Forgive me Toughbook, for I have sinned...

... I have strayed from the one true laptop, and I suffer guilt because of it...

Okay... here's the deal. A few weeks ago, I had an HP TC1100 Tablet PC dropped in my lap (I'm an HP Certifi-able-ed MasterTech) because the previous owner didn't want to spend the bux restoring it. I had a spare 40GB 5400 RPM drive and enough RAM to bump it up to a GIG; all I needed was a stylus and a HP-Compatible WiFi card (The one that came in it was Wireless A ONLY, and HP locks the BIOS down to about a dozen WIFI cards to maintain compliance with FCC SAR standards). The HP stylus was (GULP) $119 + shipping; but I found a compatible WACOM stylus at Buy.com for $34 DELIVERED. For the difference, I'll live with the fact of it not latching in the socket on the tablet. The WiFi card I STOLE for $8 on eBay, and I was able to use my HP hookups to get the original XP Tablet ED recovery discs for $11 bux. Another $20 got me the missing covers/caddy on Fleabay, and I was up & running.

My original intent was to get it all together and just skeet it off on FleaBay for some money to feed my TB habit. But after having a chance to work with it, I think... I may... have found a laptop I like better than my Toughbook...

*Sigh* This thing is LIGHT... with the KB off it weighs less than a Kilo, and its magnesium chassis FEELS as solid as a Toughbook. But it's SO LIGHT... and the Pentium M 1GHZ is plenty of power for almost anything I need a laptop to do, even streaming DVDs from the drive in my work PC.

The BIG difference is in how much more natural it feels to use; most of the time it's just like having the Internet in a clipboard. I'll admit that text entry is a bit of a pain with the handwriting recognition, but it seems to be just like learning Graffiti; as I use it more, it gets it right more & more and the Journal Mode is JUST like having a notebook in front of me. Did I mention how flipping LIGHT this thing is, ESPECIALLY after using my CF-28 LegWarmer? It appears HP finally got the Centrino formula to work as advertised with this one; I get almost 4 hours with the original battery. I wonder what a new battery will do...

I've messed around with the current crop of Tablet PCs HP has to offer... and they're all so big & clunky, I just always thought of them as a curiosity more than a real change in the way one does computing. This thing has really made me re-evaluate my thinking about what a computer SHOULD BE. If you could combine this unit's precision writing with the stylus and the feels-so-natural interface of the new Multi-Touch technology and STILL keep this thing's organic form factor... you'd have a nearly PERFECT computing device, at least until we get to the point of STAR TREK technology where you can just talk to the computer and it actually gets it right most of the time. :GEEK:

Okay... I guess I'll let you all get back to your regularly scheduled insanity... just help me be strong. PLEASE.

mnem
Lots of people drink from the wrong bottle sometimes. :twitcy:

 

You have made quite an adjustment .
To go from a fairly heavy cf-28, to a light weight tablet.
And you sound like you are enjoying it.
NOW JUST STOP
And take a look at what Toughbook has to offer.
The cf-18 and cf-19 tablets are ½ the weight of your cf-28.
They have the same screen size as your hp tablet.
If you bump them and they drop on the floor they will still work.
The cf-19 is now my main computer.
I hardly use my cf-29 anymore , usually just to make cd’s or dvd’s.


Alex

 

Can I hit him?? lol good luck! lol

 

*hands a baseball bat over to Rob* Here 'ya go!

 

No, no, ur not a sinner. Ur an realistic thinking human. If u not try an other product, how can u know whats better or not on a toughbook? So head up and look forward.
Have u never tried a T7 from Panasonic? Or a CF-19.
My first Toughbook was a CF-25 from an american soldier near Nuernberg in Germany and till i could pay a CF-29 there was a lot of other Laptops between.
And....today i will go to the Costum Service and pay my fee for my nxt Toughbook from the USA...a CF-18. Yepe!

 

I never thought I would see a fickle dwagon. (sigh)

All you can do is try to train 'em up right, but once they leave the nest they have to make their own decisions.

We'll leave the light on for ya.

 

I know about the CF-18 & CF-19s; I've drooled over them for some time now. But even the 18s still command a hefty pricetag in salvageable condition; and both models weigh more than twice as much as the TC1100 (I'm MWC, so you can guess why I'm still using a CF-28 Mk3). Then there's the fact that the TC1100 is only 3/4" thick; If you took the LCD off of the 18 that would be roughly equivalent to holding the TC1100. I think the closest thing the TBs have to offer is the wireless LCD setup they have; that IS smaller & lighter (as is the screen), but again, it's cost prohibitive for a guy with a brand new baby.

No, I think I'll just have to suffer with the surplus of choices for now... I still love my 28, but I don't think I'm gonna let go of my TC1100.

mnem
Maybe I can find a TC1100 forum and get dual-citizenship...

 

Oh! thats why you are missing for a couple of weeks. Busy on the tablet? So, what next, IBM?

Ohlip

 

LOL - Naah - Been missing for a couple weeks cuz I'm MWC... somehow that adorable little bundle of stink just eats up any "free time" I get...

mnem
*Yawn* Time to feed the baby...*YAWN* Must feed the baby...*YAWWWWWNNNNN* Must eat the baby...

 

Haah. I started with the TC1100 TabletPC. The keyboard is a bit fragile, and don't even think about using the screen outdoors. But otherwise, it's a great little machine. It's THE TabletPC that defines "TabletPC"... it's on a lot of TV shows if you look carefully. Alas, I needed something outdoors so I went with a Fujitsu 5032D in an Otterbox 4600. Looks something like a Toughbook, but it's a slate, no keyboard, with a transflective screen.

Hated the XP implementation of Tablet but Vista just doesn't run well although it has much better Tableting features.

Now I'm using the CF-29. A beast of a machine but I gotta say it works very well! Haven't stormchased to get it all wet with it but soon soon.

 

Feel no guilt or shame in your decision. I, too, had thoughts about jumping ship at some point, too. The sole reason for my dissent is the paltry 13.3" screen that Panasonic seems to be stuck with using on their flagship line. that's probably just fine for a cop car, but every time I see one of these other programmers with a 15"+ screen, practically looking at the whole damn program on the screen at once, thoughts of disloyalty fill my mind!

 

EASY BOYS. No matter how good she looks; somebody is tired of putting up with her sh*t.
Pappy sez

 

Mnem, your closing captions never fail to bring a chuckle. Congwats on da arrival of da baby dwagon. You know we were all just kiddin' about the tablet but pray tell... what's MWC??

Best wishes,
Ron in SG

 

Well, after experiencing HP customer service and comparing it with the incredible experience generated by Panasonic through Heartland and driven by guys like TBTech and ZeroFlight, the only thing I would do with an HP computer is drive a stake through its heart. But that is true of Dell and Gateway also. Been there, done that and won't go down that road again. HP does one thing fairly well, they make a great laser printer. The best thing HP did in years was fire Carly Fiorina. Lightweight computers have a time and place but not in an environment that the TB series is designed to function with some reliability. Remember, when you are out of ammo, you can beat brains in with a ToughBook. Finally, when that cute cuddly little baby gets a few years older, you know that you can let him/her play with the Toughbook, no worries there.

 

MWC = married with child(dren)

 

Well, I don't know whose customer support yer talking about dude... All I know is I take my Customer Support VERY seriously, whether I'm on an HP call OR a Dell call or ANY OTHER call.

As for HP's Customer Care, I just got done with a service call for a customer who was out of warranty; HP sent me out to replace a Control BD on his Plasma TV free of charge because we had a known issue with the board (Supplied by the MFR of the Plasma Panel, BTW). When I got there I found it also had a damaged ribbon connector that WHILE IT HADN'T FAILED YET, could cause the EU trouble down the road. So they sent me out a SECOND TIME free of charge to replace the questionable cable. When I got there that time, I found the kit they sent had every cable in the bleeking TV EXCEPT the ribbon cables (Again, sourced from the Plasma Panel MFR) and the MFR didn't have any reasonable ETA on them. So HP simply exchanged the TV for him. I go out on the exchange service call next week; by the time all is said & done, HP will have paid me for three separate service calls, plus provided parts & paid shipping both ways, for a TV that worked perfectly when I was done with it and they STILL wound up replacing OUT OF WARRANTY.

I know this doesn't sound anything like your experience with HP; but it's the kind of service I've come to expect after my training and working with them for the last 3 years. It's all part of what they call "The HP Way"... the first thing we are taught is to take ownership of the customer's problem... to make it OUR problem, no matter WHERE it started, it is my job to make the problem go away, not the customer. The 2nd thing we're taught is that we are the face of HP to the customer - we are (if all goes as intended) the only person from HP the customer ever meets in person; it is up to us to maintain a professional attitude and ensure that we know what we are doing. The last and most critical thing is follow-through - we are taught to see the service through from beginning to end, as in the example above. That way, the customer is not confused by having different faces with different levels of knowledge and attitude with any subsequent visits, and he is able to make a connection with SOMEONE who is involved first-hand in the service of their valuable property. These attitudes are part of the reason I'm a proud member of the HP family; I enjoy working with people who share my commitment to Quality of Service. Plus, they pay me well to do be that careful.

If you haven't received that level of service I'm sorry to hear it; but it is NOT typical of my experience with their Service Department, or any of the people I've ever worked with there.

mnem
Now if you want to hear a horror story, ask about my experience with a Compaq laptop before HP bought them out...

 

HP customer support was incredible AFTER i got the right department. Wanted TC1100 restore discs. in Canada. The last part messes everyone up. Literally spent hours on the phone going through phone trees and "oh, we don't deal with that.. call...."

"oh, you're from Canada, we only handle orders from the US... call..."

But after that, $7 got the the discs including shipping! Except they missed a disc in the 2 disc set. Sent me another set. This time they sent it to the wrong address! Sent it AGAIN... so after a week and hours on the phone, it all worked out. for $7 restore CDs. Now THAT is reasonable... Hello IBM!? You want $70 for your T42 restore discs??! 7 partial discs that fit on 1 DVD?! And doesn't even give me a clean XP install!!?

 

Yeah, i did forget to mention Compaq. I remember them getting burned for sending out used systems as new. My bad HP time was not with the field guys. I am going back to when they sold you a new system, provided thirty days of free support and then wanted to charge $3.00 a minute for phone support to fix stuff that they screwed up. The last HP that I had was over ten years ago so I will take your word for it that they have improved.

 

Here's my experience with Dell. Been using them for years, always buy refurb. or scratch and dent from the small business part of their web site. The new Latitude I bought for my wife at Christmas had a bad battery out of the box. Called small business support at 4:30PM, a very nice English speaking lady in the Carolinas asked me where the battery was made, I replied Korea, and by 3:00PM the next day there was a brand new made in Japan battery at my front door with a return label in the box to send the bad battery back. When I sold my almost new Latitude a couple of weeks ago, the battery was bad. Same scenario, same result. The guy who bought my Dell went back to his motel room, tried to install his printer. It wouldn't work. The next night he called Dell support, and a very nice English speaking guy from the Carolinas spent 2 1/2 hours on the phone figuring out that Kaspersky IS which I had installed was the problem. They got that fixed and when my guy mentioned the warranty, the tech said it really wasn't transferable but changed it over to the new owner anyway. Not a lot of experience with support, but maybe that says something as well.
Cap

 

I had a problem with my new 4 month old Gateway desk top (nic), the 1st rep I spoke to took my info and sent out a replacement card. About a week or two later the usb ports started acting up. Called cust service a few times and after trouble shooting it was determined I would need to send computer in. I was asked for a copy of receipt. Faxed it over, no response. Called a day or two later and was told that my computer was out of warranty since I purchased it from a non auth seller. Bought from local computer store and was new in sealed Gateway box. I would have been sort of okay with that if one of the reps had said something from the 1st call. Since it was purchased from a non auth seller comes with ether a 90 day warranty from date of purchase or 1 year from production date.
So now I have a big paperwieght. I will prob try to find a mobo on ebay.

 

mmhmmm... What does the warranty card in the box say?

If it doesn't say SPECIFICALLY that the warranty is as you've described ( I SINCERELY DOUBT it does) AND you have a legitimate receipt, I'd demand service under warranty and file suit in local small claims court if they continue to be dix about it. It will cost them more to defend the litigation than the PC is worth; just make sure you ask them for their full name and that of the head of the department or whomever's decision it is to make to deny you the warranty service spelled out in the warranty card received in the box. Make sure you have them spell the names correctly for the subpoenas, and that they know that's why you want them. Even if they give you phony names, they are required to tell the process server whom those names really refer to. If they are served and do not appear before the court, most often they will lose by default.

mnem
Halo3? He!!... I can still get my arse kicked just fine on Halo2...

 

Different beasts for different jobs...

At work, I use the Dell Latitude whilst atop antenna towers. If I drop it, I hand my boss the shards in a bag and grab a new one out of the equipment locker... Hey, I didn't buy em...

Around the house and at school, I use the PowerBook. Reliable, slim, and light... Good for me.

In the shop or under my vehicles, it's the Toughbook. If I spill antifreeze all over it or need it to datalog a track run and it slides around and slams into the roll cage, it's all good.

 

I am using a HP Dv3100 Pavillion as I type this. The laptop has gone thru war. It is down to 1 USb port, etc. But it still keeps humping. My only problem is the customer service. I cant speak or understand there language!