Posted: 8/29/2007 6:59:17 PM EDT
OK, I have decided it is time for me to get a laptop. I need one to surf the internet, wireless, one that I can do historical research (several pages open at once), write papers and etc. I plan on going back to school and working on a Mastes in the next few years so that might be a selling point to the wife. I really do not play games, my wife does hence the reason we need another computer . Any help is appreciated
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Laptops are OK if you need the portability. If you don't, you won't really like it. My wife has one but it goes in a "docking station" which means it drops into a frame and she uses a regular keyboard, large flat screen monitor, and regular mouse. If you buy a new one, it'll probably be loaded with Vista. Lots of programs don't work with Vista yet. I have a digital voice recorder that won't work with my new computer/Vista. Also, some of my other programs won't work either. If you're used to using Word, you'll have to go with Word 2007 with Vista. It's completely different than Word 2003. I've sent attachments that others with standard XP and Word 2003 can't open. And Windows downloads to correct the problem don't seem to work. If you need file portability and have PCs available in other locations, like work to home, use a USB flash drive. I carry a 4 gig Sandisk I just bought at Radio Shack for $30. But if you really need a laptop or notebook, right now might be a good time to bjy one with the "back to school" specials. As far as models go, my wife has a Dell. It's company furnished. She seems to be happy with it. I don't like it because it doesn't have a 1394 firewire connection for videos. But it does have wireless capabllity if internet cafes are your thing. ETA What Chuck said about the dual processors is absolutely right! Speed is much faster with both. And memory is also important with Vista. If you do any work with Adobe pdfs, the dual processors and large memory are one HUGE help. I guess I'm a little prejudiced and old.  The small screen is hard on my eyes and the touch pad/ball on laptops just aren't for me.
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| I just bought a Toshiba a couple of weeks ago. Make sure that you get a dual core thing-a-ma-bob. Vista takes a lot of memory, get at least 1GB of ddr ram. I dont play games either. This one has a 120 GB hard drive with the WIFI too. Only paid $500 for it in the BX on Sheppard AFB. Does more than what I need. |
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we bought this one when i was expecting to be in the sandbox by now. it cost $650 from walmart. it's an acer aspire 5050 3371, means nothing to me, but it does pretty well for me. 60-something memory and the rest i don't remember. a bunch of junk, i can look it up if you want. i was a laptop hater before, but now it's nice to take it on the road with me. i've even thought about taking it to the subway and sitting outside to use their internet connection. for schoolwork, i don't see a problem. buy a thumbdrive or 2 for the pr0n.... 
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