Are you agonizing over what notebook to buyInspiron 6000My views 1111

Thomas G. Marshall I never said it didn't; when I said, "I wish it could go dimmer," I meant dimmer than the dimmest setting (my T21 had a much greater difference between the max & min brightness). On both Dells, the dimmest setting is still brighter than it needs to be (and screen brightness is one of largest drains on battery). More importantly (as I mentioned prior), I wish there was a way to turn off the screen and remain running (eg. if I'm compiling something on the go, I don't need to see the screen). There is a definite tradeoff between being able to read something and screen real estate. I find SXGA+ to be the perfect tradeoff for me; I also do a lot of CAD & programming (two areas where the more you can see at once, the better). My former laptop was XGA, and although it was adequate, I found it a bit wasteful. I don't have the greatest eyes (I have worn contacts for years), but but 1400x1050 isn't painful for me. I disagree, if two people are in reasonable shape and one has a solid 80 lbs on the other, the bigger person will almost certainly be able to carry more weight over the same period of time. I'm an electrical engineer in college and see students everyday. Although engineering is highly technical, you generally don't tend to see students bring computers to lecture (tough to draw a circuit on anything but a tablet). However when I do see students with laptops Power-iBook 12", or whatever that small Sony Vaio is called. Even in lab, where I most frequently bring my laptop, the vast majority of machines are 14" or smaller (with the occasional 15" Powerbook). Most of them are I600m-D60,10, IBM T-Series, etc. I'd go on to say for every 6.5lb or larger notebook I see 2-3 smaller ones. As a student, when you bring a laptop to school, you tend to have to carry it around a lot (you definitely don't leave it unattended anywhere). If I was just taking it from my car to the office and back everyday, (and not having to lug it with me to every clbutt, lab, the library, lunch, etc.), then perhaps I'd have a different opinion on weight. I do admit, as another poster has suggested, throwing it in a backpack does help a bit.