| Author | Message | ||
     Firemanjim  |
Need suggestions from the computer gurus and those of you that have/use laptops.My wife is looking for one to use in school and small business.She is back to school getting business degree and spends an inordinate amount of time on our home computer(cuts into my Ebay shopping!!)so I am looking to get her a laptop to do her work on.She is severely computer challenged so it will need to be simple.Don't need all the bells and whistles,need word processing and excell,that type of stuff.She is also looking to put some of her business stuff on it eventually.She teaches first aid/cpr classes. Recommendations----?? | ||
| Darthane  |
iBook. 'nuff said. | ||
| Stealthxb  |
Apple iBook http://www.apple.com/ibook/ Better hardware and more user friendly than any IBM clone. In addition, you will not have to worry about viri and Adware or Spyware apps compromising the system. I promise you will fall in love! | ||
| Stealthxb |
U beat me to it Darth!  | ||
| Mbsween  |
Our you could get an x86 and go gentoo Call your friends at Dell, the latitude series fits fine on my X1, either in the ventura pack or the Buell (wolfman?) briefcase, and hasn't fallen apart after a year of commuting to work. (just in case you need to borrow the laptop) They usually offer good deals this time of year | ||
| Tombo |
Jim, I am not a tech guru, but I am a laptop power user. I have been using laptops and PDAs for my job for about 15 years and had the best luck reliability wise with IBMs. I am currently using a Dell, which I have been happy with thus far, but had a number of screen failures with the Toshibas. I have also used an Apple, which I really liked, but got tired of compatibility issues. Newer Apples use an operating system based on a popular open-source system which helps the compatibility issue, but I spent too much on Apple equipment and software that was not compatible with later Apple equipment and have become more or a conformist. | ||
| Blake  |
An ibook would be suicide in the business world. Dell's bee very good to me. My Dell 5000e running Win2000 is now over four years old and has been great. It doesn't crash, period. Main thing is to max out the memory to at least 500 MB and get a 40 GB HD and all the peripherals you need. | ||
| Steve_mackay  |
I'll 3rd the advice on the iBook. | ||
| Sooner |
Jim, you have helped me a ton, so I will try to return the favor. I have used extensivly just about all the laptops on the market. At least the brands. If your wife is going to school, the best bet is for her to get an operating system that matches what she uses mostly in class. This will eliminate a lot of frustration in getting used to the different quirks that both macintosh(apple) and Ibm,(99.9% of the rest out there) have, as far as differences in programing, or operation protocol. It will also greatly assist her to learn who uses what in the fields that she is wanting to get into. I love apple a lot, but honestly, most business, small and large, are set up with IBM compatable software. Namely, Windows. If you are going to invest in a laptop, I strongly suggest that you get the best you can afford up front. It will be obsolete soon enough, without going with the lowest model on the market now. Hard drive capacity and memory (ram) are really the most important issues to consider. Get as much of both as you can afford. It will cover a multitude of sins (software frustrations) later. If she finds that Mac is the way she wants to go, Darthane and Steal are right on. Ibook no doubt. If she goes IBM, I would suggest getting a Dell. you get a lot for the money, and they are almost bullet proof, with a great warranty, and are a solid company. Sorry for this post being so long, but I really wish you the best, Oh yea, That is one BEE YOUU TEE FULLL Buell you got bro. Happy thanksgiving. | ||
| Midknyte |
Go to Circuit City and check out the new Averatec's. (re-branded SOTEC, one of the top 5 computer makers in Japan). $899 gets you a 4 lb notebook with a DVD/CDRW drive. I have two and I've been happy with them. You gets a laptop and a portable DVD player in one. | ||
| M2me  |
I am a tech guru and IT professional and I would recommend either a Dell or IBM. The better value would be a Dell but the IBMs are very reliable and sturdy. Be sure it has either Windows 2000 or XP and use Windows Update. Install some anti-virus software. I would love to recommend an iBook but can't really do it based on your description of your wife being "severely computer challenged" and her interest in a business degree. The Apple laptops will have some compatibility issues that will be hard for someone who is not computer savvy to solve. I look at these issues as fun challenges but your wife probably would not. BTW, I personally own a WinBook. It's a little cheaper and does not have the support structure that a Dell or IBM would have but has worked great for me for over two years. | ||
| SouthernMarine  |
Same boat here, from the IT field. You can't go wrong with IBM or Dell. On another note. I've had Gateway computers for a while now and have been (knock on wood) very fortunate and have had ZERO problems and like mine. Apple laptops are good, but like others have said. You'll find compatibility issues. | ||
| Xb9er  |
OS: Microsoft Office XP Professional + Service Pack 2. Suite of Office productivity software: Before you invest in MS Office or WordPerfect, check out an excellent and free productivity suite at Open Office. It is Sun Microsystems sponsored and that's a good thing. Documents produced in Open Office are fully compatible with MS Office and WordPerfect. Web Browser: Firefox Good prices on laptops, etc. at MWave Mike. | ||
| Sooner |
Xb9r, that is quite a laptop you have there on your bike. You haven't had any compatibility issues with it have you? | ||
| Philip |
yesss!!! terms like megabytes and ram make more sense after seeing Xb9er's laptop!! | ||
| Ethanr  |
Blake > An ibook would be suicide in the business world. Really? I've been using one for a couple years now with zero problems. Connects easily to the network in the office (HPUX and Novell) or via VPN from home, and I've had no file incompatibilities with MS Office, which accounts for the majority of business use. Unlike my WinBook-carrying colleagues, I also don't have to have my OS or anti-virus software patched constantly. The only possible "gotcha" in the business world is the availability of some custom field-specific software, but that's not really even much of a problem because you can use VirtualPC to run most of it...though you do have to stay up-to-date on OS/virus patches there. VirtualPC is a dog for gaming, but for most business apps it works just fine and you wind up with the best of both worlds. | ||
| Newfie_buell  |
I just upgraded my old Toshiba Tecra 8000 to a new Toshiba Tecra A2 with windows XP Pro. My old one never crashed/locked up once after I installed Windows 2000 and this XP Pro is even better. | ||
| Court |
I'm on my 6th IBM ThinkPad and confess a love affair with them. They will not die. The "right brian" part of me looks at the Henrik's of the world, gleefully skipping along with no crashes, system lock-ups or blue screen fever and envies them. If I were that smart, I'd own the most I Book I could afford. I bought my last IBM based on cheapiosity. IBM sells brand new ThinkPads on e-Bay and I went with the T30. Last years model, came with XP Pro, rides everywhere with me, gets covered in dut in power plants, is resilient to all breaking of the rules like undocking daily without following procedure and keeps on ticking. Best bet of the works is IBM service. The last time I had a ThinkPad problem I called EZServ at 2:00pm in the after noon on like a Friday. The Airborne Express guy walked in 35 minutes later with an IBM box (they apparently carrry them), took the thing and it was back to me on monday morning. The planets, in this case, were aligned, but IBM has always served me, the giga-challenged, well. Court | ||
| Reepicheep  |
Ditto all above. Dells are "fine", thinkpads are fantastic. IBM *really* makes a good laptop. I wouldn't buy anything else new. The mac's cost more up front, but do a lot more and do it better. The actual hardware is good (probably up to dell standards, not up to thinkpad standards) but they built the Mac OS on Unix, so it is solid as a rock. The user interface is much better done with a lot of attention to detail. That being said, Microsoft will be going out of their way to mess your mac up, and will to various degrees suceed if you interact much with Microsoft infrastructures. You will almost always be able to work it out, but it will take work. What is the current outlook situation with Macs? That seems to be where Microsoft is focusing most of their effort on keeping their monopoly... is there a good up to date outlook client that will connect right up to your corporate exchange server? If the answer is no, and you *have* a corporate exchange server, the Mac is a better solution that won't work for you. Mac's are not immune to virus / spyware threats, but are much better architected to resist them. Mac can do terrible things to you on the hardware side as well, and you have little recourse. I have an older mac laptop (wallstreet) sitting in a drawer that was about as bad as it gets. Crappy hinges for the lid blew out early and often, cost hundreds to repair, with the same crappy potmetal part, and would just blow again. Apple refused to step up and offer a fixed part, much less recall the old ones. You had to go aftermarket to get a fix, and it took a while for that to develop. Meanwhile, the next rev of the operating system was the first OSX, a major rewrite. Great OS, but they refused to write code for the OS that would support the accelerated features of that ATI chipset in the laptop they made. Further, they refused to write code to support the hardware DVD decoder card that they sold as well, so you could not play DVD's under the new OSX. It was fubar top to bottom, and Apple basically decided that Wallstreet powerbook owners were screwed, and short of class action, there was not much you could do about it. So in the 9 out of 10 cases where Apple did not create some sort of hardware disaster or strategically decide that you are screwed, the Apples are great. The other 1 out of 10 times (and it probably is about that many), you are well and truly screwed. Linux is nice for a server, thin client, or custom deployments, but suffers from the a "gotta putz a lot just to deal with all these idiots around me" factor if you have a lot of interaction (would you please send me your 3 sentance response to my email as a text file instead of a power point presentation with embedded VISO documents?). If you are running a standard Microsoft deployment, and are surrounded by standard Microsoft deployments, you will get more done running what they run. Pick a platform first, then we can tell you how to lock it down. If you are willing to limit your behavior in reasonable ways, XP can be made to be pretty stable and pretty low maintenance. (Message edited by reepicheep on November 25, 2004) | ||
| Tramp  |
i use lapdances considerably, friedmelonjim. i wouldn't advise suggesting your wife perform them in school or as a business, though..... ..oh wait... you said laptop... never mind. | ||
| Rek |
I have to agree w/ all the Toshiba fans. I bought my first one 10 years ago because it was the only one consumer report tested that passed the drop-test (held at arm's length and dropped on the floor). Since that time I've upgraded twiced, always packed them everywhere I went, often times w/out the benefit of a case, and never had any problems. I don't know anything about bells and whistles, but I do know they are very durable and w/stand daily use in the field (literally, since part of my job is farm inspection). Rob (Message edited by rek on November 25, 2004) | ||
| Court |
Don't know about Toshiba, but can say with confidence that an IBM 365 will survive, quite well in fact, being ejected from an S2T bag at 3:30AM on the Blue Ridge Parkway and the resultant slide. Polo colonge, on the other hand, does not. The good thing is that the surviving laptop, wrapped in an XL Aerostich fleece bag, will smell great in the 100+oF weather in ATL. Life is a series of trade offs. | ||
| M1combat  |
I've used HP, IBM, Dell and Fujitsu this year.... If "I" chose one it would be the smallest Fujitsu Lifebook I could find, but I'm sure I have different needs than your wife does. For her needs I would recommend the Dell or IBM. One thing to consider is when she needs to ask someone how something works... She'll have the best luck with that in a school environment with Windose or Linux. I would recommend Windose. Linux does however have "Open Office", that is file compatible with Office, free AND just as capable. Of the two, I would recommend the IBM... We have about 15 IBM's at work, and now about 30 Dell Latitude D505's... The LCD's on the IBM's were a lot better for the money we paid for them. Both companies have good warranties, but get the extended warranty anyway. Also, get an extra battery. Both companies tend to provide adequate carrying cases. My money would be on the IBM... So far in four years of working on about 15 of them, I've had two NIC failures (easily swappable) and one LCD failure (that was after a police officer ran over it... The keyboard did NOT fail). We buy Dell desktop systems 2-300/yr and it seemd to me that Dell is really turning into the "volume" PC maker that they are. The quality seems noticeably better with the IBM's (we use the "AxxP" series). With the IBM you tend to get all the "creature comforts" like extra tips for the eraser mouse in different shapes, higher quality cables, smaller and just as good of quality power brick etc... We don't exactly buy "budget" laptops though. I think if that's a primary concern, the Dell's seem to be the way to go because you do get plenty for your money, and their tech support is pretty good. Where I work then won't send us to asian/eastern tech support, and I think they do with the personal consumers, so YMMV. I'm not sure if IBM even does overseas tech support... (Message edited by m1combat on November 25, 2004) | ||
| Stealthxb |
<rant> Rather than blanket statements like "compatibility issues" with Apple computers I would really like some details. I studied Management Information Systems at one of the top business programs in the nation and the only issues I ever encountered were with extremely exclusive high level business software for things such as data mining and decision support systems. These are apps that cost tens of thousands of dollars and are designed for Fortune 500 company’s not individual consumers. ibook would be suicide in the business world. Please elaborate. I was responsible for network and technical support for an entire college within the University for over four years. This included student labs, faculty and staff. Over 99% of the time I spent in that position was Microsoft based disaster control. Not once did I ever encounter any of the hardware or software issues mentioned in this thread with my Macs. I even installed OSX on the older iMacs and never had DVD issues. The only thing I ever had to do to keep the Macs up to spec was to plug them in a boot them up. I am currently an Account Manger for the industry leading online banking provider for financial institutions. We offer consumer and business Internet banking, online lending, electronic bill payment and presentment, check imaging, account-to-account transfers, website development and hosting and marketing programs designed to help increase online banking end user growth and more. And the only use I have for a Windows machine is Outlook! Please do not let this pro Microsoft propaganda pollute your ability to make a good decision unless you enjoy the elevator music and advertisements you will hear while on hold with technical support. OSX is much easier to use and does everything Windows does better. Additionally it comes with so many cool programs that anything you could possibly want to do can be done without having to purchase any third party software except Office. Want to: • Manage your calendars and share them online. • Shop for music, burn CDs, sync iPod. • Get, save, organize, share and enjoy digital photos. • Making digital movies is as fun as using your iMac. • Turn your Mac into a recording studio. • Put your Desktop Movies and digital photos in motion. You can! With the iLife package that comes with OSX! The only software that is difficult to find for Apple is games. And for that you should be using the only thing Microsoft is good for...an Xbox My parents were in a similar situation at this time last year. I did my best to encourage them to purchase a Mac but they too were convinced of many of the fallacies associated with Apple computers. Instead they regretfully bought a Dell workstation and now much of the precious time I get with them is spent fixing this damn computer! Exactly what I am doing now! Once you go Mac...you'll never go back! </rant> | ||
| M1combat |
Or linux... Which will run on two wires, a toaster and a coffee mug and never crash... Both are better than windose. Has Macintosh finally guranteed that software for newer OS's will work on the older ones and vice-versa? That was my main issue with Macintosh (that and the game issue). | ||
| Tramp |
all y'all need lapdances, not laptops | ||
| Philip |
tramp, don't you know there is no humor when it comes to talking compooters! | ||
| Ethanr |
M1: If you're asking whether Apple has guaranteed that software written for OS X vs 9 or earlier will work back and forth...no. Most older software runs fine in "Classic" mode, but not all. That's why I've held onto an older iBook that will boot directly into either system (the newer ones only boot to X) as well as an old G4 tower that will do the same. It's much the same situation as when MS went from 3.1 to 95. Most 3.1 software worked in 95 but not all. And I, too, love Linux. I ditched NT on my Dell at work in favor of Mandrake about a year ago and haven't missed the hassles at all. And it is truly amazing the minimal system requirements to run a basic installation of most Linux flavors. | ||
| Blake |
"I studied Management Information Systems at one of the top business programs in the nation... I was responsible for network and technical support for an entire college within the University for over four years. This included student labs, faculty and staff." You are obviously not bothered by problems that would cause a stop-work for the mere mortal layman computer user. The vast, vast, vast majority of businesses use Windows based machines. To invest your money and time into something different from what you will most likely be using professionally is silly. I've traveled the world on business and have yet to see a single Mac notebook being used or carried by a professional. Saw one being used by a student on the airplane once. My mother worked in a print/graphics arts shop years ago, pre-G3, and so was familiar with Macs. She bought a top of the line G3 about a year after they hit the market. It has been nothing but trouble. It crashes repeatedly and won't run properly. I've been through hell with that piece of crap trying to get it to run. Never, ever, ever, will I own a Mac. My wife uses a Mac at the office for architecture and interior design. She says her computer crashes on average once a day. The design app they use, ArchiCad originally was only written for the Mac. It was recently released for Windows and now performs better and offers more features on Windows than it does on Mac. I leave my Dell notebook running Win2000 booted up for weeks even months at a time. When idle, it goes to standby or hibernation mode. The only time it gets shut down to where it must reboot is when OS upgrades or other app installs require it. No crashes. I can run a myriad of high power apps including Ansys, AutoCad, and Solid Works. No problems. On a Mac? No freaking way. Impossible. There was a time when Windows was the problematic loser. That time has long passed. My Win2000 has been virtually bulletproof and I understand from the pros that XP is even better. | ||
| Firemanjim |
Thanks for the inputs.I was leaning towards a Dell, anyway. |
