Request Product Recommendations ITT!

That makes one of you.

Piper

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You don’t have to use all four wheels…

I’ve had a 2 TravelPro that looks just like the platinum elite for about 15 years, they’re holding up fine. I probably fly 8-10 legs a year on average and use for other car trips too Good suitcase if you don’t care about having 4 wheels. Worst thing is they look like everyone else’s coming into the baggage claim.

you can pull a 4-wheeler at an angle on two wheels, yes, but the wheels on these bags are small and flimsy. good quality two-wheel bags use much bigger rollerblade-style wheels that are way better on bumpy ground.

anyone got dashcam reccs? looking for front/rear coverage for a sedan (not sure if certain cams are better for different car types?) and a minivan

Also very interested in this. With 2 new drivers, I’m convinced that having a dash cam has the potential to be super useful.

It’s even better for driving in Russia

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This is part product review of the Travelpro Platinum Elite, part rant.

Between cashback portals, Amex Offers, and a coupon TravelPro sent me for my broken Crew8 I ended up paying ~$150 for it. A great deal, but I must say, it’s also a prime example of how companies are constantly looking to cut corners and reduce costs. There’s just a lot of odd or inferior things compared to my 10-year old Crew8 (which cost < 1/2 what the Platinum Elite sells for) that are disappointing.

  • It’s a sturdy/solid bag, but feels a bit less so than the old bag.
  • The suiter insert feels very cheap and flimsy.
  • For some reason the zipper which expands the bag doesn’t go all the way around the bag, so only the bottom 2/3 of the bag expands.
  • The tie-down straps inside the suitcase are smaller and feel cheaper.
  • These straps attach at the middle of the bag’s depth, so it seems like you have to pack half the bag, secure it with the straps, and then pack the second half? That seems weird to me. I just like to pack everything and then secure it all down across the top with the straps.
  • The straps also have these little pockets on them to hold small items, but those are permanently attached to the straps and can’t be removed, which is annoying.
  • The telescoping handle is solid compared to cheaper bags, but again, definitely thinner and cheaper than the previous bag.

They have a 100-day total satisfaction refund policy, so I guess I’ll use it for a couple of trips and then see if I keep it.

Any laptop experts?

Kid needs a laptop for going to college this fall. Engineering major. Any recommendations or good deals that anyone knows of?… Thanks.

Minimum specs. But more is better obv. Budget about $500’ish.

• Processor
◦ Intel Core i7 or i9
◦ AMD Ryzen 7 or 9
• OS - Windows 10 Professional 64-bit
• Memory - 32 GB
• Graphics Memory - 4 GB
• Solid State Drive - 512 GB
• Display Monitor - 15.6 or 17"
• Webcam / Microphone

$500 or less seems like you’d have to get a great deal for all of that. I spent about 1 min on google and the best I could find that checked all boxes was $900, so I’m sure you could do better, but half price seems nontrivial. If you find it, please post in thread.

No offence but someone who doesn’t know much about laptops or engineering put that list of specs together.

Out of curiosity, what makes you say that?

Would any freshman’s coursework really require a souped-up laptop?

I think the specs are based on predicting what the student should buy to not need to upgrade over four years

To have a chance of getting all that for that price point, I think you need to find a refurbished laptop on sale.

Why not just by a basic $500 laptop and then see in a couple of years if the student actually needs a better device?

Closest I see on a quick search.

That’s an option, but the student will probably need a new laptop at some point and some parents will complain if they have to buy another one, so I would go with future-proof specs if I were the school and wanted a one-size-fits-all recommendation, which is what I think the school should be doing.

A recommendation isn’t a requirement and you’re free to ignore guidelines. I suspect an engineering major will eventually have to install course-related software with minimum requirements.

FWIW this is what is currently suggested by the CS department at the U of Utah. Seems fine to me unless you have a specific reason you need more. Interestingly they specifically do not recommend gaming machines due to bulk and battery life (I’d add heat and reliability/durability).

Sample Computer Specifications

Low End Specifications (price → approximately $600):

  1. Processor: Two Cores, 2+ GHZ processor
  2. Memory: 16 GB
  3. Disk: 500+ MB SSD or 1 TB Hard Drive
  4. Resolution: 1080p (or greater)
  5. Camera

High-end laptops can usually be purchased for $1,000-$2,000, with those at the $1000 price point being excellent for the next few years.

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I wouldn’t have thought that engineering students would need the kind of intensive computing/graphics capabilities as do gamers, animators, etc.