91 replies to this topic

[opus]

So on a similar, but more frugal topic: I am looking for a laptop as well.  But it needs to be cheap -- like, less than $200 cheap.  (Obviously, this laptop will be used.)  It won't be my primary computer -- I'm going to use it for nothing more complex than surfing the Internet and using a 6-year-old music composing program.  Any thoughts on where I could find such a laptop, or recommendations on what laptops are likely to be in okay shape used?

Your best bet is probably to start at eBay. My coworker has snagged some older Mac (not to harp on OS supremacy, that's what he got) laptops for pretty cheap, and they're still working just fine AFAIK.

[The Baptist Death Ray]

Here's a Compaq laptop on eBay that you can buy outright for $199.00.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Internet-Ready-Compaq-...1QQcmdZViewItem

[TexasWill]

Here's a Compaq laptop on eBay that you can buy outright for $199.00.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Internet-Ready-Compaq-...1QQcmdZViewItem

You're not getting much for your money though...

Pentium Processor 200 mhz. , 32 megs ram, 2167 megabyte hard drive, dual pcmcia slots, serial port, paralel port, infra red port, vga port, standard keyboard, internal accupoint pointing device, color screen, audio out midi jacks, microphone jack, internal Floppy disk drive, CD Rom Drive, stereo sounds system, ac adapter, ac cord, internet modem, untested battery

[The Baptist Death Ray]

Not much at all. But that's about all you'll get for $200 these days, and it's enough to surf the net and run MIDI composition software (which is what I think, though I don't know for certain, that Dale wants to run).

[TexasWill]

Apple notebooks are great, but if you're looking for something in the 1200 to 1600 dollar range, they're going to be a tough fit. Steve Jobs is overfond of his profit margins.

Not at all!

The iBooks start at $999 and the lower end of the PowerBook line is well within this price range.

[opus]

Check out this new website: dontbuyjunk.com -- really cool!

Ooh, thanks for this. I'm looking into getting a new TV and need all of the resources I can get.

[The Baptist Death Ray]

I don't want to sound like I'm coming out against Apple laptops. My next laptop -- or the laptop after that -- is definately going to be a Powerbook. Those are some beautiful machines. I'm not fond of Steve Jobs, but the product his company puts out is high-quality stuff. When I was thinking of laptops for Jeffrey, I'd forgotten about the iBook -- I was thinking PowerBooks only, and the lower-end PowerBook will wind up out of his price range if you add the warranty to it.

The iBooks could work. For my part, I'd find the 14" screen size very frustrating.

But the advantage a PC laptop would have is that in that price range you have more room to "trick it out" -- you can get some very nice AMD-based laptops with a good bit of RAM and hard drive space for $1600. At Xtremenotebooks you can get an AMD laptop with a 17" screen (displaying 1600x1050) and a full keyboard (with integrate number pad) for a little over $1400, though if you get the full warranty it goes over the $1600 range. The 15.4" screen models, however, can be pretty thoroughly tricked out without breaking the $1600 limit.

You have a lot more options for a PC-based laptop than you have for an Apple-based laptop... and if you're experienced enough with the PC world to manage the idiocy of windows on a PC then you can manage it on a laptop (or do what I did, and put Linux on it instead) and save a fair amount of money in the process, because you don't have invest in new software. And investing in new software can be just as significant an expense as buying the laptop to begin with.

Anyway, that's the biggest reason why I'd recommend a PC solution: if money is a limiting factor for buying the machine it will also be a limiting factor for the software that will go on the machine, and if you switch from PC to Mac you're essentially starting over.

[TexasWill]

...the biggest reason why I'd recommend a PC solution: if money is a limiting factor for buying the machine it will also be a limiting factor for the software that will go on the machine, and if you switch from PC to Mac you're essentially starting over.

I agree to a point. If you must buy a notebook this year and you have a significant investment in Windows software (that is, the type of software that does things that iLife -- the free high-quality software that comes with a new Mac -- cannot do) that you must use for production-work, then you're probably better off purchasing a very inexpensive Windows notebook.

If you can wait until the new year, you may very well have the opportunity to buy an Intel-based iBook or Powerbook that can run both your old Windows operating system (and software) natively and Mac OS X which is taking the computer world by storm.

Jeffrey, I recommend holding off if you can, but if you must buy now, then take TBDR's advice.

[TexasWill]

I don't want to sound like I'm coming out against Apple laptops. My next laptop -- or the laptop after that -- is definately going to be a Powerbook.

[Mr. Burns] Ex-cell-ent[/Mr. Burns]

[The Baptist Death Ray]

OK -- nobody start any threads about web host providers...

[Overstreet]

WOO HOO!

Here I am, at Hotwire Internet Espresso Cafe, connecting via wireless network for the first time on my brand new Toshiba Satellite M45-S359.

Sorry, TexasWill, but my other machine started giving up the ghost, and I'd blown the deadline for renewing the warranty, so we had to act now. Got a good deal on this machine, which has more than a gig of DDR2 SDRAM and 100 gigs on the hard drive, Intel Pentium Processor 760 (2.00), and a 15.4" widescreen WXGA display. I watched Revenge of the Sith on it last night and it looked fantastic, better than it does on any other computer or TV screen in my house.

This is going to do wonders for my ability to work on my books (much stronger battery, which will help me write on my commute to and from work), and it'll give me the freedom to participate here and update Looking Closer far more conveniently.

I've got a three year service warranty plus accident coverage too, so if I ever spill another vanilla latte on the keyboard like I did with one previous machine a few years ago, it won't be a complete nightmare. (I gotta say, though, I enjoyed the days after the accident when I would fire up the machine and a warm vanilla perfume filled the air....)

Thanks for the good counsel. I'm sure waiting and investing more heavily would have had its benefits, but I was reaching a crisis stage and had to act now.

[TexasSara]

Here I am, at Hotwire Internet Espresso Cafe, connecting via wireless network for the first time on my brand new Toshiba Satellite M45-S359.

OH THE HUMANITY!

[Ann D.]

That's what I have. Unfortunately, a trojan got in and really did a lot of damage, so it's no longer the great laptop it used to be.

I loved the DVD capability on it, when I had it. I hope you enjoy yours for a long while.

[TexasWill]

Sorry, TexasWill, but my other machine started giving up the ghost, and I'd blown the deadline for renewing the warranty, so we had to act now... I'm sure waiting and investing more heavily would have had its benefits, but I was reaching a crisis stage and had to act now.

If you're trapped in a desert and desperately need transportation, a Yugo can be a good short-term investment.

That's what I have.  Unfortunately, a trojan got in and really did a lot of damage, so it's no longer the great laptop it used to be. 

I loved the DVD capability on it, when I had it.

Yep, that's one of the many sad stories of the Windows world.

For what it is worth, the high-end Windows box at work has started giving me the "Blue Screen of Death" almost everyday now for a week. I guess I shouldn't complain... it has given me nearly a year of service without completely coming apart.

[Obnoxious comparison of Windows to Mac OS X]By way of comparison, I've been running the various incarnations of OS X since the day it was released March 24. 2001. and I've only had three crashes where I needed to reboot the system -- and one of those was when I was using version 10.0 with software that was known to be incompatible with the operating system.[/Obnoxious comparison of Windows to Mac OS X]

Congratulations on your new notebook!! By the time you are in the market for its replacement, the Intel-powered Power Books and iBooks will have converted many.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Hmmm, I've got a Toshiba Satellite of some sort, myself.

Two nights ago, it became a bit problematic. I am used to it losing contact with my personal wireless router every now and then. What I am NOT so used to is clicking on the "View available wireless networks" feature and getting a screen that tells me there are NO wireless networks in the area. Suddenly, my laptop isn't detecting ANY of them.

Correction: Over the past 36 hours, my laptop has typically detected the wireless networks in my neighbourhood for the first 10-15 minutes after I've turned it on. It is only after those 10-15 minutes that it goes into this "I don't see ANYthing" mode.

Anybody know what the problem might be here?

[TexasWill]

If you can wait until the new year, you may very well have the opportunity to buy an Intel-based iBook or Powerbook that can run both your old Windows operating system (and software) natively and Mac OS X which is taking the computer world by storm.

Here's the first of the Intel-based Macintosh notebooks

[Darren H]

Damn, that's a sexy computer.

[opus]

Here's the first of the Intel-based Macintosh notebooks

And let's not forget the new iMac, which will most likely be taking its place on my desktop in the next couple of months.

[TexasWill]

Where's the new WMC / TiVo killer? I thought that was expected, too...

If the rumors are true, it will probably have its own press conference in a few weeks. The iPod was introduced in a special press conference a few years ago.

[Jeff Kolb]

Well, we're now in the market for a laptop. I managed to fry the display of my wife's laptop within 3 months of marrying her.
Um...her, being my wife, not the laptop.

So we're looking. I'm initially drawn towards an Apple, mainly because it's based on a Unix OS and this is very helpful for work. And they're cool here in the Bay Area. I've grown up a Windows man, but my very limited experience with Macs has been positive.
I was doing some research yesterday and I'm a little confused about the pricing issue, i.e., are Macs really more expensive than PCs? I compared a Dell and an iBook with the following specs:

12'' screen
500G RAM
~40G HD
DVD-ROM/CD-RW
CPU: Dell-1.7GHz, Mac-1.3GHz
plus more or less standard accessories

Price: Dell-$1500, Mac-$950 (student pricing on both)

Am I missing something here? 1.3GHz is more than enough for most of today's computing. Are 400MHz worth $600? Or are Dells particularly expensive among PCs? Furthermore, the Mac comes with a full software bundle and the Dell with just the bare-bones. Maybe the price difference changes with the screen-size...? I think most people are looking for 14-15" screens.