So it is time for a new laptop, huh!?!? This is the most common question that comes across my desk these days. What kind of machine do I buy for doing my inspections? Well, this is actually a fairly complicated answer because it comes down to how you like to conduct your inspections. However, let me describe my logic, how I buy a laptop, and how I would defend myself against accidents in the field.

First, let us set some ground rules: this is one of my most critical tools (minus my software); I need it as dependable as I am; and I do not want to pay more than I have to for it.

I believe the most commonly underrated component of purchasing a laptop is thinking about how you intend to get it fixed when it quits on you. Over complication is the state of the technology industry right now so there is a harsh reality starring us in the face: your hardware will break. No, I am not a pessimistic person, I am a realist. This is not because manufacturing, assembly, engineering, design or we users are bad; it is just because we expect our technology to be bigger, better, faster so everything is over-designed and over-complicated. I spent a few years at Intel before stepping into the Property Inspection industry and I can tell you we over engineered everything and over-complicated everything. Thus, let us keep in mind we need to know how we are going to get it fixed when it decides its Happy Hour starts on an idle Wednesday at 7AM!

The next factor we need to keep in mind is we need to over purchase in two places, we need more RAM than we think and we need more CPU power than we think!

Next, we need some way to transport this machine. Do not over look this – get a great bag for your machine this way when you smash it into the door jam on your way out the door from your first inspection it will have your back when you start the second inspection.

All right, so here is how I would do it. First, I would buy my machine from Dell’s business division. Dell is a great company. Do they have the greatest hardware? Nope. Do they have the best system designs? Nope. Do they have amazing technical support? Nope. Ok, so why buy a Dell? Dell stands behind their systems 100%. They have decent support, decent machine design and they sell thousands of machines each day so they know how to do it. If you know the tricks to buying it (which I will dispense to you now) you will end up with a great machine, with good support, excellent warranty coverage, at a great price and Dell will have you covered!

First, get online at http://dell.com and find the machine that intrigues you or places itself in your budget. Next, as painful as it is upgrade the memory. Try to get at least 1GB of RAM, I suggest 2GB if you can do it. Next, try to upgrade your processor. Currently, I would hunt for a Core 2 Duo from Intel. Next, pick out the other components you like online. Once you feel good about your laptop print the page.

Next, call Dell at (800) WWW-DELL and get ready because here is the key step. Make sure you select that you are buying this machine for your business. Why? All business purchased machines and components have their support attached to Texas and Canada. All personal machines and components have their support attached to India. (Based on my experience I’ll suggest you want the support out of Texas and Canada!)

Next, when you reach someone in sales, tell them you have a machine on the their site selected and priced out but wanted to call to see if there were any pricing breaks over the phone or any deals they knew about. I have NEVER EVER had the Internet price beat a phone price. Also, you will get your chance to let them push you into a warranty which secretly you want anyway!

Ok, finally, let us talk about protecting this machine. The phone representative is going to try to push you into a warranty which, frankly, you want anyway to protect your machine. You want Dell’s golden goose warranty (which as at the time of writing this they call their Gold Warranty). This even protects your machine against drops and gives you 24 hour onsite replacement. This will be another chance for the representative and you to shave some costs down on the machine (because you really didn’t want the warranty, right?!?!)

All right; now let us get the credit card out (the not-so-fun part). But wait, do we buy or do we lease? This is a great question. With Dell, you lease the sucker. It is usually around $400 over the price of the machine if you simply paid cash however; you now control your cash flow. Usually the lease will run around $130 - $140 a month for two years (but make sure you get the $1 buyout lease). Keep in mind you should always try to lease your hardware and your software if you can – they are both items which require a lot of TLC and with a lease you get better support and better upgrades: guaranteed!

Questions about buying a laptop, you are welcome to email me.

Best of luck and happy hunting!

Growing an inspection company in today’s world requires a decent level of automation, hardware and software. More than 90% of the property inspectors on the globe today are using Microsoft Windows as their operating system of choice: due mainly to the general availability of business and report authoring software for the PC. Microsoft has been hard at work at the next generation of operating systems and will release it to the general at the end of January. This “new generation” operating system has been named Microsoft Windows Vista and comes in several flavors.

Inspectors will commonly ask me if they should upgrade to Windows Vista. This is a wonderful question because planning an operating system upgrade for a business is not something that should be over looked. Here is a candid response from someone who spends their days developing software for Vista. I have been using Windows Vista since the day it was released to developers (November 17, 2006) and have a great understanding of the costs and benefits of the upgrade.

In a nutshell: Windows Vista is simply not worth the heart ache for you to upgrade your current computer. If you have a brand new machine with an incredible amount of memory (RAM at 2GB or more) and you enjoy tinkering with your computer in your spare time by all means go purchase the upgrade and have fun. The new operating system is clean, it runs well, the system’s look and feel is improved and most importantly the protection of your computer is stronger. However, the average inspector using their laptop on a day-to-day basis is simply not going to receive the benefit from the cost. Cost always comes in two factors for computer users: the act of sliding your credit card for the cardboard box and DVD and often overlooked the amount of time you are going to spend getting your machine running again.

Simply put, do not spend any time or money grabbing Vista for your current PC!

If you are an electronic junkie and always need the latest technology keep reading…

So, how do you get Vista if you want it? By all means, get a new PC. If you want to run Vista, buy a PC with it already installed. Your experience will be better by 100%, let your hardware manufacture, like Dell, deal with the configuration challenges, the ups and downs of installing drivers for the hardware you did not even know was in your computer. Save yourself some time and sanity and if you desire to use Vista call up Dell and get a new PC with Vista already installed and running. If you want your experience to even be stronger wait until March to make your purchase. Delaying your purchase will allow Microsoft and the hardware manufacturers to see what unfolds in the initial months of public use.

Finally, if you do decide to make the plunge and upgrade to Vista make sure your hardware supports the updates. My team experienced a few hardware challenges during our upgrade and we have a small collection of useless hardware now. Do you have a SnapScan scanner from Fujitsu and want to use Vista? Bzzzzzzz, according to Fujitsu they are not even going to write a driver application for the scanner. Therefore, be ready to replace a few of your integral components. If running to Best Buy to buy new hardware to replace your working hardware does not appeal to you put your XP-based laptop back in your bag, smile at the fact you are not going to spend tonight trying to get your PC working for tomorrow, grab a beer and watch the ball game. You will be happy you did!

As Windows Vista becomes more of a mainstream operating system I will re-address this topic until then Windows XP up and good luck in the field!