A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Laptop

My daughter wants a laptop. i want my daughter to get a laptop so she will quit messing up my computer. I have DSL wireless into my house. What I want is suggestions as to what to look for. Or what not to look at.
She said she wants a 'tough' one because she recognizes that she is rough on her possesions. Which is smart of her to see. She wants to be able to burn cd's and dvd;s etc.
I have about a thousand to spend (but do not need to spend it all). Any ideas?

my only comments are 1) make sure it is a dual core processor. those are best for dvd & cd recording. but that is nearly standard now. 2) as rough as she might be on things, making sure there is a latch on the lid might be good and 3) an extended life battery might be in order.

oh, and i'll leave this here so you will get a broader set of opinions from folks who might not visit the tech corner

Just go to Hp, Dell, sanyo,, etc,, and look at the Specs of the computers as Jiffy said for Dual Processing,, and decide what specs would serve her purpose including memory etc,,,,,,,, That's how I decided on mine,, it took a few weeks of studying different Brands and specs,,,,,, taking your time in deciding will be rewarding in the end,

Well, Bill is not here to 'pick' out my kid's. So I am asking for ideas. My old man is useless in tech stuff. Now if I wanted tools he'd be a wonder-shopper.
I guess I wanted to hear what NOT to look at as much as what to look for. I will take notes.

I don't think there are many choices in PC. Unless we went Mac. I love my XP.
I won't mention vista out loud.

My Dell lasted me nearly 9 years... Should tell you something lol...

My moms HP sucks, it breaks on her constantly.

All I ask for is customer service that is in the US.....

Yes, I so get that. If I need Verizon support for my DSL I land in India often. The language barrier can be a tough hurdle.

Good luck on that... The only tech support HP had that I knew of in the US was from Stream International in Beaverton, OR; they canceled those projects several years ago...

Dell I believe still has a lot of their support in the US by Affiliated Computer Services; I believe the TX branches where catering to this... This was some time ago, and I know for a fact that a lot of their support is from overseas...

Cindy, tell Tina what kind you have so she can get that kind.

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yea Cindy, help a lady out here.......

When I called for HP help, I got someone in Ontario,, He was very friendly,, and quick in resolving my issue! My 800 number is listed for U.S, it was automated and prompted me to either wait for up to 15 minutes for U.S. tech ,, or be connected with another techn in Cananda, wait time was approx 2 minutes,, issue was resolved in less than ten minutes, so I has happy about that,,

I agree that to find a New Lap Top with XP isn't going to be found easily, I have Vista,, Not an easy program to get used to But I don't have a choice , So I deal with it,, and am getting used to it,,, They should have never put it on the market until all normal use programs for it were perfected and had all the benefits of XP,, There are some things about it I really like.. but more I don't.
I DO however like my HP pavillion, dv6000, Intel Centrinio dual processer, it has lite scripe and graphics by nvidia that I really like. I was looking for a laptop that would handle loads of music, pictures, movies,, TV..... etc... so Mine is geared more toward entertainment and creating entertainment,, and it had many many ports to connect other devices,, and dual head phones,,
Tina have your daughter List what she'd need and want specs'. Find out what she would most use it for,, School work,,,, Graphic , office, music,, videos,, etc,,,, and go from there,,,
I believe I started looking at ads in the paper,, when something struck me in interest,, I'd look it up on the 'net to really examine the inside,,,, then I'd look up another brand with simular specs' and compared prices,, then I started looking for online coupons , and stores for instant in store coupons,, .

I have a Dell and whenever I have had to call tech support I usually land in India. I don't think many companies have US support anymore.

I have Vista on this computer and really don't mind it. I have not had any problems with it. I guess I am not sure what it is that people don't like about it but I haven't come across anything yet.

i've been happy with my dell. except the indian/philippine customer service

and they have always serviced faster than promised

and, you might want to invest ahead of time in a good (seagate or western digital) external hard drive. they are storage devices that hook to the usb port and you can use them to "back up" anything you would be heart broken if you lost in a crash. mine is slightly larger than 2 decks of cards side by side)

you also might want to consider getting one that has the scroll button by the mouse. saves wear and tear on the touch pad.

and, from what i understand, now that core duo 2 (i think i have the order right) is available for laptops, it is worth the extra money over a dual core processor. that is if you are going to be doing a lot of graphics and videos, which i know she is. not to mention music.

I will be very relieved to have her graphics, videos and music off of my computer (there are side benefits here)

yes. and a good portable hard drive will make the transfer much easier

that's pretty much the same thing I said above. that Mine has,
- Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 / ( Dual-Core )
RAM - 3 GB (installed) / 4 GB (max) - DDR II SDRAM ( 2 x 1 GB ) -
Hard Drive - 300 GB -
Operating System - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
Screen - 15.4' - BrightView
Optical Drive - DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM with LightScribe Technology
Graphics - NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS - 256 MB
Bluetooth - Yes
Camera - yes
Core 2 Duo T7400 processor (the star attraction), Movies, music and graphis,, is the reason I got mine as well as other benefits,, in the first place those were the specs I was looking for with loads of memory,, and load of ports to use,
I rarely use my touch pad,, unless I'm away from home,, I use a wireless mouse at home,, I just really don't like using the touch pad,, Just a personal preference,,
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Also you can go to CNET they have a list of reviews for laptops * Good and Bad reviews,*

I have found out that there is a difference between the dual processor and a core duo 2. (Thanks to Jiffy's son-in-law). And a price difference as I've been offered a choice. The core duo 2 is an upgrade and the way I will go for Jonni's needs. But I have a headache from checking it all out today. I will do more homework tomorrow.