No Lap Top

[Leester]

For the last month or so I've been spending 2 to 3 nights a week in motels because of work. I don't have a Lap Top so it gets a little boring at times. Last night at the Super 8 in E. Peoria Il. I noticed they had a computer in there lobby for guest use. That was great, I was able to check out SH and the other forum. Now I just got to remember to take my passwords along.

What is a good choice for a Lap Top that doesn't cost my other arm and leg ( gasoline has the others) and where is the best place to buy. TIA

[Peter Ferguson]

If it was for me I would get a Mac. But if your looking for something inexpensive these guys are tough to beat.

http://www.tigerdirect.com

[Randy Powell]

I agree with Pete. Anymore, I buy most stuff at Tigerdirect. Great service and quality stuff overall.

[Ralph Wenzel (d)]

ASUStek has a new one called "EeePC". Very small and light and durable, and the price is around $400. No rotating media; i.e., no hard drive. It uses "Flash Ram" organized as a hard drive. It'll boot from Off to Ready in about 35 seconds! Has 3 USB ports, built-in 100MBs and Wi-Fi networking. The most serious limitation is the 7", 640x480 display. This is adequate for most on-the-road tasks, and it's not intended to take the place of a regular PC anyhow.

There are 2 versions, each with several configurations. The Linux version is the one I'd get. It comes with OpenOffice, which works sorta like Microsoft Office, and can read and write Microsoft-compatible files. And the OS and OpenOffice fit into the available RAM, so there's little or no delay in loading programs. HAs a bunch of Games and Utilities built-in, too.

Available at Micro Center and Best Buy - - probably others, too. Try it out in the store and decide if it'll work for you.

[don Burke]

Last FridayI got a Toshiba laptop at Best Buy. Then on Sunday they put it on sale, unfortunately their "price guarantee" doesn't apply to their sales items.  The price difference was $149.   

I just checked the link at Tiger Direct.  Same machine, $80 cheaper than what I paid.

Local Best Buys may still have some on sale since it was a weekly thing, $649.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3712897&CatId=17

Incidentally, I really like the machine, the display is one the clearest I've seen in a laptop.

[Bob Reeves]

Besides Tiger, check out Dell's and Toshiba's web site for referbished. Sometimes you can get allot more bang for the buck buying referbished.. My last two laptops came from Toshiba's referbished stock. Anything less than a couple years old will have everythig you need.

Being a technician it has never bothered me to buy referbished, typically they are better than new if you can get past maybe a few scratches...

[Randy Powell]

Have to admit that recently I got a MacAir through a friend (let's say I really lucked out on the price). Very good travel laptop. Extremely light and easy to use. The normal price is more that I'd want to pay.  A lot more. But for simple and easy to use, you can't beat it.

My normal, hotrod Dell laptop is great, but it's no lightweight. After carrying it on your shoulder for awhile, it's starts to feel like you're toting around a Buick. The MacAir weighs less than 3 lbs. Core2Duo processor, DVI and USB 13.5" wide screen display. Normally comes with an 80gig Parallel ATA drive, but I got mine with a 64gig solid state drive (an option you normally only get with the higher end machine). Guarantees pretty much insta-boot. this is the first Mac I've ever owned. I've been a Linux guy for years and years. I was amazed to see how much the Mac has become a Linux box. Figures since underneath, it is a hotrod Linux (OK Unix/BSD) box. Very cool and an easy transition.

If you have to pay retail, they ain't cheap. But I suppose you get what you pay for.

[Randy Cuberly]

For the last month or so I've been spending 2 to 3 nights a week in motels because of work. I don't have a Lap Top so it gets a little boring at times. Last night at the Super 8 in E. Peoria Il. I noticed they had a computer in there lobby for guest use. That was great, I was able to check out SH and the other forum. Now I just got to remember to take my passwords along.

What is a good choice for a Lap Top that doesn't cost my other arm and leg ( gasoline has the others) and where is the best place to buy. TIA

Dell has some really good machines and great deal right now.  Check them out on line.  I have an Hp and my wife has one of the new Dell Notebooks and it's terriffic.

Randy Cuberly