# I am buying a new laptop



## 2 Tim 4:2 (Mar 7, 2008)

I am buying a new laptop. It will be used for web site work and school. any suggestions?


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 7, 2008)

I think Pilgrim just went through this. It really depends on your needs. If they are super minimal then you could get an Asus EEE.


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## DMcFadden (Mar 7, 2008)

Rich,

You keep teasing me with the Asus EEE comments you make. I know NOTHING about Linux. How compatible (if at all) is it with Windows software? Do the Asus people intend to provide a larger memory at some point?


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## Pilgrim (Mar 7, 2008)

See here. I haven't been able to find the sub 400 or 300 machines Fred mentioned unless it would be an Acer (not sure of that brand but it always seems to be the cheapest), babysitting e-bay auctions or buying a reconditioned Lenovo or something similar from a non-manufacturer site. But I haven't looked that much either. I'll probably get the Toshiba Best Buy has on sale for about $450 if it's still in stock. It has Vista Home Premium but only 1GB of memory, but the latter can be fixed without too much additional expense. If they sell out (Circuit City has the same laptop for about $30 more) I'll have to wait and see what the sale is next week.


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## Pilgrim (Mar 7, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> Rich,
> 
> You keep teasing me with the Asus EEE comments you make. I know NOTHING about Linux. How compatible (if at all) is it with Windows software? Do the Asus people intend to provide a larger memory at some point?



I've heard good things about Linux as well but I also know nothing about how to use it. The EEE is not an option for me b/c I need Windows for work and would like more storage space than the EEE has. I understand you can install Windows on it as well, but I really don't want to get into that. It's worth it to me to pay $150 or so more to get what I need upfront without getting something that I'm going to have to install another OS on and come up with some kind of external hard drive as well.


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 7, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> Rich,
> 
> You keep teasing me with the Asus EEE comments you make. I know NOTHING about Linux. How compatible (if at all) is it with Windows software? Do the Asus people intend to provide a larger memory at some point?



It's not meant to be a tease Dennis. The drawback with the machine to some is how tiny the keyboard is. Nevertheless, if what you need is Office Apps and internet connectivity it rocks. All the programs you need are built in. You don't need to know Linux command line stuff. If you're using Google Docs then you can keep all your docs online anyhow and you don't need very much local storage. Given how the Internet is structured to allow you to do so much online it is actually a pretty handy device.


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## DMcFadden (Mar 7, 2008)

SemperFideles said:


> DMcFadden said:
> 
> 
> > Rich,
> ...



Thanks, Rich. I meant "tease" in a friendly way. Your descriptions of the Asus have made my mouth water. Vista DRIVES ME NUTS!


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## a mere housewife (Mar 7, 2008)

Ruben got me an Asus eee when my last computer unexpectedly passed away. I really love it. I don't know anything about Linux. If I wanted to download more programs I'd have to learn; but it's perfect as is for what I do (read, write, listen to music, email). My fingers are small, so the small keyboard isn't a problem. I do have an sd card because it has very little memory. The articles on wikipedia are really helpful, and Linux offers a free online course if you want to learn to modify things. I read some of it and emerged with a great ability to use obscure computer words but without that faculty of knowing what they mean.


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## Semper Fidelis (Mar 7, 2008)

a mere housewife said:


> Ruben got me an Asus eee when my last computer unexpectedly passed away. I really love it. I don't know anything about Linux. If I wanted to download more programs I'd have to learn; but it's perfect as is for what I do (read, write, listen to music, email). My fingers are small, so the small keyboard isn't a problem. I do have an sd card because it has very little memory. The articles on wikipedia are really helpful, and Linux offers a free online course if you want to learn to modify things. I read some of it and emerged with a great ability to use obscure computer words but without that faculty of knowing what they mean.



Dennis,

I think the solution is to buy one and then have Heidi type on it for you.


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## Pilgrim (Mar 7, 2008)

The EEE's small keyboard would be a definite problem for me.


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## 2 Tim 4:2 (Mar 7, 2008)

I had a toshiba and after 1.5 years it just went down. Apparently there was a recall and I never recieved notification. I was out a laptop with no recourse. I will never buy another Toshiba. Hence the need for another one.


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## caddy (Mar 7, 2008)

Pilgrim said:


> The EEE's small keyboard would be a definite problem for me.


 
Fat fingers huh? 

I'm actually looking at some of the cheaper Dells right now. My wife needs a new one for her work.


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## a mere housewife (Mar 7, 2008)

> Dennis,
> 
> I think the solution is to buy one and then have Heidi type on it for you.





If Dennis will understand the tutorial for me I'll type for him. He can be the brain and I'll be the pinky. We can probably take over the world. Or at least subdue a couple of the inhabitants.

Seriously though. For those with fat fingers I recommend accessorizing with bionic hands. Or learning to type with pencils.


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## danmpem (Mar 7, 2008)

danmpem said:


> I was in Best Buy and Circuit City the other day, and something occurred to me. This is the first time sine Windows Vista was release that the very cheapest computer offers the buyers with what they need to efficiently run the OS. This laptop was $499, and it had a 2 GHz processor (AMD Turion-64) and 1 GB RAM.
> 
> Truly the best investment you can make in your computer is the warranty. Since you are looking to buy a laptop, then you ought to buy the full protection/accidental warranty (if you drop it off a cliff, if spill water on it, etc). Of all the computer stores, Circuit City does the best job offering this for the best price. They also offer the protection independent of what the manufacturer's replacement warranty is.



This is from the other thread on laptop deals.


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## fredtgreco (Mar 7, 2008)

Pilgrim said:


> The EEE's small keyboard would be a definite problem for me.



Can you connect an external (bluetooth?) keyboard to it?


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## Gryphonette (Mar 7, 2008)

If you don't need anything terribly fancy, I've been very pleased indeed with the inexpensive Acer my husband kindly bought me for our anniversary last August. He's put more RAM in it, which didn't cost anything much, and it works a treat.

What I love is the ONLY pre-loaded software it came with is Norton Antivirus, which I deleted, instead preferring Avast! and PC Tools Spyware Doctor, both of which are free.

Mind, the poor 'puter nearly came unhinged at my insistence on deleting Norton Antivirus, pleading with me to come to my senses and not put my computer at risk, but to no avail. >;^>

My mother bought a Toshiba and was so frustrated at all the pre-loaded software that she wound up on the phone with 'em, threatening to return it if they couldn't help her get RID of it.

Want to add CD's to the box, fine. Pre-loading stuff is tacky, in my opinion.

Anyway, I can vouch for the Acer 3680-2682. Punched up to 2G RAM.


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## Pilgrim (Mar 7, 2008)

fredtgreco said:


> Pilgrim said:
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> 
> > The EEE's small keyboard would be a definite problem for me.
> ...



I would imagine that it is possible, but portability is key for me. I don't need or want to be lugging around a lot of extra equipment.


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## Pilgrim (Mar 7, 2008)

Gryphonette said:


> If you don't need anything terribly fancy, I've been very pleased indeed with the inexpensive Acer my husband kindly bought me for our anniversary last August. He's put more RAM in it, which didn't cost anything much, and it works a treat.
> 
> What I love is the ONLY pre-loaded software it came with is Norton Antivirus, which I deleted, instead preferring Avast! and PC Tools Spyware Doctor, both of which are free.
> 
> ...



I saw an Acer the other day with Vista Home Premium and 2G of RAM already installed. I want to say the hard drive was 160GB. And If I recall correctly it was under $500. I can't remember what kind of processor it had though. 

I guess I should check Consumer Reports, epinions, etc. to see what kind of customer service the various brands have. Some swear by Dell, for example and others will never buy another one. Same goes for Toshiba, HP, etc. It's not hard to find someone to say something bad about any of them.

I probably had more trouble deleting Norton from my old machine than any other software, preloaded or not. But I know what you mean. My wife's Gateway laptop came with AOL preloaded and some other stuff as well.


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## jbergsing (Mar 7, 2008)

Apple MacBook. Imagine no more worrying about viruses, spyware, worms, trojans, etc.! You can't go wrong!


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## danmpem (Mar 7, 2008)

Gryphonette said:


> Anyway, I can vouch for the Acer 3680-2682. Punched up to 2G RAM.



That's the _*same*_ computer I'm using right now.


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## Pilgrim (Mar 7, 2008)

danmpem said:


> Gryphonette said:
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> 
> > Anyway, I can vouch for the Acer 3680-2682. Punched up to 2G RAM.
> ...



Satisfied with it?


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## danmpem (Mar 7, 2008)

Pilgrim said:


> danmpem said:
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> > Gryphonette said:
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Hehe, you replied before I could change my emoicon.

Yeah, I'm satisfied. I got it just to have something to take on campus, and now I use it as my main computer (although I do have higher-end desktop at home). One thing to be careful of when buying an Acer is that you better get a good warranty from the store, because Acer tech support doesn't like dealing with people on the phone period. It's either "a problem with the OS, thus call Microsoft", or "take it to the store and have them fix it".


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## Pilgrim (Mar 7, 2008)

danmpem said:


> Pilgrim said:
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> > danmpem said:
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I saw one at Wal-Mart and I want to say Circuit City too. My brother in law bought one recently but it only had Vista Basic.


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## danmpem (Mar 7, 2008)

Pilgrim said:


> danmpem said:
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> > Pilgrim said:
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Yeah, mine came with Vista Basic, but I upgraded.

...to XP.


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## Pilgrim (Mar 7, 2008)

danmpem said:


> Pilgrim said:
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> > danmpem said:
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## caddy (Mar 7, 2008)

Vista's that bad huh? No experience with it here...


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## Gryphonette (Mar 7, 2008)

Mine has Vista Basic. It's worked fine for me.

If one doesn't need anything much beyond ordinary computer usage....you know, PuritanBoard, news sites, blogs, internet shopping, along with banking, word processing, photos, and such like...I can't think why a nice little Acer with Vista Basic won't work. Works a treat for _me_, at any rate. 

Am I missing something by not having the Vista Premium or whatever it's called? Can't imagine what it'd be.


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## DMcFadden (Mar 8, 2008)

caddy said:


> Vista's that bad huh? No experience with it here...



In my opinion, Vista is so irritating that I have been considering switching to Apple! I yearn for the leaks and garlics of XP.


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## VictorBravo (Mar 8, 2008)

danmpem said:


> Yeah, mine came with Vista Basic, but I upgraded.
> 
> ...to XP.




An increasingly common solution. Here is one "technolawyer"'s experience:

TechnoLawyer Blog: Ross, Tell Us What You Really Think About Windows Vista


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## danmpem (Mar 8, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> caddy said:
> 
> 
> > Vista's that bad huh? No experience with it here...
> ...



I liked what the TechnoLawyer had to say:



> Welcome to the wonderful world of Vista (for a similar reference see: "Dante's Inferno" — impossible to distinguish between the two)...
> 
> There's nothing whatsoever I like in any way about Vista. Oh yeah, forgot to mention the last straw from last night. I had already upgraded the T61 to 2 GB of RAM when I ordered it. I wanted to see if doubling to 4 GB might have any positive effect on performance. So I installed the 2 x 2 GB SODIMMs and lo and behold, Vista reported only 3046 GB of RAM. After three hours of diagnosis including installing the RAM in other machines, I thought to check the T61's BIOS and sure enough, there was 4,096 GB of RAM showing. So no issue with the T61, no issue with the RAM itself, yet another Vista BS issue. Google the issue of underreported RAM on Vista systems and a flood of hits point out that everyone has faced the same frustration because the 32-bit version of MOPH is limited to only 3 GB of RAM while the 64 GB version can go up to 8. Again, nice.
> 
> ...



Anne, I hope you never reach this point, and I wish you the very best experiences in Vista. For the rest of us who have seen the true face of Vista, we come to the computer like Beowulf to the dragon: helmet on, shield ready, and sword drawn - ready for a long night.


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## danmpem (Mar 8, 2008)

Okay, okay. Now that I've had my little  about Vista, I must confess that as an IT, I respect the way Vista allows high-end computer to accomplish so much more in a smaller amount of time. I must be at least somewhat critical of technology that I am a big fan of, as I must respect even the small aspects of software I despise.


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## 2 Tim 4:2 (Mar 8, 2008)

danmpem said:


> Okay, okay. Now that I've had my little  about Vista, I must confess that as an IT, *I respect the way Vista allows high-end computer to accomplish so much more in a smaller amount of time.* I must be at least somewhat critical of technology that I am a big fan of, as I must respect even the small aspects of software I despise.



Just how does it do that?


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## jbergsing (Mar 8, 2008)

DMcFadden said:


> caddy said:
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> 
> > Vista's that bad huh? No experience with it here...
> ...


I did make the switch and have never been happier with a computer! Imagine a world with no viruses, spyware, trojans, etc. where the OS is stable and reliable! What a wonderful world it is!


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## danmpem (Mar 9, 2008)

2 Tim 4:2 said:


> danmpem said:
> 
> 
> > Okay, okay. Now that I've had my little  about Vista, I must confess that as an IT, *I respect the way Vista allows high-end computer to accomplish so much more in a smaller amount of time.* I must be at least somewhat critical of technology that I am a big fan of, as I must respect even the small aspects of software I despise.
> ...



Vista was made to have better efficiency on the RAM + processor, but the catch is is that it has to be on a high-end computer. For example, if you took a computer with these specs: 3.0 GHz x2 64-bit, 4GB RAM, 512 MB Video Card, Vista could run processes faster on that system than XP could.


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## Eoghan (Mar 9, 2008)

victorbravo said:


> danmpem said:
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> > Yeah, mine came with Vista Basic, but I upgraded.
> ...



Yup I too heard that many manufacturers offer XP as an "upgrade" option to Windows Vista. I would caution re: battery life. If this is important to you dont but a laptop with AMD CPU's they appear to be heavier users of the power supply


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## Gryphonette (Mar 9, 2008)

Oh dear! EXCELLENT point!

My computer's battery life is appalling. Maybe an hour?

But since it's no problem for me to keep it hooked up with the A/C adapter, Don shrugged off that particular downside. I don't haul it around...just use it here at my recliner or sofa. Sometimes I will take it into the kitchen for a recipe, but the battery's sufficient for that.

However, if you need long battery life, you'll certainly need to purchase a different battery for the Acer 3680.

Sorry I didn't think to mention that caveat! What a mercy Eoghan did.


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