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Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
 
I don't know anything about computers, so I'm begging all of hatracks computer geeks to help me.

I'm looking for a good priced laptop with a wireless card. I would prefer it not be a mac, not because I have anything against macs, but because I have a pc now, and don't want to undo old habits. It doesn't need to be able to do anything fancy, or have any special capabilities, I can only do very basic net surfing, email, etc.

Thanks in advance.
 

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Posted by Psycho Triad (Member # 3331) on :
 
not much of a computer guru...

But be very leery of Dell laptops. They make decent PCs, but i know more than a handful of laptop owners who have had nothing but problems from their laptops; most frequently the Inspiron models.
 

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Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :
 
I have a Compaq Evo and I love it. However, it was free from my school district, so I can't complain much about it. It had one problem at the beginning with the screen but the company replaced it for free under the warranty and it's been reliable ever since

[ May 09, 2004, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: Coccinelle ]
 

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Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
 
Toshiba.

They are the best laptops by far. I had one for work that got run over by a Buick and still worked. I'm on my 3rd (first 2 were for work and current one is for personal use) and I couldn't be happier.
 

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Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
 
blacwolve,

I'd be leery of laptops in general. I WOULD suggest a mac laptop compared to other makes, but I'd suggest a good desktop above a laptop.

So, if you just need a laptop for convenience, I'd probably look at it that way. A convenience tool, not a workhorse.

fallow
 

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Posted by sarahdipity (Member # 3254) on :
 
Do *not* buy toshiba. Well actually at least not their cheaper ones. One of my friends has had to send hers in several times. The processor runs too fast for the fan and then the computer gets too hot and starts turning itself off.

I personally am quite fond of my 12" powerbook (mac) I can have windows and the joy of easy linux access.

edit: interesting MrsM posted while I was writing mine. I'm really not sure what to tell you in that case.

[ May 09, 2004, 09:50 PM: Message edited by: sarahdipity ]
 

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Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
 
I'm in the same boat. Kara, dude, I plan on hitting up E-Bay for a decent computer -- or possibly recruiting a techie friend to build one for me. Though if anyone here has any idea what or how or why or where to buy a laptop with your specs, ahem Fugu/Tom/Pod/other geniuses of the motherboard, I'd be eternally grateful. Or at least grateful up until the laptop broke down.
 

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Posted by Jeni (Member # 1454) on :
 
My mother had the same problem with her Toshiba. Then, less than a few months after she bought it, something else went wrong (I don't remember exactly what it was), and she had to send it in to be repaired. She was told every week that it would be ready for her by the next week, and they ended up keeping it for three months. I know this was a rather expensive one, too.

I am also actually looking for a laptop, and am open to suggestions. Does anyone happen to have any experience with Averatec?
 

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Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
 
In general, Dell Latitudes and Sony VAIOs are my recommended models. HP/Compaq now puts out crap, sadly. Toshiba's good, but they're mainly in the desktop replacement category. I know quite a few people who swear by IBM, but I've always found IBM design clunky and awkward; the machines themselves are generally good, though.
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
I have a Compaq Presario that I like a whole lot. My only complaint is that it's kind of heavy. I like my HP desktop a whole lot better, though. If a desktop is an option, I think you should go for that instead. HP/Compaq has great customer service, in my experience, and their warranties are great.

Dells scare me. A lot. Everyone I know who has one has had severe problems with it.

[ May 09, 2004, 10:29 PM: Message edited by: pH ]
 

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Posted by Psycho Triad (Member # 3331) on :
 
I second the question :

quote:

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Does anyone happen to have any experience with Averatec?

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Posted by slacker (Member # 2559) on :
 
I think your best buy would have to be a Dell if you're not looking at spending gobs of cash (IBM is good if you don't like style and want to pay extra for a name).

Like I said, I've got a Dell Inspiron 1100 (now a 1150) and haven't had any problems with it (aside from the cell phone connection software and trillian locking up on me). Several of my friends have also owned Inspiron laptops, and we're got a 5 year old Inspiron at work. Each has had little to no problems.

I'd stay away from Toshiba, though. I've owned one of their Satellite series laptops (1735) and the screen was screwed up. This has also happened to several other people that I know that have Toshiba laptops. Upon searching, I found out that this is a common problem as Toshiba laptops age.

Again, if you've got a bit of money and want something flashy (but really not too much else) you can get a Sony Vaio. IMO, they're overpriced (paying for names again), but I have to admit that their screens are extremely nice.

Since it sounds like you're looking for something that's not top of the line or even brand new, might I suggest looking at the classified ads in your paper, or sites where members can buy/sell stuff (I've personally used Anandtech's for sale/trade forums, but I would recommend looking at the heatware of a person that you're dealing with.

IM me if you want more help finding laptops. If you look hard and are patient, you can get a good deal on one.
 

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Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
 
"Dells scare me. A lot. Everyone I know who has one has had severe problems with it."

This from the owner of a Compaq Presario?
*blink*
 

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Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
I've had Dell laptops for 7 years running now. This is my 4th one, but only because I got to pass mine down to someone else every two years. I've had one monitor go on me in that time; they mailed me the replacement unit so I had about 20 minutes downtime swapping the harddrive out. Of course, I had to plug in a monitor for the 2 days it took to get the new chasis.

I currently have the Lattitue D600 and love it. I use it CONSTANTLY, all day in law school, through the night while I'm working. No problems so far, but it's only 10 months old.

I'm paranoid, so I got the 4-year on-site service for this one. It has to last through law school.

Dagonee
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
My Compaq has been pretty reliable, actually. And it's put up with me flying it all over the country, dropping it, accidentally stepping on it, spilling Coke on it...
 

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Posted by kinglear (Member # 6211) on :
 
I've been responsible for several laptops (work and home) and except for games I'll never buy a desktop computer again. Gotta love th eportability and usability of a laptop.

Dell: every disses them, but they do have a good support base. When I've had issues with Dell's their staff has been more than helpful, twice just sending me a new machine and paying postage to have the old one returned. Out of the 30 or so Dell's I've dealt with only 4 have given me issues, one was a bad stick of ram (easy fix), two were liquid spill issues, and the last one was my personal machine that just died last week after 5 years or hard service.

Gateway: ARGH,, stay the *expletive deleted* away from these horrid, horrid machines.

IBM: awesome machines, pricy, but worth it if you can afford it

Sony: prettyy much the same as an IBM. Really good machines when you want to buy a ultra portable machine (love those slim vaio's)

Toshiba: no real experiences

KDS: Had one for 2 years until it got stolen. It was dirt cheap at the time of purchase and served me very well. I don't even know where you can get these now.

HP/Compaq: Since they merged their quality has gone up. I bought my mother an HP 7000 or something. Nice screens, full size keyboards, excellent for general work, not the greatest for graphics and editing.

After my Dell dies last week I went out and bought a nice shiny Compaq R3000, Athlon 64 bit chip in it, 512 ram, etc etc. seems to be working real nice. It's got winXP on it for the time being, but I plan on seeing how Linux does on it shortly. This Compaq seems a little more rugged than most of the other laptops i looked at. After this last week I'm really starting to change my mind about Comcraps.

just some thoughts on laptops/...
 

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Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
 
I've had two gateways. First was a desktop that still works perfectly fine, but gave it to my dad when I graduated from college and I replaced it with a laptop for portability.

Don't think I'll ever own another desktop.

But laptop is ALSO a gateway and hasn't failed me yet. No problems whatsoever and going on two years strong. I upgraded the RAM without an issue to 1G to process my photographs. And it isn't like I'm nice to it, either.

So I wouldn't knock gateways.

But that's me.

A non computer anything.
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
Our first computer was a Gateway. Pretty reliable thing, even put up with a twelve-year-old taking it apart and putting it back together. But I don't know how I'd feel about one of their laptops.

I'm telling you....if you're a college student and you're rough on things (clothing, cars, electronics) Compaq is the way to go.
 

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Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
 
I have 2 computers - both desktops, so I can't tell you about laptop reliability. One is a Gateway - 8 years old and still running (slowly), the other is a HP Pavilion - 4 years old.

However, I do have a friend who used to work for Gateway ... and she and her husband both lost their jobs this year. He was fired for not selling enough (he was tech support). She was forced to train her oursourcing replacement or not get severance pay.

So I have promised myself no more Gateways because of how they treated their employees.
 

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Posted by slacker (Member # 2559) on :
 
One thing that I forgot to mention earlier about laptops - fan noise.

A friend here at work has a compaq laptop which has a system fan in it that stays on high all the time. Maybe it's just me, but I hate having a loud laptop on my lap when I'm just neffing or chatting (when I'm encoding video or gaming, I can understand that). Even as I sit here encoding a favorite movie of mine (so I don't have to bring in the DVD anymore), the fan noise is barely above a whisper.

I just talked to one of my bosses who came from Gateway last year said to steer clear of them. He said that Gateway has had alot of problems with bad hardware (desktops and laptops) going out from the factories. Hopefully that'll clear up with eMachines buying them, but only time will tell.
 

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Posted by BYuCnslr (Member # 1857) on :
 
There are a few things that you need to consider when you get a computer, laptops especially:

1) Cost: this is probably the most important thing to consider when buying a laptop. The cost will determine what sort of computer you can actually buy.
2) New/Used: This is akin to cost, are you able to buy a used computer, if so...you've got a bit more variety to the pricing.
3) Capability: You need to decide how much you want your computer to do, if you're going to play games that are new...heh...you're not getting a laptop (unless you're willing to shell out thousands of dollars to buy an alienware). If all you're going to do is word proceessing, web browsing, and playing old games, then an older laptop would work just fine for you, if you're going to be using more intensive things such as playing divx video, photoshop etc, then you'll need a slightly newer one, etc. Or perhaps CD burning, or even DVD burning now (though DVD burners on laptops are rather finiky, they get hot, and you do NOT want to move the computer at all when you're burning....otherwise you'll get a whole lot of errors)
4) Portability: Are you going to be carrying it around much? Size and weight are rather important here.
5) Quality: as a general rule, nowadays computers just suck, they aren't near the quality they used to be, it's for the fact that they're all hyper-mass produced quality just isn't as important anymore. However, there are other things that come into effect such as screen resolution (if you're a stickler for a really good picture 1024x768 just doesn't cut it for some people).
6) Harddrive space: laptop harddrives are excessivly expensive. If you want extra space, I suggest waiting for a deal on an internal harddrive and buying a case for it, you can get a relatively good USB2 external case for around $30 shipped.
7) Other toys: this department pretty much answers for itself. Want that digi camera with it? Printer? You'll have to get a new one...though you can buy everything seperate as well.

Quick brand roundup of the most popular brands (by alphabetical order):

• Alienware: If you don't know who they are, you probably don't need to. They make big, expensive, powerful computers...If you want a laptop you can play the latest game on, this is who you want. Also, expect to empty your piggy bank...and the piggy banks of every sibling you have...and your cousins...and second cousins... As a general rule, all their laptops get 4 hours. As a warning, prepare for it to get really hot and be as loud as your school's mainframe...they've got enough fans in there to make a lighter laptop (such as an averatec) fly at 50 miles per hour.
• Apple: I know you're not getting one, but this might be useful for other people. Great resell value, the value on these things don't drop...they just don't. With G3s, two things to note: as a general rule they sell for about a dollar every mHz; second, the "megahertz myth" just isn't true...I'm sorry, but even though clock for clock it's suppose to run faster...in some ways it does...but NO. Don't expect to run xvid videos without some lag if you have one slower than 900mhz...this includes the newer ones with the higher bus speed. But, be prepared for a very long battery life...on my 12" I get close to 6 hours on a generic battery.
• Averatec: I've had the pleasure of playing with two of these, it was most definantly a pleasure. Averatec is a smaller company that prides itself on making small and light computers. As a warning, they do not put good video cards in them, don't expect to do any gaming beyond Half-Life, or Civ3. I don't know the battery life of the 12" ones, I'd say expect about 4 hours. On the 15" ones expect 4 hours without any powersave features beyond speed-step, with powersave features turned on (especially because they all use the pentium-m) I'd estimate 6 hours.
• Compaq/HP: Some people like 'um, some people hate 'um. They sorta work...I guess. they're good for your cheap run-of-the-mill laptop. As a note they're fat, They've made these laptops larger than they should be and you can tell. If you buy one, there will always be a store with one on sale, be sure to check everywhere, including the HP or Compaq site (remember that you get student discount, log in. Because they make so many different models, I can't give a battery life estimate, but everybody gives estimated battery lives with their laptops (of course they calculate with all powersave features on with very liberal estimates), on the average, expect 4 hours.
• Dell: Desktop-fine they have good stable desktops. Laptops-NO. I don't care what you say, I've put my hands on at least 50 Dell laptops now, and all of them have had problems...even if they were 3 months old. If you decide to get one please note that certain models (such as the 2100 if I remember right) have a "minor" design flaw where the computer will collect dust (unless you tear it apart to clean it every month) until the motherboard overheats, in which you promptly call tech support (based in India) where you try to explain that you need your motherboard replaced for two hours, with the tech support asking "Do you have the computer plugged in?" After another hour of getting the information you need on sending your laptop in, you send it in where it takes 3 months for them to replace the motherboard and return your computer, in which it collects dust for another 6 months and the whole process is repeated (No, I am not bitter). As a note-if you have a business deal with them all of this is moot because you get wonderful service from people who speak English as a first language. Dell likes to put extra padding on their laptops as well, so they tend to be big and ungangly...and quite heavy. Like Compaq because there are so many models it's hard to put your finger on the estimated battery life, but as a general rule, if you're getting a normal sized one, expect 4 hours, if you get one of the huge extra-wide desktop replacement (because it's as heavy as one) expect 3 hours. But as a note for price, everybody and their mother always has a dell on sale, also check on the Dell site, likelyhood is that Dell has a deal with your school where not only can you get a reduced price, but Dell will also have a "special" deal with your school to lower the price even more; just remember that you're able to buy the laptop for so cheap because...well...the laptop is that cheap.
• eMachines: Their desktops suck, rumor says that their laptops aren't better. I wouldn't dare come near one with a 20 foot pole...of course, I also tend to be the one that gets dragged into servicing a computer if I get too close.
• :Fujitsu My first laptop, Enguin, was a Fujitsu. They look nice and work rather well, mine was used and the previous owner beat it up a bit, so it had other issues, but a stable system none-the-less. The resale value for one isn't too good though. Fujitsu tends to make 4 hour batteries for their laptops.
• Gateway: I love gateway laptops, they're metal, they're powerful...of course the only Gateways I've played with are the top of the line ones. You'll get mixed feelings about Gateways just like any other name brand, but as a general rule (in my experience) their newer computers (within the last 3 years) do use higher quality parts...and it shows.
• IBM: They're expensive, but nice, very solid computers, but expect to pay top dollar.
• Sony: Some people swear by them, others hate them. Whatever you think about them...they have a lot of fun toys included...like a remote, but if you're someone like me, you ask yourself "Why do I need a remote for my laptop?" I in my experience, they use lower quality components and tend to break down. Note that my experience is with three different computers, so by no means is it even close to a good sample.
• Toshiba: I've rather liked Toshiba laptops, they are most defianatly for the "desktop replacement" catagory. Very nice touchpad. If you get one, I hope you don't decide you have to take the harddrive out because you literally have to tear apart the whole computer...I've done it...not even close to fun.

• Ebay: If you buy from ebay, I suggest knowing what laptop you want to buy, and looking at the price they've been going for by using the "reciently finished" search option. If you see a system you want, don't bid directly, use a sniping service. What a snipping service does is you tell it you're username/password, the auction(s) you want to attempt to snipe, and your highest bid. Then it'll wait for the last bit of time before it bids. Auctionstealer will wait till the last 20-10 seconds before it bids for you, I've been using this for about a year, it's free but you're only allowed 3 completed bids a week. Snip is also a free one, that my friends have been using (and I'm going to try to use to buy a combo drive for my ibook) which allows for you to set the buffer time in which it bids, and will also hold hundreds of bids in cue and bid on one after the other until you win one even if they're 6 seconds apart. Remember when you search, search for "laptop" as well as "notebook."
• Fatwallet Hot Deals forum. This is one of the best places to search for deals, the site is dedicated to people finding deals in stores, a lot of the time they'll require some sort of pricematching and rebates...lots and lots of rebates. Yet again search for "laptop" as well as "notebook."
• PriceWatch Great place to search for general pricing of online stores, you can search by brand, processor, or model.
• The individual companies also sell their product from their own stores, always look here first so you know a base price for whatever you're looking for. Don't forget to log in as a student and don't be afraid to go into the refurb/clearence sections.

And now that it's 4am...I'm going to bed. Good luck, and don't be afraid to ask questions! AIM: BernardLUE42
Satyagraha

[ May 10, 2004, 05:06 AM: Message edited by: BYuCnslr ]
 

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Posted by BYuCnslr (Member # 1857) on :
 
As a note, by no means take my rundown as holy writ, as 5 geeks their opinions and advice on something and you'll be lucky if you get 10, but I've tried to keep mine consistant what the general consensus that I hear, as well as my experience and those that I'm around (the knowledgable ones).
Satagraha
 

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Posted by slacker (Member # 2559) on :
 
I know now why Bernie wasn't in chat last night..

/me stands by his Dell Inspiron still (despite all the mudslinging at poor Nimbus )
 

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Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
 
"Since they merged their quality has gone up."

Wow. This is contrary to every single anecdote and quality control study I've seen over the last three years.
 

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Posted by slacker (Member # 2559) on :
 
That's cause HP has mystical powers that allow them to better other companies just by touching them with their Midas division.

I seem to remember people saying that Compaq's quality went up, but HP's quality went down.
 

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Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
So, if you believe all the negative opinions on the thread, no laptop is any good. If you believe all the positive opinions, any laptop is good. Now we see why there are so many profitable computer magazines out there.

Good luck!

Dagonee
 

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Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
 
IBMs are the heaviest duty laptops I've seen. If you go to overstock.com and get a refurb. one (any of the T-series is good; those are the business user ones), you can get out of the deal for 500 bucks or so. Can't play too many games on them (although Europa Universalis 2 plays great on them all! ), but for word processing, email, web, dropping it on the pavement, it works great

-Bok

EDIT: I would add that you try out the nubby vs. the touchpad. I hate touchpads, but find the nubbies ideal. That limits my choices a bit (IBM, and a few others). You can always attach a regular mouse, but that isn't feasible in a lecture hall.

[ May 10, 2004, 09:23 AM: Message edited by: Bokonon ]
 

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Posted by BYuCnslr (Member # 1857) on :
 

quote:

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So, if you believe all the negative opinions on the thread, no laptop is any good. If you believe all the positive opinions, any laptop is good. Now we see why there are so many profitable computer magazines out there.

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• Acer: You may know these guys better as Packard-Bell. That's right, the evil company...well...they haven't really gotten better.
• Asus: Better known for having stable motherboards, I don't know much about them, but if their standing for stability in their motherboard line holds true, then their laptops can't be that bad.
• Viewsonic: I have to admit, I love viewsonic, 3 out of my 5 monitors have been from them, I've only had problems with one...and that's because it was 8 years old. It seems they're making quite a few steps in the portable device market. Seemingly, they tend to be a little more expensive.
• PC Club: I don't actually remember the name for the brand that they use, but they're rather good with beautiful tech support. The catch? You have to be lucky enough to be in the west where they actually have stores...and you'll be paying top dollar for these computers.

The problem with lesser known companies is that they're lesser known and it's harder to get specific, personal tech support when you're abroad, mind you you still get the 1-800 phone support, but sometimes it's nice to have an actual professional there looking at the computer, of course it also means you're more likely to be able to go to the generic tech-guy-down-the-road without voiding your warranty. No matter what you do, I suggest doing extensive research, including finding someone that has ACTUALLY USED THE COMPUTER for more than 3 days to write a review on the computer.
As a note, rumors are that the majority of laptops including Acer, Compaq, Viewsonic, Dell, and many other brands use a single manufacturer in Taiwan to assemble their laptops so expect similar quality from pretty much all laptops. When people say computers have generally gotten worse in quality, its true, the quality standards for computer electronics have gone lower, for reasons that deal with the nature of mass production as well as the point where fault tolerance has gotten better.

Satyagraha.
 

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Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
If you're going to look at smaller brands, sager and winbook are worth a look.

Dagonee
 

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Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
 
Wow, thanks everyone! I'll process all of this and then pass it on to my dad, who will be making the final decision (having the money and all). I'm just sort of in shock right now, I didn't realize there were so many different options.

I want a laptop because I want the option of being out of my dorm as much as possible if my randomly generated roommate and I don't get along. Considering I don't game, there's no reason for me to have a desktop when a leptop would be so much more convient.
 

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Posted by Anthro (Member # 6087) on :
 
I'm thinking of selling my laptop. Good fast HP, refurbished, made in 2002 I believe. Comes with Windows XP, Microsoft office, etc. Lightweight, incredible memory for a laptop.

Only problem is some scratches on the cover--unless you're really concerned with looks, shouldn't be a problem.
 

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Posted by Suneun (Member # 3247) on :
 
Just realize that using a laptop outdoors in the sunlight is almost impossible. Laptop LCDs just aren't that good.

I guess partly it should depend on how important the money is to you. You can get a fully functional nice PC desktop for about $500-600, especially if you can bribe someone to build it for you (if they know what they're doing).

You can get a medium range laptop for around $1100 or so. High range laptops go way up, probably between $2000-$3500. They're nice, but I wouldn't recommend anyone but a hard-core gamer/programmer/can't-get-off-the-computer kind of person spending that much money.

Look carefully at the weight. A surprising number of laptops are 7 pounds. That's a lot. Most people would get sick of carrying that much around pretty quickly. For me, anything over 5 seems horrible.
 

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Posted by Suneun (Member # 3247) on :
 
For anyone not scared by LindowsOS, try checking this laptop out. It's a 933 mhz VIA, only 2.9 lbs, and $800. No cd-rom drive, though

[ May 10, 2004, 11:06 PM: Message edited by: Suneun ]
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
What is LindowsOS?

[Edit: Ah, Linux.]

[ May 10, 2004, 11:11 PM: Message edited by: rivka ]
 

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Posted by Anthro (Member # 6087) on :
 
Not at all in a hurry, actually. I still gotta break the sentimental bonds . . .
 

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Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
 
What do y'all think of tablets? My boss has a tablet, and I was feeling the odd, rare stirring of tech envy.
 

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Posted by Snarky (Member # 4406) on :
 

quote:

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For anyone not scared by LindowsOS, try checking this laptop out.

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