Don't kid yourself. A DVD drive on your computer serves one purpose:
To watch movies. Don't attempt to justify the purchase of one by claiming
your latest presentations must be in DVD-RAM format. Yeah, right. Make
peace with your company's purchasing department by presenting a solution:
A laptop so complete with business-friendly features that the DVD is
a bonus.
The Compaq Presario 17XL265 ($1999) is such a machine. Weighing in
at just over five pounds, the 17XL265 is perfect for the mobile professional
trying to shave off a few pounds of portage. It's pleasingly thin, about
an inch thick, but it's more like a lightweight desktop replacement
system because most so-called "ultralights" don't have a CD/DVD or internal
floppy drive. Open it up and you'll see why the 17XL265 is the leader
of the pack. The 14.1" color screen, with brilliant edge-to-edge picture,
means that the display area is about the same size of a regular 15"
monitor. Combined with the full-size keyboard and broad wrist-rest,
you won't miss your desktop PC while you?re on the road. And with a
600MHz Pentium III processor, 64 megs of RAM and 8 megs of video RAM,
you certainly won't notice a difference in performance.
A handful of other features distinguish the Presario 17XL265. An innovative
touchpad with 4-way "scroll-button" combination makes for easy viewing
of documents and Web cruising. Fast access buttons provide one-touch
launching of the features you use most: email, Internet, and DVD/CD
player volume controls. The Presario also comes with a 56K modem and
optional Ethernet connection, as well as two USB ports, a printer port,
an external monitor port and S-Video-out for display on a TV or video
projector.
The reasonable price and low weight, however, are indicative of some
drawbacks. The main trade-off is that the computer can only hold either
a DVD or a floppy drive, not both. These can be hot-swapped, though,
and there are other "Future Bay" options, including a CD-writer. There?s
also only one Type-II PC Card slot, rather than the standard two. Curiously,
there isn't an infrared port so you'll have to carry around a few extra
cables for syncing with your PDA or other portable gear.
Now back to the DVD. The DVD plays videos full-screen without a glitch.
The battery can handle more than two hours of work or a full-length
feature film (and for a limited time, you can get an extra battery for
only $1). After all, the most important feature on the Presario is the
one that'll provide you with an alternative to watching Mickey Blue
Eyes on your next flight. Just don't let Purchasing in on that
part.
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