WC 1M Post Challenge - You Ready?!

[libra89]

It sounds like you've clearly never properly picked up a fully loaded woman's tote bag/work shoulder purse to understand how much those things weigh.

Laptop weight is relative. Remember, we don't know what else she has as her EDC. So she's got to factor that stuff in to balance what she needs weight and performance wise from her laptop.

This is true. I have what I consider to be essentials in my purse, and a laptop is never in there. It's not like it could fit anyway, since my bag is small. My laptop will likely continue to live in my backpack unless I end up with a 13" (current laptop is 15.6").

 

[libra89]

I'm so glad I got the Flex 14 when I did. In being pressed into working at home I didn't have to scramble to get a machine as my T100 couldn't have handled this workload.

It still freezes daily. I'm going to order a flash drive, do a back up and wipe it and start over. I think it took a bad driver update within the past two months. The first three weeks of working from home it was flawless. Fortunately I don't have much work saved on the machine and a total wipe isn't a super loss.

I'm glad that you did too, it's like you worked it out just in time.

Your T100 sounds frustrating. Ugh.

 

[libra89]

Agreed 100%.

So when I picked the Flex 14, I did something similar. I wanted beefy stats because I keep my machines for eons. It's why I decided 16GB RAM & 512GB SSD were my floor. I had an opportunity to grab one of the early 10th Gen i7s, so I took it because the cost savings to go to a 8th Gen i7 wasn't as much in the configuration I wanted. I looked at Port selection, battery life and keyboard. Flex has solid port selection, the keyboard is very good and the battery life I could work around. Having used the keyboard daily, I'm glad I didn't compromise there. Think the battery is also replaceable too (and cheaper to do vs a Surface). I got a USB hub anyways eons ago for my T100 and that still runs well to give me more I/O. 3.5mm jack is good.

I didn't care about speakers because for audio I'd use headphones. I didn't care about the mic because by Sony cans have a built-in mic and they work great with the laptop. I didn't care about the webcam because most are trash. What I cared about was a physical kill switch for the webcam though and FPS for Windows hello. Once I tested out the webcam on a business call this week, I'm glad it's solid enough. If it were total trash, I'd buy one. For my current work meetings, webcam is off.

So yeah, prioritize certain features and see what you can get as externals to best fit your uses. I just chose an ultrabook because I need lighter and more portable in my current living and work spaces. Otherwise weight doesn't bother me and I would have gotten a regular laptop.

That's such a valid point, thank you for this perspective. I'll keep this in mind.

I downgraded to an 10th gen i5 to help myself out, but it doesn't seem like it is helping with selection. I'm looking at Newegg now and I'm hoping that I'll be proven wrong.

A part of me still wants to try the Asus VivoBook S15 anyway, especially considering what you and Rue said. This one, really: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...tml/BI/20079/KBID/13844/SID/UUwpUvbUpU3813715

 

[MSFTisMIA]

The issues with the Flex 14 are why I want to add the Envy 13T to the stable. I understand that I don't HAVE to have two separate machines, but at this point I feel better peace of mind wise to "separate church from state" and have dedicated kits for work an personal. In working from home in tighter quarters, it has gotten harder to not meld things I don't want blending. There is something important for me in physically turning off my work phone and putting it away. The same has been for the Flex 14. The drawback is when I want to use it for something personal, I kinda just don't want to turn it on.

I'll pull the trigger eventually, but I still have time to decide. I just don't like the prices for the configuration I want for the Envy 13T. Need it a bit cheaper.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I'm glad that you did too, it's like you worked it out just in time.

Your T100 sounds frustrating. Ugh.

The T100 is just underpowered now, that's all. When it runs, it runs great. The keyboard is still good. It's got 2GB RAM and ran Windows 8 on launch, just to give you perspective.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

That's such a valid point, thank you for this perspective. I'll keep this in mind.

I downgraded to an 10th gen i5 to help myself out, but it doesn't seem like it is helping with selection. I'm looking at Newegg now and I'm hoping that I'll be proven wrong.

A part of me still wants to try the Asus VivoBook S15 anyway, especially considering what you and Rue said. This one, really: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...tml/BI/20079/KBID/13844/SID/UUwpUvbUpU3813719

This seems solid. Asus makes some decent stuffs.

 

[raycpl]

In tech news the most recent update to my phone, May security patch, appears to have made the fingerprint scanner better. There a new UI as well.

Still not perfect but it may be that I didn't register the finger correctly so I'll try again.

I got may update couple of days back... didn't notice any significant changes/behavior.... not that I went looking of it.

 

[Laura Knotek]

That is a huge difference. Wow.

I totally forgot to check out Newegg, thank you.

Another place you may want to check is Tigerdirect.com.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

That's such a valid point, thank you for this perspective. I'll keep this in mind.

I downgraded to an 10th gen i5 to help myself out, but it doesn't seem like it is helping with selection. I'm looking at Newegg now and I'm hoping that I'll be proven wrong.

A part of me still wants to try the Asus VivoBook S15 anyway, especially considering what you and Rue said. This one, really: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...tml/BI/20079/KBID/13844/SID/UUwpUvbUpU3813722

This seems solid. Asus makes some decent stuffs.

 

[libra89]

The issues with the Flex 14 are why I want to add the Envy 13T to the stable. I understand that I don't HAVE to have two separate machines, but at this point I feel better peace of mind wise to "separate church from state" and have dedicated kits for work an personal. In working from home in tighter quarters, it has gotten harder to not meld things I don't want blending. There is something important for me in physically turning off my work phone and putting it away. The same has been for the Flex 14. The drawback is when I want to use it for something personal, I kinda just don't want to turn it on.

I'll pull the trigger eventually, but I still have time to decide. I just don't like the prices for the configuration I want for the Envy 13T. Need it a bit cheaper.

I agree on the price of the Envy 13T being up there. For what you do, I think that makes perfect sense. I hope the pricing will work itself out for you sometime this year at least.

With this whole working from home thing being forced, I was considering having another tablet thing just for that separation. I like the idea of not having any work stuff on the other machine. It made some sense before but even more so now.

 

[libra89]

This seems solid. Asus makes some decent stuffs.

Thank you. The Zoom breaking the sound thing scares me (people were saying that on Best Buy's site) but I feel like I'm not going to know unless I try. I'll also like to see if I can find it a little cheaper. If not, that's okay. Otherwise, everything else aside from the speakers being at the bottom seems good and a lot of people are impressed with it. It's the only solid one. If the webcam is bad, I'll just do what you and Rue said about getting the hub and doing that.

A 1TB is a lot more than what I need but the struggle is real so eh. I'll let y'all know if I end up buying it.

 

[libra89]

Another place you may want to check is Tigerdirect.com.

Thank you for sharing this with me! I'll check it out as well.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Thank you. The Zoom breaking the sound thing scares me (people were saying that on Best Buy's site) but I feel like I'm not going to know unless I try. I'll also like to see if I can find it a little cheaper. If not, that's okay. Otherwise, everything else aside from the speakers being at the bottom seems good and a lot of people are impressed with it. It's the only solid one. If the webcam is bad, I'll just do what you and Rue said about getting the hub and doing that.

A 1TB is a lot more than what I need but the struggle is real so eh. I'll let y'all know if I end up buying it.

What I have found helpful is if I settle in on a machine I like, I shop around to see where I can get it at the cheapest price.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Thank you. The Zoom breaking the sound thing scares me (people were saying that on Best Buy's site) but I feel like I'm not going to know unless I try. I'll also like to see if I can find it a little cheaper. If not, that's okay. Otherwise, everything else aside from the speakers being at the bottom seems good and a lot of people are impressed with it. It's the only solid one. If the webcam is bad, I'll just do what you and Rue said about getting the hub and doing that.

A 1TB is a lot more than what I need but the struggle is real so eh. I'll let y'all know if I end up buying it.

As cousin Rue said, most people use headphones for Zoom and I agree. I use my wired to listen extensively and rarely speak, I see people using wired or wireless if they're calling in on their phone. That machine looks like you can upgrade certain parts, ao it seems OK. Asus is usually good for one odd decision, but I had no issues with my T100. Just wanted to try HP, MSFT and or Lenovo or else I'd have gone back to them.

 

[Rose640]

Ramadan's done, tomorrow comes Eid. I'm going to get stuffed with food.

 

[N_LaRUE]

How's the UI? Any thoughts? I'm glad to hear that the update has helped with the scanner, that's a start.

The UI is better. It takes more points now to make up the fingerprint. So that's where the improvement is.

 

[N_LaRUE]

I got may update couple of days back... didn't notice any significant changes/behavior.... not that I went looking of it.

Sony typically does bug fixes each patch. Unfortunately they never have a list of what they do.

 

[N_LaRUE]

As cousin Rue said, most people use headphones for Zoom and I agree. I use my wired to listen extensively and rarely speak, I see people using wired or wireless if they're calling in on their phone. That machine looks like you can upgrade certain parts, ao it seems OK. Asus is usually good for one odd decision, but I had no issues with my T100. Just wanted to try HP, MSFT and or Lenovo or else I'd have gone back to them.

Nothing drives me more crazy than crappy audio during a meeting.

My Logitech headset is great. It's nice and comfy and the mic is noise cancelling. It also has a mute button. Very handy.

There's an app you can get now that uses AI to cancel noise.

My wife's new computer is an HP ultrabook with an i7. We got it for both the power and portability. It has a nVidia GPU.. I'd have to look up the rest of the specs...

 

[MSFTisMIA]

Sony typically does bug fixes each patch. Unfortunately they never have a list of what they do.

No May 2019 update yet on a 9 Pureview I have lying around somewhere. Guess HMD is favoring ray and his mid range device.

 

[libra89]

Nothing drives me more crazy than crappy audio during a meeting.

My Logitech headset is great. It's nice and comfy and the mic is noise cancelling. It also has a mute button. Very handy.

There's an app you can get now that uses AI to cancel noise.

My wife's new computer is an HP ultrabook with an i7. We got it for both the power and portability. It has a nVidia GPU.. I'd have to look up the rest of the specs...

Your headset sounds great!

Also your wife's computer sounds solid as well.