So, after 4 days of no one calling me back to inform me what the status of the order was (no order was showing placed online @ dell.ca), I called them and told them to pound sand.

4 days of wasted time, while no one would return my calls, or even answer an email that I had sent.

Dell, you can kiss my rosy red ass, right in the brown puckered part.

Worst service ever.

So, the Compaq fiasco has led me to the decision of purchasing a new laptop.

I’ve come to the conclusion in my head, that two dead disks in 16 months is more likely a hardware problem with the laptop, than it is bad luck.

So, I did a bit of research online, looking at various options, including Sony, Apple, Compaq/HP, and of course, Dell.

I settled of a Dell Latitude D630, because it was the only way that I could get my grimy little hands on one, before I made my purchase, to touch and feel. Dell’s ability to let me tweak and customize the box was a great advantage as well.

So, let’s get down to one of my famous lists.

• Intel Core Duo 2 T7250 2.0 ghz.
• 2 gigs DDR2 667hmz Ram.
• 14.1″ WXGA+ High Gloss screen (1440 * 900).
• nVidia Quadro NVS 135m 128 MB Dedicated Video.
• 120 gig 7200 RPM SATA HDD.
• Removable 8X DVD-RW.
• Upgraded Intel 3945 WLAN WI-FI card.
• Dell Wireless Bluetooth.
• 2 * 9 Cell extended battery. Short battery life irritates me cranky.
• Ahem, Windows Vista Business.

The Dell, ultimately was the best value.

The Vaio I was looking at, was simply over priced in comparison. For the same price, Dell gave me a bigger, higher resolution screen, the same amount of ram, bigger hard disk, bluetooth, 2 9 cell batteries, vs a single 6 cell, not to mention the 3 year “Complete Care” warranty.

The Macbook Pro, well, if they offered something with a 14.1 or smaller screen, I probably would have been all over it. Why not one of the 13.3″ Macbooks? I hate the keyboards on the Macbook, not to mention I tend to have an allergic reaction to Intel video cards.

HP / Compaq, simply didn’t provide anything of interest. All the machines that I was able to look at by them were cheap consumer grade crap, aimed at the cost conscious, who simply wanted a cheap machine. I want something that will last at least 2, preferably 3 years. The Dell had a better keyboard, and a much more rugged casing.

It gets delivered in 7 to 10 business days, so about 2 weeks, and I cannot wait to get my grimy little hands on this beast.