Technobuddy

By Lisa

October 31, 2006 09:51 AM | Link to this

Can anyone recommend a good laptop? We will use it for Internet, Microsoft office, etc. But will also use it to store photos and songs.

By jokurone

October 31, 2006 11:52 AM | Link to this

buy a laptop with an AMD chip it runs faster, cooler and cost less than the Intel

By jokurone

October 31, 2006 11:56 AM | Link to this

btw machines purchased Through the program, consumers and small businesses can enjoy the benefits of a new Windows® XP-based PC today, along with the confidence that their new PC can be easily upgraded to Windows Vista™ when it’s available. These customers should feel confident that they do not have to wait for Windows Vista to experience owning a new PC that will be able to upgrade to one of the editions of Windows Vista in the future. By purchasing a qualifying Windows Vista Capable PC with Windows XP between October 26, 2006, and March 15, 2007, customers will be eligible for an Express Upgrade to one of the editions of Windows Vista from their computer manufacturer. now

By Milton

October 31, 2006 01:06 PM | Link to this

Lisa, listen to Jokurone. Get one with a processor made by AMD. I have six desktop computers and 5 laptops all with AMD processors hooked up to my home wi-fi network. I even let my neighbor 3 houses down the street tap into my wi-fi signal. AMD is the best, they just don’t have the marketing power that Intel has. By the way, I bought all my laptops for less than $600 online at Walmart. They do everything that folks are paying $1,800.00 for in retail stores.

By Prootwadl

October 31, 2006 01:55 PM | Link to this

Given the draconian licensing changes found in Windows Vista, there’s no way that I’m going to permit that particular piece of software on any of my boxes.

I’m waiting to purchase a couple of new boxes, but I’ll be buying them on eBay sans operating system, not from a major vendor.

By Fragman

October 31, 2006 02:28 PM | Link to this

Who asked for an AMD fanboi to give his biased opinion on processors? Intel’s Core 2 Duo processor rips the guts out of anything AMD has out there right now selling for hundreds more dollars. But I’m not your typical Wal Mart PC buyer: I build my own PCs sans laptops. For laptops, I go Dell, like my latest $1,600 Core 2 Duo 17” E1705 which is powerful enough for a desktop replacement, something sub-$1,000 laptops can’t touch.

In any event, it’s going to be a while before I switch over to Vista, probably not before SP1. Even then, I will have some major problems with Vista, specifically not supporting ad-on sound cards. Everything sound related in Vista is going to be software rendered. NOT cool, especially for hard core gamers.

By Mark

October 31, 2006 02:55 PM | Link to this

You can keep Vista. I use XP everyday at work and it gets slower everyday. I’ll stick with my iMac and OSX at home. Long live Apple!

By Milton

October 31, 2006 04:31 PM | Link to this

Fragman, you must consider Intel’s Core 2 Duo is relatively new. AMD will come out with something even better and cheaper, they always do. Intel is in bed with Microsoft, AMD has survived on their own. Oh, one more thing, remember that neighbor that I mentioned lived 3 houses down the street? Well they have 2 daughters with Laptops. One purchased the $1800 Dell and the other one purchased the $548 brand from Walmart. Well the $1800 DELL can’t connect to my wireless network because of the crummy wireless card in it, I mean it does not even see my network (out of range). The cheapo from Walmart finds it and connects without a problem.

Just like Microsoft doesn’t make the best operating system (but they have the marketing power to make the average user think they do), Intel does not make a better processor. They’ve just piggy backed on Microsoft’s success.

By Mark

October 31, 2006 05:56 PM | Link to this

Wow. This has turned into an Intel vs. AMD flamefest. Well, I’ve had both CPUs over the past decade, and also as a builder, find the current Intel Core 2 CPU the best there has ever been. Next year, it may be AMD. But right now, it’s all Intel. Also next year, Intel has a new die process on tap. So who knows. I’m glad there’s competition. To each, his own. I don’t buy brands. I buy the best for the buck. Oh, and for anyone who buys an expensive Dell laptop with a crappy built in network card, a $45 USB wireless connector will solve all range problems. Unlike a Wal Mart laptop, that Dell can be upgraded for years to come.

By Milton

October 31, 2006 06:08 PM | Link to this

OK, the Laptops that Walmart sell are ungradable. And they are not inferior products. They sell HP’s, Compaq’s, Toshiba’s and some of the lessor known brands, and they all cost less. I too assemble PC’s and I have enough sense to know that what you’re paying for is the name on the outside casing. All the parts come from China, Tiwan. In fact, it’s gotten so cheap and less time consuming to just go on Dawson Blvd off Jimmy Carter Blvd and let them put your PC together for less than $200.

By Kellix

October 31, 2006 08:46 PM | Link to this

Lisa, I am a computer tech, Toshibas are really good for the money, HP’s, Compaqs are alright. Dells and IBMs are more expensive for the money but they all have the same brand parts as toshibas or the rest. They use, Intel or AMD processors, or Maxtor hard disk drives. If you do get a Dell do a computer search for “Dell coupons”, it will knock the price off. Good luck. :)

By Michael

October 31, 2006 09:53 PM | Link to this

Lisa-

I would recommend you try an Apple MacBook. They start at $1099 and will let you run both Mac OS X and Windows XP. iPhoto and iTunes, both of which come with the computer for free, will help you organize photos and music. MS Office for Mac will run you the same $ on either operating system ($150 if you qualify for student-teacher version). The MacBooks use the CoreDuo processor, which is more powerful than the “budget” PC laptops you’ll find.

If you prefer to stay with a PC (I’m assuming that’s what you use), Dell isn’t a bad option. I bought a near-top-of-the-line model over a year ago and aside from needing more RAM, it seems to work fine (for a Windows machine). Stay away from HP/Compaq laptops. Nothing but trouble.

The basic point of all of this: you will get what you pay for

By Eddie Mattison

November 1, 2006 12:55 AM | Link to this

Bill, you said you bought a computer for your father-in-law and wrote a column about it. I’d be interested in reading it (as i’m sure others would who missed it). Want to know what you like. Where can I get a hold of it? Thank you, sir.

Eddie Mattison

By Bill

November 1, 2006 06:00 AM | Link to this

Hi Eddie, there are links on the left side of this page. Just look for the label that says Categories on the left and you’ll find a listing for columns. Then just click on the link.

By Milton

November 1, 2006 06:53 AM | Link to this

Bad advice Michael telling Lisa to stay away from the HP/Compaq Laptops. I don’t know what it will take to get people to realize they’re all the same inside. All the parts and manufacturing comes from Tiwan China. My daughter who is a Junior at UGA purchased a HP right before she entered her Freshman year and it has never missed a beat. I only paid $700 for it at Walmart.com. My son has an Averatec from Walmart.com, purchased 4 years ago, never a problem. I have an IC Power purchased from Walmart.com for $500 over two years ago, runs like a charm. My youngest daughter has an HP purhased from Walmart.com, runs lile a charm. I recommended to a school teacher that wanted a Laptop to buy the Balance brand from Walmart.com, runs like a charm. Not one of them has ever had a problem and they have the same functionalities that the high priced brands have, wireless cards, dvd reader/writers, cd writers, card reader slots to instantly take the card from a digital camera and load pictures right into the laptop. I will admit that anything manufactured can have a defect, such as a lemon car, the same applies to computers. But I’ve never had a problem. And every one of them is loaded with music downloads. Save your money Lisa and listen to world renowned consumer advocate Clark Howard about buying a computer. They are dirt cheap nowadays, don’t buy just because it has a well known name on the case and pay a fortune for it.

By Milton

November 1, 2006 07:05 AM | Link to this

Hey Mark, actually $45 is too much to pay for a wireless connector. My oldest daughter boyfriend has an old laptop that was manufactured before they started making wi-fi cards standard in all of them. He wanted an internet connection whenever he visited my daughter’s house because she’s too cheap to pay for dsl or a cable modem. I put a wireless pci notebook adapter that I purchased from outpost.com (Fry’s Electronics) for $29 in his laptop and he was able to tap into one of my daughter’s neighbor wi-fi signal. You can also purchase a wireless USB adapter from outpost.com for $20. The brand that I use most from outpost.com is the AIRLINK products.

By mad mommy

November 1, 2006 07:40 AM | Link to this

We bought our daughter a new dell last year for christmas. She was thrilled until we set it up and found the motherboard was broken. A 3 hour call to dell (2 3/4 hrs on hold time) resulted in being told our three choices: onsite repair w/refurbished parts, exchange, or return. I opted for exchange and was put on hold by the tech person for cust. service. 1 hr & 45 min later someone asked who I was holding for. When I replied cust. service I was told that they had gone for the day an hour ago and to call back another day. Then it became a return. For five days I stayed home (missing much needed work) to wait for their pick up people only to have no one come. Each day I was reassured that someone would come the next day. The third day I was told (while it sat in my LR floor)that it had already been picked up. The fourth day the cust. service person told me that I did not need to be there “Just put it on the porch and it will be picked up.” (obviously there is no crime where they are)After 5:00 the fifth day 3 different trucks came to pick it up. Imagine my surprise when I was charged a $283.00 restocking fee for returning a machine that was broken when it arrived. It took 2 monthes to get that returned and that was only after a useless fight with customer service and a certified letter to Michael Dell, CEO of the company. I will never buy from them again. We ended up with an e machine from walmart that has never given us any trouble.

By Milton

November 1, 2006 08:01 AM | Link to this

LOL mad mommy. Wow $283 for them just to take their broken machine back? How much did that thing cost? I bet you could have bought 2 e-machines for the price you gave Dell. Dell has it all laid out for you online, you pick the basic system, then everything you add or need costs extra. The big giants like Microsoft, Intel and Dell all made their money because of the Marketing power of perception. But things are changing. Microsoft made a fortune off of it’s Office Suites, that thing costs upwards of $500. But I believe Google is going to put a big dent in the sale of Microsoft’s Office Suite. Google just last week released a product that will allow any user to unload/download documents created in Word or Excel without you ever having to purchase MS Office Suite. And the neat thing about it is it’s all web based and you can accees it anywhere in the world. You can also share the document with others, grant them priviledges to update it, or restrict them from updating it. It’s a great product. You can find it at Google.com and when the page comes up click on Business Soultions.

By mad mommy

November 1, 2006 08:16 AM | Link to this

Milton, I purchased it fom Dell online, and it was a basic system for about $600.00 with free shipping as a purchase incentive.