What to get in a LapTop

AdamZ

AdamZ

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Display name:
Adam Zucker
So I have come to the conclusion that I need to start looking at some laptops. Several months ago the family Dell Inspiron exhibited the blue screen of death and went to the big circuit board in the sky.
My question is: What do I want in the laptop for her?

My hope is once I have enough $$ I can get one for my wife and one for me but for now I think its going to be shared.

My wife is a technophob. she still uses a paper FiloFax day planner. She primarily uses the computer to check her email, Do some web surfing, a bit of word processing and creating spread sheets. She also uses it to watch TV shows on hulu or fancast.

I'd like to get her to use a web cam and skype to speak with friends and family.

I use the laptop for:
Word Processing
power point (I have on occasion used the old one for PP presentations at a trial)
Connecting via gotomypc to my work computer
email
Web Surfing
POA of course
I'd like to be able to skype and video chat so I'm thinking it should have the following:

1) DVD Drive/Burner
2)Ports USB and perhaps a SD card slot
3)built in web cam

What are the requirements that I should be looking for?

Memory?
Speed?
Size Hard Drive?
Processor?
Does the type matter ie Pentium vs. Celeron?
Do the numbers match between Pentium and Celeron?
Screen size?

Cost is a factor.

Every computer I've owned so far has come from Dell but I saw one today at the offce supply store that was only $449 but I realized I have no clue what was in it or what I needed. Most don't come loaded with Microsoft office but I suspect I could load my old one on there because my old laptop is kaput.
 
I'm not gonna get involved in the pc vs mac debate that will ensue, and more educated folks can comment on exact memory/harddrive requirements, but from my personal experience:
1.) Stay away from Acer. I bought Rachel an Acer a couple of years ago and told her mom to get an Acer last year. Have had tons of problems from both of them since then - randomly losing wireless adapter settings, speaker volume control flaking out randomly, etc.

2.) I have had good experience with my Toshiba Satellite. It's starting to get 'slow' now b/c I'm trying to run a couple of development environments on it and it only has a 75GB harddrive that is 75% full, so I'm due for an upgrade soon - it will be another Toshiba.

Let the battle begin!!!
 
CJones said:
I'm not gonna get involved in the pc vs mac debate that will ensue, and more educated folks can comment on exact memory/harddrive requirements, but from my personal experience:
1.) Stay away from Acer. I bought Rachel an Acer a couple of years ago and told her mom to get an Acer last year. Have had tons of problems from both of them since then - randomly losing wireless adapter settings, speaker volume control flaking out randomly, etc.

2.) I have had good experience with my Toshiba Satellite. It's starting to get 'slow' now b/c I'm trying to run a couple of development environments on it and it only has a 75GB harddrive that is 75% full, so I'm due for an upgrade soon - it will be another Toshiba.

Let the battle begin!!!
Click to expand...

I've had one Acer and two Gateways (Gateway is owned by Acer) and all of them had hardware problems. I don't know if any other brands are morer trouble free but I'd stay away from those two. I've had slightly better luck with Dell but from the experience of coworkers I'd say their quality could use some improvement as well.
 
CJones said:
I'm not gonna get involved in the pc vs mac debate that will ensue, and more educated folks can comment on exact memory/harddrive requirements, but from my personal experience:
1.) Stay away from Acer. I bought Rachel an Acer a couple of years ago and told her mom to get an Acer last year. Have had tons of problems from both of them since then - randomly losing wireless adapter settings, speaker volume control flaking out randomly, etc.

2.) I have had good experience with my Toshiba Satellite. It's starting to get 'slow' now b/c I'm trying to run a couple of development environments on it and it only has a 75GB harddrive that is 75% full, so I'm due for an upgrade soon - it will be another Toshiba.

Let the battle begin!!!
Click to expand...

Mac is not an option if I wanted it to be due to budget issues.
 
CJones said:
I'm not gonna get involved in the pc vs mac debate that will ensue, and more educated folks can comment on exact memory/harddrive requirements, but from my personal experience:
1.) Stay away from Acer. I bought Rachel an Acer a couple of years ago and told her mom to get an Acer last year. Have had tons of problems from both of them since then - randomly losing wireless adapter settings, speaker volume control flaking out randomly, etc.

2.) I have had good experience with my Toshiba Satellite. It's starting to get 'slow' now b/c I'm trying to run a couple of development environments on it and it only has a 75GB harddrive that is 75% full, so I'm due for an upgrade soon - it will be another Toshiba.

Let the battle begin!!!
Click to expand...

I've had one Acer and two Gateways (Gateway is owned by Acer) and all of them had hardware problems. I don't know if any other brands are morer trouble free but I'd stay away from those two. I've had slightly better luck with Dell but from the experience of coworkers I'd say their quality could use some improvement as well.
 
AdamZ said:
So I have come to the conclusion that I need to start looking at some laptops. Several months ago the family Dell Inspiron exhibited the blue screen of death and went to the big circuit board in the sky.
My question is: What do I want in the laptop for her?

My hope is once I have enough $$ I can get one for my wife and one for me but for now I think its going to be shared.

My wife is a technophob. she still uses a paper FiloFax day planner. She primarily uses the computer to check her email, Do some web surfing, a bit of word processing and creating spread sheets. She also uses it to watch TV shows on hulu or fancast.

I'd like to get her to use a web cam and skype to speak with friends and family.

I use the laptop for:
Word Processing
power point (I have on occasion used the old one for PP presentations at a trial)
Connecting via gotomypc to my work computer
email
Web Surfing
POA of course
I'd like to be able to skype and video chat so I'm thinking it should have the following:

1) DVD Drive/Burner
2)Ports USB and perhaps a SD card slot
3)built in web cam

What are the requirements that I should be looking for?

Memory?
Speed?
Size Hard Drive?
Processor?
Does the type matter ie Pentium vs. Celeron?
Do the numbers match between Pentium and Celeron?
Screen size?

Cost is a factor.

Every computer I've owned so far has come from Dell but I saw one today at the offce supply store that was only $449 but I realized I have no clue what was in it or what I needed. Most don't come loaded with Microsoft office but I suspect I could load my old one on there because my old laptop is kaput.
Click to expand...

Mac Powerbook 15"
 
Well for Skype it doesn't nook like there's a high barrier to entry. You've already indicated that you want a built-in webcam.
http://www.sharewareguide.net/reviews/skype-hardware-requirements.html said:
Skype recommends a 1 GHz processor and at least 256 MB of ram.
Click to expand...

For Office-like functionality, I'd recommend Open Office
, which is freeware, but can interoperate with Microsoft Office. It's requirements are similarly unspectacular:
http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/source/sys_reqs_30.html said:
  • Windows 2000 (Service Pack 2 or higher), Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista
  • 256 Mbytes RAM (512 MB RAM recommended)
  • At least 650 Mbytes available disk space for a default install (including a JRE) via download. After installation and deletion of temporary installation files, OpenOffice.org will use approximately 440 Mbytes disk space.
  • 1024 x 768 or higher resolution with at least 256 colours
Click to expand...


And gotomypc doesn't specify any minimum requirements per se:
https://www.gotomypc.com/help1.tmpl#whatreq said:
Client Computer:
Viewer for Windows - Full Features
• Microsoft Windows 95 or newer
• Recommended: Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista or newer
• Internet Explorer 5.0 or newer; Firefox 1.0 or newer
• Recommended: The connection process is easier if Java™ is installed and the Web browser supports Java
Click to expand...

So, aside from the desire for a DVD writer, which can be purchased as an external device, your stated mission could be met even by a netbook for the neighborhood of $200 - $400, depending on screen size, battery size, etc. Obviously, the faster the processor the faster things will work, and a bigger monitor will make things easier to see. Your choices are really dictated more by other aspects, such as how portable you want it to be, how large a keyboard, whether you want to use external keyboards or monitors, etc.

Any of the hard drives that ship with the current computers will be more than sufficient for the uses you listed above. More memory is better, but check to see whether it can be added after purchase more cost effectively; that's is frequently the case.
 
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smigaldi said:
Isn't gotomypc a Citrix client?
Click to expand...

AdamZ said:
Yes I believe it is Scott.
Click to expand...
Well not quite. GoToMyPc is now owned by Citrix, but it's really closer to a remote desktop viewer that uses an external website as a proxy. You aren't connecting to a typical Citrix server (which is a multiuser system), but to a desktop running the host system, which connects to the GotoMyPC servers, which put the two ends of the connection together without needing to open ports in your firewall.

https://www.gotomypc.com/help1.tmpl#whatis said:
GoToMyPC is Web-based screen-sharing software that allows you to access and use any of your computers through the GoToMyPC Web site, www.GoToMyPC.com. With GoToMyPC, you can remotely view your computer screen and access all of your computer's programs, email, files and network resources as if you were sitting at and using your computer locally, even though you may be a thousand miles away.
Click to expand...
 
I bought a Toshiba from Walmart last summer for $400. It would pretty easily meet your requirements except for the camera. It would cost another $160 to active the MS Office, but as others have said you could use Open Office instead.

160 MB HDD
3 GB Memory
2.16 Ghrz Intel processor
DVD recorder


I am happy with the Toshiba so far.
My only complaint is the audio is pretty quiet, if watching a movie in the car I just about need headphone to hear it.

Brian
 
My folks use open office but since I will use it to review and create and edit documents from work which are on word that might be an issue.
 
AdamZ said:
My folks use open office but since I will use it to review and create and edit documents from work which are on word that might be an issue.
Click to expand...

Plus I guess what I'm asking here is not so much what computer to get but what should be in the computer.
 
AdamZ said:
My folks use open office but since I will use it to review and create and edit documents from work which are on word that might be an issue.
Click to expand...
As I said, OpenOffice interacts pretty well with Microsoft Office, but I admit that some complex documents or macros may not work properly. If it's straight word processing and PowerPoint documents, though, you'd probably be okay. YMMV.
AdamZ said:
Plus I guess what I'm asking here is not so much what computer to get but what should be in the computer.
Click to expand...
Well, we've ascertained that even a lowly netbook should meet the minimum requirement you've laid out, and the price is pretty low too. You said that you're cost conscious in this purchase. So the answer is to either minimize the cost and buy the cheapest netbook and DVD writer you can find, or set your budget and buy the best computer you can for that price.

After maximizing the memory, I'd be making tradeoffs between screen size, processor speed and battery size, all of which will also affect battery life. Those decisions are going to depend on your personal preferences and where you plan to use the laptop. If you're just planning to use it around the house and on the patio, then get a larger screen and faster processor, because you won't be far from an outlet. If you also plan to take it to the airport, throw it in your flight bag, and use it for briefings while flying, choose the smaller screen and the larger battery. A netbook would be ideal for that sort of use.
 
AdamZ said:
My wife is a technophob. she still uses a paper FiloFax day planner. She primarily uses the computer to check her email, Do some web surfing, a bit of word processing and creating spread sheets. She also uses it to watch TV shows on hulu or fancast.

I'd like to get her to use a web cam and skype to speak with friends and family.
Click to expand...

These are you overall and main user requirements. There is on over arching thing and that is when she uses the computer it needs to work without her having to come ask you to fix it all the time.

Seriously for piece of mind, yours and hers. Get a Mac. They are stable, the user interface is great and simple, you cannot accidentally screw it up, stuff works the same way everytime. Not mysteriously like M$ products. The money you spend now on a Mac will come back to you ten fold when you are not having to play Mr. IT man and the annoyed wife. That game never ends the way it does in a sleazy movie ;) :D:D
 
Yeah, yeah, go get a Mac. See how well that works out, jumping from the PC at the office to the Mac at the house. You'll throw the freakin' Mac through the wall.
 
SCCutler said:
Yeah, yeah, go get a Mac. See how well that works out, jumping from the PC at the office to the Mac at the house. You'll throw the freakin' Mac through the wall.
Click to expand...

Nope. You'll throw the pos windoze thing out.
 
For those pushing the Mac, I agree that it's the best solution out there, but it doesn't meet his needs in regards to being low cost. :no: Even the lowliest MacBook at student pricing is $950.
 
gprellwitz said:
For those pushing the Mac, I agree that it's the best solution out there, but it doesn't meet his needs in regards to being low cost. :no: Even the lowliest MacBook at student pricing is $950.
Click to expand...
There is more than just money in the price tag. I am thinking that the hassle factor of having a spousal user that is not all that tech savvy will end up costing a lot in the way of piece of mind if a Windows computer is being used.
 
smigaldi said:
There is more than just money in the price tag. I am thinking that the hassle factor of having a spousal user that is not all that tech savvy will end up costing a lot in the way of piece of mind if a Windows computer is being used.
Click to expand...
Should he go into debt to avoid that hassle factor? Now, he may be able to justify increasing the budget if the tradeoff is more billable hours because he doesn't have to be doing hand-holding, but...
 
gprellwitz said:
Should he go into debt to avoid that hassle factor? Now, he may be able to justify increasing the budget if the tradeoff is more billable hours because he doesn't have to be doing hand-holding, but...
Click to expand...

LOL thats why I got my wife a GPS
 
AdamZ said:
I'd like to be able to skype and video chat so I'm thinking it should have the following:

1) DVD Drive/Burner
2)Ports USB and perhaps a SD card slot
3)built in web cam

What are the requirements that I should be looking for?

Memory?
Speed?
Size Hard Drive?
Processor?
Does the type matter ie Pentium vs. Celeron?
Do the numbers match between Pentium and Celeron?
Screen size?

Cost is a factor.

Every computer I've owned so far has come from Dell but I saw one today at the offce supply store that was only $449 but I realized I have no clue what was in it or what I needed. Most don't come loaded with Microsoft office but I suspect I could load my old one on there because my old laptop is kaput.
Click to expand...
Here's my take.

Your requirements aren't excessive.

Memory: I'd go with 3GB to avoid Win64 which has some compatibility issues.

Processor: I haven't found a big benefit to spend a lot of money here but I do like the dual core mid speed range.

Screen size: The biggest factor these days in pricing. Since I stopped buying for business, I've gone to the smaller size of 1300x700 which is a constant irritant. I like the 16:9 format but not the height which limits what I can display so lots of scrolling. I'm leery of going smaller to a netbook.

Disk space is dependent on what you do, I have 200GB, it was cheap and works fine for me.

The DVD writer, Web Cam, SD card reader are all pretty standard.

The only thing you didn't mention is a bluetooth device which I put as desirable but not needed.

I also did Dell for many years and am happy with the quality and price of HP.

Joe,

If I had the money I would have a MacBook pro and run Windows 7 under VM ware for the two things I needed it for. (both Jeppesen)
 
Adam,

I'm not sure how GoToMyPC works, or if it would work on the Mac at all. If not, then you clearly need a Windoze box. I know the Mac does everything else.

That said, if you want a cheap laptop - You're obviously not going to bother with a Mac. Apple doesn't make cheap laptops. They do make VERY GOOD laptops, even the "low end," and they tend to last longer, at least partially because you don't have to upgrade every time a new version of the OS comes out. :rolleyes: Buy whatever screen sized MacBook or MacBook Pro you want, maybe put some extra RAM in it, and you'll be happy for years.

Besides, if you get a Mac, maybe you'd call me when you had problems with it like you do with Rachel's, and I'd hear from you twice a year instead of once. ;)
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Adam,

Apple doesn't make cheap laptops. They do make VERY GOOD laptops, even the "low end," and they tend to last longer
Click to expand...
That is a very good point Kent.

When my niece was graduating HS I bought her an Apple Laptop to go off to college. Not only was that laptop adequate for her entire fours at college. it is still going strong in graduate school. Many of her friends on their 2nd and 3rd Windoze based laptops.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Adam,

I'm not sure how GoToMyPC works, or if it would work on the Mac at all. If not, then you clearly need a Windoze box. I know the Mac does everything else.
Click to expand...

Mac will do gotomypc

https://www.gotomypc.com/help9.tmpl

The Mac Beta provides the ability to remotely access a computer running a Mac operating system (Mac OS 10.5 and higher) or a PC (Windows 2000 and above, Windows XP or higher recommended) As this is a beta release, there are some features for Mac that will be added over time but do not exist currently.
Click to expand...
 
Bob Noel said:
Nope. You'll throw the pos windoze thing out.
Click to expand...

Toe in reality pond here, guys.

Macs are elegant and beautiful and, while more costly at the outset, better equipped at the entry level too. They also have unmatched support.

Unfortunately, the Mac world lacks support for most business-specific software, including (in particular) the various software loads lawyers are pretty much compelled to use (especially smaller firms).

"But wait, Spike, Macs can run Windoze too!," they breathlessly gushed.

Nothing like buying two operating systems.

Macs are really groovy, but until Apple persuades business software writers to make Mac-specific versions (and no, MS Office does not count), they'll remain marginalized on business desktops.
 
The basic features you specified are pretty ubiquitous on laptops these days. As for the specifics, my personal preferences and observations are:

1. Others have mentioned having had problems with Acer / Gateway. That hasn't been my experience. I've found Acer laptops, in particular, to be very durable. The one I use in the field is about four years old and has ridden in my backpack, in the trunk of my car, and occasionally bouncing around in airplanes, without any problems at all. But YMMV.

2. My favorite manufacturer at present is a company called Nexlink, a division of Seneca Data out of Syracuse NY. But that's also because they're easy to deal with, have US-based support the last time I checked, and ship promptly, in addition to making good equipment.

3. Vista 7 32-bit v 64-bit: I have not come across any compatibility issues running any 32-bit application that will run in Vista 32 on Win7-64, nor with current versions any of the software you are likely to use. YMMV. But I do think you'd be more likely to encounter hardware issues if you want to use existing peripherals (printers, PDAs, etc).

That being said, I don't think you have to worry too much about 32-bit support for anything you're likely to use being phased out any time soon.

4. Win7 version: I think Win7 Professional is the way to go for most users, but perhaps Ultimate would be a better choice for lawyers because of the BitLocker disk encryption feature (which can also be used to encrypt flash drives). A lost flash drive could have career-ending consequences for an attorney, so this one feature justifies the relatively small difference in price, IMHO.

EDIT: On then other hand, there are other free tools that can encrypt flash drives, such as TrueCrypt, that don't require Ultimate.

5. Processor: I personally like the Intel Core2 Duo chips for laptops. I hate to say it as a life-long AMD fan, but I think Intel's chips have a real performance edge over AMD's laptop product line.

6. RAM: For 32-bit, anything over roughly 3.5 GB will be unaddressable, so don't bother with more than 3 or 4 GB. For 64-bit, 6 or 8 GB should be all you need; and I'm not sure you'll see any performance improvement with more than 4 GB for what you plan to use the machine for.

7. Hard drive size: You're an attorney, so presumably you have a lot of documents. But how many of those docs will live on the laptop as opposed to some sort of external storage device? Best advice: Look at how much stuff you presently have, triple it to allow for growth, and use that as a starting point.

8. Productivity software: Open Office is free and beautiful, and I wish it were the standard. But as much as I love it, it does sometimes mangle very complex Word documents quite seriously. OO.o is not 100 percent compatible with MS-Word, especially where macros are concerned. So you probably will need MS Word.

Because you're a lawyer, you may need Corel WordPerfect, as well (although I think Word does a better job with Corel documents than OpenOffice does with very complex Word documents).

9. My standard advice for anyone who uses a laptop is to purchase a second hard drive that could be installed inside the machine and is at least as big, purchase an external enclosure for same, and frequently clone the laptop's internal drive to the external drive using Casper or another hard drive cloning tool. This is mainly for downtime prevention in the event of a hard drive failure: You would just swap the external drive into the laptop.

Why Casper? Firstly, it creates a bootable clone (not an image), which means there's no need to extract the image in the event of a failure. You simply swap the drive and boot up. Secondly, it works from within Windows, and can be run as a scheduled task. Most other cloning tools require that the machine be rebooted and/or run from bootable media, which means that users are far less likely to actually do it. Other tools like Acronis are fine, and probably better in some ways -- but only if the user actually uses them.

10. One more general observation about laptops is that they're not usually easily upgradeable, so hardware-wise, you're pretty much married to what you buy. Do a little research on the models you're considering to see if there's an established history of something bad, like flaky chipsets or other motherboard issues, cooling problems, hinges that keep breaking, and so forth. These things usually can't be easily corrected, so it pays to research other users' comments and look for common threads before you buy.

-Rich
 
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SCCutler said:
Toe in reality pond here, guys.

Macs are elegant and beautiful and, while more costly at the outset, better equipped at the entry level too. They also have unmatched support.

Unfortunately, the Mac world lacks support for most business-specific software, including (in particular) the various software loads lawyers are pretty much compelled to use (especially smaller firms).

"But wait, Spike, Macs can run Windoze too!," they breathlessly gushed.

Nothing like buying two operating systems.

Macs are really groovy, but until Apple persuades business software writers to make Mac-specific versions (and no, MS Office does not count), they'll remain marginalized on business desktops.
Click to expand...

The way I read the OP's laptop requirements, there is nothing there
that precludes a macbook from meeting all of his stated requirements
except for the implied budget requirements (originally it wasn't clear
the budget precluded getting a decent laptop). So talking about
the alleged marginalization of macs in the business environment
is requirements growth.

btw - note that I didn't suggest the OP get a mac.

Also note that I'm typing this (on break) on my business macbook pro
while my windows laptop goes largely unused day after day, week after
week.
 
SCCutler said:
Nothing like buying two operating systems.
Click to expand...

ANd copies of common software, such as MS Office....

For a Windows unit, most corporations use Dell or HP. I currently have an Asus netbook (probably too light for your needs) and a corporate HP laptop. I have a personal HP laptop on the "semi-retired" pile at home, it will probably be repurposed as a BSD/Unix email/DNS box at some point in the future.
 
SCCutler said:
Unfortunately, the Mac world lacks support for most business-specific software, including (in particular) the various software loads lawyers are pretty much compelled to use (especially smaller firms).

"But wait, Spike, Macs can run Windoze too!," they breathlessly gushed.

Nothing like buying two operating systems.

Macs are really groovy, but until Apple persuades business software writers to make Mac-specific versions (and no, MS Office does not count), they'll remain marginalized on business desktops.
Click to expand...
+1. Certain aviation software doesn't seem to be too compatible with Mac either. The Citation performance programs from Cessna don't run on a Mac as one of the pilots I fly with has discovered. He hasn't been able to figure out how to get Jeppview working either although I'm not sure how hard he has tried.
 
Bob Noel said:
The way I read the OP's laptop requirements, there is nothing there
that precludes a macbook from meeting all of his stated requirements
except for the implied budget requirements (originally it wasn't clear
the budget precluded getting a decent laptop). So talking about
the alleged marginalization of macs in the business environment
is requirements growth.

btw - note that I didn't suggest the OP get a mac.

Also note that I'm typing this (on break) on my business macbook pro
while my windows laptop goes largely unused day after day, week after
week.
Click to expand...

You are, of course, correct.

I cheated, by knowing (1) what business Adam's in, and (2) what software he [is forced] to use in that business.

Now, upon further reflection, I think he (or I) could get along OK using a Mac for traveling purposes, and relying upon GotomypC or LogMeIn for accessing the particularized stuff. Indeed, were I ten or fifteen years younger (when my brain had the extra real estate required to do it), I might be tempted to try doing just that. Fact is, though, I simply haven't got themental horsepower to navigate switching between two different user interfaces that often.

As for me, since there is no WordPerfect for Mac any more, and MS Word remains the festering pimple of word processing software, I won't be making any changes soon, anyway.
 
Some good thoughts.

Rich: Thanks for the detailed guts list as I call it. I pretty much know the softwear I will need or want its just the RAM and all that other stuff ie pentium vs. Celeron or one of the other chips

Kent: I call you plenty, Remember that whole trucking expert witness Phase LOL . Rachel still holds you in high regard for fixing what ever it was on her MAC. Ironically Rachel's MAC book broke exactly 363 days after it was purchased. The DVD drive went south. Talk about luck the warranty expired after one year. I took it to the Apple Store at the mall ( btw that is something MAC is awesome at. Problem go back to the source. Gotta love that) Anyway they repalced the drive and I asked how much an extended warranty would be. $249.99 for two years Wow! Then I asked how much the repair would cost if it wasn't under warranty $239.99. My next words were I'll take one extended warranty please.

I'm actually thinking now of just getting my wife a basic Laptop and I'll get one of my own that is a bit more robust.
 
Guys, suggesting a Mac in this situation is about a short sighted as suggesting a Linux based netbook.

I think the moral of this thread, Adam, is that your requirements are pretty low, so any machine will really do the job for you. Find the best machine at the price point you are comfortable with and jump on it. It's probably gonna be a netbook, but you can find a decent laptop that will fit the bill nicely too.
 
Nick Netbooks are on sale here for less than $200, heck Verizon is giving them away if you sign up for Fios TV. I think they are great for traveling but to be honest they are so dang small they would drive me batty using them every day which I will.
 
AdamZ said:
Nick Netbooks are on sale here for less than $200, heck Verizon is giving them away if you sign up for Fios TV. I think they are great for traveling but to be honest they are so dang small they would drive me batty using them every day which I will.
Click to expand...

In that case, go with a Toshiba Satellite. They're cheap, they're durable, and you can get one with a decent sized screen for not much money. I still have my Satellite from about 6 years ago, and aside from a bunch of epoxy on the keyboard, and the fact that ground up epoxy doesn't play well with the fan (it siezed), it runs beautifully.

And the new Satellites, running Windows 7 are super sweet.
 
NOT a Dell. POS. They buy the cheapest components at the moment without regard for whether they cooperate. Do not buy DELL!

I've had fantastic results buying HP laptops lately. Reliable, high quality, none of the incompatibility problems that have plagued the Dells I've owned. good prices, too.
 
SCCutler said:
As for me, since there is no WordPerfect for Mac any more, and MS Word remains the festering pimple of word processing software, I won't be making any changes soon, anyway.
Click to expand...

Apple's iWork suite is a more-than-worthy replacement, and costs less than a quarter of what MS Office does. It'll open/save MS format stuff if you need to share, and it works really well. I absolutely LOVE having sliders in my spreadsheets...

AdamZ said:
I took it to the Apple Store at the mall ( btw that is something MAC is awesome at. Problem go back to the source. Gotta love that)
Click to expand...

Yep - And if you call them, there's real live Americans at the other end of the phone! :yes:

Anyway they repalced the drive and I asked how much an extended warranty would be. $249.99 for two years Wow! Then I asked how much the repair would cost if it wasn't under warranty $239.99. My next words were I'll take one extended warranty please.
Click to expand...

I am not an advocate of extended warranty programs, but AppleCare for the laptops is just a smart investment. In fact, it's the only extended warranty I've ever bought... And I think I've gotten my money's worth out of it every time. The machines are well-built, but laptops by definition are traveling machines and they tend to take quite a beating over time. Also, repairs are more expensive (parts) and more difficult to do correctly on your own. So, having AppleCare and having that option to take it to your nearest Apple Store is a nice thing to have. Heck, it's probably worth the price just in peace of mind! :)
 
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