Tips needed: Shopping for a Laptop Computer

[skri11a]

Part of my use for a laptop is mobile audio production and the app availability and quality is much higher on the IOS platform right now. Granted that could change in the future but if I was to look at Linux in this same arena, despite many good linux audio production apps, the "paid" os options are still of much better quality.

The big thing android has that iPhone lacks that bugs me is Amazon MP3 purchasing. I despise iTunes and really like Amazon VOD and MP3 purchasing services. That is not available at present on the iPhone and I don't see it happening soon. Granted there is probably a solution for a jail break iphone to do it but I have tried to not go that route.

Ken

I trust you there. I'm a fanboi of "the right tool for the job". However, I have a slight "tool collection" problem. Always be prepared!

At present that is true. iPhones tend to outperform droid in that arena. However that is starting to become a closer race as the big reason it was initially like that is that IOS lacked multitasking which despite that being a minus for the platform it actually helped benefit overall responsiveness of the OS and battery life.

Ken

Yeah, that's the truth. That's why I'm kind of curious to see what get presented at CES. We should see some things that actually compete on battery life as well.

 

[Nixsdaddy]

My first netbook (which I still have but plan to sell soon) was an Acer Aspire, the one with the smaller screen before they came out with the 10.1" screen.

Yep thats the N270 chipset.

Anyway I am planning on trying Moblin on the new one (Fedora derived). Main reason is Ubuntu distros have been having issues with RDesktop where the caps lock key is not being passed and I am yet to see a simple resolution to that and if I do remote work with the day job it is necessary. That plus I have been using CentOS more as my main server os and as much as I like the deb/Ubuntu world I figured I would see how the RPM world did on a netbook. If I am not happy with that I might go back to being a Slacker or some derivative Slack derived distro for netbooks. I don't really mind compiling from source, it actually helps me keep from having apt-get app overload.

You do know that Moblin and Maemo have merged projects right? MeeGo Thats the new MeeGo OS.

 

[devilock76]

I trust you there. I'm a fanboi of "the right tool for the job". However, I have a slight "tool collection" problem. Always be prepared!



Yeah, that's the truth. That's why I'm kind of curious to see what get presented at CES. We should see some things that actually compete on battery life as well.

Thankfully, my main gear collection is more music specific equipment. As I told the owner of the local Music-Go-Round a couple of weeks ago, "I would have an easier time going home and telling my wife I am running off with a cocktail waitress than going home and telling her I am buying another bass!"

Ken

 

[devilock76]

Yep thats the N270 chipset.



You do know that Moblin and Maemo have merged projects right? MeeGo Thats the new MeeGo OS.

I did not know that, wow. Interesting. I will need to look more into that. Thanks for the info. Checking out their site now, looks awesome.

Ken

 

[frequentj]

Yeah the flash thing is annoying but truth be told I hate flash so oh well. People really overuse flash in the web world in my opinion and using it for mobile content without an alternate is just poor site planning IMHO.

I adopted the iPhone for my own usage later than you so I never experienced that, but also I have moved to using a Google Voice number for all my texting and the bonus is I know get voice to text mail for free thanks to it.

Ken

Flash player may be overused in the web world, but the reality is a lot of sites are useless if your device doesn't have flash player. Rather than try to get the entire internet to conform to the device, they should conform the device to the internet. Just my $.02

 

[devilock76]

Flash player may be overused in the web world, but the reality is a lot of sites are useless if your device doesn't have flash player. Rather than try to get the entire internet to conform to the device, they should conform the device to the internet. Just my $.02

OK let me ask you a question. Name a site that you really need to get to from a phone that it being flash is a benefit to the experience on the phone?

Flash is a resource hog, the mobile world really shouldn't be supporting flash yet, but soon.

Ken

 

[Mac]

Go to geeks.com You can get a nice one with killer stats refurbed with a year extended warranty and still have some change left over.

Tigerdirect is good too but geeks is cheaper.

 

[Nixsdaddy]

Go to geeks.com You can get a nice one with killer stats refurbed with a year extended warranty and still have some change left over.

Tigerdirect is good too but geeks is cheaper.

lolwut? I went there and today's special on laptops was basically the same of the one I posted for the exact same price. But the one at tigerdirect had a slightly better CPU. Very slight, so slight that you'd never notice the difference. But thanks for the link, it gives another place I can go to check on parts.

 

[Mudflap]

Go to geeks.com You can get a nice one with killer stats refurbed with a year extended warranty and still have some change left over.

Tigerdirect is good too but geeks is cheaper.

Another great tip. Thanks!

 

[Mac]

lolwut? I went there and today's special on laptops was basically the same of the one I posted for the exact same price. But the one at tigerdirect had a slightly better CPU. Very slight, so slight that you'd never notice the difference. But thanks for the link, it gives another place I can go to check on parts.

Yeah that link you posted up is definitely a great buy, But I got the impression that the OP's friend didn't need that much computer. I was thinking something like this:
HP Compaq nc6400 Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83GHz 1GB 80GB DVD 14.1" XP Professional w/6-Cell Battery HP GC740UP#ABA nc6400 Not the best choice if you are a hardcore gamer but for watching dvd's and checking email it should work quite nicely. This is why I reccomend geeks over tiger. Tiger's deals on this type of buy are mostly on off lease products and their extended warranties are exsorbant. (like $60-$70 instead of $15-$40)
Note that the 1 year extended warranty is only 33 bucks. I wouldn't buy a refurb without an extended warranty. The last 2 computers I bought were from geeks and I don't have any complaints. I bought one a couple years ago from tigerdirect and that one is still working great too. I price shop alot between newegg geeks tigerdirect costco and staples but tiger and geeks always seem to have the best selection. Which offers a better price seems to change weekly. (In december I got a similar one to the link for 20 bucks less with double the ram.)

Geeks is a great resource for the tech savvy diy type so it wouldn't surprise me if you found something good there during your travels.

 

[Mac]

Another great tip. Thanks!

Sure thing. Amazing how cheap computers have become compared to a decade ago.

 

[USinchains]

This thread seems to have plenty of good responses already. But wanted to add I just discovered refurb dells are being sold on circuitcity.com for under 3-4 hundred w/ wrnty. Buy a new pc and play guinea pig or buy one that has already been tested, broken and fixed? That's an easy one for me. Dell outlet has some decent deals on refurb/scratch n dent latitudes also, but circuit city's prices were beating them a few weeks ago when I was looking for something new. I ended up getting $100 off a floor model HP dv6-3025dx at a local bestbuy (who I despise but w/e), 2.8GHz amd phenom II n620, 4g ram ugrdbl to 8, 500g hdd, cddvdw, 64bit win7, fingerprint and card readers, silver engraved for macbook pro-ish vanity, $514. The g/c is not all that but I'm not a gamer, works great as DAW and with Adobe creative suite so far. The touchpad buttons require too much force but I'm a tapper not a clicker, or have a mouse. Toshiba and Dell (latitude or xps, but no Studios or other overpriced mid grade) are my fav mass produced nb's, hp somewhere next in line but currently gaining my approval as a sturdy nb for the $. Have messed with some kick ... Acers, some not so great, spent too many years setting up servicenet inhome service for Vaio to ever feel comfortable suggesting Sony but they do maintain their followers.

edit: link> http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/category/guidedSearch.asp?CatId=17&sel=Mfr;Mfr_3456 mostly 1gb latitudes right now but keep an eye out for 2/3/4gb, they go fast.

 

[Mudflap]

This thread seems to have plenty of good responses already. But wanted to add I just discovered refurb dells are being sold on circuitcity.com for under 3-4 hundred w/ wrnty. *snip*

Thank you! Very helpful suggestion.

 

[CritterBuddy]

Since your friend is not tech savy I have a suggestion... watch for a sale at an office supply store like Office Depot, Staples, etc. but do consider looking at their extended warranties they offer. They usually have tech departments who are great about helping with problems. I caught a great HP laptop on sale like this for myself. Then a month later, caught the same computer on sale again and bought one for my wife. One thing I like about HP is they have built-in software which monitors your computer for problems and even help should one arise. Talking with the tech guys where I bought my computer they told me they rarely see an HP come in for service because of this. Since mine travels a lot I got the extended warranty because it also covers it if I drop it and something goes wrong. My wife and I usually get about 5 years of service from a computer. With HP so far so good at least for us.

 

[frequentj]

OK let me ask you a question. Name a site that you really need to get to from a phone that it being flash is a benefit to the experience on the phone?

Flash is a resource hog, the mobile world really shouldn't be supporting flash yet, but soon.

Ken

My phone is my computer away from home, so I browse the web quite often with it. While I can't name any sites off the top of my head, I can say that when I used my iPhone, I came across at least two web sites a day that were useless to me because I could not view them due to flash player. Sure, if I carried my laptop everywhere, I would have no use for flash player on my phone, but that fact is, it's much easier to carry my phone. I also happen to play a lot of flash player games on my phone.

 

[devilock76]

My phone is my computer away from home, so I browse the web quite often with it. While I can't name any sites off the top of my head, I can say that when I used my iPhone, I came across at least two web sites a day that were useless to me because I could not view them due to flash player. Sure, if I carried my laptop everywhere, I would have no use for flash player on my phone, but that fact is, it's much easier to carry my phone. I also happen to play a lot of flash player games on my phone.

My point remains that it is hard to find a "mission critical" reason to have a flash enabled web browser on a smart phone. We could debate the term "mission critical" but I am implying mobile business, hence the reason you have a smart phone, not mobile entertainment.

Ken

 

[frequentj]

My point remains that it is hard to find a "mission critical" reason to have a flash enabled web browser on a smart phone. We could debate the term "mission critical" but I am implying mobile business, hence the reason you have a smart phone, not mobile entertainment.

Ken

Yeah, but my business is entertainment.

 

[devilock76]

Yeah, but my business is entertainment.

Mine is half tech, half entertainment. Sounds like I need an app for that.

On a side note I went for a full Fedora 14 install on the newest netbook. Very impressed. Boots in about 20 seconds. I am very impressed.

Ken

 

[Nixsdaddy]

Mine is half tech, half entertainment. Sounds like I need an app for that.

On a side note I went for a full Fedora 14 install on the newest netbook. Very impressed. Boots in about 20 seconds. I am very impressed.

Ken

How's the driver compatibility with the netbook looking?

 

[devilock76]

How's the driver compatibility with the netbook looking?

Great, except two snags. I had to down load, make, and make install the wifi driver from the manufacturer myself, but nicely they had the driver on their site to download. The other thing is on occasion when I boot the touchpad is all jacked up and the touchpad tab on the mouse config application is missing. Reboot and it goes away. By screwed up what happens is the side scrolling won't work but additionally the mouse moves very fast up and down but uber slow left and right with the trackpad. Not sure why on that yet, not much research into it.

The only other snag is the program LMMS (Linux Multi Media Studio - a Fruity Loops clone) will only work with the Pulse Audio driver, ALSA and OSS are a no go. I have not tried Jack with it yet but me and the Jack Libraries have never been friends. Something I will have to rectify at some point.

As far as things go, this is par for the course with most linux distros on laptops, especially as far as netbooks go.

Oh the other snag I had is I had to reinstall twice. I set it up dual boot and usually use a bootable gparted usb to resize my drives. Well for some reason gparted just would not boot correctly on this netbook, so I put faith in Anaconda to handle it at install time. It resized fine but the setup on my vfat partition I use as my main data storage so both OS's can see it got screwed up. Partly my fault but Anacondas partitioning is not very good. If you tell it to do it for you it makes some odd choices, if you say do it manually I got lots of errors. The only way I got it to work right was to tell it to do it for me, then when checking the partition table tweak it manually which involved deleting and recreating much of it. Annoying and something that would definitely jackup a newbie tuxer.

Ken