I need a new laptop
 

Just went to Future Shop to look into buying a new laptop. I dont want to pay stacks for it as we only want it for Netflix, skype, internet browsing and the odd spreadsheet or word doc. The guy there told me that I can buy one from the wide price range and ideally I should pay for a setup. When I queried what a setup is ($150 worth apparently) its to clear all the unneccesary junk it comes with from the manufacturer.

Now I know these guys work on commission and I do not want to being pay for something I dont need......
any thoughts on this setup please?

thanks all

Re: I need a new laptop
 

a cheaper alternative to a laptop then if u only need for netflix is this...

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/sto...Number=SMPN100

$99 and u can watch netflix on ya TV with it!!!

Re: I need a new laptop
 

Got to add remove programs from control panel and you can remove the junk yourself.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

no you dont what a con $150!

Re: I need a new laptop
 

thanks guys, yes I do need a new laptop too, for online banking, word documents, facebook, skype.....
The relatives back at home are getting fedup with the fact we havent sorted Skype yet.........

Re: I need a new laptop
 

Costco has lots of machines that will do that for not a lot of money.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

Just make sure you don't get conned into getting a Pentium Dual Core laptop, those things are old and dreadful yet they seem to be slapping them into the lower end laptops to clear intel's stockpile of them. Get an Intel i5 or Intel i7 CPU, at least 2GB of RAM (4GB is recommended). Also for Netflix check out the VIdeo-output options so if you plan to connect it to the TV you can. Some Laptops have HDMI tv-out ports.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

I have a Lenovo that has been working well for over two years. No problems at all. A tip - when buying direct from the manufacturer (as I did), try using the "small business" configuration tool rather than the "home" tool. There was very little pre-loaded bloatware on my "business" laptop.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

dont virtually all laptops have HDMI outputs these days..also go for AMD QUAD CORE..they are about $100 cheaper for the same spec intel i5 machine.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

Whats wrong with the old laptop? For what you want a computer several years old will do, you could buy a second hand one for the price of the setup.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

old laptop is knackered, slow, missing some keys, I could go on....

Re: I need a new laptop
 

Yeah, the $100 saving is clearly worth your legs burning when you have the thing on your lap. Also not all of them have HDMI, many are still the S-Video+VGA combo, a lot have DVI but then you have to get an adaptor and a seperate audio cable. HDMI certainly isn't guaranteed but is definitely the best option for TV hookups provided you have a modern TV.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

Do you perform maintenance on it? Was it always slow? If not, re-installation of operating system might be a solution, clear out all the accumulated junk. You could also install a new keyboard, if you are not up to doing it yourself ask a local computer repair shop how much they would want, it will probably be cheaper than a new computer, your requirements do not seem to be overly resource intensive, you don't need an i-5.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

nope, no maintenance, we are useless when it comes to this stuff

Re: I need a new laptop
 

if u have access to the US..... try fatwallet.com!!!

Re: I need a new laptop
 

For what you need it to do a relatively basic laptop would be more than enough, just make sure it has WiFi.
An Xbox, Playstation or Wii would cover the Netflix media streaming (For less than a dedicated media streamer & you have the perfect excuse to buy a games machine, if you don't already own one.)..

The Bloatware is easy enough to remove, you just need to determine if half an hour of your time is worth the $150~ you would save...

Search for the Bloatware list online for the machine you buy & use the built in program manager...

Re: I need a new laptop
 

FS has an online Canada day sale tommorrow. I noticed a Dell laptop with AMD processor for $299. For your basic requirements that sounds like a deal.:thumbup:

Re: I need a new laptop
 

oh thanks all!:)

Re: I need a new laptop
 

Find a geeky friend, take old laptop, Give geek friend a couple of cans of beer and ask him to flip on a Linux distro...

This will then easily do online banking, word documents, facebook, skype as long as you have about 512K and a processor over 1Ghz..


It will be a much lower virus risk, it would be capable of updating itself without needing a restart every time,
however you may run an overhead of maintaining a geeky friend and beer supply, however the $300 dollars for a new lap top equals about 200 beers with at worse a bi monthly update and three panics a year that’s a service agreement ( allowing for some inflation) that could extend out 15+ years

Re: I need a new laptop
 

This is what I'd do. My old IBM laptop from 2003 (which is so crap the company didn't want it back when they finally upgraded it last year) runs ubuntu perfectly well. It's certainly good enough for browsing and running open office type stuff.

I always considered linux a geeks OS that would need a lot of tinkering to get working, but somebody at work recommended it as a way to resurrect old, but otherwise perfectly serviceable, PCs. I was actually quite surprised at how easy it was to install and how easy it is to use as well.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

I used to be a die hard slackware fan, not quite as geeky as Debian but heading that way (and still think about it)
I now use Ubuntu ( which is based on Debian) as its 3 and 7 yr old proof, and is acceptable to my technophobic wife, she expects a PC set up to be as reliable as a phone..

The simple test is get your geek friend to down load Ubuntu to a DVD or USB drive and boot it from that, unlike windows it can run without ever needing the harddrive. It will automatically detect about 95% of any hardware, you should never need to install a driver, This way you can test it see if you can work with it on your machine at home at your leisure.
If you like it, then you install it to your hard drive, resign yourself to never paying for new software, and finding that your old hardware is running better than your friends new $1000 toy

Re: I need a new laptop
 

Folks,

Should I hold off buying a new laptop in the UK and wait until I get to Canada? I'm guessing, evening with the exchange rate, laptops are still cheaper in Canada?

Re: I need a new laptop
 

For a UK, Canada comparison...here are a couple links to a computer similar to the one I use while travelling...the only difference really between UK/Europe and Canada are changing model numbers:

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/ca...dCode=WW&=&=&=

Canadian price 549+tax (NB ate 13%) = $620

http://www.simplyacer.com/Acer_Aspir...T_1053000.html

UK price 487.97 pounds....or about $750 Cdn (shopping around I am sure you could do better both sides of the pond).

I paid $299 + tax for brand new 'store demo'........

These things have HDMI and are more than enough for most folks...great if you travel and on the home front make a powerful Home Theater PC thanks to the HD graphics processor.

Don't get the cheaper AMD versions...the chips they put in make it as slow as the average netbook.

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/images/pro...3443_1_enl.jpg

Re: I need a new laptop
 

It may be cheaper, but it's also probably slower and more power-hungry. If going for Intel I'd suggest taking a good look at the i3 vs i5, because while the desktop i3 and i5 are different chips (dual core vs quad core) I believe the laptop i5 is basically the same chip as the i3 but with 'turbo' mode enabled.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

$150 to setup a machine, thats nice easy money for the company isnt it

Re: I need a new laptop
 

To set-up something that's already set-up except for adding anti-virus software and what have you....even 5 bucks is too much...:blink:

Re: I need a new laptop
 

To buy this in Canada is $149 plus tax! Its in the sale at $79 in the US, so practically double!- hmmppfff!

Re: I need a new laptop
 

$150 is a bit steep but they do put a lot of crap on new computers that you don't need, I do agree on that point. The hours it takes me to wipe crap off HP computers, OMG. The one that does make me laugh is Staples advertise that they will transfer your files over - so they are charging you to use Windows Easy Transfer, which is ridiculous, it's in the Accessories menu! Another common rip-off is pre-installed software that has an expiry date on it, usually MS Office and anti-virus software. There are loads of decent free AV programs like AVG and MS Security Essentials, and loads of free office programs like Open Office (although I have to admit, Outlook is usually worth paying for if you do a lot of e-mail and calendar/contact stuff).

Buy it from Dell on-line, Dell generally put less stuff on them and it works out cheaper anyway.

From the sounds of it though you don't need anything special, if you're using Netflix presumably you want a big screen so I'd just get a laptop from Dell with a big screen on it if I were you.

Re: I need a new laptop
 

To the OP, have you considered one of these new tablets? The Asus transformer 16 or 32gb with a keyboard docking station might just do the trick