Laptop

So I have been looking for a good laptop, and have had many suggestions.
So far, I think I am most sold on the Sager NP9880...
Here is why...
I have here a comparrison between a DELL (TOTL) in A-Y and the Sager in 1-25.

1. Display: 17 inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) with Super Glossy Surface Display
A. 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
2. Processor: 3.8GHz (670) - 64bit P4 LGA755 w/2.0MB L2 Cache & HT
B. Intel® Pentium® M Processor 770 (2.13 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
3. Graphics & Video: 256MB GDDR3 nVIDIA GeFORCE GO 6800 Ultra
C. 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800
4. Memory: 2.0GB (2 SODIMMs) DDR2-533 Memory
D. 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
5. Primary Hard Drive: 60GB 7,200RPM Ultra DMA Hard Drive
E. 100GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
6. Secondary Hard Drive: 60GB 7,200RPM Ultra DMA Hard Drive
F. NONE AVAILABLE
7. Primary Optical Drive: 8X DVD+/-R/RW/+ Dual Layer/ CD-RW w/ Light Scribe Enable
G. 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
8. Secondary Optical Drive: None.
H. NONE AVAILABLE
9. Floppy Drive: External USB 3.5 inch 1.44MB Floppy Drive
I. NONE AVAILABLE
10. RAID Setting: None.
J. NONE AVAILABLE
11. TV Tuner: TV Tuner (NTSC or Multi Pal) with Remote Control
K. NONE AVAILABLE
12. Modem: Built-in 56k V.90/V.92 Fax Modem
L. ???
13. Network: Built-in 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet LAN
M. ???
14. Wireless LAN Card: Internal 54Mbps Wireless 802.11g with Bluetooth Combo Module Card.
N. Intel® PRO 2915 and Dell 350 Bluetooth Internal Wireless Cards
15. Battery: Spare 12 Cell Smart Li-ion Battery
O. 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (80 WHr)
16. AC Adapter: Spare AC Adapter with Power Cord.
P. ???
17. Port Replicator: USB Universal Port Replicator (No CRT Port)
Q. Notebook Expansion Dock
18. 7-in-1 Memory Card Reader: Built-in 7-in-1 Memory Card Reader
R. NONE AVAILABLE
19. Digital Video Camera: Integrated Digital Video Camera.
S. NONE AVAILABLE
20. MS Windows OS: No MS Windows Operating System
T. Windows XP Pro (not wanted but cannot remove)
21. MS Office XP Software: None.
U. NONE
22. Carrying Case: Free Black business Carrying Case
V. Dell Nylon Deluxe Carrying Case or Large Backpack Carrying Case for $59 or $39 respectively
23. Dead Pixel Policy: Zero Dead Pixel Guarantee Policy
W. NONE AVAILABLE
24. Warranty: 2 Additional Years Extended Warranty (Between $2,001 and $3,000)
X. 3yr Plus Solution Package
25. Total Cost: $4000
Y. $3800

For $200 I get an upgradeable PCIe Video Card, 5.1 Sourround Sound Speaker System (built in), OnBoard Video Cam, Additional Hard Drive, Raid, Additional DVD (or other accessory), No OS, Memory Card Reader, Extra Power Supply, Higher Resolution Monitor, Faster (upgradeable) Processor, Floppy, and NTSC TV Tuner.

Not to mention, Sager is "industrial grade", in other words, their monitor and other parts are to greater tolerances and better quality than the "consumer grade" of Dell...

Linux vs. Windows - Security Issues

Many times we see articles from Linux or Windows camps debating the total cost of ownership (TCO) of one system or the other...
I won't go into that debate, because I know there are many sides to that problem...

What I do want to say is this, when it comes to security and keeping you safe from the "bad guys" of the internet, Linux has Windows beat, hands down.

One of my favorite sites is "Secunia". They monitor problems in several thousand products...they are non-biased, and report the facts. This is fine with me, as I don't want someone's paid-for opinion, I want the truth...

http://www.secunia.com/

If you look at Fedora Core (4) Linux (a product of Red Hat), you will see the following information...
42 Secunia Advisories
0 unpached vulnerabilities
Of the 42, 0% were "Extreme", 31% "High", 29% "Moderate", 33% "Low", and 7% "n/a"...

In contrast, if we look at Microsoft Windows XP Professional, you will see the following...
110 Secunia Advisories
23% of them UNPATCHED
1% partial fix
the rest are fixed.
Of the 110, 1% were "Extreme", 32% "High", 31% "Moderate", 26% "Low", and 10% "n/a"...

Based on this information alone, it is easy to see why Linux is the choice for security.
And to throw in at least one jab...
I wonder if it costs less to maintain a secure environment or an unsecure one?

--E