We need something that will allow her to do
school reports, research, etc, as well as
burn music CD's and all. She also loves to get on-line with AOL instant chat.

I know a lot of you have a great deal of knowledge in this area and was hoping you could point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance.

Cardie

As far as WindowsXP goes.....it is a very stable operating system and easy to upgrade online. All of my staff really like XP once they got over their resistance to change.

You should find that dealing with Dell is a very enjoyable experience. It has been for me, my company has upgraded all the computers one at a time so I have spent alot of time with Dell.

LoP
(The Phantom Slipstreamer)

Now, if she is a tinkerer of any sort, then she should go with Windows which simply has more optional software (and hardware) available for it. The best laptops are from Dell, Toshiba and IBM.

Word to the wise - Wireless networking might work immediately after plugging things in. But I suggest going in and configuring the network software too. Otherwise your networking might be completely insecure.

We just implemented wireless on our year-old Dell Inspiron 8100 - a laptop that we have adored - with orinoco wireless cards installed in the Dell and in our Linksys DLS router-y thingie (can you tell that I am *not* the techie in our household??) which connects to our ADSL modem. Hubby chose that brand after some online research, and we've other friends who have it. It's Orinoco PC Card for Wireless LAN Gold that he's using.

I hope this helps,
Kathy

You may turn old and grey while waiting to talk to someone. But once you get someone, they're helpful and nice and patient even with the most technologically-impaired.

Kids love them cuz they are cool. Add Virtual PC and you have a Mac AND a PC rolled into one.

Don't let the prices fool you, you will save money and time not having to get the computer fixed after you buy it. I still have my Apple 512k, the first one they ever made, and if I had to use it in a pinch for word processing or even using Pagemaker, I still could!!!

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread Rayhana! I've been looking into buying a laptop for myself and it's been a nightmare. This thread's given a lot of good information on that front!

And I've heard lots of good things about Dell myself. It's one of the brands I've been looking at, though, my father wants me to get a Sony Vaio. I think that's just so he can play with it though.

I've heard good things about Sony Vaio too, but no personal experience there. They are a bit more expensive than Dell, though. (Dell starts at $900)

And OS X is cool, but buy it now so you'll still be able to boot in OS 9 if needed. I understand this dual-OS option will be going bye-bye come January. (I switch back and forth quite a bit.)

If you go with Windows, I'll give some buying advice to consider:

For the usage you are describing, any processor over 1.0GHz will be plenty. It's unlikely she'd even be able to tell the difference between a 1.0GHz and a 2.0GHz laptop unless she is doing processor intensive work (i.e. gaming, mathematical modeling, etc.) Don't get caught up in trying to get a really 'fast' laptop, processor speed is overrated.

For memory, I would suggest either 256MB or possibly 384MB. WinXP likes to have 256MB (or more) to run smooth, whereas Win98 needed only 128MB. Generally a laptop company will have 128MB standard with a $100 option to upgrade to 256MB. You can save money by getting the 128MB standard and then purchasing a $60 256MB stick and add it on your own (for a 384MB total) if you are at all mechanically inclined enough to open the laptop and insert the stick. (Very easy).

Heat is something to consider. Different companies' laptops (and even different models by the same company) generate different amounts of heat. Some get hot enough to make using the laptop on your lap very uncomfortable. Generally speaking an AMD Athlon system will run hotter than an Intel Pentium system, and an Intel Pentium system will run hotter than an Intel Pentium-Mobile system. (The Mobile version of the Intel chips like the P4 run cooler and are made for laptop type usage.) The flip side of this is that clock for clock, the AMD is more powerful than the P4 and the P4 is more powerful than the P4-Mobile. Just be aware of what chip you are getting and try to read some reviews on the laptop brand/model you are looking at.

The most important decision is screen size in my opinion. Your typical laptop is coming with a 14" screen nowadays with a 15" as the next step up. Go to a store and compare them to see if that size difference matters to you. There are also 16" screens which are expensive and 12-13" screens which I would not recommend (too small for most people.) Screen quality is something to consider and very hard to determine without seeing the screen in person. Dell has three or four levels of quality I believe, other companies are similar. Hard to say what to recommend, it depends on what level is good enough for you and everyone varies.

"Mouse." The second most important choice is the mouse pointer control. Most have a little touchpad, some have a tiny joystick in the middle of the keyboard, some have a roller ball, some have more than one of these. This is totally personal preference as to how you (or she) like to control the pointer and the only way to tell is to try each one out for a lengthy period, which is generally not possible. At least go to a store and get a feel for each one. Many people will always bring a real mouse (electronic, not furry) to plug in with them wherever they go as it is so much nicer than any laptop control. The optical mice work great.

DVD ROM. For some people this is useless, for others it is great. In general usage, it is a waste, there isn't any reason to get one. However, it can come in handy. For example, if you fly a lot, it can make the flight go easier to be able to watch a movie or two. I don't understand why most people get a DVDROM though.

CDRW. If she's into making music CDs, then yes, you have to get one. Hopefully legal copies/compilations! Any speed is fine, the difference between 24x10x32 and 48x24x48 is meaningless for all but hardcore users.

Keyboard. This is important since you use it so much. If at all possible, go to a store and type on different brands to see what 'feel' you prefer. Or somehow have her do it. Some people aren't picky. I am, and some laptops I just hate using because of the soft keys.

Wireless. This can be a little tricky as there are so many protocols. One of them can interfere with 2.4GHz wireless phones if you have any in your house (802.11b I think). For this area, you'll have to get advice from someone else, I don't use it.

Ports. If she's going to use the laptop as is, you don't need to worry about this. Everyone of them will have the basic ports needed. If she's going to just use it as the portable part of her system, then you need to make sure it has enough ports to plug in all the needed items. What I mean by this is that most people plug at most a printer and possibly an external mouse (for convenience) into their laptop. People like me will plug in a keyboard, printer, mouse, monitor, scanner, etc. when at their desk. We need to ensure it has more than the average number of ports or a docking station.

Power settings. Many laptops have different power usage settings that allow you to get more life out of your battery. For instance, some will have a setting that basically slows down the computer, but extends battery life...it is useful when just doing word processing on a plane flight. Simple tasks don't need all the juice. Each manufacturer does this differently, just keep it in mind as something to ask about. Of course, something like 90% of people use their laptop 95% of the time while plugged into the wall so it may not matter to you about being able to conserve power.

Floppy. Some models have it built in, some have it as an optional external accessory you can plug in. The disadvantage to having it built in is that the laptop weighs more...and laptops nowadays are big heavy things to start with. Some people still need a floppy as it still has some very nice advantages over all other storage media, but most people don't.

Warranty. On a laptop it is more important than on a desktop because they are harder to repair. I would recommend getting either a two year warranty or getting a one year warranty with a credit card that doubles your warranty period (many VISA, Mastercard, and AmEx cards do).

Stores/Brands. I avoid Gateway due to past bad experiences, but I have no idea what the quality of their laptops is like. Dell is good. Costco is better due to their outstanding return policy. Circuit City is better due to their outstanding warranty policy. Compaq is okay, I hear they run hot.
Sony is nice for the ultra thin, light, big screen, whatever oddity varieties...and they are expensive. Toshiba is nice. IBM has traditionally been the best, but I think brands like Toshiba and Dell have caught up. My first laptop was a $5,000 Dell. It was okay. I've used IBMs and Toshibas since then. They've been okay too. I'm a couple months away from getting another one and really don't have any idea what I'll pick. Picking a laptop is more like picking a car than picking a desktop computer...no brand is the best.

It wouldn't hurt to check out deal sites like www.fatwallet.com/forums to see if any good laptop deals pop up. Some good offers happen every month. Read the rules before posting of course.

[This message has been edited by Sparborth IV (edited November 25, 2002).]

quote:

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Originally posted by Sparborth IV:
For the usage you are describing, any processor over 1.0GHz will be plenty. It's unlikely she'd even be able to tell the difference between a 1.0GHz and a 2.0GHz laptop unless she is doing processor intensive work (i.e. gaming, mathematical modeling, etc.) Don't get caught up in trying to get a really 'fast' laptop, processor speed is overrated.

---

Not only that, but can only compare apples to apples. (No pun intended.) Two different chips with the same listed processor speed will not have the same "actual" speed.

quote:

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Originally posted by Drew:
Not only that, but can only compare apples to apples. (No pun intended.) Two different chips with the same listed processor speed will not have the same "actual" speed.

---

And that includes chips from within the same family too. For instance, one P4 2.4GHz can outperform another P4 2.4GHz if the steppings are different.

Aren't you glad they made this so simple?

2. For a laptop, I would spend the extra money and go with an Intel processor. Chipsets for Intel processors are usually more stable than chipsets for AMD processors. Also, a Mobile Intel processor is much less likely than a Mobile Athlon processor to cause a heat-related crash/lockup. However, an equivalently performing AMD processor is cheaper than its Intel counterpart.

3. A 2.0GHz processor will load Windows faster than a 1.0GHz processor does. The 2.0GHz processor will also shave a very noticeable amount of time off the time it takes for your Internet browser or Office application to load after you click on its icon.

4. A faster hard drive also decreases load times and improves performance of disk-intensive and memory-intensive applications. Unfortunately, faster hard drives tend to make more noise.

5. While there are programs that allow Apple computers to emulate PCs, the PC programs will run much slower than they would on a PC of the same price.

6. If you plan on using the laptop a lot, I would recommend paying more to buy a bigger, nicer screen.

7. The types of screens used by laptops display obvious ghosting/streaking when showing movies, although the movies are still watchable. Also, laptops' integrated sound chips and speakers sound bad. You can hook up a CRT monitor, an external sound board, and speakers, but this starts to defeat the purpose of having a laptop. Personally, I wouldn't use the speakers that come with a laptop for watching a movie or listening to music.

Edit: Removed dated warning against buying a combination CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive.

[This message has been edited by QuantumFlux (edited November 28, 2002).]

quote:

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Originally posted by Drew:
Not only that, but can only compare apples to apples. (No pun intended.) Two different chips with the same listed processor speed will not have the same "actual" speed.

---

And I would like to add that RAM is just as important as is the operating system.

When I put OSX Jaguar (10.2) on my laptop it speeded up quite a bit. It uses the processor and ram more efficently. I only have a 400mgh G3 (only! ) and it is just as speedy (if not a lot more) as my friend's G4 500mgh laptop running system 9.2.

OSX is so stable and it can run Windows just as easily as OS 9, at the same time.

For me the best thing about it is how beautiful the OS is and how beautifully it renders graphics (Quartz technology).

AOL chat is build into the OSX system and the mail program that comes with it filters out junk mail (oh, and Drew, Jaguar's mail import is vastly improved. I imported my Eudora mail, I just have the classic version, and all 2000 emails transfered over in a few minutes)

I LOVE MY COMPUTER!!!!

It can:
Search the Internet with built in search engines

Search a database of Images

Look up Movies

Look up online Yellow Pages

Look up words in the online Dictionary

Translate words in the online translator

Track eBay bids, track stocks and plan flights

Lots of fun!