Were the Borg a reality instead of a product of Gene Roddenberry’s imagination, I suspect I would have been willingly assimilated long ago just to have the latest in computer technology hard-wired into my head. Since that’s not possible, I have settled for the next best thing: a Dell Latitude CPX Laptop computer. When I’m home, my desktop computer gets a lot of use to put it mildly. So much so, actually, that I decided I’d like to have a laptop computer for my travels. Besides writing for Epinions, I write a regular column for New England’s largest beer periodical, the Yankee Brew News. It’s a tough job, yes, but somebody has to do it. Quite frequently, I’m on the road at a brewpub or beer bar sitting at the bar writing tasting notes. Why not tap the keys instead on a computer?

Thus came I to a new Dell laptop in August of 2000. It has proved an invaluable tool since I purchased it, serving as my companion at bars and breweries up and down the East Coast. At about 7 pounds, it’s very portable. It has served as my connection to the Internet at various hotels where I have stayed, and when I visit my dad in Philadelphia. Mostly, I use this computer for word processing and Internet access as I have described above. Still, the 13 GB hard drive, 550 MHZ Pentium III processor, 128 MB of RAM, and 8 MB video card also make it possible to play the latest video games with this computer, or relax with my headphones or powered speakers and listen to MP3s.

When I’m on the road, there isn’t much I can’t do with this laptop computer. It is as accessible to my peripheral equipment as my desktop is. For example, when I’m on vacation I like to take pictures with my digital camera. Now, my camera holds about 40 pictures on its 8MB memory card. As we all know, it’s easy to go through 40 pictures when you’re on vacation, and additional memory cards are expensive. Using one of the two USB inputs in the back of this laptop, however, I can easily transfer photos and free up my camera’s memory, then E-Mail them to friends from the road!

In addition to the USB ports, the computer features a monitor output, mouse/keyboard input, serial input, video and speaker output, headphone jack, and microphone input. No modem came with my computer, but I was able to buy a PCM/CIA card modem for about $80 reconditioned. It has served me well.

In the front, there are two interchangeable bays. One houses various drives and the other the battery. The battery is removable which means multiple batteries can be charged and thus extend the useable life of the unit away from a power supply. My unit came with a floppy disk drive and a CD drive. I’ve since purchased an interchangeable ZIP drive for about $90 and a DVD drive for about $300. The ZIP is great for exchanging files between machines. These days, the floppy disk is for the most part obsolete. It just doesn’t hold enough data at 1.44 MB. The DVD makes the laptop a portable movie player, and with it’s 17” screen it plays them well. Don’t expect much for audio output from the unit’s tiny speakers, however. This is a laptop after all, and space is limited. Not to worry, a pair of decent headphones can easily make up for that. CD Rewrite drives are available too.

The battery can last for hours in power saving mode for simple word processing or web surfing. A CD spinning in the CD-ROM drive will consume the power much more quickly. You can adjust the power saving mode, which will shut the screen off and eventually bring the machine into a semi-dormant mode at time intervals you select. If you choose, you can disable the power saving completely. Re-charge time is usually only about 20 to 30 minutes from a nearly drained battery.

The keyboard is spacious, you won’t find yourself hitting the wrong key because they’re packed too closely together. There’s no number pad, but other than that every key you’d find on a standard keyboard is included. There’s a small finger joystick that works as a mouse, as well as a touch-pad mouse with left and right buttons on top and bottom.

The unit came with Windows 98 and not much else, but that’s fine by me. I don’t want the hard drive cluttered with software I won’t use. The unit is sturdy and reliable. I have never had a problem with it. At one point I got a scare when my youngest son knocked it over, but it came through fine. It has even survived a coffee spill that soaked the bottom of the machine; I just let it dry and it worked good as new the next day.

I recommend this computer most highly.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 2200
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 501-600
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-ROM
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20