#133 Laptop Down

Talking about hardware problems with my car, my own mental wiring and my laptop, leading up to attending Podcaster's across Borders in Kingston Ontario. I made it there an back, but I'll have to give you the high points in the next show.Check out these shows,On the Log - Episode 68: The Sound Between the NotesDicksnJanes #202: postPABblabBeing Buff # 36, Jowi Taylor PAB2009 Keynote: How a guitar brought a nation togetherCanadian Podcast Buffet will be uploading recordings of the sessions throughout the summer Also, google PAB09. Every attendee who writes a blog or posts a podcast/vidcast will put this tag in their RSS fee.In the process of troubleshooting problems with my laptop, using tools such as Techtool Pro, Carbon Copy Cloner and and Apple Disk Utility, the drive and the motherboard failed and an emergency trip to the Apple Store Genius Bar resulted in it being pronounced DOA.All that I can do at this point is offer some cautionary advice on how to prepare, and deal with the inevitable computer meltdown.Finally I go over some of the critical features I'm looking for in my next laptop.Corrections: I made an error in describing the pixel dimension of the MacBook Pro 15" laptop. It is 1440x900, which is identical to the highest resolution on my PowerBook 1.67 Ghz 17" laptop. Also I was wrong about the price difference. There is only a $200 price difference, not $400.Finally, the factory warranty is one year and you can purchase AppleCare, an extended warranty for a maximum of 3 years (not 4 years). A real bargain at $350. It covers any defective parts and service to replace them.There are two graphics cards in both the 15" and 17' which have 2.8Ghz processors, and they function the same. There are other, slower processor 15" MacBook Pros and their hardware configurations are very different. Here's the primary differences between the two laptops as far as I can determine right now.                                               15"                  17" • Cost Difference              $200 less • Two video cards                 Yes                   Yes • Drive                               500 Gig            500 Gig • Card Slots                          SD             ExpressCard/34 • Display                             Good          Larger, HiRez • Battery                            7 hours             8 hoursThe 17" is a good deal for the extra $200, no question about that.