Another One Bites the Dust

Dell has recently removed the serial port from it's Inspiron 8600 laptop. Now the only Inspiron with a real serial port is the 600m. They also removed the Parallel port. This goes along with a recent price drop.

I'm surprised they didn't change the name from 8600 to something else. This can be very confusing as I have an 8600 with both a serial and parallel port.???

I just purchased an 8600 a little over four months ago. Have to say that I’m very pleased with my selection! But I concur that it’s getting difficult to find a decent machine nowadays with serial and parallel ports

Heterodoxy

Yep, Inspiron 8600 is a cool machine. It's shame they decided to cripple it.

All the manufacturers are trying to save money and cut costs. I think most of the laptops are now aimed at home users rather than us guys doing service. Most users plug in their digital cameras and Palms.... Those USB to Serial adapters are a way around the problem but I've noticed that some cables do not function properly (AB).
Save yourself lots of grief and get a Panasonic toughbook. I've been using these laptop since '98 and they are really good quality. Besides having a serial port they also still have a floppy built in. That's a real bonus these days. There's a 3 year (48 hour repair guarantee) warranty included in the price also. The CF-50 is a good deal for the money....

ndzied1 said:

They also removed the Parallel port.

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IMO, the parallel port should have become a legacy item long ago. I can't remember the last time I plugged something into a parallel port...

Note to laptop manufacturers: Removing the parallel port frees up space. A good ol' SERIAL PORT would fit in that space quite nicely. Heck, even TWO serial ports could be squeezed in there!...

beerchug

-Eric

Personally I dont anticipate this being a problem for me within the next three years or so. This is due to the fact that I have gotten into the habbit of not buying a new laptop every year in a vain attempt to keep up with the newest, latest and greatest...

I dont use my laptop to wacht DVDs, play video games, etc.. My needs are simple. My control programming software, MS office Pro, and about 5 to 7 Gigs on the HD. Besides the way some of these jobsites are, I dont need to be constantly concerned about damaging a $2K+ laptop.

Ebay's my computer store.

Mike.

I'm one of these guys that is very careful with my tools and equipment. I have a Dell Inspiron 7500 that is 4 years now and it still looks almost new. I have 2 batteries, a 40 Gig main HD, a 40 Gig drive in the expansion bay, a CD-RW/DVD/Floppy combo drive that I bought off e-bay, & 512 megs of RAM. I did have to replace the keyboard once but that only cost me 30 bucks. I am long overdue to upgrade to a new machine, but I hate to give this up. Granted it is only a P3 600 with 8 Megs of video ram but it is a great programming machine. I'm even running XP Pro on it. Only problem is no warranty, so when it bites the dust I'll have to go shopping again. Anyone have experience with the Dell Latitudes? Do they have serial ports?

"I dont use my laptop to wacht DVDs, play video games, etc.. My needs are simple."

Just curious elevmike have you been on
any extended overseas trips? Stuck in a shady hotel or apartment in some place where the english language is hardly ever spoken. Nothing on tv but the native tongue. But there is a video store around the corner with english movies or video games for rent. Wouldn't you be tempted to use your computer as a dvd player or play
some type of game? Chess , checkers, etc.
to pass the time away....

A little off topic, but I still run Autocad 12 dos on a 486. We only generate our own prints and do not have to send files out to others or recieve files that are not compatible. I like my company to use their money on things like my salary rather than buying me toys to play with all day.

Now back to laptops, my last one served me quite well for many years and I hope to get just as many from my latest Dell I got about 6 months ago. But I think this still may be off topic.

I tend to get a new laptop every couple of years because it is easier to spend 1200 on a new laptop than 700-800 to get the LCD repaired. I do usually have to buy a new battery after about a year of use. Even with careful power monitoring, I still develop quite a memory on them and ennd up with only 30-45 minutes battery life.

Mike,

I agree with guest. I am often stuck in a hotel room or sitting around the airport waiting and don't always want to occupy my time writing new code. I rent DVDs from Netflix and take them with me while I am on the road.

Bob

I like my company to use their money on things like my salary rather than buying me toys to play with all day.

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My company (and many others I know of) now have a policy that you buy your own laptop. This is a pain up front but if it is required for your job, you can claim it as a deduction on your taxes (USA - I'm not an accountant, so check with a professional or know what you are doing before actually doing this) and then they cannot complain about anything you have installed on it and cannot complain if you use if for personnal use also.

I'd still rather have them pay for it but that's the rules here and here is still better than learning to say "Welcome to Wal-Mart" with a smile 10000 times a day.

Norm,

Tell Bill Van that Bob from Weigh Right says hello...