Merry Christmas and happy holidays (what ever works for you - you never know). ;-)
My father had decided to look at a laptop. He wants to put his family tree program on it and take it for a trip out East this spring. He has seen me running Linux on my desktop for years and thinks he would like to give it a try on the laptop. Even in a dual-boot configuration. Being cheap (a typical Winnipegger) he is only willing to spend $200 -$300 for the machine. There are some "deals" in the advertising for Staples, Future Shop, and (Ugh) Best Buy. He is serious enough to risk going out on Boxing day (and this is from a guy who is afraid of crossing to the West side of the Red).
The question is what are some good brands and locations to scope out?
Later Mike
On 2010-12-24 Mike Pfaiffer wrote:
Merry Christmas and happy holidays (what ever works for you - you never know). ;-)
My father had decided to look at a laptop. He wants to put his family tree program on it and take it for a trip out East this spring. He has seen me running Linux on my desktop for years and thinks he would like to give it a try on the laptop. Even in a dual-boot configuration. Being cheap (a typical Winnipegger) he is only willing to spend $200 -$300 for the machine. There are some
Most in that range will be netbooks. Even cheapo 4-yo technology notebooks are still around $400-500+ on sale. Make sure he knows the difference as netbooks can be disappointing if that's not what you really want.
The question is what are some good brands and locations to scope out?
Buy today's Free Press and go flyer frolicking! Surely there will be some crazy BD blowouts. As for brands, the entire world except for Acer, that's my humble opinion based on selling computers for 13 years!
On 10-12-24 04:24 PM, Trevor Cordes wrote:
On 2010-12-24 Mike Pfaiffer wrote:
Merry Christmas and happy holidays (what ever works for you - you never know). ;-)
My father had decided to look at a laptop. He wants to put his family tree program on it and take it for a trip out East this spring. He has seen me running Linux on my desktop for years and thinks he would like to give it a try on the laptop. Even in a dual-boot configuration. Being cheap (a typical Winnipegger) he is only willing to spend $200 -$300 for the machine. There are some
Most in that range will be netbooks. Even cheapo 4-yo technology notebooks are still around $400-500+ on sale. Make sure he knows the difference as netbooks can be disappointing if that's not what you really want.
I saw three machines in that price range (retail). One was a netbook. It never occurred to me to think about this until you mentioned it, His primary thing is the family tree stuff and e-mail.
The question is what are some good brands and locations to scope out?
Buy today's Free Press and go flyer frolicking! Surely there will be some crazy BD blowouts.
Got a bunch of flyers delivered this week. Prices range from $175 up to over $1,000. Quite a spread.
As for brands, the entire world except for Acer, that's my humble opinion based on selling computers for 13 years!
A couple of the cheaper ones were Acers. I'll have to take a second look. It seems as though quite a few people using Toshibas like them. I think my father might be happy with an Intel Mac laptop but the bottom end for refurbished units is $400. Add another $200 in upgrades to make them useful. That's more than he wants to spend.
Later Mike
P.S. A link from the supervisor at the CLL... Everyone WILL enjoy this. It is mandatory. ;-)
One possibility I always encourage people to check out is off-lease Dell laptops. You can get a business-grade (Latitude, IIRC) refurb unit *with* a 2-year replacement warranty (optional, only about $70-80) for a few hundred dollars. And their business lines almost always run Linux 100% OK. They're just not current-gen at that speed. But contrast to a netbook with tiny screen, cramped kbd, 1yr wnty, slow HD, slow CPU... for similar price. See http://www.dfsdirect.ca/. -Adam
-----Original Message----- From: Mike Pfaiffer high.res.mike@gmail.com Sender: roundtable-bounces@muug.mb.ca Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:59:00 To: roundtable@muug.mb.ca Reply-To: Continuation of Round Table discussion roundtable@muug.mb.ca Subject: Re: [RndTbl] Question about Laptops
On 10-12-24 04:24 PM, Trevor Cordes wrote:
On 2010-12-24 Mike Pfaiffer wrote:
Merry Christmas and happy holidays (what ever works for you - you never know). ;-)
My father had decided to look at a laptop. He wants to put his family tree program on it and take it for a trip out East this spring. He has seen me running Linux on my desktop for years and thinks he would like to give it a try on the laptop. Even in a dual-boot configuration. Being cheap (a typical Winnipegger) he is only willing to spend $200 -$300 for the machine. There are some
Most in that range will be netbooks. Even cheapo 4-yo technology notebooks are still around $400-500+ on sale. Make sure he knows the difference as netbooks can be disappointing if that's not what you really want.
I saw three machines in that price range (retail). One was a netbook. It never occurred to me to think about this until you mentioned it, His primary thing is the family tree stuff and e-mail.
The question is what are some good brands and locations to scope out?
Buy today's Free Press and go flyer frolicking! Surely there will be some crazy BD blowouts.
Got a bunch of flyers delivered this week. Prices range from $175 up to over $1,000. Quite a spread.
As for brands, the entire world except for Acer, that's my humble opinion based on selling computers for 13 years!
A couple of the cheaper ones were Acers. I'll have to take a second look. It seems as though quite a few people using Toshibas like them. I think my father might be happy with an Intel Mac laptop but the bottom end for refurbished units is $400. Add another $200 in upgrades to make them useful. That's more than he wants to spend.
Later Mike
P.S. A link from the supervisor at the CLL... Everyone WILL enjoy this. It is mandatory. ;-)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ctrvp _______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
On 10-12-24 05:26 PM, Adam Thompson wrote:
One possibility I always encourage people to check out is off-lease Dell laptops. You can get a business-grade (Latitude, IIRC) refurb unit *with* a 2-year replacement warranty (optional, only about $70-80) for a few hundred dollars. And their business lines almost always run Linux 100% OK. They're just not current-gen at that speed. But contrast to a netbook with tiny screen, cramped kbd, 1yr wnty, slow HD, slow CPU... for similar price. See http://www.dfsdirect.ca/. -Adam
This is definitely an option. With a couple of exceptions the Dells we've had at the lab have been pretty good. I didn't know about this. I'll forward the message to my father. Knowing him, this is likely what he'll consider first.
Later Mike
-----Original Message----- From: Mike Pfaifferhigh.res.mike@gmail.com Sender: roundtable-bounces@muug.mb.ca Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:59:00 To:roundtable@muug.mb.ca Reply-To: Continuation of Round Table discussionroundtable@muug.mb.ca Subject: Re: [RndTbl] Question about Laptops
On 10-12-24 04:24 PM, Trevor Cordes wrote:
On 2010-12-24 Mike Pfaiffer wrote:
Merry Christmas and happy holidays (what ever works for you - you never know). ;-)
My father had decided to look at a laptop. He wants to put his family tree program on it and take it for a trip out East this spring. He has seen me running Linux on my desktop for years and thinks he would like to give it a try on the laptop. Even in a dual-boot configuration. Being cheap (a typical Winnipegger) he is only willing to spend $200 -$300 for the machine. There are some
Most in that range will be netbooks. Even cheapo 4-yo technology notebooks are still around $400-500+ on sale. Make sure he knows the difference as netbooks can be disappointing if that's not what you really want.
I saw three machines in that price range (retail). One was a netbook. It never occurred to me to think about this until you mentioned it, His primary thing is the family tree stuff and e-mail.
The question is what are some good brands and locations to scope out?
Buy today's Free Press and go flyer frolicking! Surely there will be some crazy BD blowouts.
Got a bunch of flyers delivered this week. Prices range from $175 up to over $1,000. Quite a spread.
As for brands, the entire world except for Acer, that's my humble opinion based on selling computers for 13 years!
A couple of the cheaper ones were Acers. I'll have to take a second look. It seems as though quite a few people using Toshibas like them. I think my father might be happy with an Intel Mac laptop but the bottom end for refurbished units is $400. Add another $200 in upgrades to make them useful. That's more than he wants to spend.
Later MikeP.S. A link from the supervisor at the CLL... Everyone WILL enjoy this. It is mandatory. ;-)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ctrvp _______________________________________________ Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
A few comments:
Generally anything you get for that price will be a netbook and/or a pretty cheap notebook. I can't see how you could spend $300 on a notebook (not netbook) and get anything resembling quality. I suppose there might be a door-crasher special that would be okay, but then you just have to take your chances. Acer computers tend to be EXTREMELY cheaply made.
A netbook would be fast enough for his needs, but the screen would probably be too small, either physically (all netbooks have 10" screens) or by resolution (pretty much all 1024x600).
Also, I don't know why you wrote "...Future Shop, and (Ugh) Best Buy", given that they're the same company since Best Buy bought Future Shop a few years ago. I thought everyone knew that.
Kevin
On Fri, Dec 24, 2010 at 3:04 PM, Mike Pfaiffer high.res.mike@gmail.comwrote:
Merry Christmas and happy holidays (what ever works for you - younever know). ;-)
My father had decided to look at a laptop. He wants to put hisfamily tree program on it and take it for a trip out East this spring. He has seen me running Linux on my desktop for years and thinks he would like to give it a try on the laptop. Even in a dual-boot configuration. Being cheap (a typical Winnipegger) he is only willing to spend $200 -$300 for the machine. There are some "deals" in the advertising for Staples, Future Shop, and (Ugh) Best Buy. He is serious enough to risk going out on Boxing day (and this is from a guy who is afraid of crossing to the West side of the Red).
The question is what are some good brands and locations to scopeout?
Later Mike
Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
On 10-12-24 05:34 PM, Kevin McGregor wrote:
A few comments:
Generally anything you get for that price will be a netbook and/or a pretty cheap notebook. I can't see how you could spend $300 on a notebook (not netbook) and get anything resembling quality. I suppose there might be a door-crasher special that would be okay, but then you just have to take your chances. Acer computers tend to be EXTREMELY cheaply made.
That seems to be the general consensus.
A netbook would be fast enough for his needs, but the screen would probably be too small, either physically (all netbooks have 10" screens) or by resolution (pretty much all 1024x600).
He is in his mid 70's so the size would be a consideration.
Also, I don't know why you wrote "...Future Shop, and (Ugh) Best Buy", given that they're the same company since Best Buy bought Future Shop a few years ago. I thought everyone knew that.
I've had a number of friends who have had terrible experiences with the different retail outlets. Essentially it boils down to the quality of the lies and sales drones. At least none of them have had the experience a number of Americans had. Specifically purchasing something only to open the box at home and find an actual brick inside. Most of the bad experiences relate to rebates and faulty hardware. Specifically the Transcona store. Although they are owned by the same company I've been told by their sales drones that different managers set different policies for their individual stores. The drones also said they carry different product lines in the two stores.
Kevin
Later Mike
On Fri, Dec 24, 2010 at 3:04 PM, Mike Pfaifferhigh.res.mike@gmail.comwrote:
Merry Christmas and happy holidays (what ever works for you - younever know). ;-)
My father had decided to look at a laptop. He wants to put hisfamily tree program on it and take it for a trip out East this spring. He has seen me running Linux on my desktop for years and thinks he would like to give it a try on the laptop. Even in a dual-boot configuration. Being cheap (a typical Winnipegger) he is only willing to spend $200 -$300 for the machine. There are some "deals" in the advertising for Staples, Future Shop, and (Ugh) Best Buy. He is serious enough to risk going out on Boxing day (and this is from a guy who is afraid of crossing to the West side of the Red).
The question is what are some good brands and locations to scopeout?
Later Mike
Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
Roundtable mailing list Roundtable@muug.mb.ca http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable
My sister's fiancé bought a used Dell Latitude C600 for her daughter. The display hinge broke on the right side. I worked for Powerland Computers at the time, and they had a large selection of old laptops through recycling. The reason they keep them is replacement parts for repairs. But they didn't have a replacement hinge for that model. For one thing corporate customers who provided a lot of the broken or obsolete laptops didn't buy that model, but more importantly that model has a weak hinge that breaks a lot. I since found a website with a description how to fix the hinge using sheet metal and glue, but when buying one you are better off avoiding that model. The Dell Inspiron had rugged hinges, the problem was specific to the Latitude C600.
At Powerland we had a few customers bring in laptops for repair. One customer brought in an Asus Atom with a solid state "drive". There was nothing we could do to fix it. To ensure the netbook is easy to repair (read "not expensive"), choose a one that has a normal laptop hard drive, and an access door on the bottom to get at it. Older laptops and some new netbooks have the hard drive under the keyboard, requiring significant dismantling to get at it. Powerland charged $60 per hour for laptop repairs, so the more time it takes a technician to repair it the more it will cost you. For my home based business I charge $30 per hour for any computer work, and no sales tax, but you still want to keep that down. Besides, the only laptop replacement parts I have in stock is one mini-IDE hard drive, two really old LCD displays, and one not-quite-as-old dismantled laptop. I have to find parts for any other repair.
Just some hints from the repair guy.
Rob Dyck
On 10-12-24 06:38 PM, Robert Dyck wrote:
My sister's fiancé bought a used Dell Latitude C600 for her daughter. The display hinge broke on the right side. I worked for Powerland Computers at the time, and they had a large selection of old laptops through recycling. The reason they keep them is replacement parts for repairs. But they didn't have a replacement hinge for that model. For one thing corporate customers who provided a lot of the broken or obsolete laptops didn't buy that model, but more importantly that model has a weak hinge that breaks a lot. I since found a website with a description how to fix the hinge using sheet metal and glue, but when buying one you are better off avoiding that model. The Dell Inspiron had rugged hinges, the problem was specific to the Latitude C600.
At Powerland we had a few customers bring in laptops for repair. One customer brought in an Asus Atom with a solid state "drive". There was nothing we could do to fix it. To ensure the netbook is easy to repair (read "not expensive"), choose a one that has a normal laptop hard drive, and an access door on the bottom to get at it. Older laptops and some new netbooks have the hard drive under the keyboard, requiring significant dismantling to get at it. Powerland charged $60 per hour for laptop repairs, so the more time it takes a technician to repair it the more it will cost you. For my home based business I charge $30 per hour for any computer work, and no sales tax, but you still want to keep that down. Besides, the only laptop replacement parts I have in stock is one mini-IDE hard drive, two really old LCD displays, and one not-quite-as-old dismantled laptop. I have to find parts for any other repair.
Just some hints from the repair guy.
Rob Dyck
I just had another person respond about the Asus being a good machine. I'll remember the information about the Latitude C600 when my father checks things out.
It's interesting to hear your opinion about the SSD. They are generally twice the cost of an actual hard drive so I wasn't actually considering it in a cheap laptop. It's one of those things on the "wish list" to try out in a desktop first. Since it's going to be my fathers machine I think he'll take your suggestion.
The machine Hamish has is a nice little machine. The only problem is the same one he had. Namely he had to spend the additional $200 to make it useful. Bigger hard drive and more RAM to run the newest Mac applications and VirtualBox.
Later Mike
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Adam Thompson -
Kevin McGregor -
Mike Pfaiffer -
Robert Dyck -
Trevor Cordes