Laptop questions
 

I'm not seriously looking right now but I do need a new computer eventually and I can't see any reason to get a desktop.

Is there a difference between a laptop and a notebook?

(I remember a student saying she needed a labtop. Probably the same dumb girl who, years and years ago, told me "Mah boyfriend drives him a Trams Am" I think it was supposed to make me think 'wow, he must be AWESOME') :lol:

I digress.

This one is fairly cheap: Gateway 15.6" 4GB AMD Dual Core Notebook

What does 4GB mean? Is that good? What is AMD? What is a Dual Core?

320 GB hard drive...is that good?

Modem: No. What does that mean? Could I connect to my wireless?

I'm really dumb about this stuff. I'd like a decent one, if I get one, but I can't spend a ton of money.

I'm not the expert around here, but I think you want to start by deciding what its going to be used for. Then the operating system you want. Then choose a brand or two that are acceptable, then decide new or refurbished or used, then look at price, then the specs just kind of fall into place.

The one you found sounds pretty mediocre. Is it new? What operating system?

I got a Dell laptop that was a few years old. A refurbished business model being resold on eBay. A top of the line model in its day. Well built. But I got it for a very decent price. It's starting to get slow with the software out there now, so I may need to be getting a new one soon. I want to get a Windows 7 machine while they are still in large supply.

Here are a few:
- Generally durable. They run and run.
- Large displays for little money. 23" displays for $130 now, 24" for $160.
- Speedier. Desktops will be a third faster for the price
- Won't force you to bend your spine to see the display at a good angle
- Better keyboards, including after-market
- Better mice, including after-market
- You won't need an expensive briefcase for it

those are good points.

i made a good purchase with my computer all those years ago. when i posted this i was thinking on a whim, and i'm not really ready to make the purchase (my immediate future income-wise being iffy) so i am going to wait and replace my home computer, making the same good choices i did before. i think a laptop should be a secondary.

thanks! :)

A lot of people are doing the desktop at home and office, and a tablet on the road or portable around the house.

I have a few year old desk top with a semi stompen video card and a 24" hd moniter and digital suround sound ,
A lap top from and for work,
And I got a android Baced Tablet a few weeks ago , Its Cool , and if you use Crome for a browser all your book marks are imported to the tablet when you log on , I have found it to be Uber handy !!!!!!!

I have the big gaming beast, but find that I seldom use it. I use the laptop more. But, over all, the nexus 7 gets more uses. This posted from my phone, which I use more than all the rest combined.

I use the desktop at work, and phone at home.

The desktop and two old laptops at home are mostly used by the kids. If I have to do something real at home, I get on the desktop. You know, archive photos or create a document or something like that.

I use a laptop, because portability around the house is critical to me. And even when I don't have to be moving from room to room, I'm more comfortable slumping on the couch with it than sitting in a desk chair. If you're mostly going to be using it on a table/desk, then yeah, a desktop is probably a better choice. If, on the other hand, you want to be able to set it on the kitchen counter so you don't have to print out that recipe you just found, then take it in the living room so you can browse the cellar and watch TV at the same time... laptop livin' is the life for you.

We're barely into the second decade of the 21st century, and it seems reasonable that a person should need three computers: the main home desktop, the mini-portable, and a mid-size one for "around the house".

And yes, I can see why, if you have a largish house, but ... wow, you know?

I just counted the number of computer devices currently in use in the house... it's nine, counting smartphones. But we are big nerds.

For what it's worth, I went ahead and got Win 8 on this laptop when I replaced it, and it's not so horrible. The whole tablet-wannabe "Metro" interface is beyond stupid, but there is still a desktop mode that operates just like Windows 7. I just have a desktop button on my Metro interface, so it's one more click to go through after I boot up and then everything is back to normal.

Two residents here:
1 pc and a Mac, a netbook, three ipads, one ipod classic and two ipod touches, an ipod shuffle, three smart phones of varying degrees of smart, a kindle fire. I think. That's what we use, more or less. There's a couple of dead bits, too.
So we beat you there, Clod ;)

I love you nerds, but you nerds must have a lot of disposable income, or debt.

This reminds me of foot asking for advice about getting his shit in one sock. It went from OP to everyone talking about all the devices they have and the ones he should get in, like, 60 seconds flat.

Because, I actually knew that a lot of folks have a home computer AND a laptop, but that wasn't what I was asking.

So I'm glad that all of you, like most of my family, have 500 phones, 60 computers, 3 GPSs, a flat-screen TV with the latest sound system and blu-ray players in every room...but I don't. I also don't have the nerd household members to make everything work and keep it maintained and fix issues.

So, see, it's one or the other for me. Conspicuous consumerism never really fit me, anyway.

Well, so, I'm just feeling sorry for myself today...staff meetings when I'm still in Limbo-land and everyone else is just so damn grand...

Feeling very misfitty today.

Sorry about that.

the expected has happened.I felt the vibe this morning.

on 5 days paid leave to give me time to appeal. Right noI'm going to bedi'm

Shit, that's bad, Infi. Good luck. Do you really want to appeal, do you really want to stay? They owe you all that holiday, right?

Sorry, infi. I bet you'll feel much happier about this turn of events as time goes on, though. Take a break and pamper yourself, you deserve it.

Thanks. I know it will be OK. Today I have full wallow allowance and tomorrow I start feeling the weight lifted off me. And it's gonna feel really good.

don't see a reason to appeal. And say what i've been saying all along?

They can have it. this phonewophone wont post right wtf.

it keeps jumping and adding words and it's weird.

anyway, thanks limey and clod.

and my guy, who thinks i'm Better than sliced bread. Thank you.

Now raise a glass to my can. :)

the world is my oyster.

Most anything you needed a desktop for is now done with a laptop. Typical screen is 14 or 16 inches.

Netbook is more portable than a laptop, smaller, works better as a portable machine, and has limits.

If not doing serious work - if only needing communication and web surfing - then tablets are an acceptable alternative.

I'm not sure whether to tell you I'm sorry, or to congratulate you, Monkey.

At least the torture is over. Did I mention they are fuckers?

Bummer IM. Prayers for a new job headed your way.

DO NOT TOUCH A GATEWAY

I've heard, mainly from TW I think but other sources too that Toshibas don't live up to their brands reputation.
On advice from many of these threads on different boards over the years, I've always looked at Dell and HP, they've always been nice, only has died, and that was covered by an extended recall, but the IT guy didn't catch it :mad2:.

I'm going to wildly speculate you want a laptop, so you slob around the house with it.

4GB is RAM memory, think thinking space, to run all that stuff that is happening right now, 4 is plenty for surfing/office type stuff.

320 GB is hard drive, filing cabinet space, that's kind of low end, but plenty for office stuff. If you tale a lot of digital pics, it's going to fill up, but you should be backing them up elsewhere anyway, if you take video then it's not enough. 500 is bit more standard maybe.

Modem is for dial up, they're cheap, but so few people use them, especially on a laptop they don't even bother anymore.

AMD is the brand of the processor, i.e. brain, as opposed to Intel.
last I looked Intel was winning the nerd war, you pay more for Intel, but get more, would you notice the difference, dunno.

Dual core - instead of making one brain faster and faster, they put in more brains, theoretically they share the work out to hget more speed, or one can shut down to conserve power ( when on battery for instance).

15.6" screen size is the standard you can go smaller ~14" for more portability or larger 17" for, i dunno, movies? Bigger screens are heavier and sap batteries, smaller screen will last longer on it's battery.

all laptops have wireless, webcams are pretty much standard now.

I didn't see the price on your gateway, but HP for $300

IMHO, laptops are an evoltionary side branch now, you can do 90% of what 90% of people want to do on a tablet or even phone.

I bought monster a no name Tablet for $60 from walmart, I do most of home email and surfing on that.

Love all the comments but replying from this phone is all effed up short sentences only.

I'll go to the library tomorrow to reply more. :)

Sorry you got canned ,their loss , those fuckers dont deserve you !!!

Momdigr uses her 7" ColorNook a lot for surfing the web, Facebooking and such. She even uses it in bed (with earbugs) for NetFlix.

If I were buying new, I'd just take $500-$600 to BestBuy/Wherever and buy as much laptop as it would buy. You'll prolly be plenty happy with what you get.

Or ya might luck across a pawn shop ColorNook for $35 like Popdigr did.

Oh, and Congrats/Condolences!!!

Oh hai! Just now getting back to this thread. D'oh!

My new computer plans are on hold now anyway, but thanks for the advices.

I have a computer that I bought at my old job...has everything but an OS. What are the views on that? Can you just buy, like, Windows 7 and put it in and it installs? I wish I were a techie.

And thanks for the congrats/condolences. I actually woke up today almost smiling. :)

What kinda computer?

a grey one

Oh grey is too old and will only run XP. You need a black one for Win7.

It IS black, mofo.

no realIy I don't understand the question. It's a black tower with innards. Does that help? ;)

UT was just playing Sheldon in the computer store

I heart Sheldon!

What are the innards? Does it have a brand and model number?

I guess it helps if I look at it.

the case sayIBM netvista

pentium
theres a mt/m number

damn phone

That's between 10 and 14 years old. It's an XP sort of machine. You would probably not be happy with it running Windows 7. It may have as little as 256MB of memory. I wager under $50 on eBay would get you all sorts of better options:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiple...item257d8d2eab

So a dirty grey then

That one's blue. Let's talk about monitor upgrades and why an old monitor can be less accurate with colors.

Tony is definitely more Leonard than Sheldon.