Buying a new laptop..any suggestions ??

[rockycoon]

I am going to get a new laptop..this one has had the route.  I want one
with a camera and mic, and lots of memory and a huge hard drive.  Does any of you experts out there have any suggestions  what I should
get or look for ?

[Bee964]

I just got this netbook to keep in touch with my kids while I travel. Toshiba had a new laptop out that looked interesting. I don't remember the processor it used but it had 4 gigs of memory and a big head disc drive, dual layer dvd writer, built in camera with microphone... It was at best buy. It was not a large laptop either. 14" or 16" screen I think. This was about 2 weeks ago that I saw it. Hope this helps.

Dave C

[mustfocus]

Lenovo (yeah, a chinese company to-boot!) G series or SL series.  Or HP (non Pavillion) or Asus are good.  As long as you get a business version of the operating system (64-bit if possible).  The home versions (the "Home" version of windows) drive me nuts when something goes wrong.  You have to work around certain limitations with those.

[Neil]

I loved my LG laptop.  I miss it, but I get to see my darling from it's camera sometimes.

[Vince G]

Toshiba has had many problems with a delicut power board ( the connection breaks?) not worth the trouble.

HP is good and the few "chinese" models (Mustfocus I think Asus is chinese too?)

Look up the laptop and check reviews.

I looked into some and I think I'll be getting another Mac? just a laptop this time.

[mustfocus]

Lenovo is chinese...
Asus is based out of Taiwan but most of it's stuff is out of China...
Acer is also based out of Taiwan...
LG is korean...not sure where their plants are...
Samsung is korean... also not sure where their plants are...
Fujitsu is japanese, but their plants are usually out of China or Malaysia.
MSI is out of Taiwan, but the stuff is out of China
Toshiba is japanese, but their units are built out of China, Indonesia, Malaysia or Mexico (don't ask)
HP is american, but the units are usually out of China
Dell is american, but I'm not sure where their factories are now (the commercials all show americans doing the assembly, but I'm not sure where the units are actually out of).

Did I miss anyone?

[Vince G]

Lets see... IBM, Sony, ?? I think that's it?

[mustfocus]

IBM doesn't make laptops anymore (sold to Lenovo several years ago).  Sony...japanese, although I think it's out of China as well...but they might have some plants in Japan.

[JimB]

I would do this.  Write down what you want.  HD, ram, camera, Mic, DVD writer, etc.  Stay with the name brands and shop around for the best price you can find.  You can even try E Bay.  Be careful there though because you may find an unbeatable price only to find it has no operating system. Make sure you read all of the specs on it. If you are really concerned you can buy the extended warranty.  Places like Office Supply have reliable warranties.  I wouldnt own any laptop with Vista on it.  If you find one with Windows XP pro or Windows 7, those are the ones to go to.  I hate Vista.  Windows 7 is really good so far.  I upgraded my desktop and dual boot between XP and Windows 7.  7 is by far faster on the boot up and operations although some programs wont run on it.  One other thing about a laptop.  Battery.  the bigger the screen the shorter the time on.  My laptop is a 17" Toshiba.  While I love the big screen, there are two downfalls to it.  One is it will only last about 1/2 hour on a full charge and it is heavy.  I have not had any trouble with my Toshiba, I have had 3 of them.  I have actually given them away to the kids before they even wear out.  My step grandson has one I gave him 3 years ago.  it is now 7 years old and still running great.  My Toshiba I have now is 3 years old it has traveled to China with me 4 times and all across the US,and not a glitch of any kind.

Good luck on your hunt.

[daghoi]

Hi !

JimB summs it up pretty good. Make sure you get the Windows 7, i will belive all new computers are sold with that by now. Also consider who you buy from, it might be worh a few extra cents to by from a local physicall store that you know and trust. So it will be easier if you run into trouble later. (That said, most name brand latops today are reliable and does not break down unless treatet roughly, normally)

Also remember you get good antivirus software for free online, we covered that one another post a few days ago So you have an alternative to pay subscription fee to the antivurs companys.

[Rhonald]

I use an Abacus for my laptop. Works great for counting but no web cam. :fi_lone_ranger:

[shaun]

What is wrong with vista and laptops?

[mustfocus]

Vista?  Seriously, very bad idea...Vista was written as a kludge...assembled from bits and pieces and never really optimized.  It's a bloated operating system that introduced many bugs into the mix.  That's why most corporations didn't get into it and waited for Windows 7...it's lighter on resources and works better.

[shaun]

Give me some specific problems one might encounter.  My computer has issues and vista.  Just wondering if the issues are caused by vista.  The biggest problem I have is my memory being near zero most of the time.  I have 1 gig.  I run Speed it up and it helps but I will run it at the end of each day only to have 16meg when I log in the next morning.

[mustfocus]

For Vista (or Windows 7) you need a minimum of 2Gb.  But with 7, you will notice it's faster than Vista.  Vista is a memory hog, especially if you have the special effects turned on.  Compatibility-wise it's also not a fun toy to play with.

Often the "speed up" stuff like Readyboost will cause the computer to lock up when it's rebooting.

Security updates get stuck on Vista quite often and have to be deleted (and the system sometimes recovered).

I could keep going on...