*sulks*

[hurly_burly]

This computer is dying a slow and painful death. The internet connection is erratic at best, I can only access facebook for about an hour before it collapses into pages of html, and now I have no sound either.
*is cross*
Brammers, you win, I'm going to buy a laptop out of my tax return.

Comments

[mr-bassman.livejournal.com]

If you can afford one, get a new T (business), X (compact) or W (widescreen) series Thinkpad from Lenovo.

(Note:- An Ideapad is not the same as a Thinkpad!)

http://www.lenovo.com/au/en/

Order one online to get a better deal.

If you can't afford one, get a second-hand T (business), X (compact) or W (widescreen) series laptop from IBM or Lenovo.


I have a T30 and I love it.

Tips for the wary....

There are a lot of youtube videos of people showing off their laptops.
Can be useful for shopping but bear in mind that people generally like what they own.

Sometimes it is better to buy a new laptop with minimal RAM and increase the Ram by buying from a third party for a cheaper price than the laptop vendor.

Wifi is really good. It allows one to use a laptop anywhere, e.g. Kitchen Table, Bed, couch, verandah. YMMV


The right laptop will replace you desktop completely, buy only if you have WiFi.

Your immediate family will want to use your laptop... a lot! Consider getting more than one.

For a new laptop, there are lot of varieties, but along broad lines there are:

Compacts

Also called notebooks, netbooks etc. They are small, very portable, have a smaller screen than one might like. often use a processor called an "atom" which is a low power and slightly less sophisticated than a pentium type.


Mainstream Laptops.

These days the trend is a 16:9 ratio screen. that is the length to height ratio of the LCD screen. c.f the 4:3 screens usually have a p4m or core 2 duo Processor

Multimedia Laptop

Usually have a bigger screen and more non traditional keyboard buttons.
Good for watching movies but the consumes more power

Desktop replacement

A slightly obscure but still valid requirement, they are supposed to sit on the desk and do all the things that a Traditional computer did.
You will find this to be a waste of time as you will not need a computer desk anymore if you get a laptop.

Accessories

If you find yourself wanting to plug a bigger screen of a higher resolution into your laptop, you can but if you have to do so you've probably bought the wrong laptop. Ditto for keyboard or mouse.
Touch pads are great. It doesn't take long to get used to them. ( for me - about an hour...! )



You can lease a laptop, but if you like it so much that you have to buy it at the end then it'll end up costing you more in total than if you just bought it in the first place. Also at the end of the lease period lease a later model or buy a later model.


Laptops are more fragile. Practice data protection by backing up to another computer. Have a practice at restoring your data too so that you can do it calmly when your lappie does crash.

Lastly - and this is important...

Don't believe anything a computer salesman tell you.

[mr-bassman.livejournal.com]

I wrote a long response but ceiling cat ate it.

Just get a thinkpad.

[glass-violet.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I should point out that I only need a really basic little thing, since all I do with the computer is pootle about on facebook and LJ, and, ahem, a bit of word-processing.

[clovis-t.livejournal.com]

If you're mostly doing word-processing, I'd stay away from a netbook. They are small, convenient, and light, but the small keyboards are a bit of a pain (I'm using one now - it's wonderful for travel, as it fits into a backpack very easily, but a regular laptop is better in almost every other way).

If you do stuff with numbers, get a laptop with a real numberpad.

Personally I hate touchpads, so use a mouse even with my netbook, but, from reading above, I guess that's a personal preference thing (although the poster above is the first person I've heard of who likes touchpads).

I'd say the most important things are to not rush, shop around a bit, press the keys of anything you're considering buying to see how they feel, and, if possible, see it on so you can see how the screen looks.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Wow, my evil influence is really influential!

[glass-violet.livejournal.com]

*nods*
You are evil, but that's why we love you so :)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I thought it was my ready access to cheap cosmetics ;-) On the topic of which: your skin is pink-based, not yellow, yes? And did you ever manage to post the Sydney book?

[glass-violet.livejournal.com]

Skin tone is pink-based, Sydney book is not exactly posted as such, more sort of not posted, in an unposted kind of way...I blame porridgy preggo-brain...I'm working 9-5 tomorrow with no opportunity to get to the PO, but I will post it on Monday.
*headdesk*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

No that's fine! I was just beginning to worry it might be lost. Delayed is no problem!