Exile`90

The site is back.. All old posts will come back as I update them with correct links, images, etc..

NTM gallery is dead and it will stay this way.. No time or energy to keep it up. I’ll bring back some personal stuff but no more photo books or wallpapers.. Too much time to maintain that stuff..

Few weeks ago my old laptop has decided to finally die on me.. With the XMas season coming I’ve decided to get myself something nice this year.. Like a new laptop.. My final choices were between 3 laptops.. Toshiba M70, Toshiba M60 and an older Eurocom 17″ beast.. Because of the age of the Euocom model I’ve decided to go with one of the Toshibas.. So it was 15″4 vs. 17″ screen.. The other hardware was pretty similar.. I’ve decided to go with the bigger screen..

Toshiba Satellite M60 (PSM60C-CD600E)

Here are some of the stats stolen.. err.. BORROWED from the Toshiba site with my comments..

CPU
Intel Pentium M Processor 740 (1.73GHz, 533MHz FSB, L1 Cache 32KB/32KB, L2 Cache 2MB)
Well.. I didn’t really need a super beast.. So I went for the slow CPU.. Still faster than my desktop.. ;p

RAM
1.5GB DDR2

Hard Drive
Toshiba MK1032GAX 100GB 5400rpm
Like, like.. But uber-hot.

Optical Drive
TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-L632B DVD Super-Multi Drive
Writing: CD-R (24x), CD-RW (10x), DVD-R (8x), DVD-RW (4x), DVD+R (8x), DVD+RW (4x), DVD-RAM (3x), DVD+R(DL) (2.4x)
Fucking loud when writting.. But it writes almost any popular format so I can’t complain..

Display
17.0″ Wide XGA TFT with TruBrite
Native LCD Panel Resolution: 1440x900x16.7 million colours
WTF is with that resolution.. Gah.. Lack of wallpapers.. Need to make my own.. ;p
I don’t know why Toshiba didn’t go with something higher.. I’ve seen 17″ laptops with 1600×1024..

Graphics Card
NVIDIA GeForce Go 6600 with 128MB DDR dedicated video memory, PCI Express 16x
IT PLAYS CIVILIZATION IV!!! <- that's all that matters.. (and yes, the game sucks) ;p

Sound
Realtek ALC250 with Harman Kardon Stereo speakers.
Could be better.. The sound is pretty quiet.. But the speakers are nice..

Communication
V.92 56K Data/Fax Modem
10/100 integrated Ethernet LAN
Intel Wireless LAN (802.11ag)
WTF? No bluetooth?!?!?! No gigabit??!?! And why bother with the modem?

Expansion
PC Card slot supports one Type II PC Cards; supports CardBus
Only one slot..
5-in-1 Multimedia port (SD, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, MMC, xD-Picture Card)
NO CF?!?!?!
3 USB 2.0
Not enough ports..
IEEE1394
Mini-firewire ports are EVIL!
Express Card Slot
Is there actualy any hardware for that? ;p

Keyboard
Full sized 103 keys with numeric keypad
I like it.. But.. Yes.. There are ‘but’s.. Because of the addition of the keypad the keyboad is not centered.. So I keep hitting wrong keys.. Also some of the keys are ‘weird’ shaped.. Like uber-small right Shift key or tinny Enter key.. And WTF is with the extra \| key? I don’t see the need for it.. In general the keyboard feels hard.. I actualy have to press hard to get it to register.. Maybe it’ll change once it gets worn in..

Dimensions
WxDxH: 394 x 280.3 x 29.8(Front)/37(Back) mm
Weight: 3.32kg (7.32lbs)
Yes.. It’s pretty BIG.. And HEAVY..

General comments
In general this model is pretty sweet.. But here’s the BAD STUFF. ;p

1. Hot spots.
There is a few spots that get pretty hot when using the laptop.

1) Bottom middle part of the screen. Just above the multimedia keys.
2) Hard drive area.. Pretty annoying when you keep the laptop on your lap..
3) Fan intake. Just like I’ve seen in some of the new laptops the intake is on the bottom of the laptop. Once again right where your leg would be if you were using your toy without the desk. Also forget about keeping your laptop on your bed or carpet.. That’ll cover the intake causing the fan to run non-stop..
4) The most annoying spot is the one under your right palm when you type.. The area above the RAM and modem/WiFi cards is pretty hot.. And it happens to be just when your hand will rest when you type or use the touchpad.

None of those spots are HOT-hot.. They’re just annoyingly worm..

Keyboard
I’ve already mentioned the small problem with the size or shape of the keys above but there is more.. I really hate when they keep moving the damn Delete key around.. Can’t they just decide on one fucking location for that key? Every time I use a new laptop I spend tons of time looking for that one stupid key. Thank god for the keypad on this model. I keep it off so I still can use my pinky to press Delete, Home, End.

Resolution
Fucking random resolution if you ask me.. ;p

Drivers
WTF? The only disk you get is the Recovery Disk. So if you wipe out your system (like I did the same day I got it) you’re pretty much forced to visit Toshiba site to download your drivers. How about giving us more than just the minimum driver support Toshiba? Please? ;p

Power Adapter
Baaah.. They’re using a new type of a plug.. I’ve had 2 power adapters for my old laptop.. One at home and one at work.. I thought I could just keep the same adapters to use with this laptop.. But noo.. They HAD to change the plug.. My old adapters simply don’t fit the socket on the M60..

With this I end.. Overall it’s a one badass laptop.. If you can get over those small problems you’ll be happy with your choice.. I know I am..

So, here’s my baby..

I’ve been working on this one lately so here’s the info about my other laptop:

I had to restart my fileserver so I got a chance to get the hardware listing from it too..

Here’s what the uptime command said right before I shut ‘Otome Gumi’ down:

System has been up for 117 day(s), 13 hour(s), 22 minute(s), 37 second(s).

I’ve updated the listing for my laptop.