Hardware used in my technical postings

For most of my postings and technical experiments, I use the following hardware,

Sony Vaio VGN FE31M

Specs here. It originally had a 1GB RAM which has now been upgraded to 2GB.

Peripherels:
- An extra 15 inch monitor (NEC MultiSync LCD 1570NX) used as dual screen with the laptop's built-in screen.
- Docking station for Sony Vaio FE Series. VGP-PRFE1
- External keyboard and Mouse -USB.
- eHome infrared reciever -USB
- Pinnacle PCTV DVB Stick -USB
- 14 in 1 memory card reader -USB
- A 5.1 surround sound system

As you noticed, I have a lot of USB devices connected to my laptop. So, I use a USB hub with an external power supply as a non-powered hub I previously tried couldn't support most of the voltage hungry devices.

Operating Systems:
- Windows XP Home Premium
- Vista Home premium
- Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)
- Fedora 8

My experience with the Sony Vaio hasn't been that bad. The LCD is the best I've ever seen with wonderfully bright colours. Some issues though, are the mousepad right/left click buttons. They are a bit hard with a clickety sound/feel when pressed. Also some USB devices like my microsoft USB mouse and TV tuner (connected to the docking station USB) hangs up when my laptop wakes up from standby. I have to restart my laptop to make them work. The Sony Vaio's built in speakers are the worst. Specially when I compare them to other cheaper laptops like HP with the Altec Lansing speakers as standard.

I think the Sony Vaio is a bit expensive compared to other brands with the same hardware specs and better built quality (see HP). The Sony specific softwares (for online driver upgrades, multimedia etc.) are great and have worked without any issues. I wish it had more battery capacity as the batteries normally last for less than 2 hrs if all hardware works at it's peak (like full LCD brightness, bluetooth, wifi on).

The casing shape is nice and the laptop looks quite thin but feels like the silver color has been spray painted on. The color has started to rub off at the corners because of carrying it inside a case and the ivory colored plastic beneath is now visible.

Some of my friends with the same laptop have reported that paint on the function keys on top (volume +/-, s1, s2 and mute buttons) have started chipping. I would say that the casing shape is lovely but with a bad built quality. The dents (that are normally present at joints) in the molded plastic casing are visible due to the shiny painted surfaces specially on both sides of the the touch pad. My friends have also reported that the LCD panel joints to the casing have loosened up which can be felt when trying to push the LCD panel to and fro.

My conclusion is that I feel I have paid extra for a Sony Vaio laptop in exchange for a bad finish quality and won't ever go for one again until they have a sensible price to quality ratio.