Laptop

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Laptop

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Matt Miller (4) SSC Guru Points: 124210 More actions · Answer 1

ChrisMoix (2/8/2008)
I thought that the Vostro line was for small businesses - i.e. they require buying in lots of five or more.
I know someone who tried to call and buy a Vostro that was listed at about $650 in the advertisement. The Dell rep said they had to but 5 or more to get a Vostro. When they speced out a home laptop with the same specs, it ended up being almost $900.
Check to see if you can get just one Vostro.
As for myself, I have a Macbook Pro and I love it. It is definitely not the cheapest alternative, but it is the best put-together laptop I've ever seen. I use Parallels to run windows apps (including SQL Server).

You can get them one at a time from the outlet ("dell outlet DOT com"). If you don't care for the refurbished line - stick to the "previously ordered new" (a.k.a overshipments and mis-orders).

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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?

ChrisMoix-87856 SSCertifiable Points: 7288 More actions · Answer 2

There are several ways to go with Mac OS X.

1. Bootcamp - you dual boot, i.e. you can boot straight into normal Windows (XP or Vista. I don't know if they have drivers for anything else there. No virtualization - it runs just like any other laptop.

2. Virtualization - boot into OS X and you can use either Parallels or VMWare Fusion to run a Windows virtual machine on top of OSX. Fro what you are talking about, you would probably be better off with Fusion, but I have no experience with Fusion, only parallels.

And for an interesting twist, you can do both. Set up Bootcamp then with boot into native windows, or boot Mac OS X and then run your bootcamp partition as a virtual machine (at least you can in Parallels, once again I'm not sure about Fusion).

I'm in grad school getting my MBA in Finance while I'm working full time as a DBA, and I've loved working on the Macbook Pro for both. You could also look into a Macbook(or a Mac mini for that matter), if you want an Apple but want to save a little bit of money.

Stupeo Hall of Fame Points: 3067 More actions · Answer 3

Just for information i decided to go with a Dell XPS M1530 with the following spec:

Intel Dual Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2.0ghz

2048gb ram (gonna up it to 4gb in the next couple of weeks)

250 gb 5,400rpm hdd (im going to upgrade to 120 7,200rpm soon)

Its running Vista Home Premium but im considering downgrading to XP Pro as it feels a little sluggish.

Matt.

Matt Miller (4) SSC Guru Points: 124210 More actions · Answer 4

Vista Home Premium will not allow you to run SSRS. It just plain won't install from what I can tell. As being a "home" product, MS saw fit to cripple its Windows Authentication support in IIS, ergo - no SSRS.

Go back to XP, or upgrade it to Vista Business (XP if you plan on using DataDude).

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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?

EdVassie SSC Guru Points: 60476 More actions · Answer 5

When you get to look at software, I recommend a TechNet Plus Direct subscription. MS in UK has a special offer for new subscribers until 18 March - GBP £188 + VAT. This is about the same as the renewal price. See http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/subscriptions/ms788692.aspx

This allows you to download any MS server and office software, but Visual Studio is not included. So for £188 you get Vista Ultimate, Office 2007 Ultimate, W2003 Enterprise, SQL Server 2005 Enterprise, etc, etc, for personal use only. You can even upgrade existing Vista boxes to XP! IMHO one of the best deals going.

Original author: https://github.com/SQL-FineBuild/Common/wiki/ 1-click install and best practice configuration of SQL Server 2019, 2017 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008 R2, 2008 and 2005.

When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor they call me a communist - Archbishop Hélder Câmara

Stupeo Hall of Fame Points: 3067 More actions · Answer 6

Ed,

Thanks for that.

I am going to look into it. It seems almost too good to be true.

Matt