[dullass]

i think christheferal should win this laptop because he truly needs it, he is trying to make his own bussiness as you know. and this laptop would truly benefit him. he would be able to have a faster rate of whatever lol and also you get a special mention

[djeuro]

its funny christheferal because you have videos on your youtube actually 3 that says i hate hp and compaq i need a mac, and other videos saying "NEVER buying hp again"

[JoeyBoy]

Originally Posted by Bernardakins

Oh wow... how a laptop like this would change my life. Let's start with a bit of backstory.

I'm number two out of four siblings living in our home here in Topeka, Kansas with my single mother and eleven pets. (We adopted one cat, found another outside of a bank, a cat dashed into our house on thanksgiving, adopted three from an elderly couple who couldn't afford them, three we got from a pet store, one we got when she was just a kitten when someone was giving her away, and our dog wandered into our back yard on new years. Yay pet rescue! Booo giant vet bills.) She's going for disability pay because she's been developing some pretty severe health problems lately. I'll be starting college this fall, Majoring in Asian Languages and Minoring in some form of Comp Sci. The dragon would be very useful for that second one! This is the first generation of my family to go to college. My sister is already attending.

Anyway, with a single, unemployed parent, money is pretty tight. I've loved computers since I was very little but we couldn't afford to get one until a just a few years ago. (P1/64MB/1.18GBHDD) We've upgraded here and there since then, but the few systems we have around the house are all getting on in years and are very, very, frustrating sometimes.

I have *never* owned a new computer or television. The desktop that I'm typing this on was a budget model from a local computer store. My TV is from 1977. (I can't play games on it because the picture bounces when the signal is coming through A/V cables, and it only gets 21 channels! That DVD player you see in the picture that I'm putting in with my post belongs to my little brother. The VCR/DVD combo is completely broken.) I'm trying to get a new laptop for college, but at this point it looks like I'll have to use student loans or something along those lines to pay for it. (Planning to study abroad at some point. This is going to be so expensive. ><)

Also it's *very* hard to get a job here. At least, one that pays more than minimum wage with any sort of benefits! (Since I can't afford health insurance.) I've been looking forever![/backstory]

I would love a new computer like this so much, you don't even know. It would be so nice to be able to watch HD video on it or play games. All of our current systems have integrated video only, so that's pretty much impossible. I would never in a million years be able to afford this. XD;

Various ways this thing is really, really spiffy:

The Screen + Blu-Ray drive + speakers-- Wow that's a humongous screen, which is nice. I have something like 20/1400 (Pretty sure that's considered legally blind, folks.) vision without my glasses and even with them I still have poor vision. All that room is a definite plus. The Blu-Ray player looks so awesome! We don't have one, and I can just picture my TV playing HD stuff. The speakers look really nice, too! I might just have to recycle my TV if I get this and use it as my primary TV. XDD
I also like to doodle a lot and that screen + my wacom tablet (4x5 graphire I think?) = <3

Games – I've never really been able to play computer games outside of solitaire, and there are more than just a few that my brothers and I would love to try. (This can play Crysis! That looks so shiny...) I've had the chance to fiddle around with a computer with a video card somewhat similar (If a bit slower than) the one on this when I spent the summer of 05' volunteering at a computer store to get some experience there. The owner of the store let me try out a few games and things on it. That was so spiffy. D=

The processor – Holy cow that looks fast. *_*; ::drools all over himself::

The hard drive – 500GB! That's more than all of the working ones in the house put together and doubled! Having space like that would be nice. =D

All of that software + the movies – Whoo pirates! I went to see the third one right after I got my hard contacts and had them switched by accident. I missed a lot of the movie because of that. XDD
It would be nice to see it again~ Also, that software looks nice~

Sorry that I was so long winded. Here are some pictures! Sorry if they're blurry.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...yAncientTV.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...Comparison.jpg <-- My current laptop and my old one that died. Current = IBM ThinkPad A22M, 1GHz PIII, 512 Ram, 30GB HDD, Video card of dooooooom. (No full screen youtube videos D=)
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...mputerarea.png <-- My desktop

Thanks for considering me, and sorry again that my entry was so long. I would really love to win this!

--Joseph

I think that Joey deserves the lappy cause he has such a poor family and he's gonna go for college soon. Not being able to play computer games must have drove this poor boy nuts. Worse still, he can't even watch Youtube videos full screen! This will help the poor boy a lot with his studies!

[goostav]

I also think that christheferal should win it, I think he deserve the HP Dragon.

[sushrukh]

Not Required Anymore.

[Kas637]

Originally Posted by Ric_Knight

For a number of years I have been working as freelance web designer, using what ever low end computer I could get my hands on. About three years ago, after an injury that has left me mildly but permently disabled, I returned to university to study Communication Design.

My freelance work is what covers the bills not covered by Finacial aid and student loans, so having the power of this computer would vastly improve my work flow, both for class assignments and design work. This computer has just the kind of attributes I need in a computer.

The entertainment abilities would be a nice bonus. Games and movies to blow off a little steam at the end of the day or while I am monitoring the computer lab where I work for my work study money would make things a little more fun.

In short, my computer is my life and the better the computer, the better I can make my life.

I am also a big fan of HP's products. All of my present computer equipment, as well as my digital camera, are all from HP, as is the printer on my wife's Mac. I am very familier with the quality of the products and if I had access to more of their products I would love to write about them for any website that would publish me.

Ric is not a traditional college student. He was not able to go to college until these last few years. He is married and raising a teenage stepson that is on the verge of graduating high school himself. While he enjoys the entertainment aspect of any computer, his computers are the heart and soul of his career. His family has stuggles as he and his wife are both non traditional, full time students and the only real money they bring in for day to day expenses is what he can generate from his freelance work. From what I understand about this contest, you are supposed to explain why someone "deserves" this machine. As we all enjoy playing games and downloading videos can we really say that we "need" these things. Ric has chosen a career, he is getting an education and he is trying to make things better for his family's future. In today's economy and job market you cannot continue to look for a good paying job. You have to make your own. This machine will be a huge step in Ric's journey to provide for his family and begining a full time career. Who knows, maybe if he becomes successful enough, he will someday be providing jobs for the next wave of Graphic Designers to come . He would be an excellent choice for the promotion of this product.

[celestial_sacred]

Originally Posted by Bernardakins

Oh wow... how a laptop like this would change my life. Let's start with a bit of backstory.

..............

Thanks for considering me, and sorry again that my entry was so long. I would really love to win this!

--Joseph

I really agree that Bernardakins deserves that laptop! Having a single, unemployed parent is really difficult financially and I know how it feels like. He's also going to college and it'll be really inconvenient to not have a good laptop. Having a bad cracky laptop that often goes to the "doctor" might just cause him to lose important data and also spend more when he's already financially tight. The great features of the laptop can also help in his college life!
It would be really great if Bernardakins wins the dragon notebook! It's really something necessary for him to have~

[capper5016]

Originally Posted by sushrukh

This is what my PC & I both want to say

I'm here to support my online friend sushrukh.I think, he has the most creative entry so far & he should win because he's been using an old Athon XP machine from quite some time & being just a student he couldn't afford to upgrade to a good computer ever.So, please be kind enough to provide the Dragon to him if you liked his entry.Best of luck buddy.

[Edu]

Originally Posted by sushrukh

This is what my PC & I both want to say.

Hi, i think sushrukh should win because i really liked his entry.Also he needs a new computer as capper has already said.He has always helped me in whatever problems i've faced.So, i hope he win this notebook computer.

[Zero]

I'd actually be joining the contest, however my back story isn't nearly as bad as some of the other entries. Therefore, I will be supporting Bernardakins. No man should have such a horrible home theater setup at home. He'll be attending college this fall too? Yeah, he's going to need all the help he can get.