skywardhunter

with a time machine... why would you want that? Removing optical disc drives from laptops was a much-needed innovation that has greatly reduced the size and weight of laptops

iowa guy

I would want that so I could watch a DVD on a Chromebook.

deniah

a USB optical drive costs about $20. either the chromebook supports the drive directly (i kinda doubt it)... or use a normal computer to "rip" it to a file.

joejones

I nominate the Surface Laptop; bought one last year and it is my favorite travel laptop ever. Note I am not talking about the more expensive and structurally complicated Surface / Surface Pro / Surface Go, but the cheaper conventional laptop in the same product line. It's a beautiful piece of hardware that looks like something Apple would design, with two features that I particularly love: (1) the keyboard has a felt covering which feels way better under the hands than metal or plastic, and (2) the power brick has a built-in USB port in addition to the one on the laptop itself. It weighs less than 3 pounds and is pretty thin. It costs significantly less than $1,000 (refurbs available for around $600; I think I paid about $800 at Best Buy). Performance wise, it's great for web browsing, office applications and media consumption, but not quite powerful enough for serious 3D gaming. One caveat is that it comes with Windows 10 S, which doesn't let you run apps other than those downloaded from the official MS app store, so you have to switch to Windows 10 Pro if you want that functionality (basically a settings change, doesn't cost anything extra).

freecia

@iowa guy Would offline viewing feature on Netflix or Amazon Prime work? Many Chromebooks can install Android apps and some streaming media apps support offline downloads. I'm not sure if ChromeOS can download to an SD Card, yet, but it is coming https://www.reddit.com/r/chromeos/co...oming_but_not/

Some libraries offer movies/ TV shows for offline viewing via apps like Hoopla.

Chrome OS supports DVD drives but not the media codecs needed https://cbookreviewguide.com/chromeb...or-chromebook/ You might be able to get it to work https://www.reddit.com/r/chromeos/co...book_using_an/ but as with many Google things, things change. What works on one build may not work on 3 releases down the line. If you really want to play DVDs & BluRay on a laptop or tablet+keyboard type of device I think it is better to go with Windows.

der_saeufer

Anything small enough to qualify as a "travel laptop" in 2019 is too small to have a DVD drive.

If you really have to watch it off a physical DVD (e.g. renting it from Redbox, borrowing it at a library) and this is something you're going to do often, get the smallest Win10 laptop with a DVD drive, and don't be afraid to hit up eBay for 2-3 year old off-lease equipment; optical drives were still common enough 3 years ago, but they're gone from all but the largest machines now. If you're willing to schlep it around (13", 4lbs with DVD), the Dell E6xxx series can be had with pretty good specs for crazy low money and they're both easy to upgrade/repair and bulletproof. I think the E6330 I use to run diagnostic software cost me $150 from some wholesaler. Throw in an SSD and it's plenty fast too; the downside is that battery life is a joke, but any battery will go flat in no time if you're watching DVDs.

If your goal is to be able to watch a movie from your personal DVD collection, rip it with your home computer; you can play the resulting file on Chrome OS or Windows, straight off the SD card or USB stick. For that purpose, Windows is perhaps slightly better because you have more choices of player but playing movies on Chrome OS is perfectly fine. Again it's a budget question--if you're spending $2-300, Chrome OS is much better on low-end hardware, but if you're spending $1k get a nice Windows ultrabook or a Surface.

deniah

i'm glad optical drives went the way of the dodo.

der_saeufer

Remember the bad old days when if you had an extended battery, you could maybe watch two movies on DVD without plugging in? Now I can watch Netflix (or Amazon Prime/Hulu/stuff I ripped to my drive) for the entirety of a transatlantic flight and still have 40-50% of my battery left. And I don't have to deal with the asinine region coding of DVD movies or with Sony trying to install a rootkit on my PC.

OP: help us out here--what sort of budget and what size/weight of laptop are you looking for?

UPr123

Many airlines now don't have seat-back screens in their domestic flights, forcing you to either bring your own entertainment or bring your own devices to watch the in-flight entertainment. They are also promoting their apps for viewing the in-flight entertainment. However, almost none of these apps can be installed on a Windows laptop. On Southwest, you don't need the app and can view the in-flight movies and real-time TV on your laptop's browser, so whether or not you have a Windows machine is not an issue. Does anyone know if this is an issue for other airlines?

vernonc

OP you need to provide more info as to what you use the laptop for to get some decent recommendations.
A Chromebook is great if all your stuff is on the Cloud and you would need wifi to connect.
A regular value priced PC is likely too large and heavy for a frequent traveller.
If you are an avid gamer (I dont think so), there are some powerful thin and light NBs with gaming level graphics like the Asus Zephyrus which is less than 18mm thick and can play the most demanding games.
For most travelers a thin and light notebook is a must. You then need to decide on screen size and tech specs. I prefer a 13" or 14" as I find 15" too large. With the new narrow bezel notebooks a new 14" is the same space as a 13" from a couple of years back. For specs most users should be happy with an Intel i5, 8Gb RAM and 256GB SSD. Intel i5 with 8Gb RAM should handle most tasks and the SSD will give you quick start times and speedy response times.
I would suggest looking at a Asus Zenbook, Dell XPS or Lenovo Yoga - as all of them have proven pedigree and all of them look good too. The new Asus Zenbooks are also Military Grade 810G compliant so they are drop tested, spill resistant, etc. I believe the Thinkpad is also military grade though I could be wrong.
No modern laptop include a DVD drive. You can get an external DVD drive that plugs into the USB port and these are available for approx $50.
Hope this helps .

joshwex90

Generally, though I can't speak for every airline, you can access the IFE on Windows via the browswer.

Not necessarily - while they don't come with hundreds of GB of storage, you generally have enough to store important files and/or several movies (great if this is really a travel laptop)

That sounds a lot more serious than just a travel laptop. That's what my Surface Pro has

bss308

I highly suggest a new MacBook 12 inch (not the pro.) The size is excellent for traveling, and has enough power to do most basic tasks. Very long battery life. You can get one for under $1k. Not cheap, but well worth it.

DYKWIA

I have one myself and I love it. However, they are way overpriced and under-speced. For people with more money than sense

satman40

brp1264

What are you planning to use it for, what ports/features do you need, what size do you want, and what's your budget?