Found a bit of a bargain on eBay the other day: a Dell Latitude XT2. I read somewhere it was something over $4000 when new. I paid $400.

It arrived today! This is what I should have bought the other week when I was offered a choice between an XT and an XT2. The XT is okay, but it has a real version 1.0 feel to it. The XT2 I just got has a factory-refurbished screen, so the touchscreen actually works over all the screen. As you can tell, I've discovered the joys of *adding* a touchscreen interface to one with a mouse and keyboard.

It also came with a neat little trick: a eSATAp port and a Dell media-bay enclosure (with DVD-RW drive) that is eSATAp. Best use of eSATAp I've ever seen. And I know I can easily buy an ExpressCard that does USB 3.0 :-)

The XT2 didn't come with a dock, which was a surprise but actually works out for the best a I got given an XT2 dock with the XT (they didn't have an XT dock). The XT isn't going to go to waste, though: I'm intending to use it as a replacement for my aging and very dusty Compaq Deskpro that is my home server. And since it's a Latitude, I know Linux will have no problems with the known-to-be reliable hardware.

The XT2 is going to be a portable PC - fitting in between my D630 (which stays at home) and my EeePad Transformer.

Wade.