Difference between revisions of "Siemens-Nixdorf PCD-4ND"

The standard capacity harddrive is not adequate as even modest Windows 95 installations with a Microsoft Office 95 package can take around more than 300MB. The harddrive itself is noisy and very bulky (12mm height) but the plastic drive cage along with the laptop's own casing offer excellent noise damping capabilities as metal frames are almost entirely avoided.The keyboard, trackball and trackball buttons are close to the classic IBM standard of peripherals, which is a nice surprise. The keyboard feel and travel is just right for a classic model. The only discomfort comes from the trackball buttons that have indentations that are slightly unpleasant on longer use. Also, the slightly slanted palmrest creates a comfortable typing position.

The sound capability of the laptop is unbalanced. Inclusion of a soundcard is highly appreciated but lack of volume controls, except when using proprietary applications, seriously limits comfort. This issue is even more annoying as the speaker can either be too loud or relatively normal, as there is some variability between same equipped models. Even when you can hear the speaker, the quality it provides is just too low. It is clear that it was mostly designed for beeps not sound or music playback. Even more annoying is the use of a belt-driven floppy drive platter, which makes replacements and operation near impossible after so many years. It is difficult to find adequate replacement belts, but more laptops used this poor and cheap solution on laptops, notably Toshiba, for unknown reasons.

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