Laptops??

[kdibattista]

I'm in the market for a laptop but I have no clue where to start. It seems so overwhelming. I'm planning on going to Best Buy tomorrow to check some out but I'm hoping to get some opinions before going.

Any suggestions/comments/opinions???

Thanks!!!

 

[kdibattista]

Can someone explain the whole wireless networking? I'm hoping that I can surf the net while on a long drive for vacation over the summer (Hubby will be driving of course ).

Thanks again!!!

 

[Lorix2]

I have been considering one for a few weeks now too and wonder how you can surf the internet on them and be mobile too.

 

[ammdc7]

I am by no means am expert on this, but understand just enough to give you a hint! As I understand it, you can buy a special card that plugs into your computer (these usually are pcmcia cards) from a cell pone company like Sprint. You can then buy minutes to use I think about anywhere, through that company. This will allow you to say for instance, drive to Disney World and chat on the Dis! But I digress... I thought they were very expesive so this might not be something that I would suggest. But I have set my home up with wireless internet for my sister and I's laptops as well as for my parents desktop. This is very easy and cost effective if you have a cable or dsl hook-up. I tried to keep this post simple but please ask me detail specific questions and I'll do my best to answer. I am a very big Mac advocate so I say at least look at either a G4 Powerbook (what I'm typing on) or an iBook. I think it might be worth your while... I really hope that helps.

 

[Cindy B]

To me wireless means that I can use my laptop out of the house, but not necessaritly plugged in.

I can go upstairs, front porch, back porch, and actually down the street with the range of the wireless card. That way I dont have to be near a plug, type thing.

You can feasibly go "warring", which is you drive and you can "find" the other wireless networks within your driving distance. If you have some programming/hacking ability, you can access thier wireless set up. (nto that I am suggesting you do this, but it is possible to do)

As you are driving down, you would have to pay an acess fee, and make sure you can access it.

 

[oogieboogie]

In order to be able to surf the internet while you're driving, there are several ways to do this:

1. You get a pcmcia card that acts as a wireless modem. You would need to sign up with a provider such as Sprint or Earthlink to get access. This setup is quite expensive, as the card alone costs anywhere from 150 upwards to almost 500$, and the access fees can go upwards to $100 a month.

2. Using your cell phone as a modem. If you have a cell phone that can be hooked up to a computer, then you're cell phone can act as a modem for your computer. However, you will be charged your normal phone rate.

IMHO, it's not worth it to go surfing the net on the road. Its just too expensive.

When on the road, I usually just use it for watching DVDs or playing games, or organizing my photos.

As far as buying a laptop, there are several choices to go to, but I would recommend getting one with a DVD/CD-RW drive. Much nicer because you can burn CDs with it. The newer laptops will have Windows XP on it, so try to get a laptop with as much memory as you can, preferably 512mb or 256mb at least.

Try getting a 30mb or bigger harddrive, and try getting a laptop that has wireless built in. As far as brands go, my preference from top to bottom:
1. Toshiba
2. Dell
3. Sony
4. Compaq
5. Micron

Hope that helps

 

[Dan Murphy]

This might help a bit...........

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wireless-network.htm

Wireless, as normally spoken of, is as Cindy describes it, mobility in a small area, like an office or home, or 'hotspots', if you have the service, like an airport, coffee shops, etc. It is still in the early days of wireless. As oogieboogie and ammdc7, mobile wireless, like in a car, is very expensive.

I have a desktop and laptop at home. My desktop is connected by wire to my router, my laptop is wireless, access via a card that picks up the signal from the router.

As for recommendation, oogieboogie has some nice choices. I have recently purchased a Dell laptop, as well as 2 Dell desktops. I think they are superb. Take a look here...........

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx?c=us&cs=19&id=rs_inspn&l=en&s=dhs

And ask more questions here, lots of knowledgeable people here.

 

[IloveDMB]

I purchased a Toshiba laptop in October. It really is a nice machine except that last week my hard drive died. Luckily it was still under warranty, so Toshiba paid for shipping and everything that needed to be fixed.

But other than that little incident, I love my laptop. It came with a wireless card and Wi-Fi (which I think is different, maybe someone else can explain that better). It has a 17 inch screen which is really huge for a laptop. The only problem with a screen like this is that it eats my battery up. I also have a DVD/CD-RW which is nice for watching movies and such. I definitely recommend getting the DVD drive so you can watch movies in the car or on a plane.

 

[oogieboogie]

Right now I'm typing this on my laptop:

Compaq Presario 2170us
Pentium IV 2.4 ghz
256mb RAM
30gb hard drive
DVD/CD-RW
D-Link 802.11b wireless card
15in TFT screen
Windows XP Pro

I love my laptop and we take it everywhere we go when we travel.

One thing to note... like Dan said, wireless hot spots are still in its infancy and although you may find some airports or hotels having hotspots, the free ones are far and few in between, and you more than likely still need to purchase access to them thru wireless providers such as at&t, t-mobile, or earthlink, etc.

Also, some hotels charge you to use high-speed internet. Most will charge $9 to $15 for a 24 hour charge. IMO it's not worth it at this time.

 

[Alex]

the price on the second kind of wireless, that works from anywhere has come WAY down. ATT has an offer out for 79.95 a month with unlimited access and a free modem. I have one for work and I LOVE it!!!!!!!!!!!
Dan and I have long ago agreed to disagree about Dell. Their customer service has went down the toilet and I can tell you some horror stories.
I've had really good luck with Hewlett Packard and IBM laptops

 

[oogieboogie]

Sorry, Alex, I'm going to have to side with Dan on this one... I love Dell and had they had a good price, I would've bought a Dell laptop instead of my Compaq.

 

[Alex]

I'll give you a Dell laptop story.. a customer of mine purchased a brand new top of the line Dell notebook computer. It had problems right out of the box. He called tech support and they said they were going to send a tech out and fix this and that and the other thing. He asked for it to be replaced, they said oh no let us try this first. After about 5 weeks he said enough! Suddenly they agreed to replace the laptop. He get's the new one and it's a REBUILT laptop! He calls them up and they say that they only replace it with a new one if it's in the first 30 days.
They could have cared less that he had problems right away.
The main problem seems to be that they outsourced most of their tech support to India. They had to cancel that for their corportate customers because they have more clout and they raised a big enough stink. Support for HOME users is still outsourced. Basically they are saying if you are a corporate user we will take care of you but if you are a home user too darn bad. Here's a link to a story on it:
CNN Story

 

[AZKathy]

Second one with a Toshiba Satellite laptop.<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/547.gif' border=0></a> We love it!!!!!!<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/11/11_1_122.gif' border=0></a>

 

[Pin Wizard]

Originally posted by oogieboogie
IMHO, it's not worth it to go surfing the net on the road. Its just too expensive.

Why is it so expensive?

 

[ORD2KOA]

Just logging on to support Alex in his comments about Dell.

In doing my research to replace a laptop (needed more "speed" etc. for work), I discovered that Dell has a 28% return rate. I have a Dell Laptop, and "like" it, but not enough to get another.

I settled on Fujitsu. I already have a Fujitsu 2120 for travel and for sitting here on the sofa (typing on it now) while watching TV, and I love it.

What I love MOST

 

[ORD2KOA]

sorry, Roadrunner blip -- problem of living on an island.


What I love MOST is, send an e-mail to Fujitsu, and 24/7 someone is getting back to you in an hour or so. NOT hours or DAYS. Excellent customer service.

 

[oogieboogie]

Originally posted by Pin Wizard
Why is it so expensive?

How many times does the normal person travel on the road?

For one thing, the modem coard itself is expensive, compared to other modem options.

Second, $75 to $100 a month for access fees seems rather high IMO, especially if you're just using it for surfing the net while in the car. Now if you're using it because your work requires it or your company provides it like Alex, then it's worthwhile. Or if you're going to use it exclusively as your modem commection, in this case you aren't going to use road runner, earthlink, aol, etc at home, then it's feasible to use this method.

 

[kdibattista]

WOW!!!! Thanks everyone!!!!

 

[crz4mm2]

I have a Dell desktop which I love. Haven't had one speck of trouble with it so far and have had it 2 years (she says as she knocks on wood). I needed a laptop for work. Had an old Dell laptop which was ok, but was not very fast and wasn't just what I wanted. I looked at Dell and all the other brands too. Finally settled on a HP pavilion which I really like. I would buy another in a heartbeat. Have had it since last Oct. It does everything I want it to do.
Hooked it up via wireless to the desktop. So at home can sit my lazy butt in the living room and DIS all I want. It is great. I use Linksys system router and wireless. It was not easy to hook up however, as I have Direcway internet access. But that is another post


I don't know anything about surfing while driving. I would think it would be pretty expensive right now. Maybe in the future it will be as common place as cell phones.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by crz4mm2
It is great. I use Linksys system router and wireless. It was not easy to hook up however, as I have Direcway internet access.

I also have the Linksys wireless system to connect to my laptop. We have cable modem(RoadRunner) and it wasn't hard at all to connect.

We have a Gateway laptop we just got a few weeks ago, here is the specs for it below...........
http://products.gateway.com/products/GConfig/proddetails.asp?system_id=m305x&seg=hm