What lap top to buy (1 Viewer)

Ivory55

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Hi, our present lap top is for ever crashing or switching off and is old. We are not computer minded so wondered if any of you had any idea of the best cheapest model for sale at the moment. We need it for banking , up dating of sat nav , we do not do games or films, Jill does letters etc as well. Cheers ivory55
 

GJH

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Anything on the market should eat what you want to do with it.

I normally go into places like PC World & Staples and play with the display models to see how I like the keyboard plus see what offers they have.

When you have an idea of which suits best you can either buy there or take details and look for a better deal online.
 

scotjimland

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In addition to Graham's good advice,

I would suggest buying from a high street shop rather than on-line.. if it goes wrong or you have any problems , places like PC World/Curries have a no quibble warranty and plenty of help.. and their prices are very competitive..

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Wombles

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Novatech is a reputable UK manufacturer, well rated by Which? in the past & have good free "lifetime" aftersales technical support helpline too manned by staff who really know their stuff. Their laptops are quite high spec so maybe more than you need (at least it will be longer before it becomes defunct though!) but might be worth calling them just for their free advice on what might be best for your needs? Our pc & laptops are all Novatech & we have been very happy with these products & their service over many years. See http://www.novatech.co.uk/
 
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Look for any laptop that has an Intel core i 5 processor, should sort you out! I also agree with the other posters, would not buy on line, in my opinion and its only my opinion having owned a few, stay away from Dell!
 

SMB

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I know you said you are not computer minded, but if you have the recovery disc(s) for yr old laptop, why not wipe yr disk and reset to factory settings? It is quite simple and there are tutorial videos or instructions on the internet. I have done this a few times in the past with good results. it takes a while to re-install windows updates etc but is worth the effort. Install a couple of free cleaning/startup programs to keep it running smoothly.

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ukbill

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anyone with the name lenova on it

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beachcaster

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In addition to Graham's good advice,

I would suggest buying from a high street shop rather than on-line.. if it goes wrong or you have any problems , places like PC World/Curries have a no quibble warranty and plenty of help.. and their prices are very competitive..

If you are happy with windows 8 based machines yes buy locally........but as I cant stand that operating system its hard to find a new windows 7 machine these days unless you shop around on the net.
Microsoft have cocked things up big time..with windows 8 and 8 + lets hope 9 will be better.
You learn windows for best part of 20 years then the idiots who design operating sytems throw all the good things away and come up with a toy town of a system..that demonstrates just how out of touch they are with many of their customers............who just want a choice of interface and local accounts.


barry
 
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BTW. That was a Joke. I am keeping all the Linux goodness to myself. Only members of my inner circle get to know how good it really is :rofl::rofl::rofl::wink:

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Feb 27, 2011
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A semi serious answer though... Have you looked at a chromebook. they are cheap as chips and are updated without you having to do anything.

I can't comment on updating satnav tbh, but the rest should be a doddle for one of these bargain devices.
 

GJH

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I disagree that Microsoft have cocked things up big time with windows 8 and 8.1. I have two Windows 8 machines which I found no more difficult to set up than any previous machines. Jill has a machine running 8.1 and has found the same. I had more problems with a Mac which I used to have.

Linux is fine if (as Jim posted a few days ago) you can obtain software which includes the tools you want/need.
 

beachcaster

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I disagree that Microsoft have cocked things up big time with windows 8 and 8.1. I have two Windows 8 machines which I found no more difficult to set up than any previous machines. Jill has a machine running 8.1 and has found the same. I had more problems with a Mac which I used to have.

Linux is fine if (as Jim posted a few days ago) you can obtain software which includes the tools you want/need.

There is no doubt that commercially Microsoft has cocked things up. It cost Steve Bulmer his job.
Sales have plummeted and business has not taken to windows 8. Why would they....its useless and illogical for them. Whole workforces would need to be retrained with massive costs.
The fact you and your wife get on with it does not prove its been anything but a total disaster for Microsoft
who's vision of integrating phone technology and other computers was wrong. Apples chief said as he mocked windows 8........ "Windows 8 is like merging a “toaster and a refrigerator"
Conceptually its way of mark and an experiment that Microsoft will have to put right with Windows 9 ..another mistake will kill them.

So look at the bigger picture....just because you can use it and get along ok with it does not mean it has not been a cock up of the greatest magnitude.

It depends what your needs are. Mine are pretty specific and to do with my creative work mostly and they are complex but beyond that I have never wanted to lock myself into an "Apple world" and it seems Microsoft are trying to do the same sort of thing.....a quote from an article I read recently

"I Don’t Want to Live in the Microsoft Ecosystem – Windows 8’s Modern interface takes us to a place where being a Windows user means using Bing, SkyDrive, and Xbox Live, playing mobile games from the Windows Store, buying music from Xbox Music, and renting videos from Xbox Video. If you use an online calendar, it better be Microsoft’s, because Windows 8 can’t sync with Google Calendar anymore. The Video app is more focused on selling me videos than letting me play the videos I already own. Do most Windows users really want this? I want to use Google, Steam, Radio, Netflix, and whatever other services I prefer. I want to choose services based on their own merits, not be shoehorned into any one company’s ecosystem or forced to choose services with Modern apps. Many popular services, like iTunes, don’t have any Modern Windows 8 apps."

The whole article is here
http://www.howtogeek.com/145984/why-i-still-use-windows-7-after-a-year-of-trying-to-like-windows-8/

As for Chrome books ..for me its another way to lock you into a "Google World" and their cloud.

So all the main system manufacturers are trying to lock you in and control and limit what you use.

What I want is to pick and choose any sweets I want from the sweet shop...........pick and mix. Not just be forced to buy only Cadburys.

Perhaps Linux will be the only logical choice in future..........but the thought of losing much of what I have learnt.....and relearning stuff that I already know and use well is daunting.

barry

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All major service providers are trying to push us down the same route. Walled gardens with subscription services.
The biggest ones at the moment are Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft and all of these people want to tie you in and get more info about you and your use cases.

Linux really is the only option these days that is totally open. However it isn't for everyone. If you use Adobe creative software, Autodesk Cad software or other similar specialist software Linux won't be for you unless you can put up with learning how to setup and use Wine or similar. These are API emulators that allow you to run windows sofware on Linux. They work with a lot of software to varying degrees.

However if you just want to send emails, word process, browse the web etc etc. Then Linux is worth a look. But be prepared. It does do things slightly differently depending on which flavour you download.

I would just point out that there is no such thing as Linux. Linux is just an overall name for a huge number of distributions of the linux kernel with desktop tools.

In linux you may find you have too much choice as nothing is fixed in stone. Off the top of my head I can think of 6 different desktop environments each one different, going from very basic but lightweight and fast all the way up to fully featured and very glitzy. With linux you can mix and match. If you decide you want a start menu that only appears when you right click on the desktop you can have it. If you want a mac style dock you can have it. If you want a task bar at the top and a menu bar at the bottom you can having. If you want 6 virtual screens organised in a 3d cube that rotates on screen you can have it. Linux is all about Free. Free as in free beer no money charged, Free as in freedom to do what you want how you want, and finally free as in free of restriction such as DRM and other media restrictions.

I am not trying to sell anyone on linux as no one likes an evangelist. And unless you are ready to jump high pressure sales will just make you want to avoid it.

There are a number of ways to try linux. You can run it from a USB stick on most computers. This won't touch your windows install but it does run slower than a full install.
You can dual boot your system so you can have windows and Linux running side by side. This is harder to do as you need to alter the partitions on your hard disk which isn't for everyone.
Finally you can do a full install which gives you everything.

The distro I use is called Linux Mint XFCE edition. This is a distribution made by the Linux mint guys but runs the XFCE desktop which is lightweight, fast and stable. You could run Linux Mint Cinnamon, Linux Mint Mate, or Linux Mint Debian editions. There is also the KDE desktop. And this is just one distribution. There are hundreds of distributions and they are all different in some ways. The only one I would recommend avoiding is Ubuntu as they are trying to do the same as What Microsoft is with the user interface. It is a nightmare.

Anyway, I will leave you with this.

http://distrowatch.com/

If you have any questions about Linux please feel free to ask.
 

GJH

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With respect, Barry, your opinion that just because we can use and get along OK with Windows 8 "does not mean it has not been a cock up of the greatest magnitude" is only a subjective opinion.

I use Bing every now and again if I can't find what I'm looking for on Google Maps. I've never used SkyDrive or Xbox Live, never played games from the Windows Store, never bought music from Xbox Music, and never rented videos from Xbox Video. I've also never used an online calendar, be it Google Calendar or anything else. I hardly ever use Video apps but was able to obtain details (from here) of one when I needed it. I do use Google but have never used Steam, Radio or Netflix. iTunes works fine for what I want on my Windows 8 machines and will until I finally get really frustrated with Apple and dump the iPod for something else.

At the end of the day computers are tools. They either do the job one wants them to or they don't. If one publisher's system doesn't work as required then buy an alternative - it's really no different logically than choosing (for instance) Tesco over Asda or Skoda over Rolls Royce.

As Karl says, all the publishers are trying to tie people in to their way. It's no different from Bosch and the like selling a range of power tools that take the same battery which cannot be used in tools made by other manufacturers.

It's the way of the world.

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beachcaster

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With respect, Barry, your opinion that just because we can use and get along OK with Windows 8 "does not mean it has not been a cock up of the greatest magnitude" is only a subjective opinion.

.

Read again what I wrote.. and my references...its all correct and based on fact

No its not subjective..I go on to explain why Windows 8 is a failure.......its not at all popular with business Business's have largely ignored it and its sales are hugely below what were expected. . I also said it cost their chief his job... and has caused Microsoft to examine its and change its future vision..This has caused the launch of "windows 9" to be bought forward. Windows 8 and 8 + have been a financial disaster for Microsoft... and therefore the cock up I was referring to.


None of that is subjective, its all out there..... and is therefore totally objective.
Look it up on the internet.........the fact you like it means nothing at all in the big picture.

barry
 

GJH

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Read again what I wrote.. and my references...its all correct and based on fact

No its not subjective..I go on to explain why Windows 8 is a failure.......its not at all popular with business Business's have largely ignored it and its sales are hugely below what were expected. . I also said it cost their chief his job... and has caused Microsoft to examine its and change its future vision..This has caused the launch of "windows 9" to be bought forward. Windows 8 and 8 + have been a financial disaster for Microsoft... and therefore the cock up I was referring to.


None of that is subjective, its all out there..... and is therefore totally objective.
Look it up on the internet.........the fact you like it means nothing at all in the big picture.

barry
And my point is that just because you don't like it means nothing in the big picture either.

I could argue further but can't really be bothered. I'd rather enjoy Sandy and points west.
 

beachcaster

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And my point is that just because you don't like it means nothing in the big picture either.

I could argue further but can't really be bothered. I'd rather enjoy Sandy and points west.

I agree with you........ what you or I like matters not a jot. You could argue further but you are onto a loser.

What I was said was that windows 8 was/is a cock up and bad decision taken by Microsoft.
And Microsoft themselves are saying that now....as have their investors and the stockmarket.
I happen to agree with them...but the facts are the facts.

In this article

Microsoft employees admit Windows 8 is 'the new Vista'
Confess that they could have done better

http://www.techradar.com/news/softw...ees-admit-windows-8-is-the-new-vista--1216825

and another comment by Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonk...s-9-must-do-to-avoid-flopping-like-windows-8/

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Bailey58

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My take is that whether when we're tied in to a particular provider because we haven't got the time nor the inclination to learn something new then that provider, in this case MS, should continue to give us more or less what we're used to and resist bringing out an OS that's a completely new ball game. As said Vista was a disaster but for differing reasons, at least it was not a new learning curve as Win8 has proven.

Back to me fish pond. :)
 

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