• OK. A 13 inch display screen isn’t really that small and having a 1280×800 resolution (like many of the 15″ laptops) means you get a decent amount of space. Most IDEs like Eclipse fit just fine on the screen but I wouldn’t recommend doing any graphic editing since that does require a little more than this resolution has to offer.
• BAD. Capacitive media buttons are cool for about 5 minutes.
• AWESOME. The remote control that fits into the express card slot is awesome. Apart from shielding the slot from dust (which would be otherwise covered by a useless piece of plastic) it proves quite useful at presentations or watching a movie.
  
• USELESS. Fingerprint reader is also cool for a few hours. I haven’t even installed the drivers anymore. So it’s useless at this point for me.
  
• USELESS. Who uses a DVD unit anymore? Even Windows can be booted and installed with an USB stick. If I could I would remove it completely and probably buy an external USB unit for emergencies. Now it only uses space, power and adds to the laptop’s weight.
• BAD. The power button should be positioned on one side, not beneath the screen. You may want to connect the laptop to an external display + mouse + keyboard and disable the laptop’s monitor. But now you still have to open the lid to power it up.
  
• BAD. Not having an edge to edge monitor screen means you get dust and dirt stuck right on the margin above the actual pixels.
• OK. The integrated webcam and microphone are rarely used but prove useful when the need arises. The bluetooth and card reader are great as well.

So what would I look for in a laptop If I was searching for one right now:

• A maximum 13″ display if you want a mobile unit. Otherwise let’s just call it a desktop replacement :).
• Power button access without opening the lid.
• Multimedia remote control (play, pause, mute, next, etc).
• Volume controlled by a physical wheel situated on one side. Yes, it’s not so cool but is extremely fast and easier to use than buttons for +/-.
• HDMI output. This is a must have.
• A minimum of 2 USB ports.

I would also not worry about the HDD’s capacity too much. Out of a 250GB HDD I’m only using 50GB (Windows 7 32 bit and all software needed is installed). All the important and heavyweight data (photos, movies) are stored at home on my NAS.

Having to use 3 different strings for logging in is really something:

• the client ID they give you (although it follows a pattern, it’s random as far as I can tell)
• the digipass PIN required by the device (they mention that should you enter an incorrect PIN 5 times in a row, the digipass will be blocked; I guess I’ll just take their word for it)
• the password generated by the digipass

Even after logging in, if you wish to make a transaction you have to use your digipass again to generate a code for signing that.

Now, for some digging into the algorithm and how it may protect people against phishing attacks. The authentication code given by the digipass is time-dependent. You get a different one each 30 seconds or so. However, at one moment in time, you can use the last couple of codes generated to access your account. It’s quite basic, you need some time to read and type in the code. These are just assumptions based on observations made by me.

Now let’s take a basic phishing situation.

The phishers sent the an email requesting a login action and got an unfortunate client to reveal his/her ID and code. They have a limited time to access the account before the code expires. But let’s say they were very fast and got into the account. Unfortunately, all they can do now is look at the numbers, transactions, etc. They would still need another code to sign a transaction. Nonetheless, you wouldn’t want anyone to know about your financial history.

Here are some shots of the Digipass they gave me:

Going back to the actual ebanking interface, I’m really satisfied. It’s pretty straightforward and easy to use. I haven’t had a chance to see it in action yet, but I really want to test how fast it’s updated with my account transactions. I’ve had a BRD ebanking account for some time and I’m definitely not happy with seeing the transaction only the next day.

Oh, and for being a student you get a Visa card attached to an account in RON with the ebanking for only 12 RON (about 5 USD). No monthly/yearly fees or cash withdraw commissions. Thanks ING!