Laptops?

[kerisb]

Ok, as some of you already know I am looking for a laptop to keep me company through the long cold winter!!! Now I am pretty much computer illiterate, so have no idea what I am looking for . I really don't want to spend a huge amount of money on this as I'm sure most of the fancy stuff that any of them come with I will never even know how to use !! Can you guys give me some ideals on what I should be looking for or what I should be staying away from. Also what laptops involve like I'm hearing routers ? and stuff!!
I will be away for the weekend but I will be back Mon. to respond to any of the help you guys give me!! Thanks!!

[sharkshooter]

I'll be watching, too, because my daughter needs her own computer for school, and we are thinking a laptop would work well.

We already have a router, which you only need if you operate more than one computer, and will need a wireless connection on the laptop to it. Other than that, we are looking for internet capability and report writing.

[ghaakman]

Geez sharkshooter, do kids D's age already need their own laptop in school. Used to be youneeded a laptop in university. Man times sure have changed.

[sharkshooter]

Geez sharkshooter, do kids D's age already need their own laptop in school. Used to be youneeded a laptop in university. Man times sure have changed.

Well, it is more to do with computer time when at home. And, a laptop will allow her to use it in her room or the family room, as the office already has two computers.

And, no, she cannot do her homework without a computer.

I remember even grade 13 not being allowed to use calculators - trig tables and slide rules were the only allowable tools.

[Wilster]

My wife works at Staples and according to her tech crew, a good, in-expensive brand is Acer, has all the usual stuff (wireless , dvd/cd burner)and can be bought for around $ 550/ 600 . One thing she does recommend is the after sales protection plan , all laptops are prone to the occasional problem , and they can be expensive to fix. She works at the Staples on Bank in the downtown area , feel free to drop by and ask them for any recommendations.

[jvincent]

We have two Dell laptops at home that get used every day by a combination of myself, the wife, and the two kiddies. Both have been very reliable.

I picked up the last one for <$1000 when the Dell flyer of the week came. These days they come with pretty much everything you need on it for casual use (Web / email) including ethernet, Wireless (B/G), big disk, etc. About the only thing you might consider upgrading from the package deal is the RAM. Running XP you want to have at least 512M but 1G would be safer.

[Hacker]

I remember even grade 13 not being allowed to use calculators - trig tables and slide rules were the only allowable tools.

Holy smokes, and I get the gears for trying to get rid of a VCR and a Tape Deck...........Trig Tables??? Slide Rules???

What up wid dat??

[Wilster]

Sorry , should have said ,"most" not "all" , this is just feedback she gets from her tech crew, they get laptops in for problems , pretty regular , and all the brand names as well.

[Eldred]

Check MDG.ca, they've got quite a bit of extras included in the price.

[Eldred]

Holy smokes, and I get the gears for trying to get rid of a VCR and a Tape Deck...........Trig Tables??? Slide Rules???

What up wid dat??

I remembered our HS had to creat a "grade 14" for some jocks, we dominated varsity football that year

[hoolio]

Check MDG.ca, they've got quite a bit of extras included in the price.

No offense but MDG is crap. All their deals suck if you really look at them. Wilster is right about Acer, they are a good brand, but your money isnt going as far as you might want.

Jvincent is right, go with Dell. I would personally never buy a Dell desktop, but you cannot beat their laptop pricing. If you know what you're looking for and can just keep your eye on the site for deals you can get a great machine.

I'm not sure what you plan to use it for, but I suggest going with the Inspiron 6400 series. You should be able to pick up a Core 2 Duo based machine (T5600 or T7200) with a gig of ram (or sometimes 2 depending on the special), DVDRW & 100gb HD for between $900 and $1050. You don't sound like you plan on doing anything too graphics intensive so the upgrade to dedicated graphics may not be required, but it will be nice if you plan on upgrading to Windows Vista next year.

Unless you specifically need something, stay away from the extras on the site, thats where the cost starts to add up. Bluetooth? Sure its good, but do YOU need it?

Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

[pvs1313]

my 2 cents here. for laptops go with Toshiba. they are easily the best overall. YThey have a great warranty, strong cases, well made. i have had 2 and never had a problem with either. they have a wide range so hard to sya what to get, depends on what you would like to use it for. that is what you need to think of, is it for multimedia 9 movies etc) where you want wide screen but less portable, or for fast portable use with minimal weight. and all inbetween.

best advice i think is relaly think about what you will use it for and go form there, no need to get the best fastest fanciest machine for big $$ when you will only use it for email and word pros etc

ok like i say only my 2 cents

[Hacker]

I've been buying Toshiba laptops at work for about 10 years now. I've never had an issue with them and they are tough as nails. If you want to sit by the fireplace you'll also want a wireless router and adaptor. Futureshop has a decent deal on a combo wireless router / USB adaptor combo

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

I personally prefer a PCMCIA card to a USB device but to each their own.

[ghaakman]

Holy smokes, and I get the gears for trying to get rid of a VCR and a Tape Deck...........Trig Tables??? Slide Rules???

What up wid dat??

What the hell's a trig table?

[spackler]

I have a Toshiba Tecra, almost 3 years old now and it still works great. Hard drive died this April after 2.5 years of hard use and it was replaced in a day under the regular manufacturer's warranty. Unbelievable service, won't ever look anywhere else for a laptop.

[kerisb]

I've been buying Toshiba laptops at work for about 10 years now. I've never had an issue with them and they are tough as nails. If you want to sit by the fireplace you'll also want a wireless router and adaptor. Futureshop has a decent deal on a combo wireless router / USB adaptor combo

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

I personally prefer a PCMCIA card to a USB device but to each their own.

Geeze Hacker you got any of them at work kickin around that no one uses. Did I read somewhere you work for the Gov't.....do they not replace there old stuff like (every few months ), what do they do with the old stuff that is still working!!

[jvincent]

What the hell's a trig table?

In olden times before scientific calculators were the norm, you were given tables with the values for sin(x) , cos(x), etc. so that you could just look up the number you needed from the table.

These tables were in fact printed on paper in later years as an upgrade from the stone tablets and papyrus that were originally used.

[kerisb]

Hey guys, keep all the info coming, I am reading it and trying to understand it, I am open to any suggestions, as I know absolutely nil about these things. But when you talk the tech talk could you please let me know what part you are talking about(like what the part does) cus serious when I say I know nil about it that is actually more than I know !!! And thanks again for all the great responses, keep em coming!!!!

[sharkshooter]

What the hell's a trig table?

Well, here's one:

http://math2.org/math/trig/tables.htm

You use it to find values for sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, secant and cosecant for any given degree of an angle.

It was handy for geometry exams.

[sharkshooter]

How's this one from Futureshop.ca?

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

Doesn't have MS Office, but anything else it is lacking for $550?

[kerisb]

How's this one from Futureshop.ca?

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

Doesn't have MS Office, but anything else it is lacking for $550?

Yes sharkshooter, I did see that one, I am going to London for the weekend without the hubby ......so do plan on shopping around for one, my daughter's boyfriend also knows about these things so will see what is available, but still interested on the info here in case I don't get one , and certainly appreciate all the info and ideas, as I know nothing about this stuff!!!

[Hank Hill]

If you a totally computer illiterate then consider a Mac. They are so easy to use and come with awesome software for photo editing, movie editing, DVD creation, organisation calender, music, internet, e-mail etc. Real easy to set up. I bought a desktop, opened the box, plugged it in and was on the internet in 2 minutes.

[covanant]

I purchased a dell laptop about a year ago and love it Never had a problem and the price can not be beat!
I think delivered to my door,it was around 700.00 with an extra warranty.

[Eldred]

No offense but MDG is crap. All their deals suck if you really look at them. Wilster is right about Acer, they are a good brand, but your money isnt going as far as you might want.

Jvincent is right, go with Dell. I would personally never buy a Dell desktop, but you cannot beat their laptop pricing. If you know what you're looking for and can just keep your eye on the site for deals you can get a great machine.

I'm not sure what you plan to use it for, but I suggest going with the Inspiron 6400 series. You should be able to pick up a Core 2 Duo based machine (T5600 or T7200) with a gig of ram (or sometimes 2 depending on the special), DVDRW & 100gb HD for between $900 and $1050. You don't sound like you plan on doing anything too graphics intensive so the upgrade to dedicated graphics may not be required, but it will be nice if you plan on upgrading to Windows Vista next year.

Unless you specifically need something, stay away from the extras on the site, thats where the cost starts to add up. Bluetooth? Sure its good, but do YOU need it?

Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

I agree, I did visited MDG site at St. Laurent the other day, their discontinued laptops (advertised at cheaper price) were actually Acers. They are putting together their own brand this year. I'm actually leaning toward ordering Dell Inspiron 6400, with $1099 base price, it's fairly loaded. I see some comments about warranty, but $399 for 3 years is a bit much? If it breaks in three years, you can afford to buy a much higher end then too..

[moochie]

Personally, I have been using IBM laptops for a number of years and have never had an issue but they can be pricey. Best bang for your buck is a Dell (in my opinion). Make sure you get at least 1GB RAM and buy the smallest hard drive they offer. These days, you can buy a relatively inexpensive external USB hard driver for cheaper than an upgrade on a laptop (more space too).

[dreaded_snowman]

Another vote here for Dells. I have a pretty high end one, but it is very stable.

A couple of subtle points.... I'd wouldn't bother with going over 1Gig of RAM unless it's free, because you won't use it unless you're a gamer or really pounding your machine (I have 1GB and regularly have about 25 things open with no issue).

Also, don't get a 100GB hard drive unles you really need it - 60 or 80 will do, and the bigger it gets, generally, the more electricity it eats. This is fine, until you notice your batter life is down 20% for a bigger drive you ain't using anyhow....

Get the biggest screen (in inches) with the highest resolusion you can, because you can never have too big a screen, and you can't upgrade that later if you're wrong. (I'm assuming here you aren't shopping for ultra small, whiich is another disucssion altogether...)

Just my 2 cents

Snowman

[Pinshark]

If you can afford it go Mac. Otherwise $500-$600 should get the job done for internet email etc...

[covanant]

Ok, as some of you already know I am looking for a laptop to keep me company through the long cold winter!!! Now I am pretty much computer illiterate, so have no idea what I am looking for . I really don't want to spend a huge amount of money on this as I'm sure most of the fancy stuff that any of them come with I will never even know how to use !! Can you guys give me some ideals on what I should be looking for or what I should be staying away from. Also what laptops involve like I'm hearing routers ? and stuff!!
I will be away for the weekend but I will be back Mon. to respond to any of the help you guys give me!! Thanks!!

You should be spending your money on golf gear

[Hacker]

Geeze Hacker you got any of them at work kickin around that no one uses. Did I read somewhere you work for the Gov't.....do they not replace there old stuff like (every few months ), what do they do with the old stuff that is still working!!

Don't believe everything that you read about the Gov't

All old hardware goes to the Computers for Schools program

[little brit]

I would recommend the Dell too. We have 2, I have been using the 9200 which was my hubbys earlier model. Typing on it right now in fact. The one we have for sale is a pretty high end spec. that we paid 2,400 for. They have come down in price now though, and you can get a really nice lower spec. one. My husband and son now have Mac Book Pros. The highest spec they have. (typical) One of my daughters has the Toshiba Satellite R10 which is a tablet laptop that she can swivel and right directly on. She loves it for university. Great for taking notes and drawing on. We get overun in this house with computers. This is my husbands addiction. Mine is obviously Golf. Time for hoing.