If You're A College Student...Check Out The Dell M5030

Dell Inspiron 15 (M5030) Review

The Pros: Very inexpensive; Comfy keyboard; Stays cool and doesnt overheat


The Cons: No HDMI; Short battery life 


The Bottom Line: The Dell Inspiron 15 (M5030) offers a large screen and all the necessary features for basic computing at a very good price. It is an affordable notebook that is adequate for everyday computer activities such as surfing the web, updating Facebook, and playing games. 


The Dell Inspiron series includes good-looking notebooks with plenty of power at affordable prices. These notebooks are traditionally available with many optional features but arent a master of any particular task. The Inspiron 15 is one of Dells notebooks that offer good performance at a value price. The Inspiron 15 M5030 is a basic black rectangle that weights in at about 5.6 pounds. Its glossy black lid adds a stylish flare to this notebook including the embossed chrome Dell logo in the center of the lid. When you open up the notebook, youll find everything is matte black. The keyboard has a traditional layout with the keys positioned more closely together. There can be a little noise from the keys when typing, but its nothing to whine about. The touchpad is roomy and extremely responsive. 


The 15.6 inch display has a 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, making the screens colors look bright. The sound filled up the room when I cranked up Foster the Peoples Pumped up kicks, but at full volume the sound got a little distorted. The Inspiron 15 has three USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, and a VGA port. There is also a DVD burner on the right side of the notebook. 


The Inspiron 15 M5030 is a great notebook to get if youll be happy with a notebook that is equipped with components necessary for basic computing activities or on a budget. If you want something bigger than a netbook but still at a decent price, the Inspiron 15 M5030 is definitely one to consider buying.

Memory Type	DDR3
Video Card	ATI Mobility Radeon HD4250
Display Port	VGA
Wireless Type	IEEE 802.11 G
USB Ports	3
Screen Resolution	1366 x 768
Battery	6-cell
Weight	5.6 lbs

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Awkward Laptop POTD

This guy does it all - works out and works hard. He doesn't even need to change out of his formal business clothes...what a man!

How Much Longer Will DVD Drives Be Around?

We've all been hoarding DVDs since the day they became more popular than the prior VHS. Now that we have more DVDs than we probably should, what's next. More importantly, are we going to have drives that read DVDs in 10, 20, or 30 years? Contributing Editor for PCMag, Lincoln Spector, writes his thoughts on the issue.

"It's impossible to say with complete confidence what present-day media will be supported by readily-available hardware when our grandchildren have grandchildren. But we can make educated guesses. And I'm guessing that DVDs and CDs will be readable, with some moderate investment, for a very long time to come.

When a medium has enjoyed wide consumer popularity for a significant amount of time, the market for players stays alive for decades. You can no longer assume that every home has a floppy drive, phonograph, or cassette player, but you'll have no trouble buying these devices--all brand new. In fact, you can buy them with USB ports, which you couldn't do when these types of media were popular.

Of course, if a medium was popular only briefly, never enjoyed wide popularity, or was entirely controlled by one company, finding a player decades later becomes more of a challenge. To my knowledge, no one is making Laserdisc players or Bernoulli Box drives. You can still buy used ones, but eventually these will disappear.

Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector writes about technology and cinema."

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Awkward Laptop POTD

Nap time, anyone? She prefers the floor next to a line of laptops. Maybe you want the same...maybe you don't.