Advice sought to help fine tune T42 purchase

[Lotek]

I have been lurking for quite some time, and am jazzed to have found such a knowledgable & professional forum. It is proving to be a life-saver for me, a person with a low-tech mind in a high-tech world.

I am seriously considering buying a 2378DXU and seek input from the sage minds here. My use is SOHO (Word, Quicken, some Excel, e-mail, web-surfing, digi-pix editing but no heavy/serious graphics work). I've no need or desire to play games, DL music, etcetera. I want to network the T42 to my existing desktop & DSL; the T42 will likely end up replacing the desktop; I expect to keep the T42 for at least 3 years. I can foresee using the T42 outside, but typically will be inside (ummmm, maybe - that may change after I'm paroled from the cables in the office ).

I definitely want a 15" LCD, but am not yet certain that Flexview is the way to go. Some posters speak of ghosting, yet others say Flexview is crystal clear; some say the fonts are wee-dinky, while others say they have no problems reading their screens. Not all posters have listed their TP models, so I can't tell if the model or vid card (or both) dictates the clarity of the screen in Flexview or if it's solely a function of "operator optic health" (and age!). My current CRT is a 19" SyncMaster 955DF, 1024x768; it is comfortable for me while wearing reading glasses, but I cannot see diddly on it without the glasses.

So, my Qs re the 15" Flexview LCD w/ Radeon 9600 64 MB:
-- 1) Is the ghosting/blurring apparent only when playing games or does it also occur when scrolling through docs & websites?

-- 2) If I go with Flexview, is the legibility in the 1400x1050 native res comparable to that of a decent 19" CRT, or should I stick with a std 15" LCD @ 1024x768?

-- 3) If I go with a std LCD, how much visibility is lost when outside (e.g., under a tree or patio cover on a clear & bright day)?

And a couple of low-tech Qs from Lotek's low-tech mind:
-- A) Can I even network a TP running Win XP Pro with a desktop running W2K Pro?

-- B) Is Win XP any better than the POS it was when it was first released, and can it really be tweaked to get rid of all the artsy-fartsy cutesy c**p it has??? Does it still want to phone home all the time? IBM may be Big Blue, but M$ wants to be Big Brother.

Thanks in advance for sharing your wisdom, and I apologize for the long post.

Lotek.

[lfeagan]

I'm going to avoid the holy wars that are related to monitors. I don't own a Flexview so I can't help ya there... BUT, I can help with these

And a couple of low-tech Qs from Lotek's low-tech mind:
-- A) Can I even network a TP running Win XP Pro with a desktop running W2K Pro?

-- B) Is Win XP any better than the POS it was when it was first released, and can it really be tweaked to get rid of all the artsy-fartsy cutesy c**p it has??? Does it still want to phone home all the time? IBM may be Big Blue, but M$ wants to be Big Brother.

Yes, you can absolutely network Windows XP Pro with Win2k Pro. I do it all the time and have no difficulties. In terms of their networking abilities, WinXP is basically a moderate superset of the abilites of Win2k (eg It builds on it). Only in some cutting edge corporate settings could the differences in AD (Active Directory) matter, and you don't have a Windows 2003 Server, so that doesn't really matter . In fact, I find Windows XP Pro to be a bit more stable/reliable and convenient to network with Samba. Win XP Home is another subject...its like the little orphan OS they stripped it down so much. Last time I checked it didn't even have ipconfig...eek!

Can you get rid of the lame-as-hell Playskool/Kindergrarten look? Absolutely. Its the first thing I do. We had a nice debate over the merits of this a few weeks ago, which shall not be revisited other than to mention that it absolutely can be done. For starters, go down to the Taskbar, right click-->properties, then select classic. There are more options there you can dig through to get things more to your liking also. In addition, I suggest picking up some of the Powertoys, such as TweakUI to help config things even moreso than you might have in Win2k (though you could have used TweakUI there too).
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/down ... rtoys.mspx

Best of luck to you!

[rideDPU]

Lotek, I have a 2379 DXU...only difference from the 2378 is the warrenty.

It seems as though you are set on the 15", so I will proceed to give my observations on such a machine. (Trying to avoid the screen wars)

I find that the flexview looks great when scrolling through websites and docs etc. There is a small amount of ghosting but only in some fast paced games. (My experience at least)

I can't comment too specifically on "Std. LCDs" outside because the dell that I get for free from the school just sits around in my room as a permanent email checker and nothing else. If I want to do anything, I grab my thinkpad.

Finally, I would say that if you are getting a 15" go with the higher resolution. I think it is marvelously clear. To have such a big screen with so little resolution (1024x768) seems like quite a waste of space.

[rocketman]

The Flexview 15" display with the 1400x1050 resolution is stunning, sharp as a tack, bright and clear. I'm so happy with my 2 week old T42, even with my less than perfect eyesight I can read everything without using my glasses. I was also considering getting the 1024x768 resolution display but I'm sure glad I went with the higher resolution.

[fbrdphreak]

My current CRT is a 19" SyncMaster 955DF, 1024x768; it is comfortable for me while wearing reading glasses, but I cannot see diddly on it without the glasses.

This stuck out when I read it. If you are running a 19" @ 1024*768, then I'm not sure I would recommend the 15" SXGA+ @ 1400*1050. I have it and love it to death, but for those with poor eyesight it might get a little difficult to read. If you don't mind jacking up the font size & etc to make things more visible, then I think the extra desktop real-estate combined with the crispness of the screen are well worth it.
Now, as far as FlexView goes, I might have it (The quality of my screen suggests it, but I have no documentation that says so) and from what I've heard, I would recommend it. If you don't game, then ghosting doesn't matter. I game on mine and ghosting is live-able. The extreme viewing angles, clarity, & brightness are well worth it IMHO.