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In addition I am hoping you can help me with this problem.
My daughter is just about to purchase a laptop computer and she needs some advice about what she should look for, wireless or not, hints, tips, links, brands, etc.
She will be using it for connecting to her work computer while at home as well as for college.
I know a lot of you have or recently purchased laptops, so I am hoping you can help us out here.
She wants definitely to keep the cost under $1000.00 and as low as possible. .
BTW she asked me to put it up on the site here after all the raves I have given this place for the great info that’s always in abundance here.
Here is a nice picture to look at as a thank you for stopping by. It is a Vogue cover from 1920’s.
Get a Mac!…she can get a G4, 12″ iBook for @ 1k. It’s fast, it’s wifi (a must have), it’s Bluetooth, built in everything, great bundled software and 99.9 % virus free. If she can buy it thru school they also offer an Edu. discount.
Check it out Here
I’ve been using Macs since 94 and recommend them highly…plus there’s NO Micro$oft on them. Currently my only computer is a G3 iBook…2+ – yrs. old…never had a problem. My old PB 150, circa 94 even works.
Peace
I second that suggestion, for the same reasons! BUMP UP THE RAM to at least a gig, though.
Apple has student discounts, so if anyone is a college student, it’s substantially cheaper, plus they’re running a “buy a computer, get a free ipod” deal for students for the next few weeks.
well if she’s using it for work you’ll have to make sure it can run whatever software she uses there.
I don’t know much about macs but if you want a PC they are so cheap nowadays! I would have your daughter look at PC magazine’s annual laptop issue (maybe they call them notebooks), or pcmag.com, to get a sense of what’s available in her price range. cnet.com is a good place for reviews of different brands when whe’s got it narrowed down a little more, and also they have a “compare prices” feature that helps you find the lowest price when you know what you want.
I’ on my macs while most of my clients are on PCs…I have no trouble logging in to work, and Microsoft office is available for mac (and that has been seamless, with a rare glitch in different fonts for powerpoint).
But you’re right, she needs to be sure her work IT folks can support her remotely…I saw the home and college bit above (guess that shows how much work means to me!).
Thanks for all the advice on laptops so far. She need to be able to run quickbooks on it, that would be the most important program.
BTW Folks this is the Froggy Bottom Cafe so you can talk about something besides laptops.
There is a Mac version of Quickbooks but crossing over to /from Windows with it was quite buggy when I had to do it. Granted that was several years ago.
On another topic — My daughter came home yesterday after more than a month away at camp and visiting her dad. I was looking at the Trib earlier this evening and started telling her about Cindy Sheehan, and we looked at pictures of Camp Casey and read some of Cindy’s diaries on Kos. My lovely 13-year-old wants to send her some money. I am so proud — when I tell people I have a 13-year-old daughter they invariably say Oh that’s a tough age! But teen trauma is not the whole picture. I love watching the woman she’s becoming.
Contact the college’s IT department and find out what OS’s will enable her to have full access to the college’s computing resources. Especially if you’re contemplating a Mac, and double-especially, if you’re contemplating an older Mac.
In my experience — and I’ve had plenty! — colleges and universities often have quirky arrangements in this respect. They sometimes have special software that must be installed even to do something as simple as getting direct (as opposed to webmail) access to your campus email, or even just dialing in to the campus server, and that software will be supported by some OS’s (or versions of OS’s), not others. Mac accommodation tends to be a relatively low priority. But there are other ways in which the set-up can be, as I’ve said, quirky. So please, if you haven’t done this already, call the college’s IT office and find this out, first. (You might have to go several steps up the ladder from the person you initially speak to, but hey, you’re a student’s mom — you can demand that!)
on computers in today’s San Jose Mercury News — laptop prices are really great right now, because all the manufacturers are trying to capture the back-to-school crowd. [LINK to article here; registration required.]
First consideration is what she’s going to do with it. If she wants to connect to her work computer, she’ll want the same operating system that’s on the work machine, which probably means a Windows machine.
Wireless is definitely a plus; some colleges are actually installing WiFi in parts of the campus, and many cafes/restaurants have free WiFi access. Sometimes it’s good to get a change of scenery when you’re trying to get inspired!
If she’s not going to be doing anything really graphics intensive, like gaming or photo editing, she can go with a low-end laptop, but I do advise upping the RAM. The RAM (Random Access Memory) is where little pieces of applications go when you open them so they can run more efficiently; if you think of the hard drive as a file cabinet where all the programs and data are stored, the RAM is sort of like the in basket on the desk where you can get to stuff you need quickly. With more RAM, you can have more things open at once like your word processor, Internet browser (for research, of course…), and even play some music.
Most laptops come with a CD burner built in (which is great for backing up files, especially if she’s working on an important project); DVD burner is optional (DVDs hold more data, but chances are her files aren’t going to be so large that they can’t fit on a CD-ROM).
A great place to start looking would be the campus bookstore; many of them have computer sections where they offer the hardware and software at a discount. [Another great resource for software at academic prices is Journey Ed.]
Hope this helps!
[By the way, the chili came out wonderfully, and I’m feeling a lot better than earlier — I think I just needed sustenance!]
I just upgraded from a Pentium 1 to a Pentium 4, including upgrading from CD burner to DVD burner.
The DVD formats much faster and never risks overfilling with a comprehensive backup. It’s hard to imagine a young user not getting involved in enough photos, sound or video to benefit from the DVD backup option.
Plus it’s a forward-looking technology at this point.
I guess it is a sad sign of the times that we can have dozens of comments about laptops and not a dirty one among them.
My laptop (and bottom) is calling it a night right now. Carry on!
The Olympic Mountains silhouetted against the twilight. Even though sunset comes earlier this time of summer, the twilight still lasts two hours or more at these northern latitudes.
Nothing like Britain, Alaska or Scandanavia of course, but it lasts a lot longer than the brief flash I see when visiting Florida mom.
I just learned how to do this and now I want you all to see my magnificent kids,
Justin
Sarah
and Allie
What do you think? I’m a lucky, lucky man right? :O)
You are absolutely the luckiest. All that and me too. . .LOL
Beautiful girls. Thanks for sharing with us.
Yeah……..I’ve definetily got my hands full now ;O)
wow what gorgeous kids! is Justin taken??? heh(dirty old woman snickers):P
The FBC goes on, keep using this one for today…until it fills up more.
Supersoling, what great pics of your kids, they are a good looking group and you are a lucky Dad.
Thanks for the computer advice, I will forward the info to my daughter and she will be very appreciative to be sure.
Better make my breakfast to go — waiting for the spouse to get out of the shower so I can shower quickly; he wanted to cancel his doctor’s appointment today but I told him no way.
Will be out and about most of the day — check in with you all tomorrow… 🙂
Our natural overcast and cooler temperatures have returned to the Emerald City and thereabouts. Here’s a view of rippled beach sand at low tide on such a day.
Love that pic Gooserock.
I was just checking out the comments and looks like she hasn’t posted in a couple of weeks. I just thought someone might know if she is on vacation or something? I know she has had health problems. Any info would be appreciated. thanks (he say’s as he leaves a nice tip, takes the last sip of his coffee, the last bite of his sweet roll and tell’s y’all to have a great day.
(and no guarantee of that happening these days), I thought she mentioned she and one of her roommates were getting a new place — could she be without Internet access temporarily?
I’m concerned too…paging Catnip, Catnip please respond…
She is missing as well, what can we do to coax her back..”Zander come back…..”
They are both in canada, is that significant., I wonder.
Yes Catnip did mention she might be moving, and could very well be without access temporarily. Has anone seen her on other sites!
I’m in Canada, but not missing. Therefore, Canada is insignificant. Wait, that doesn’t sound right.
a few months to get ourselves hooked up, but we were distracted with family issues (that was about the time my mom went into her final illness).
BTW, speaking of things medical, the spouse hasn’t got the clearance to get back to work…the topsy-turvy life continues. I think I might actually get out of here on my own to go play somewhere, and hopefully he’ll get some stuff done while I’m gone. (Yes, I’m an optimist…) I think I’m going to need a vacation from him by the time this is over…South Lake Tahoe sounds nice… 🙂
… but… being held hostage in my home in Vancouver. For real people – no snark.
However, I am finding the comedy in the situation…. only I could laugh at everything that has happened in the past week…. it is more than you could have ever, ever imagined…. Say a prayer for me….
Love you all – love is so important. And truth is instantaneous.
Hello everyone. Just taking a break from cleaning and straightening.
I can’t believe that my husband I leave for China a week from Thursday. I can’t seem to concentrate on anything.
The spouse and I leave for Southern California a week from this Saturday…now if I could just get this mess cleared up…
Hey Diane — this diary is moving down the line and getting harder to spot; think it might be time for an evening edition? 🙂
OmigawdwejustgotDSLturnedonandeverythingisshootingintomycomptuter. –<pant, pant>
It’s bottom-price DSL but it works out cheaper than our 2nd phone line, and around 5 times faster. Gooserock, former computer tech, rockets onward into the late 20th century!
It’s really something, isn’t it, I have cable and now could not live without it…
Esp. after wrenching with my daughters dial up computer the other day….ooooohhhhh…
Kewl…welcome to the 21st century, haven’t
been here long myself…:{)
Peace