Buying a laptop - advice?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I’m typing this on a Dell desktop we bought in 2001. It still works fine, albiet rather slowly.</p>

<p>I want to buy myself a laptop. We have a linksys wireless router for DS’s laptop and Hubby’s, too. </p>

<p>I don’t want to spend a ton of money. I want it to: have the standard email and internet functions, Office, handle digital photos and videos (we don’t have a digital camcorder yet but it’s on my wishlist, along with a better digital camera), and to play and burn DVD’s. </p>

<p>Any suggestions? My kids want me to try a Mac, but I’m an old dog who hates learning new tricks.</p>

<p>I want reliable, easy to use, and the least money I can reasonably spend. Probably going to buy it at Circuit City since I have a $200 gift card there to put toward it.</p>

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<p>Be prepared to see laptops with Windows Vista. Some suggestions- go with the Vista Premium, not Home edition and 2 GB RAM for memory (you need at least 1GB for Vista and can easily upgrade to 2GB; the extra memory does make a difference). </p>

<p>Do some homework online before you hit the store, and keep track of the sales. Some useful sites include Circuit City, Best Buy, CNET, Price Grabber, Dell, HP (and other computer brands), Tech Bargains. You can glean all sorts of information so you can decide which features you really want before you talk to the salesmen (don’t forget to splurge later when there’s a sale on a laptop mouse-around $20. All the laptops have the USB port, and most will come ready to capture the internet wirelessly). My husband bought a Gateway when the stores had a great deal to launch Windows Vista-he wanted the small sized one. Remember the major brands will be better than the off/cheap brands. Try “how to buy a laptop” type of google searches. The screen size and quality, weight, battery power, chipset, memory, installed RAM… all contribute to the fun or frustration levels. </p>

<p>Even though you plan to buy at Circuit City go through the comparisons/customization of a laptop at sites such as Dell, they often have explanations of what the variations mean in their process. Once armed with current laptop configurations and their pricing you will be able to spot that good deal when the weekly ads come out. Remember to get as close to the latest/greatest technology without paying the higher prices as you can so you get the longevity. </p>

<p>Laptops are usually only memory upgradeable (for most of us) so be sure to get the features you want (Aside- we have easily upgraded many a Dell desktop- just discovered the fun of removing an HP media center desktop’s hard drive to install more memory, at least they had good instructions. Desktops, unlike laptops, also vary greatly in their expansion ability, for those who use this info in search of a better desktop).</p>

<p>BTW, why do you want a laptop instead of a desktop? Desktops give a lot more computing power for the price. I would think it’s for the portability (can’t lug the desk outside…)- then decide how portable you want to go. Good luck and enjoy the hunt. PS- let me know how it goes.</p>

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<p>We own a pair of Dell Inspiron E1505s – one with XP and one with Vista. They are both really fast and have been error free. They both have 2GB and I wouldn’t buy less. Good luck (and don’t forget <a href=“http://www.delloutlet.com)%5B/url%5D”>www.delloutlet.com)</a>.</p>

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<p>I just bought a macbook pro with 2gb ram
It blows me away that Ram is in * gigabytes*
my first PC I think had 14 megabytes and I upgraded that to 19!</p>

<p>ram is cheap- don’t you be- you’ll need it</p>

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<p>Addenda- just perused the Circuit City website- many choices and be sure to look at their short tutorial about buying a laptop.</p>

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<p>i would beware of dell laptops - pretty much everyone i know who has one had issues with it after about a year… so i would suggest the 3 year warranty if you decide to go that route.</p>

<p>i personally have a toshiba and i love it. i really like the mac’s too, but they are a bit more costly.</p>

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<p>My kids both have Macs and we have four PCs, including a Dell laptop my husband uses for traveling. Frankly, if you want to do photos and videos, and the only things you plan on doing beside that are Office, the internet, and email, your kids are right and you should get a Mac. Macs are MUCH easier for photos and videos, and the other three functions look pretty much the same regardless of platform. </p>

<p>In our limited experience, the Mac laptops seem to be more reliable.</p>

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<p>We all love our MAC’s. In the interest of full disclosure, we also own stock. (LOL). </p>

<p>H is a MAC fanatic; I’m afraid he passed it on to kids. I had a PC in 1980, but switched to MAC when I met him in 1985. No problem.</p>

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<p>wis75, I do want a laptop for portability. I know I can get the same stuff cheaper in a desktop, but the ancient desktop we have actually works fine, and will probably be faster once I take a bunch of stuff off it. If I replace the desktop, we still only have one family computer; but if I buy myself a laptop than hs sophomore DD can have the desktop to herself. (I’m still old-school and prefer the computer she’s on to be near the kitchen where I can see what she’s up to.)</p>

<p>It doesn’t need to be extremely portable - I don’t plan to carry it everywhere. But when we travel, DD could use it to do homework/write papers in the car, or watch DVDs.</p>

<p>I guess I’ll have to look into Macs. When DS made his Confirmation in fall of 11th grade, all the relatives chipped in together and bought him a laptop (PC)that he now has at college. The same may happen when DD gets Confirmed next fall; she’s artistic and thinking of possibly majoring in art or becoming an art teacher, so I figured we might end up getting her a Mac.</p>

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<p>For years I used nothing but Windows based PC’s and laptops both at home and at work (I am the “system administrator” at my office with 10 PC’s and a server). My daughter got a Mac laptop at her college and of course immediately cluttered it up with all the music, photos and videos a student is inclined to do. She came home with it and I spent the weekend playing with it. I was stunned by the difference. More seamless integration of media applications (photos, music, movies, video), better internet browser and online messaging, built in video messaging and conferencing abilities. More stable operating system, no mysterious stuff running in the backround taking up resources and faster to boot and switch between applications than my PC’s. Dirt simple to connect to a network either wireless or Ethernet.</p>

<p>I ended up buying a Mac for home use and I will never go back. The new line of Mac’s all come with Intel processors. The suite of software that comes with a Mac is incredible. In addition, other than certain specialty software, most commercially available software that runs in Windows also has a Mac version and the data files are interchangeable. Quicken, Quickbooks, Office, Palm sotfware, all are available in Mac versions. Moreover, if there is some specialty software that runs only in Windows, the new Mac’s, because of the Intel chips, can be set up with dual operating systems so that you can run Windows based programs in a native Windows environment just like you were running it on a PC. I am running my office’s Windows based specialty time and billing software and digital dictation software on the Mac and it runs just as well as on my PC’s, although you do need to reboot to switch between operating systems.</p>

<p>Before you make a decision, look at the Mac’s. If you decide to get a Mac, wait until after October 26 when the new version of OS X will be released with many new features and enhancements over the current version.</p>

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<p>While there is nothing wrong with a MAC, my suggestion is Dell with Linux. Dell now offers many of their computers with Linux. It’s cheaper, looks almost like windows, easier to use, almost uncrashable, Office programs and such can be used in linux or windows, just all around better. If it’s going to be a computer that you are going to use to run or play specific software applications that are only Windows based, then you would need windows. But if it doesn’t have to have a specific program, then Dell laptop with linux Ubuntu is definitely the answer. Plus, Dell lets you still choose Windows XP in case you aren’t a Vista fan.</p>

<p>Dell has linux laptops starting at $774. But it doesn’t matter what laptop it is, Any of the Windows OS can run linux and any of the linux can be changed to go back to Windows. So, you could start with an inspiron notenook for $499. Even though it has Windows on it, change it to Linux once you get it. Linux is free by the way. I like linux because it is much more stable. Less intrusive to the customer. And many other reasons.</p>

<p>But if non of this interested you, then my next choice would be a MAC. But if you care about networking, compatibility with existing computers, etc… then windows might still be the answer.</p>

<p>Most people go with windows because that’s all they know. They used it at work, school, first computer, etc… That doesn’t make it the best choice. Just the most popular. If you’re the type that uses a lot of 3rd party programs like games, specific programs by NAME, etc… then Windows is the way to go. Most software is made for windows. If you want an operating system that includes ALL the possible software that you could imaging right from the beginning, where you don’t have to add anything if you don’t want to. But could add more if you choose. And all the software is open source which means FREE. And an operating system that is very stable and idiot proof. Then Linux (Ubuntu) is the answer. If you are really into graphics, architecture, knowing what you are doing, etc… then you wouldn’t be on a forum asking advice, and you would buy the MAC. </p>

<p>If you are a windows type person, then there’s a learning curve with MAC. You can’t go into a store and buy software. It costs a lot more. Windows you can go to any store and buy software. But windows and the software costs a lot. If you don’t mind DOWNLOADING software, then all the additional software you could ever want is free with linux. The operating system is free. Always has been and always will. That is what open source is. The companies make their money on official support and business/corporate license. All the mega industrial computers in the beginning ran UNIX as an operating system. Linux is a derivative of Unix. It’s free. It is in my opinion the best of all 3.</p>

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<p>Does anyone have experience with any of the ultra-mobile PC’s…I have an HP tablet that I have decided is too big for the purposes I have- and I do not like to use the tablet in fact. Am thinking of the new Fujitsu U1010 of the Sony Vaio UX.</p>

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<p>We have two Dell Latitude laptops and one Mac Powerbook G4. I would suggest that if you go Dell, you get the Latitude (or whatever is the equivalent now) rather than the Inspiron. The Latitude is made for the business market. My husband has one from work, we have an OLD one that I use (with absolutely no trouble) and DD has one that is just over a year old. DD’s was purchased from the Dell Outlet…it was a return. Knock on wood…she has had NO trouble with it at all. DH hasn’t had trouble on his. My laptop is also fine (about 6 years old). The Mac Power Book is DS’s and he has that because he is a music major and much of the software and recording “stuff” he does is easier and more integrated on the Mac. He LOVES it. We have a Dell desktop (which I’m using right now) as our main “home” machine…about 5 years old…but DH keeps it up to date.</p>

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<p>My boys have both had Dell laptops and were happy with them. My older son’s lasted for 6 years before it finally died. (It did need a new hard drive after 4 years.) In January I bought myself a laptop, an HP Pavilion 14.1" that I really like. It had dual core processor, 1 gig memory (I think), and does a great job. It has a slot for camera memory cards, which makes it super simple to transfer photos. It’s fun to see a slide show of my photos five minutes after I take them. It cost about $950 after rebate and came with a free printer (after rebate).</p>

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<p>D. has Mac, h. has the Mac with dual processor, son has IBM (or whatever they are called now). We love the Macs. I don’t do laptops–but have Mac desktop that I love.</p>

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<p>D’s laptop is a Sony. It weighs about 4 pounds ans has a nice sleek screen (Sony is known for the quality of their LCD TVs). But this is probably the last Sony laptop we’ve ever bought. Sony customer service stinks, to put it mildly. H got a Dell laptop at work, and he loves it, and Dell customer service actually employs folks who know computers.</p>

<p>Everybody keeps saying how Macs are better for video editing, but D discovered that the cheap truncated version of Sony Vegas ($50 at Costso) works great for the simple manipulations with home videos.</p>

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<p>Others here have said most of it. I’d add that you really should give Macs a chance–go to an Apple store (or use one of your kids’ computers) and play around for a while. Many people find the Mac interface really intuitive and simple, but you won’t know until you try it. If you instinctively like it, go for one. If not, go for one of the other fine machines people have suggested here. There’s really no losing.</p>

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<p>Picasa 2 is wonderful for photo management for us unsophisticated types.</p>

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<p>My last desktop computer was an Apple clone, so it has been a while. I’ve used laptops since then w no problem.
Quality control on laptops is A+ and I usually buy refurbished as I don’t need the very biggest/fastest/newest & refurbs have the same warranty at sometimes $1K off.</p>

<p>However, my newest Macbook Pro is new, not refurb ( although I used my student discount & got a free ipod), I think the quality control is declining, however- I am trying to reserve judgement.
Still more Ram is always good.</p>

<p>I haven’t done video editing- I use iphoto and what ever programs my Canon came with- also thinking of eventually getting Elements but so far I haven’t needed it.</p>

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<p>We bought an IBM thinkpad for our D when she went off to college with a 3 year warranty. Last summer, they asked if we’d wanted to buy a one year warranty on the machine. We said no.</p>

<p>The computer blew up when she got to school in the fall. It’s like the laptops have a ticking timer in them. Made me wish I had bought that 4th year of the warranty…</p>