Re: Why no third party solutions?

[george@cs.nps.navy.mil (Robert George)]

>Sean Chou / schou@uiuc.edu / CompuServe 73672,2111

> In particular, I would cite the following as points to improve:
> 
>   - the stupid PCMCIA port covers (this is the WORST design I've seen)

I don't have a current Toshiba, but I do have a 4200 and the PCMCIA port
has a hard plastic panel that pops off.  You have to pry this thing off
(usually with a pocket screwdriver) every time you move the notebook.
Worst yet is the Acer PCMCIA port, the cards stick out half an inch out
of the case when they're properly seated (the mechanical engineer who
did this must have been on drugs).  This means that you have to remove
the cards from the port when you move the machine.  Frankly, I move my
notebook alot, and I use a modem and an Ethernet card continually -- I
prefer the ThinkPad's design to anything I have seen.

> Yes, Toshiba notebooks are nicely built.  And they are finely getting
> the clue that no one likes the side-mounted trackballs!

I definitely do NOT agree here.  We've had just about every kind of 
laptop/notebook in our branch here, including Toshiba.  We have been
very unhappy with the quality of the Toshi's.  For the company that
manufactures most of the world's LCD's, the panels that they ship
have lousy contrast, _many_ dead pixels, lousy look angle, not to
mention that they don't supply the 10.4 inch diagonal that they sell
to IBM.  They also don't survive very long for a frequent traveler,
and the ABS plastic case material degrades quickly.  They've finally
admitted defeat with the trackball and gone with a TrackPoint device
in their Portege's.

BTW, the Apple Powerbooks we have are every bit the equal to the ThinkPad
in ergonomics, manufacturing quality, and display quality.

...but they don't have a 10.4" screen :)