Laptop Advice
 

Ok I really would like to buy a laptop but I don’t want to pay a lot for it. :lol: It would not replace my home PC. I really want to use it when I go away so that I can upload my digital photos and burn them to a CD or DVD. I also want to be able to burn DVDs both + and - on it, too. I would also like to be able to put a program like Photoshop Elements on it without having too many problems.
Any ideas? Is there any brand or anything that I should stay away from?

ive always used dell...they are my preference...they have deals mostimes and youve probably seen those advertised...you can build a system at their site which would give you an idea of pricing/packages. when ordering any computer/laptop be sure you are with someone knowledgable who can discuss what your needs are and build your system accordingly. dell also offers deals for govt/health/educ employees so thats an extra incentive to purchase...however i would guess other companies do as well :shrug:

im just stating the obvious :sorry: i hope some ledgies have more detailed info for you. i cant offer you any 'comparisons' as i said i only use dell. goodluck!

http://www.dell.com/

I think Dell are pretty good.

I use a Sony Vaio and it's fine although a lot of people have said to me they are unreliable.

Try and do some net homework and look for the popular ones and not the ones giving the best spec for the lowest price. If it sells well its usually a good bet its reliable.

Thanks for the info. I checked out the site. The thing that I don't like about any of these is that stupid mail in rebate. Why not just give all up front? The stores are the same way.

i understand your frustration...trust they are counting on you not to follow-up ;)
if you check around the site they do have those with an 'instant rebate' savings...
as babydoll wrote 'do your homework' ;)

good news...there will be more advice here soon :nod:


EDIT: omg i just referred to madformac as babydoll! :shocked:
ive just such affection for that sweetie!

:lol:

I'm getting a lot of attention and affection today on here! :angel:

:xoxo: :xoxo: Back atcha :wavey:

of course I would recommend a MacBook Pro

Lol
 

Are you the Ledge "Man Ho"?

LOL!!

Yes thanks for that Christy! :( :laugh: The thought had already occured to me earlier tonight I'm ashamed to say. :sorry:

But then I'm in that male heterosexual minority here. We need some more troops to give me some reinforcement. Most of the guys are either gay or married. :laugh: :laugh:

Hee!
 

Awww...don't be ashamed...pimp! :lol:

I was thinking of a Mac too. All of my programs run on XP so that would not work. At least I don't think so.

No, unfortunately the Mac laptops are not yet XP compatible, unlike the latest desktops. It's a shame but I think given time it will happen. Maybe 18 months to two years though..

I think I may now get a Mac desktop as my next computer.

I've heard good things about Dell.

Stay the hell away from Fujitsu Siemens though. I've had an Amilo L 6820 laptop for a little over two years and I've had nothing but trouble. Let the buyer beware!

Laptops kick desktop ass, btw.

Good luck with your choice! :wavey:

I have never even heard of that company.I guess that it is a good thing.

Thanks. I am going to going looking around this weekend.

Someone was saying that Toshiba are pretty good. Apparently, you can get them at Costco.

I know that Walmart sells Toshiba and I was going to check them out tomorrow. Thanks for the advice.

I have a Toshiba laptop. Before I bought it, I had heard they were very good. However, within 8 months my DVD drive broke & within 2 1/2 years my hard drive went. Fortunately, I had an extended service contract or I would have had to buy a new computer. Always get an extended service contract, especially if you're buying a laptop. It's definitely worth it!

Thanks for the advice. I was looking at a few sites last night and I think that I am more confused then before. I did see a Toshiba on the Walmart site but it looks as if it only burns DVDs and not CDs, too.

How is the battery life on the Toshiba?

Actually, the battery life is pretty good...about what it's advertised. And, I've never paid for a new battery. It's part of my extended service contract.

Did you get the contract from Toshiba or from the place that you purchased the laptop?

I bought my laptop at BestBuy. I got a 3 year extended contract with Best Buy. It expires this summer & I intend to renew it.

Well, so much for that! :laugh:

I saw this in the Walmart ad and it is listed on their website, too.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=4861607

The price is right but is there anything that I should beware of other then the fact that it is a Compaq?

I am going to my local Walmart (I hate Walmart) to check it out tomorrow.

I bought one
 

I ended up getting one last night at Best Buy. I got a HP because I liked the fact that it had LightScribe and I can burn a photo on to the CD or DVD. Going to make the boots a bit more interesting. I still don't know if it was the right choice but it was in my price range. At least I will be able to upload and post any Mac photos from the 2007 tour right away.:thumbsup: Hopefully, anyway. It was my birthday present to myself!
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1130986342746

That's looks pretty good! I have actually considered getting HP when it's time to get another computer, hopefully in a few years. I like my Toshiba, but there have been a few MAJOR problems with it. I hope you got an extended service contract with Best Buy. I was very impressed with their service department. They did a good job & they did it very quickly.

Good luck with your new computer.:)

Thanks. I did not get the service plan because it was almost $300.00.:eek: I figured that I would just try and be very careful with it. I was trying to get away with spending as little as I could. My biggest fear is losing it or having it stolen on me. I figured that for $300.00 if anything did happen to it that for a few more $ I could just get another one. Now I need to get a case for it.

Wow! $300.:shocked: They must have raised the price. Three years ago, I paid $200 for a 3 year plan.

This week I just bought a laptop. I had a desktop but...I was always having to fight the kids for it.
So again I bought an HP. HP dv5020.
I just love it. I can run my Photo Shop and do all sorts of thing at the same time.
I even run project 5 on it with no trouble.
It has an AMD Turion 64 processor
1024MB ram
80GB hard drive
DVD and CD burner
wireless.
I just bought some cool speaker so I can here my creations on project 5.
I paid $ 1,100 CD, plus I bought an 2 year extra warrantee.

That's great. Mine is not a desktop replacement just a travel PC. I am going to have to put a version of Photoshop Elements on it to edit photos. Did you get one that can do the LightScribe? I like the idea that I can put a photo image on tne front of a CD or DVD.
Good luck with your new laptop!

Can you believe that I am just hooking up the laptop now?:shrug: :laugh: Now I have a question about travel? If I am in a hotel that has high speed internet connectiion do I need a special modem or can I use the same one that I use for dial-up? Also does the X-ray machine damage blank CDs?

Whatever kind of laptop you get, please ensure that you do not get one with the type of battery that has been known to catch fire and had recalls on them. Those were Dell, Toshiba.... um, which other ones. You can Google that to find out.

Also, I would suggest you opt for one with a higher end processor and more than the normal amount of RAM if you are going to be doing anything with music and video files, which most of us here are/do. I made the mistake of buying one on the lower end to save $$$ and have suffered for it.

:mad: I got an HP. It has LightScribe and I am trying to burn a label on the CD and I have no idea if it is working or not. The directions don't even tell you how to use the darn thing. Anyone have a clue how to use it?

I got the LightScribe to work and it is so cool! I now have a photo of Lindsey on one of my photo CDs.:thumbsup:

I found this, but you already figgered it out:

http://www.lightscribe.com/gettingst...ex.aspx?id=276

Looks like you need to have a special CD burner to do this? Does it also require special CDs? I had know idea this technology existed. There's a chance I could be laptop shopping after I do my taxes next year. I would definitely be interested in something like this. Hhmmm... wonder what else is new out there that I don't know about.

Anyone else know of any other cool gadgets they're putting on laptops these days? I need to know these things when I decide to go shopping too!! :D

Sorry I didn't realize you had already bought one. Guess I should have read the whole thread. :rolleyes:

You need to use your laptop's Ethernet network port for high speed connections. Did your laptop come with a cable that looks like it's for the phone but is bigger on the ends? That would hook in to your Ethernet network port on the back of your laptop, then into the hotel's high speed modem. Looks like a dial up phone port but bigger.

HP and Compaq are the only PCs and laptops which have the LightScribe techology. It took about 20 minutes to complete the process. When I come home this evening I will try to take a photo of the CD that I made. Yes, you need a special type of CD or DVD and they say LightScribe right on the package.