Doing The Numbers

It's not really buyer's regret, it's more bargainer's regret.

The Toshiba Ultrabook which I'm expecting to arrive today cost this:

Base $1,099
Tax $90
Shipping Free
= $1,189
15% restocking fee $165
Return shipping $25
Tax Refund $90
Return refund = $909


It has an i7 1.8GHz dual-core processor. I thought i7 were all quad core. So not nearly as big a speed boost from the i3 dual core 1.4GHz which is their base model

I got the i7 because Toshiba Direct does not sell an i5 or i3 with bluetooth, and I want to not have a dongle for the external mouse. 

Tiger sells the i3 with bluetooth for
Base $830
Shipping $25
Tax = none
= $855

And comes with 4GB RAM instead of 6GB.

So returning the over-powered i7 would only save me $55. For that difference I may as well keep it.  I don't need the extra memory - it will eat some battery life - but according to Toshiba's specs, both units are the same battery life, the same weight and the only thing the more expensive machine doesn't have which the less expensive one does is something called Intel WiDi Display. WiDi allows streaming to the laptop from a compatible blu-ray DVD player which I (a) don't have and (b) don't want.

So I'll keep the i7, and only slightly regret that I would have saved $334 had I known about the Tiger Direct bargain in the first place.


 

Obamalamadingdang

Listening to the President's speech this morning, I am once again infuriated that as an allegedly articulate human being, he still cannot speak a complete sentence without a pause every three words.

First Impression

Toshiba Ultrabook is so light it did not feel like anything was in the shipping box it was packed in. Very simple but adequate packaging for the product box. Battery had half a charge, which is nice.

It's not as fast as the Asus, but it is way faster than my netbook. The display is not as sharp, but it's better than the netbook's. Keyboard is very nice. Back-lit, which the Asus' is not. Fingerprint scanner was easy to set up, and works like a champ.

Bluetooth driver is kludgey, maybe. Could be more due to the piece-o-crap BT mouse I bought. Wish I could find the one I used to have. Maybe I auctioned it at BASFA. Hmmm. Once it found the moouse (15 minutes and 6 tries later) it worked fine. Will get a real mouse tonight.

It did not automatically re-connect to my wi-fi network when I rebooted, but it remembered the password. Will have to test that some more. It was easy & fast to set up. It comes with a free 30-day Norton's, which will get replaced soon by the unlimited free one from Comcast.

They put the power connector in the back, and unlike Asus (which uses some proprietary tiny plug) they have a standard connector and power brick with an AC cord. Asus has a cube which plugs into the outlet, blocking other connectors.

The browser was fast - I was able to play the videos on my web site smoothly over wifi.

Still more to play with.

FurReal FAIL

So, Domino is only mildly curious about the robocat when I throw it across the room. This is not going to become the faux companion I had hoped.

Meanwhile, if susandennis wants a break from bears, there is this amusing book: Clicky