I purchased the HP G60-237NR notebook PC in February for less than 550.00. This laptop has all the features and ports I needed. I have had good customer service from HP when I had questions. I have Vista and we bought this same laptop for my Mom last month at Amazon with the new Windows7. I would recommend this laptop for the average user. I use it for email, shopping the web, MS application software, Skype, LinkedIn, DVD play, and watching Hulu tv over the web. The volume was not loud enough to watch a DVD movie while on vacation in our RV so I bought small external speakers to plug in at a cost of less than $30.00.
That leads me to the good things. Ubuntu 9.10 installed on this machine with no problems. The volume keys and hardware graphics acceleration work fine, and multiple monitors (using the internal LCD and an external display) work out of the box. The button to disable the trackpad and the wireless disable button both work under Ubuntu (as do the corresponding LEDs). The indicator LEDs for things like caps lock, num lock, the trackpad, and the wireless all blend into the laptop nicely. Wired and wireless (B and G, at least) both work properly. NTFS resizing also worked fine. The machine is fairly fast with both operating systems, though the 5400 RPM drive does hamper application start-up time. Graphics performance is very good for business applications; I don't play games on a general purpose computer, though, so my standards may be lower than people who would spend more on a video card than I did on this whole laptop. I like the track pad pretty well, and the laptop feels reasonably sturdy. I haven't tried the built-in HDMI output or media card readers under either OS yet. I'm assuming they'll both work; I'll post a follow-up if one fails. For the record, I would be willing to trade HDMI for Bluetooth as well. :)
The only other thing of note is the keyboard layout. There is an "end" key shared with the number 1 on the number pad, and another end above the number pad (sharing the scroll lock / sys req button). I'm fond of the "shift+end" (and shift+home) keyboard shortcuts to select everything from the cursor to the end (or beginning) of the line. However, pressing "shift" and the closer "end" key actually makes the keyboard type a 1. That's minor, but it does annoy me.
Speaking of minor annoyances no Windows install media is shipped (I'll bet a CD costs less than the paper notepad and microfiber cloth HP chose to bundle). You can create a set of install disks if you want using an included tool, though (only single-sided supported by the tool, even though there's a dual-layer burner here); make sure you do that before you wipe Windows off of the machine to install Linux. :) If nothing else, it's easier to sell your license if you have media to go with it. ;)
Overall, if I could get another one of these at the same price I bought this one for (a Black Friday deal, with a couple of other discounts including the current rebate deal) I would not hesitate to do so. Yeah, I spent most of this review griping about little things, but the main good things are already patently obvious. The CPU and memory included are very good, the drive capacity is good (despite being slower than a 7200 RPM drive), the screen quality is excellent, and the sound is good for a laptop. Windows 7 doesn't suck as much as Windows has in the past, and the Linux support on this device is very good.
Update: I finally got around to testing the HDMI (translation: I finally got a TV with HDMI support), and both video and audio work fine out of the box under Ubuntu 9.10; plug the cable in, start up the display preferences, and you have another monitor you can either extend or clone your desktop over to then go to the sound preferences and change the default output device from the on-board sound to the hdmi output if you want sound over HDMI. Multiple monitors work fine with the RGB cable on the back as well. However, I haven't attempted HDMI and RGB external connections simultaneously; I suspect that such an arrangement won't work as expected. :)I purchased this Windows 7-64 bit notebook to replace a crashed desktop. It's nice enough that there's a sleek design with its black case and aluminum touchpad and trim, but there's a lot more "under the hood" of this budget-priced model. 4GB of installed DDR2 @SDRAM with 1MB of installed memory cache, a 320 GB hard drive and a 2.1 Ghz speed on its T4300 processor. The 1366 x 768 BrightView is crisp and clear with a 15.6 display size. The G60 weighs less than seven pounds yet has enough bells and whistles to perform like a desktop. In fact, I am using it as one with a purchased flat screen monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse.
Ports/Connectors:
3 USB 2.0
RJ-11 modem
RJ-45 LAN
HDMI
HDDB15 VGA
headphone
microphone
Additionally, there's a webcam and a 5-in-one media reader (alas, not large enough for a compact flash card, but an external card reader solved the problem).
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit edition is pre-installed and took a little getting used to after my XP machines, but I think it ultimately will make home networking a much easier install as the system is quite intuitive.
This is my second HP computer and I am impressed with its performance. I especially like the software compatibility feature that allows me to run older programs in XP mode.
Gripes? Very few. The 5400 rpm drive speed seems a little slow after a 7200 desktop speed and I would not recommend it for serious games, however, for the beginner to average user, it's a good solid machine.
Recommended.Not sure if its a great product. I got it for my wife, she is fine with it. I feel its a bit heavy.
Twice we faced a strange problem, the computer will just not turn on. I removed the battery and then reinserted it. It started working. Not sure if its a manufacturing defect or some user fault.purchased as a gift for my son.
Totally works for him.
He loves the performance and speed.
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