How is that different than Microsoft with the Visual C runtime or .Net Framework? It's not the fault of the OS if a developer decides to not use an available library.

To give a more specific example, I recently installed something on Ubuntu Server that wanted SMTP. Rather than install Sendmail or Postfix, it installed _Citadel_, and all its dependencies.

That's not Windows' fault. If they wanted to, they could push out third-party security updates with WSUS, which is cost-free and has a user interface that end-users are used to. Of course implementing it is up to your IT department, since Microsoft doesn't distribute the packages in the first place.

What does malware prevalence have to do with OS security? I'd bet the bulk of those listed take advantage of the same 6-month- to 2-year-old vulnerabilities, or click-everything users running as admin.

Decide what's really important; do you really want a 1366x768 17" screen? Maybe you do, that'll make things easier. I've never found anyone who's unhappy with higher resolution screens unless they have poor vision.

Look at the Slickdeals, Fatwallet, Dealnews sites to see what goes on sale, and how often.

If she's going to use it as a road warrior, get a corporate model. They can come with 3 year warranties (including breakage coverage). If she's likely to keep it longer than that, plenty of parts will be available on eBay for cheap.

If she's going to put it on a desk and leave it there forever, get a cheap model that suits her needs. If she's going to want to upgrade in a year anyway, then get the cheapest one you can find; you can get 3 one-year laptops with that $1500 or one 3-5 year laptop.

Additionally, Linux distribution security generally isn't much better than modern Windows. Even small to medium packages tend to pull in everything but the kitchen sink. Of course, if you stick to packages in Linux, you at least have only one update mechanism.

The Probook is flimsy plastic, which the OP is trying to avoid. We got a demo in to test (we generally buy the Elitebook models), and there's no way it'd last 3-5 years for users who actually use their laptops as portable workstations.

I have a Latitude E6520 which also has a built-in number pad and 19x10 screen. I don't really like the number pad feature, I'm having trouble getting accustomed to having the keyboard shifted to the left. It's not flimsy, it has a metal top case and cast magnesium base (magnesium alloy, presumably). I've always enjoyed the build quality of the Precision laptops (I still have an M70 that gets occasional use) but I'd say that so far the E6520 is at least on par with the HP Elitebook line.

My understanding was that sintered powder forged metal rods with cracked end-caps were stronger than their standard counterparts. Ford's been using them in gasoline applications since... 1993? Whenever they introduced the 4.6 modular engine in the Mark VIII. They used them because they could make an equal-strength, lighter, less-expensive part, which sounds like a win to me. Of course, I'm not an engineer, so maybe I've been sold a bill of goods.

The only good article I could find was this, but I'm guessing that's probably biased.

Weren't we supposed to have electricity generation from walking on sidewalks, too?

It sucks getting older, and realizing that these stores come out every few years.

What machines are you using? I'm mostly familiar with HP and Dell, and just about every business-grade machine they sell (laptops, desktops, servers) has Bitlocker-compatible TPM built-in.

... a beowulf cluster of these.

No, the ports are chmod 7000. They're setuid, setgid, and sticky.

Can this article explain why there are so many left-handed people at my company, especially in IT? I've been in meetings of 8-10 people and noticed that _everyone_ in the room is left-handed (~1000-person company). It seems statistically unlikely.

Well, it's good to see that Germany is finally sending money to Greece.

It was probably a very strong password, that's why he used it on every web site.

It means "covered with carpet", right?