Buying a laptop - advice needed

[Lynn]

Ooh, I'm in the Geek's Corner...

OK, I've decided I need to move out of the dark ages with my technological requirements and get myself a more transportable computer. I.e. I want to buy a laptop.

My requirements

- decent size/quality screen so that I can use it as my main PC. Ditto for keyboard and mouse attachment options.
- able to use with wireless broadband (which I don't actually have, but would like).
- Powerpoint (or other similar) for presentations.
- not too expensive - the 'good but budget' end of the scale.

Heard Dell are good? Any comments?

Suggestions welcome.

(And if someone suggests a Mac...OK, when someone suggests a Mac - could they also explain how I would transfer all my existing PC files etc)

[El Salsero Gringo]

(And if someone suggests a Mac...OK, when someone suggests a Mac - could they also explain how I would transfer all my existing PC files etc)

How are you planning to transfer all your existing PC files to a new laptop?

[Nick M]

I am very pleased with my Dell, and customer service was excellent when I spilt some water over it and needed a new motherboard - they collected the next day and returned it, repaired, within a week

If you are using it as your main PC, get a laptop stand and separate keyboard, otherwise extensive use will ruin your back and shoulders

[Lynn]

How are you planning to transfer all your existing PC files to a new laptop?

Look, I'm blonde OK? (well sort of...)

I take it you are implying there is no need to convert files and that there is a Mac equivalent of Word (which of course will be much better ) that will be able to open all my files? (Most are Word files, lecture notes etc).

[El Salsero Gringo]

Look, I'm blonde OK? (well sort of...)

I take it you are implying there is no need to convert files and that there is a Mac equivalent of Word (which of course will be much better ) that will be able to open all my files? (Most are Word files, lecture notes etc).

Clearly I don't need to point that out, since you are already aware!


If you're not 'technical', then a Mac may well be easier to manage. In any event there is always Ducasi to look after you.

[Gojive]

Hi Lynn,

If you're planning to lots of portable computing, then you might like to consider using a slighter smaller, more 'notebook' orientated machine, with something more like a 12" screen rather than the standard 15".

This will cut down the weight a bit, and help increase battery life. You can then buy a cheap 15/17" LCD monitor to use as an external monitor when you're at home.

Another advantage of this kind of setup, is that when you are at home, you can use the notebook's screen as a secondary monitor, giving you even more screen estate to work with.

Also, look out for the option of removable DVD/CD drives to cut down the weight even further. Some machines allow you to replace the drive with a secondary battery too.

On the WiFi front, the vast majority on machines come with it built in these days.

I used to have a Toshiba laptop, which was extremely rugged and good on battery life, and not one component ever failed in 4 years, despite it being slung around the boot of my car regularly. It finally gave up the ghost, when I threw it onto the patio in temper one day - only to find a few days later, is wasn't the laptop, but the user that had the problem

HTH

[LMC]

Lynn - mine, which you have used so you know whether you like it , is a Dell Inspiron 6000. I played with a few laptops in shops and read a coupla PC mags then got a reasonable bargain on e-bay. Think mine has 1 MB RAM, but unless you're a serious gamer and need good graphics, then I think it's the RAM and the MHz numbers you want the best possible for the £ available.

Bad: it is quite heavy, wouldn't want to lug it around on public transport. Unless you keep it plugged into a power source, the wireless connection drops out with monotonous and extremely irritating regularity.

Good: Because it is a reasonable size, the shoulder/back problem of hunching over a small notebook doesn't really seem to be an issue. Of course, slobbing round on the sofa whilst surfing probably isn't ideal

AFA transferring files goes - even a natural blonde like me knows that a memory stick is the easy answer to moving files from one machine to another

[Chicklet]

Much more important - when you've got IT - get a sturdy rectangular handbag with a zip top and handles the go over your shoulder, so that you can carry it close to your centre of gravity, and that is big enough to take all your other important handbag stuff. I used to carry mine in a thing with just grip handles and I'm sure carting the weight low down (with another handbag as well) up and down five flights of stairs every day to work and back contributed to my back probs. I now have a lovely lime green thing that doesn't look like a laptop bag at all and life is much better.

[Lynn]

If you're planning to lots of portable computing, then you might like to consider using a slighter smaller, more 'notebook' orientated machine, with something more like a 12" screen rather than the standard 15".

Not really going to be transporting it too much, just want to be able to use it in different rooms in the house and to be able to take it with me if I was staying elsewhere for any length of time.

On the WiFi front, the vast majority on machines come with it built in these days.

Good to know. Must make sure I don't get one of the few that doesn't.

I used to have a Toshiba laptop, which was extremely rugged and good on battery life, and not one component ever failed in 4 years, despite it being slung around the boot of my car regularly. It finally gave up the ghost, when I threw it onto the patio in temper one day - only to find a few days later, is wasn't the laptop, but the user that had the problem

On my first trip to W Africa (many years ago) everyone was using Toshibas due to the fact that they weren't as badly affected by the heat and dust as some others. (And there was a lot of heat and dust!)

[ducasi]

Clearly I don't need to point that out, since you are already aware!


If you're not 'technical', then a Mac may well be easier to manage. In any event there is always Ducasi to look after you.

... or Danielle, or Franck, or killingtime, or Claire S, or azande, or many other smart forumites...

But yeah, as ESG didn't actually need to point out, there's Word and Excel and Powerpoint for the Mac, and of course they're better than the Windows versions!

And as LMC said, moving your files can be done with a USB memory stick. No bother!

I guess Danielle was mainly using Windows before she got a Mac. Ask her how she's getting on. Claire S also is a recent convert from Windows to Mac, and I don't think she's so-far been tempted to throw her Mac out the window the way she wanted to get rid of her Dell...

If you are interested in exploring the Mac way, I'd recommend a MacBook with Apple's bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and a 17" external LCD from somewhere else (Apple don't do any LCDs smaller than 20".)

Take a look here and here.

It's a shame you're no longer working in education, otherwise you'd get a discount...

If you're stuck on getting a Windows laptop (oh, and by the way, all new Mac laptops can also run Windows) then Dell are a good, if a little dull, choice. I've had mixed experiences with Toshiba – both good and bad. Not sure what I'd go for myself... Maybe an IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad...

Hope this helps.

[Lynn]

Think mine has 1 MB RAM, but unless you're a serious gamer and need good graphics, then I think it's the RAM and the MHz numbers you want the best possible for the £ available.

I'm not even a frivolous gamer. I think one computer addiction (ie here) is enough.

Of course, slobbing round on the sofa whilst surfing probably isn't ideal

Oh, I don't know, it seemed pretty comfy to me!

AFA transferring files goes - even a natural blonde like me knows that a memory stick is the easy answer to moving files from one machine to another

I should have phrased that better. It wasn't the physical transferring of files but the compatibility of the software on reading the files - I don't want to have to reset all my page margins/fonts/formatting of Word documents.

[Lynn]

But yeah, as ESG didn't actually need to point out, there's Word and Excel and Powerpoint for the Mac, and of course they're better than the Windows versions!

I didn't know that. I'm learning.

I guess Danielle was mainly using Windows before she got a Mac. Ask her how she's getting on.

Will do, and will have a look at her Mac.

It's a shame you're no longer working in education, otherwise you'd get a discount...

I'm still a registered lecturer AFAIK, just wasn't teaching this term (or next). Don't know if part time lecturers count though? I do want to be able to use it when giving lectures so it is partly going to be an educational tool.

[Gojive]

On the size front then Lynn, it sounds like size doesn't matter to you

The main reason for me buying a tosh at the time, was purely for the durablitiy aspect. They certainly had a great reputaion (they may still have of course), and mine certainly proved to be the case. My current laptop is a Fujitsu Siemens Amilo, and so far the screen hinges have started to loosen, and I've had to replace the hard drive. The machine is only two years old

Laptops have come down dramatically in price in recent years, and a perfectly good machine can be had for as low as £350, and more commonly £500 (I paid £1100 for mine ), so there are very good deals to be had if you shop around.

Good luck!

[frodo]

- decent size/quality screen so that I can use it as my main PC. Ditto for keyboard and mouse attachment options.
- able to use with wireless broadband (which I don't actually have, but would like).
- Powerpoint (or other similar) for presentations.
- not too expensive - the 'good but budget' end of the scale.

Heard Dell are good? Any comments?

Dell are cheap* at the low end ( which is enough for me ). I'd hesitate to call them 'good' otherwise.

Microsoft Office, if an alternative won't do, or you don't already have a retail copy you can use, can be a costly, and worth considering before buying the computer.

Buying a very cheap laptop together with a separate external LCD monitor, might also be worth considering.


*If you pick your time and don't buy some of the ridiculously expensive upgrade options from them (some of the options are reasonably priced (usually screen upgrade/extra battery + a few other things) but not many). In general the best value comes from taking something near the advertised spec.

Dell prices tend to fluctuate heavily (I think they have some sort of cycle), so you can often get the best deal by watching how they fluctuate over a month or more and picking your moment to buy.

[Beowulf]

*If you pick your time and don't buy some of the ridiculously expensive upgrade options from them (some of the options are reasonably priced (usually screen upgrade/extra battery + a few other things) but not many). In general the best value comes from taking something near the advertised spec.

I concur. sometimes you will see a particular brand of PC available in 2 or 3 different setups , A low spec, mid spec and High spec configurations.

You can often get a better deal by going to a higher spec machine and taking OFF some of the spruious tuff they add than going for a lower spec machine and ADDING things you want. You can normally save anything from £50 to £100 by taking off their Complete Care package (I think that's what it's called) and keep an eye open for free delivery options as that's about £60 as well.

[drathzel]

BUY A MAC!!!

The ibook are fab, i run my whole business from it including dj-ing (of sorts) and using the internet!

You can get office for mac! (right ds ) most standard models come with wireless (airport extreme)! I wouldnt change my mac for a pc now for the world.

Its pretty too!

[Claire S]

I love my Mac!

I have a very sexy bag for it too

AND the tech support team available in Scotland is second to none

[drathzel]

AND the tech support team available in Scotland is second to none

[Dreadful Scathe]

Will do, and will have a look at her Mac.

You may well like the MAC and its a good idea to try it but they're not that cheap.

For example - a good place to get brand new laptops is acer notebooks.

You can get a Acer TravelMate 2423WXMi for £379.95

and it has

* Intel Celeron-M 370 Processor 1.5GHz Not fast compared to some but why would you need more?
* 256MB DDRII SDRAM - Double the memory for only £20 call to place order! worth paying the £20
* 40GB fast Hard Drive Id be inclined to get an external Hard Drive if more space was needed, makes it easily switchable between laptop and any other pc
* DVD Dual Layer Drive - Writes and reads both CDs and DVDs
* 14.1" XGA Bright Widescreen TFT
* 2.5-hour Battery Life this is pretty good for a cheap laptop
* Only 2.5 Kgs!
* Intel GMA 900 Fast Graphics theyre not fast, but you wont be playing games
* 3xUSB 2.0, Integrated LAN and 56k v.90 data fax modem
* Integrated Wireless 802.11 b/g - Call for advice on Wireless networking
* Microsoft Windows XP Home
* 1 year warranty - upgradeable to 3 years for only £59!
* FREE Vodafone 3G Data card Offer!

Compare that to a new macBook at the apple store which starts at £749.

Or a similar spec iBook for £661 from here

As macs and pcs are equally expandable now (although finding out if a piece of hardware is MAC compatible can be a paininthearse) its really down to your personal experience with the operating systems you will be running, your appreciation for eye-candy over specification and your willingness to pay nearly twice as much for a similar product.


As for transfering files - you may well have a problem with fonts - fonts get installed by some programs eg. Word, Works etc.. and if you dont have the font on your nw machine - it'll use another one and makre your docs look different - so make sure you check. For formatting etc.. if you are using an alternative like OpenOffice - the formatting may be off (was always worse with spreadsheets than word docs though) but you need to try it to see.

[ducasi]

... eye-candy over specification and your willingness to pay nearly twice as much for a similar product.

Well if you actually compared the MacBook with a similar product that has the same Core Duo processor, a decent amount of memory and disk space, you'd find that it's priced quite competitively.

It's true though, Apple don't do "cheap".

WRT Word, etc., Office for the Mac installs a whole bunch of common Windows fonts on the Mac so you're unlikely to have so many problems there.