Hewlett Packard Pavilion ze4365us (DC976A) PC Notebook

Pros: 1.) Extremely Durable 2.) Nice input devices 3.) Linux friendly
Cons: 1.) Power supply connection is "finnicky" (after dropping the laptop).

I bought this laptop at a military base and paid $1,200 for it. Even then, I thought it was a fair price. Here I will list some of my favorite things about it: 1.) Extremely durable. I had my new laptop on a desk, and when I rolled my chair ...

Pros: Delivered configured as ordered. Unsurpassable Value.
Cons: Have to self-install much of the included software.

The BackstoryI've been using a free-to-me Toshiba Satellite 4060 notebook for the past tw ...

Pros: Really great machine when it was working
Cons: 2 years & 1 month is insufficient longevity for a $1K investment.

I was exceptionally impressed with the laptop from 5/03 until 6/05.

Then it died. At first it appeared to be a hard disk failure but I booted KNOPPIX (CDROM-based LINUX) ok and was able to access the hard disk after a few attempts. Rebooted & cycled power a couple times and could still access the hard drive, so I figured I'd try booting the hard drive once more. It never booted again from either hard drive or the CD-ROM. At that point I just had to conclude that the machine itself was flaky.