Toshiba Satellite Laptop {giveway}

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, Kerstin!

Back in April when I did the Mother's Day gift guide series I included a Toshiba Satellite M505D-S4000 laptop as a suggestion for the Aspiring Chef.

Thanks to Toshiba, I received my own laptop, a Toshiba Satellite M505D-S4000, for Mother's Day. It has been an incredible asset to me in the kitchen and not just because I'm a food blogger, though it has really contributed to my productivity there as well. Our desktop is upstairs and I was constantly printing recipes to bring downstairs so I could make them. What a waste of paper! I has been wonderful to look up recipes on the internet right in the kitchen or to draft a blog post for a recipe that I'm making so I don't forget any of the ingredients I used while creating the recipe.

Thanks the the great Toshiba Bulletin Board Software I was able to plan out all of our summer activities, appointments, deadlines and vacations without committing it to paper until I was sure what the plan was. I've also been using that to keep track of recipe ideas, freelancing projects, and flavor or ingredient combos I want to work on for my blog. It's a great way to put together a virtual inspiration board.

Not only does the Bulletin Board organize my ideas and help me stay on top of my busy life, but it allows you to quickly access key utilities, programs and special offers like Toshiba Online back-up. It will give you alert messages for product updates or help you enter the support center to get the help you need.

Here are a few of the technical highlights:

• Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• 4GB DDR2 800MHz memory
• 500GB HDD
• 14.0" widescreen
• DVD-SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) with Labelflash™ drive supporting up to 11 formats
• Webcam and microphone built into LCD bezel
• Wi-Fi® Wireless networking (802.11b/g/n)
• Built-in microphone, Headphone jack (stereo)
• AC Adapter
• 75W (19V 3.95A) Auto-sensing, 100-240V / 50-60Hz input
• Li-Ion Battery (4800mAh, 6-Cell), lasts up to 3.16 hours
• PC Express Slot
• 1-ExpressCard™ Slot
• S/P DIF output port (shared with headphone port), Memory Card Reader
• USB Ports: 1-eSATA/USB (2.0) combo port with Sleep and Charge, 2-USB (2.0)
• Energy Star Qualified

Our desktop is 4 1/2 years old and we've reformatted the hard drive at least 4 times in effort to make it last longer. But, it is slooooow. It is to the point where I can't have more than one program open at a time, or else it will crash constantly. The laptop runs so nicely. I'm not stuck waiting for 5+ minutes while the computer downloads images from my camera and it certainly doesn't freeze up in the process.

For me the only down points to this model have been the weight (starts at 5.16 lbs) and the touchpad. I wish the laptop was a little slimmer because then it'd be easier to slip it into my camera bag for trips and conferences. I've been on a desktop for so long that a touch pad is really hard for me to use and I'm much slower at it than a mouse, but that was easily solved with a $15 wireless mouse that plugs in in via the USB drive.

Giveaway (1 winner): Toshiba Satellite M505D-S4000

The Rules:

• Check out the Toshiba Laptops and tell me what would be your perfect computer. OR Tell me how having a laptop would make your life easier. (by 11:59 PST August 17th)
• Anonymous comments: leave your email address and first name in the comments.
• 1 random winner will be announced by August 20th. I will notify you via email and you will have 72 hours to respond before I choose a new winner.
• Contest open to US Residents only.

Extra Entries: Additional entries can be earned by doing any of the following, giving you a total of 5 entries. Leave a separate comment for each of your entries.

• ReTweet the following message: Win a Satellite Laptop from @ToshibaLaptops and @goodlifeeats http://is.gd/eg4Dm #giveaway
• Become a fan of goodLife {eats} on Facebook.
• Become a fan of Toshiba Laptops on Facebook.
• Vote for me (Katie Goodman) as one of Babble's Favorite Mom Food Bloggers

Toshiba provided me with a Satellite M505D-S4000 for review purposes and allowed me to keep the laptop. However, I did not accept payment to write this review or publish positive comments.