Satellite A660

[a***@gmail.com]

Never in my life have I used such an unmitigated piece of _____. It has so much potential, but they decided to mix in an untested keyboard design. Of all the things to f..ck with. Why *not* replace a steering wheel on a porsche with a fricking wet noodle. Talk about stealing defeat from the jaws of victory. Can the crippling of an otherwise great design be done any more inanely?

Oh wait. I'm going over the top. It *is* a good design...if you intend to use it for gaming and media. A great toy, a lethal miserable fakery of a work tool. If I hadn't paid well over a grand for it, it physically would not be in one piece, at least so far. I dearly hope that there is a maker out there that *doesn't* make such an utterly incomprehensible design decision. At some point, this POS will end up...let's just say it will end. It would be nice to know that there is actually a practical common-sense alternative.

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by a***@gmail.com
Never in my life have I used such an unmitigated piece of _____. It has so much potential, but they decided to mix in an untested keyboard design. Of all the things to f..ck with. Why *not* replace a steering wheel on a porsche with a fricking wet noodle. Talk about stealing defeat from the jaws of victory. Can the crippling of an otherwise great design be done any more inanely?
Oh wait. I'm going over the top. It *is* a good design...if you intend to use it for gaming and media. A great toy, a lethal miserable fakery of a work tool. If I hadn't paid well over a grand for it, it physically would not be in one piece, at least so far. I dearly hope that there is a maker out there that *doesn't* make such an utterly incomprehensible design decision. At some point, this POS will end up...let's just say it will end. It would be nice to know that there is actually a practical common-sense alternative.

Fracking piece of ass wiping trash.

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by a***@gmail.com

Post by a***@gmail.com
Never in my life have I used such an unmitigated piece of _____. It has so much potential, but they decided to mix in an untested keyboard design. Of all the things to f..ck with. Why *not* replace a steering wheel on a porsche with a fricking wet noodle. Talk about stealing defeat from the jaws of victory. Can the crippling of an otherwise great design be done any more inanely?
Oh wait. I'm going over the top. It *is* a good design...if you intend to use it for gaming and media. A great toy, a lethal miserable fakery of a work tool. If I hadn't paid well over a grand for it, it physically would not be in one piece, at least so far. I dearly hope that there is a maker out there that *doesn't* make such an utterly incomprehensible design decision. At some point, this POS will end up...let's just say it will end. It would be nice to know that there is actually a practical common-sense alternative.

Fracking piece of ass wiping trash.

This point cannot be emphasize enough.

[Bob_Villa]

Post by a***@gmail.com

Post by a***@gmail.com

Post by a***@gmail.com
Never in my life have I used such an unmitigated piece of _____. It has so much potential, but they decided to mix in an untested keyboard design. Of all the things to f..ck with. Why *not* replace a steering wheel on a porsche with a fricking wet noodle. Talk about stealing defeat from the jaws of victory. Can the crippling of an otherwise great design be done any more inanely?
Oh wait. I'm going over the top. It *is* a good design...if you intend to use it for gaming and media. A great toy, a lethal miserable fakery of a work tool. If I hadn't paid well over a grand for it, it physically would not be in one piece, at least so far. I dearly hope that there is a maker out there that *doesn't* make such an utterly incomprehensible design decision. At some point, this POS will end up...let's just say it will end. It would be nice to know that there is actually a practical common-sense alternative.

Fracking piece of ass wiping trash.

This point cannot be emphasize enough.

We get it, thanks!

[a***@gmail.com]

This is the only piece of trash laptop that I've used (and I've used a few) that has both poor motion registration on an oversize touchpad as well as sporadic hypersensitive registration of accidental taps. You could be typing along a grand piece of work, and boom!, a whole skad of text gets highlighted and overtyped. On one hand, I feel that companies that go the trouble of investing and risking putting out products on the market should be commended. On the other hand, FFS!!!! WTF ever happened to trial testing? If you're going to screw your customers by using them as expendable guineau pigs, EFF YOU.

what is very demoralizing is that the hype and sexy wowee effects that people seek in laptops may make it impractical for laptop makers to follow a more measured, prudent product planning. That means we're doomed to get crap after crap. The crap squirrel wheel.

[Dominic Reich]

* ***@gmail.com <***@gmail.com> wrote:
[ two very long lines ]

Have you ever heard of a linebreak Sir?

[Computer Nerd Kev]

Post by Dominic Reich
[ two very long lines ]
Have you ever heard of a linebreak Sir?

Seems to come like that from a lot of Google Groupers, I guess the
interface doesn't do it by default or the user has to manually.

Most decent newsreaders have a line wrap option, though things get
messy with quotes.

[a***@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, April 16, 2014 6:44:30 PM UTC-4, Computer Nerd Kev

Post by Computer Nerd Kev

<andymhancockATgmail.com> wrote: [ two very
long lines ]
Have you ever heard of a linebreak Sir?

Seems to come like that from a lot of Google Groupers, I guess the
interface doesn't do it by default or the user has to manually.
Most decent newsreaders have a line wrap option, though things get
messy with quotes.

Have you ever heard of describing the nature of your issue rather than posting a single technically smug and "context-free" sentence of a complaint? This may be usenet, but its not an excuse for abandoning the basic tenets of decent communication.

[Dominic Reich]

Post by a***@gmail.com
On Wednesday, April 16, 2014 6:44:30 PM UTC-4, Computer Nerd Kev

Post by Computer Nerd Kev
Seems to come like that from a lot of Google Groupers, I guess the
interface doesn't do it by default or the user has to manually.
Most decent newsreaders have a line wrap option, though things get
messy with quotes.

Have you ever heard of describing the nature of your issue rather than
posting a single technically smug and "context-free" sentence of
a complaint? This may be usenet, but its not an excuse for abandoning
the basic tenets of decent communication.

It looks like you are referring to the wrong person but it might be
the /decent/ communication that you are using.

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by Dominic Reich

Post by a***@gmail.com
On Wednesday, April 16, 2014 6:44:30 PM UTC-4, Computer Nerd Kev

Post by Computer Nerd Kev
Seems to come like that from a lot of Google Groupers, I guess the
interface doesn't do it by default or the user has to manually.
Most decent newsreaders have a line wrap option, though things get
messy with quotes.

Have you ever heard of describing the nature of your issue rather
than posting a single technically smug and "context-free" sentence
of a complaint? This may be usenet, but its not an excuse for
abandoning the basic tenets of decent communication.

It looks like you are referring to the wrong person but it might be
the /decent/ communication that you are using.

Deceptively snipping selective quotes is the mark of a desparate and dishonest person. At first, I thought you were being deliberately obtuse because the part that you snipped made it abundantly clear what the response was about (unless you're too lazy to read the rather short quote, just as you were too lazy to articulate *your* problem, electing instead to lob snippy self-important nothings).

You're stooping pretty low, Dominic.

[Dominic Reich]

Post by a***@gmail.com

Post by Dominic Reich

Post by a***@gmail.com
On Wednesday, April 16, 2014 6:44:30 PM UTC-4, Computer Nerd Kev

Post by Computer Nerd Kev
Seems to come like that from a lot of Google Groupers, I guess the
interface doesn't do it by default or the user has to manually.
Most decent newsreaders have a line wrap option, though things get
messy with quotes.

Have you ever heard of describing the nature of your issue rather
than posting a single technically smug and "context-free" sentence
of a complaint? This may be usenet, but its not an excuse for
abandoning the basic tenets of decent communication.

It looks like you are referring to the wrong person but it might be
the /decent/ communication that you are using.

Deceptively snipping selective quotes is the mark of a desparate and dishonest person. At first, I thought you were being deliberately obtuse because the part that you snipped made it abundantly clear what the response was about (unless you're too lazy to read the rather short quote, just as you were too lazy to articulate *your* problem, electing instead to lob snippy self-important nothings).
You're stooping pretty low, Dominic.

Look at it again and tell me once more that I left something out.
I just manually broke the text that you weren't able to.

All I did was asking you in a good way if you know line breaks - now
this is what turned out - and this is not what I made it, it's been
you and the way you responded.

(It is meant to have a fullquote above, so also andymhancock can
read it.)

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by Dominic Reich

Post by a***@gmail.com
Deceptively snipping selective quotes is the mark of a desparate
and dishonest person. At first, I thought you were being
deliberately obtuse because the part that you snipped made it
abundantly clear what the response was about (unless you're too
lazy to read the rather short quote, just as you were too lazy to
articulate *your* problem, electing instead to lob snippy
self-important nothings).
You're stooping pretty low, Dominic.

Look at it again and tell me once more that I left something out.
I just manually broke the text that you weren't able to.
All I did was asking you in a good way if you know line breaks - now
this is what turned out - and this is not what I made it, it's been
you and the way you responded.
(It is meant to have a fullquote above, so also andymhancock can
read it.)

You, Sir, are full of it. You of all people should realize it doesn't
matter how you try to spin it. It's all there (not in your quotes of
course) in usenet.

[Computer Nerd Kev]

Post by a***@gmail.com
This may be usenet, but its not an excuse for abandoning the
basic tenets of decent communication.

The problem with Google Groups is that it makes it particularly hard
to work out exactly _what_ Usenet is. Mainly by ignoring must of the
rules it has used for decades, tree structures and line breaks being
a particularly topical case in point.

Try copying one of your posts into Notepad and turning off word wrap
for an example of our problem.

[the wharf rat]

Post by a***@gmail.com
This may be usenet, but its not an excuse for abandoning the
basic tenets of decent communication.

Like the occasional linefeed.

BTW, you're only stuck with crap if you buy crap. Thinkpad ain't
nearly what it was under IBM, but they definitely ain't crap. Spend your
money on a unit that says it performs like a home-theatre setup, has an 8
hour battery life, and scores 8000 on 3DMark at 1920x1080, and you're bound
to uncover a few cut corners after you live with it for a while.

I'm typing this on a Thinkpad X31 that I paid maybe $100.00 for 3
years ago. I did stick a small SSD in for the subjective improvement, but
it's otherwise "stock". I don't feel deprived. In fact, you can't beat
the keyboard, the top lid is stiff enough that I don't have to baby it to
avoid pressure marks, and it fits on the fold-down tray on airplanes.


What I'm trying to say is that with laptops you generally get 2 of 3:
quality and price, quality and performance, or performance and price. Now
that they have to compete with $200.00 Chromebooks and the like, all too
many vendors are choosing door #3. I still think Thinkpads are the
closest to meeting expectations, which isn't to say they're the "best",
just that they're the least likely to disappoint. Sattelite's have always
been, ummm, well, crap, IMHO. A red flag is the One Long Screw construction.

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by the wharf rat

Post by a***@gmail.com
This may be usenet, but its not an excuse for abandoning the
basic tenets of decent communication.

Like the occasional linefeed.

I do put in the occassional linefeed.

What we have is someone who is complaining, obviously expecting
something, but considers himself or herself above saying what the
issue is. And being damn smug about it.

I must say that thanks is due to Kev for stepping in and filling the
gap that Dominic was too smart to fill in.

Now, I've used the vim wrapping feature to hard wrap this message, but
do keep in mind that this is a problem for readers that wrap to window
width. It makes it look all mutilated, I'm not going to pretend to
have been converted to linebreak cultist. I'm gob smacked that
readers these days do not have the capability of wrapping to window
width. Is this actually the case??? (Is this what Dominic couldn't
be bothered to say in his terse self-important demand, as if the world
stared out through his eyes at his personal setup, and could thus read
his mind?). If that is in fact the case, I sure wouldn't place the
blame on users of eternal september -- especially if they are growing
in number. If the emerging norm is for wrap-to-window-width to be a
commonly expected behaviour, it can just as well be considered a
deficiency for apps to not provide this.

Along those lines, thank goodness for Vim's ability to re-wrap with
quoting chevrons. My perception is that the vast majority of techies
don't use Vim, so what do they do??? My dim recollection of
Thunderbird was that they might have been able to handle reflowing,
but it *definitely* was not robust, especially considering the flora
and fauna of readers and editors out there. If people are going to
get all bent out of shape about hard carriage returns, it doesn't make
sense to do so unless a widely accessible solution is available. And
I mean to users of all ilk, using different environments/apps --
*including* those that wrap to window width. It is conceited and
selfish to expect all users to conform to a practice that is good for
one group, and push the wrap-to-window-width folks to the margins.

Post by the wharf rat
BTW, you're only stuck with crap if you buy crap. Thinkpad ain't
nearly what it was under IBM, but they definitely ain't crap. Spend
your money on a unit that says it performs like a home-theatre
setup, has an 8 hour battery life, and scores 8000 on 3DMark at
1920x1080, and you're bound to uncover a few cut corners after you
live with it for a while.
I'm typing this on a Thinkpad X31 that I paid maybe $100.00 for 3
years ago. I did stick a small SSD in for the subjective
improvement, but it's otherwise "stock". I don't feel deprived.
In fact, you can't beat the keyboard, the top lid is stiff enough
that I don't have to baby it to avoid pressure marks, and it fits
on the fold-down tray on airplanes.
What I'm trying to say is that with laptops you generally get 2 of
3: quality and price, quality and performance, or performance and
price. Now that they have to compete with $200.00 Chromebooks and
the like, all too many vendors are choosing door #3. I still think
Thinkpads are the closest to meeting expectations, which isn't to
say they're the "best", just that they're the least likely to
disappoint. Sattelite's have always been, ummm, well, crap, IMHO.
A red flag is the One Long Screw construction.

The bill for this laptop was $1200 when the typical (decent) laptop
was going for half that. So it was definitely in the quality and
performance category, or pretending to be. The web research available
at the time seemed to corroborate. I paid the premium because I
didn't want the headaches that go with cheap quality. Yes, there will
always be corners cut. But of all the things that could be scrimped
on, scrimping on the keyboard and touchpad is like sabotaging the
steering wheel on a high end car.

Finally, the fact that all laptops run Synaptics doesn't mean that all
touchpads are the same. I've used (and currently use) other laptops
(as do many people, I'm sure), so I would like to think that this is
self evident. You know, the organization of the synaptics software
settings are pretty similar through the decades, so it's not like
users are unaware of how to explore them for a solution. And if its
the drivers (Toshiba-specific drivers by the way), that doesn't mean
it's not a problem.

Like I said, good for gaming. But god forbid you actually compose
text or documents, or require mousepad manipulation. I mean, you can
*hear* the key mechanically impact as you press, but that doesn't
guarantee electronic registration. So yes, there ARE hardware
problems. If they are going to (for all practical purposes) be
dishonest about the narrowness of the true target market, and hide its
limitations, this is bound to cultivate "disappointment". I don't
believe that any apologies are in order for expressing such
"disappointment".

If anything, it puts information out there, backed by details from
first hand experience. Information that *I* could have used. Anyone
looking for such information can decide for themselves how useful it
is. Not just as an indicator for the product, but as an indicator if
of the vendor. No, it's not perfect information on where they are
*now*, but if an organization wants to be viewed positively in certain
respects, it really is up to them to build the track record for it.
Besides since when do we have the luxury of perfectly current and
somewhat comprehensive information (which is what I looked for
beforehand)? We only have the bits that people are willing to offer,
in which there will certainly be a variance, and we have to gauge the
totality of it, no matter how complete or incomplete. The model is
specified, and consumers of the info can put it into context and
determine how much it serves as an indicator of the present, based on
whatever system or method they want (let's not be dogmatic and say
there is one way to vet information, and that the one right way is
one's own personal way).

I'm hoping that this is more useful than pedantic self-important
snipes at text wrapping, devoid of any useful context for a response.

[the wharf rat]

Post by a***@gmail.com
Now, I've used the vim wrapping feature to hard wrap this message, but

Emacs: fill-paragraph

All kidding aside, this is a text medium and lines are traditionally
kept to <80 chars. Lots of us still use command line readers.

Post by a***@gmail.com
The bill for this laptop was $1200 when the typical (decent) laptop
was going for half that. So it was definitely in the quality and
performance category, or pretending to be. The web research available

Pretending. Offering $3000.00 worth of features for $1200.00.

Post by a***@gmail.com
scrimping on the keyboard and touchpad is like sabotaging the

They didn't cut any corners there. It's a standard Synaptics.

Post by a***@gmail.com
Finally, the fact that all laptops run Synaptics doesn't mean that all
touchpads are the same.

Outside of minor individual variations, the only real differences
are Alps or Synaptics, and the drivers. If the drivers suck try the
reference drivers. (Actually, did Panasonic use their own? Hardware, I mean.)

Post by a***@gmail.com
I'm hoping that this is more useful than pedantic self-important

Sure, thanks for posting, but it does contradict most
other experiences. Guess you got a lemon...

Hey, buy a new touchpad on Ebay and swap it out.

[a***@gmail.com]

In article <3eeeab49-6f23-45b3-ac89-d30f0df639efATgooglegroups.com>,

Post by a***@gmail.com
Now, I've used the vim wrapping feature to hard wrap this message, but

Emacs: fill-paragraph

Oh, you're one of them, eh? Well let's take this to another group
then.

Kidding. It's whatever people have attuned themselves to.

All kidding aside, this is a text medium and lines are
traditionally kept to <80 chars. Lots of us still use command line
readers.

It is a text medium. But the means by which many people access it are
changing. I wasn't kidding when I indicated surprise that readers
can't wrap to window width (command line or not). In fact, this still
isn't clear to me. That's why I thought that the rude and arrogant
manner in which Dominic demanded line breaks was in appropriate to say
the least, especially when he wants others to conform to his demands
and it involves a commensurate sacrifice in readability for the
wrap-to-window-width crowd. Has he even explored the possibility of
wrap to window width in his reader (which he hasn't specified)? If
so, why hasn't he described the problem? This is not the kind of
issue for which a good solution will be arrived by shouting the
loudest denunciating beratement. Furthermore, the 80 character length
in composition isn't going to help with nested quotations, so you're
eventually going to blow that limit anyway.

Post by a***@gmail.com
The bill for this laptop was $1200 when the typical (decent) laptop
was going for half that. So it was definitely in the quality and
performance category, or pretending to be. The web research
available

Pretending. Offering $3000.00 worth of features for $1200.00.

How did you value it at $3000? Even the ticket of $1200 seemed to
cause eyeballs to bulge. It's not that spectacular in terms of
features. I'm not one to live on the edge of technology or do high
performance gaming. The occassional netflix is about as exciting as
it gets, technology wise (and I'm not ashamed to say, life-wise...I
don't look for bungee jumps).

Post by a***@gmail.com
scrimping on the keyboard and touchpad is like sabotaging the

They didn't cut any corners there. It's a standard Synaptics.

It's quite different from any laptop I've used. It's flush with the
palm rest (no easily discernible tactile boundary, relying only on the
difference in surface coarseness) and supersized. In fact, I'm
convinced that the super size contributes in part (probably a large
part) to phatom touches when typing. This is not to say that other
laptops aren't doing this, or that it isn't a trend, but that it is
definitely new in my experience. I would be very disappointed if this
is a trend. There was nothing wrong with touchpads in the past, and
they allowed extensive use of the keyboard for composition without
nudging the touchpad. That's one of the reasons that I don't think
this laptop was designed for anything other than entertainment, and
should have been branded as such to avoid creating "disappointment".
Which is a euphimism for much stronger and more appropriate words.

Post by a***@gmail.com
Finally, the fact that all laptops run Synaptics doesn't mean that
all touchpads are the same.

Outside of minor individual variations, the only real differences
are Alps or Synaptics, and the drivers. If the drivers suck try
the reference drivers. (Actually, did Panasonic use their own?
Hardware, I mean.)

Not sure about Panasonic. As for reference drivers, I was given
fairly stern warning against doing that by Toshiba. I trust that
there must be some historical reason for such a strongly prescriptive
tone.

Post by a***@gmail.com
I'm hoping that this is more useful than pedantic self-important

Sure, thanks for posting, but it does contradict most other
experiences. Guess you got a lemon...

Curious...what do you do that exposes you to owners/users of this
specific model at a sufficient volume for you to confidently make
these statements?

Hey, buy a new touchpad on Ebay and swap it out.

I don't trust myself when it comes to laptops. And my track record
with professional services has been such that if this kind of action
is needed, the laptop is a piece of crap that needs to be tossed out
the window, if only the highrise window could open, and if only it
wasn't dangerous to others, and if only I could bring myself to f..ck
my only laptop. Heck, I'd have my way with it before tossing it. It
also means another round of info collecting to get another one. This
is a highly imprecise undertaking, and my best attempts at rational
due diligence leading to this one didn't work out as planned. Or
perhaps it did -- perhaps it is the least of evils.

[Computer Nerd Kev]

Post by a***@gmail.com
It is a text medium. But the means by which many people access it are
changing. I wasn't kidding when I indicated surprise that readers
can't wrap to window width (command line or not). In fact, this still
isn't clear to me.

Well part of Usenet's fundmental structure is the "Netiquette" which
for one thing specifies that lines should be wrapped (68 to 76 lines is
the rule I've gone by, though the later link says differently). By rights
all newsreaders should ensure posts are wrapped (with specific exceptions
allowed) before allowing them to be sent because this allows links and
quotes to extend beyond the screen without being wrapped back into the
readable area.

So I think it is in some ways fair, if perhaps optimisticly so, that some
software does not wrap text by default or at all. Really something as
large as Google Groups shouldn't make it so easy to disregard Netiquette;
many newsreaders include text in their documentation instructing new users
to study how to use Usenet properly before diving in.

Anyway, here is one version of Usenet Netiquette:
http://linux.sgms-centre.com/misc/netiquette.php

And it's hard to resist dropping a link to this good laugh:
http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/96/Apr/netgod.html

Oh, and I use Nano. Really got to put a version with automatic word
wrapping enabled on this machine though, at least it makes you think about
what you write...

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by Computer Nerd Kev

Post by a***@gmail.com
It is a text medium. But the means by which many people access it
are changing. I wasn't kidding when I indicated surprise that
readers can't wrap to window width (command line or not). In fact,
this still isn't clear to me.

Well part of Usenet's fundmental structure is the "Netiquette" which
for one thing specifies that lines should be wrapped (68 to 76 lines
is the rule I've gone by, though the later link says differently).
By rights all newsreaders should ensure posts are wrapped (with
specific exceptions allowed) before allowing them to be sent because
this allows links and quotes to extend beyond the screen without
being wrapped back into the readable area.
So I think it is in some ways fair, if perhaps optimisticly so, that
some software does not wrap text by default or at all. Really
something as large as Google Groups shouldn't make it so easy to
disregard Netiquette; many newsreaders include text in their
documentation instructing new users to study how to use Usenet
properly before diving in.
http://linux.sgms-centre.com/misc/netiquette.php
http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/96/Apr/netgod.html

Yes, some of that "wisdom" is decades old, and while I agree with most
of it, I do not condone blind following of past doctrine without
constant re-examination according to prevailing trends. I've
already articulated my outlook with underlying rationale. We can, of
course, agree to disagree on the points of non-commonality. Make no
mistake, however, some of the old rules now make things easier for
*some* people, but make it worse for others (at great manual expense,
unless you happen to be a vi fogey, or even an email cult follower).

Dominic's original response was not of the tone to invite this kind of
(hopefully open minded) discussion, much as he now desparately tries
to spin it self-righteously.

[Dominic Reich]

Post by a***@gmail.com
It is a text medium. But the means by which many people access it are
changing. I wasn't kidding when I indicated surprise that readers
can't wrap to window width (command line or not). In fact, this still
isn't clear to me. That's why I thought that the rude and arrogant
manner in which Dominic demanded line breaks was in appropriate to say
the least, especially when he wants others to conform to his demands
and it involves a commensurate sacrifice in readability for the
wrap-to-window-width crowd. Has he even explored the possibility of
wrap to window width in his reader (which he hasn't specified)? If
so, why hasn't he described the problem? This is not the kind of
issue for which a good solution will be arrived by shouting the
loudest denunciating beratement. Furthermore, the 80 character length
in composition isn't going to help with nested quotations, so you're
eventually going to blow that limit anyway.

Oh Andy, so much troube just because of nothing.
I'm sorry if my initial comment sounded rude to you - I only read a
few of the replies yet but I get the feeling you must hate me as if
I would be your worst nightmare.

Initially, I wanted to drop a small fun based comment to the actual
thread's going to maybe get one poster more to produce some well
readable texting.

Meanwhile I get called pretty low and arrogant and whatnot from you
for practically telling you of too long lines (in a funny way I
think, but it might not be so funny to everyone - but still, I'm
only responsible of what I write, not what you understand or
interpret).

Besides all that, I did not /demand/ anything, you're way too much
interpreting into things that actually hold no value. I refrain from
guessing what might be the reason for that as you won't like to hear
it anyway. I can truly live my life without you breaking the lines,
it was a suggestion of mine this time and if you do like it do it,
if not do it not but stop talking to me from the side as this isn't
any nicer if you be honest to yourself.

[a***@gmail.com]

Post by a***@gmail.com
It is a text medium. But the means by which many people access it
are changing. I wasn't kidding when I indicated surprise that
readers can't wrap to window width (command line or not). In fact,
this still isn't clear to me. That's why I thought that the rude
and arrogant manner in which Dominic demanded line breaks was in
appropriate to say the least, especially when he wants others to
conform to his demands and it involves a commensurate sacrifice in
readability for the wrap-to-window-width crowd. Has he even
explored the possibility of wrap to window width in his reader
(which he hasn't specified)? If so, why hasn't he described the
problem? This is not the kind of issue for which a good solution
will be arrived by shouting the loudest denunciating beratement.
Furthermore, the 80 character length in composition isn't going to
help with nested quotations, so you're eventually going to blow
that limit anyway.

Oh Andy, so much troube just because of nothing. I'm sorry if my
initial comment sounded rude to you - I only read a few of the
replies yet but I get the feeling you must hate me as if I would be
your worst nightmare.
Initially, I wanted to drop a small fun based comment to the actual
thread's going to maybe get one poster more to produce some well
readable texting.
Meanwhile I get called pretty low and arrogant and whatnot from you
for practically telling you of too long lines (in a funny way I
think, but it might not be so funny to everyone - but still, I'm
only responsible of what I write, not what you understand or
interpret).
Besides all that, I did not /demand/ anything, you're way too much
interpreting into things that actually hold no value. I refrain from
guessing what might be the reason for that as you won't like to hear
it anyway. I can truly live my life without you breaking the lines,
it was a suggestion of mine this time and if you do like it do it,
if not do it not but stop talking to me from the side as this isn't
any nicer if you be honest to yourself.

I think my previous observation needs some revision: You're so full of
delusional self-righteousness, you'll have to excuse me while I vomit.

[the wharf rat]

Post by a***@gmail.com
Curious...what do you do that exposes you to owners/users of this
specific model at a sufficient volume for you to confidently make
these statements?

Besides having worked in operations for many years, I ran
a computer repair business. I've worked on a bunch of them, and
done exhaustive research in order to make purchase recommendations.

This model has at least a dozen reviews posted. Each one
describes the touchpad as excellent (sometimes noting that that's
about the only excellent thing about it). So, based on my experience
and research, if yours is so broken it's probably actually broken and
not just badly designed/manufactured.

Post by a***@gmail.com

Post by the wharf rat
Hey, buy a new touchpad on Ebay and swap it out.

I don't trust myself when it comes to laptops. And my track record

You can probably find a how-to video on youtube... It *is*
kind of fiddly, getting the palmrest off, but you don't bother with
the touchpad itself; you replace the whole unit.

Here's a couple:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/K000105540-Toshiba-Satellite-A660-Palmrest-Touchpad-used-/161241037788?pt=US_Laptop_Housings_Touchpads&hash=item258ab6fbdc

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-A660-A665-PALMREST-TOUCHPAD-SPEAKERS-SCREWS-K000114270-TESTED-/201039134004?pt=US_Laptop_Housings_Touchpads&hash=item2eceddbd34

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-Satellite-A660-Palmrest-Touchpad-Black-Media-Board-Speakers-K000105400-/360661641659?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53f91be9bb

[a***@gmail.com]

Thanks for that, wharf rat.

I think I'd be more willing to perform surgery if I didn't restrict
myself to owning one computer (minimalist). Even then, however, and
if it had enough priority compared to others (and there are other much
higher priorities), the very fact that this is necessary is a clear
indication that it a very crappy laptop. Yes, I get that you
researched it. So did I before purchasing. Quite a while, actually,
and visited brick & mortar retail outlets to test drive. In other
words, a much more than reasonable level of due diligence. Some
things just don't make themselves apparent with a superficial test
drive. For example, the sticky keys. Pain in the freaking butt. But
hasn't exhibited themselves in the last month or so (the lack of
registration, yes, but not the actual reluctance to spring back).
Could be temperature related. Plastics expand, perhaps differently in
different mechanical pieces. In that sense, you might be right about
the plastic build. However, I don't notice the same problem with
other laptops, and they weren't exactly all metal.

I did another quick search on the model just now. I'm noticing that
much of the vaunting relates to its raw computer power, media
capabilities, and audio-visual. That's why think it should have been
clearly boasted about as being great for media and entertainment. I
have no problem with media capabilities, they are impressive. But
traditional geeking out requiring command line, much text
manipulation, and just plain old proficiency on keyboard and touchpad?
Not much mentioned. An oversized touchpad is not needed for such
traditional use. It may be "neat" for younger bucks who eschew text
and command line and do everything with point and click, but I would
say (and I suspect many would agree) that this can be very limiting if
you really want to technically delve into things. The oversize
touchpad is anti-keyboardist -- as I said, there was (and is) nothing
lacking about the traditional size touchpads. Toshiba was obviously
targeting a specific group of users with this design. Not being up
front about that simply means that they were knowingly setting others
up for "disappointment". To me, there's nothing untoward about outing
the crappy fit between design and usage. This could have been easily
avoided. It would mean fewer people would buy the product, but at
least they would be the ones who would be happy with it.

In the absence of information that points out the exact ways in which
certain design characteristics can impede use of the machine, I'm
putting forth my experience to balance the picture. Just as people
who are pleased with the machine can elaborate on their pleasure (and
hopefully qualifying it with descriptions of their kinds of usage).
As I said before, I only wish I had encountered balancing personal
anecdotes when I was doing my research.

[the wharf rat]

Post by a***@gmail.com
This is the only piece of trash laptop that I've used (and I've used a
few) that has both poor motion registration on an oversize touchpad as
well as sporadic hypersensitive registration of accidental taps. You

BTW, Toshiba uses the same Synaptics touchpad as anyone with
half an eye on quality. (I don't like the Alps ones.) So if you're
having these problems, it may be that the driver doesn't allow you to control
sensitivity and palm-check, or it may be that you haven't set your
options properly.

Too much cheap flexy plastic, yeah. One long screw, yeah. Wiggly
shallow-press no-click membrane keyboard, yeah. But there's nothing wrong
with the touchpad hardware-wise.

One thing that drives me crazy about Toshiba laptops is that they
have 10,000 different and not completely compatible models of the same
basic system. A660, 660D,660-x10,665...