Everyone wants a Dell Inspiron 7500, but they are so expensive. As you know Dell makes alot of money not necessarily on the basic notebook itself but on all those accessories.

Rule#1: Don't buy memory from Dell. In case you haven't heard Dell has announced that the factory installed memory from their notebooks was causing Windows 98 to hang after waking up from suspend mode. The solution- Save $$$ and buy your memory from someone like Crucial Technology. It's cheaper and more reliable.

Rule#2: Shop for a PC card which suits your needs prior to placing your order with Dell. I have to travel internationally to the Far East and needed a global card. Dell pushes the Psion Gold Card and Xircom Cards. However most of the networking gurus I know swear by 3COM cards and I think they're the best on the market. In fact I have ordered the new 3COM Megahertz 10/100 Lan +56K Global model #3cxfem656c. (Just released March 7 .)Yes folks, it's the one with the light up Xjack. No cables required. Not cheap but it's 32 bit unlike the equivalent Xircom (16 bit)and in the long run, 3com supports their products.

Rule#3: Don't get the 650 processor. I have compared my 600 with the 650 and believe me unless you are an avid game player you won't notice the difference. Talk to me later when they come out with an 850 or higher.

Rule#4: Buy the 7500 because it has the best resale value. Don't believe me? Just go to Ebay and check out the resale values of these units compared with just about any other brand. One day all of us will have to sell to trade up and if there's one thing I've learned about trading stocks which applies in this case, it's "never argue with the market. The market is always right." What's interesting is that people really don't care that much about accessories when they are buying used. They want that slanted E brand name.



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