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comitan
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Posts: 4177
Registered: 3-27-2004
Location: La Paz
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try this:https://www.woot.com/offers/14-core-i7-750gb-sata-notebook
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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DavidE
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Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Cisco
| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
I prefer allotta bang for the buck. Wal-Mart and a refurbished Compaq HP/ 15.6" Supposedly the Intel 4 core is great. At least 4GB ram. USB3 if you
use it a lot. Windows 8 is a YUGO according to those that hate it which is everyone. I use an ALPHA 2000 mw USB wifi amplifier the best thing I ever
added ever. A 12 cell battery and a car charger would be a great thing. So would a USB to 3.5 mm jack and plug adapter so when the jacks go bad in
goes the adapter into a USB port.
Load it up and debug it in the states. Make sure the keyboard isn't weird like some of them. I just lost the DELETE key on this 299 dollar special
after a year and a half. Wish this thing had a half dozen USB ports instead of three. |
David. There is a usb device that you plug one end into the machine and have three, four, or however many usb ports on the other end.
Sorta like an extension cord with multiple outlets only this takes additional usb devices. Bought one at the 99 cent store that has room for three
flash drives and uses only one usb port on the machine.
[Edited on 8-27-2013 by Cisco] |
Thanks Cisco. I just wish Compaq was more intelligent and placed the USB ports so adding a gizmo like you suggest did not block off 2 much needed
other ports. Like audio and microphone. OK, something with a pigtail. Like finding a USA keyboard down here. I need to come up with a keyboard
trackball, and some sort of 22" monitor as my Cataracts are getting worser. The Lincolns ain't doin too hot either.
[Edited on 8-29-2013 by DavidE]
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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comitan
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4177
Registered: 3-27-2004
Location: La Paz
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Mood: mellow
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OK I"ve had my new computer now for 2 weeks and it has windows 8 and I love windows 88888888888.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Alm
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Posts: 2729
Registered: 5-10-2011
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Haven't read the entire thread, but... Brand doesn't matter, really. They are now all Chinese anyway.
Just make sure it has enough RAM for the operation system you choose, i.e. minimum 1GB for Win XP and 2GB for Win7, and the screen size enough for
you. If you store a lot of music and videos, consider HDD at least 600 GB, though you can always get an external HDD. Some laptops - I think - still
come with solid state drives, which are reportedly slower than "regular" spinning HDD, so this you might consider as well. To me, screen smaller than
15" is too small, but everybody is different. Try getting something that says "processor Core 2 Duo", it's a little faster than single core.
If you've got used to Win XP, stick to XP. I've been using in 7 on both laptop and desktop for 3 months, have got used to it already but don't find it
particularly good. Folder options were better in XP. If you work with Word docs a lot, I suggest you install Office 2003 rather than 2007 or later.
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monoloco
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Location: Pescadero BCS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Alm
Some laptops - I think - still come with solid state drives, which are reportedly slower than "regular" spinning HDD, so this you might consider as
well. |
I think you have that backwards, the SSD's are way faster than HDD's.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 5-10-2011
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| Quote: | Originally posted by monoloco
the SSD's are way faster than HDD's. |
Yes. This mostly affects files opening, not too important task. About 30% difference in speed. Costly.
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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| Quote: | Originally posted by comitan
OK I"ve had my new computer now for 2 weeks and it has windows 8 and I love windows 88888888888. |
I played with windows8 and thought I might even learn to like it. But for so many apps and other things it wants my Microsoft user name and password
and then will not accept it.
I have changed my password 3 times and it still won't accept it.
So, I downloaded the shell.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2729
Registered: 5-10-2011
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| Quote: | I played with windows8 and thought I might even learn to like it. But for so many apps and other things it wants my Microsoft user name and password
and then will not accept it.
I have changed my password 3 times and it still won't accept it.
So, I downloaded the shell. |
Win 7 is dangerously close to that. From time to time it won't turn off, displaying the user login button on the blue background. I want my XP Home
back 
I hope that won't have to change the desktop and laptop for few more years, and keep Win 7. Haven't tried Win 8 yet, but I read somebody's feedback
that this new OS was designed not to help the user in his tasks, but to prevent him from doing them. Now after your post I understand what he meant.
With the fact that it needs more RAM than Win 7, it makes it rather unattractive to us Simpletones, more pain with no benefits added.
Do you people realize that Win 7 will already make you replace many applications, and some you might not find again or for free, and it might also
reject your perfectly functional old laser printer because there is no driver for Win 7? I was lucky to find a driver for a different printer that
works with my old HP. Stick to Win XP, people, for as long as you can.
[Edited on 8-31-2013 by Alm]
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BajaNomad
Super Administrator
Posts: 4999
Registered: 8-1-2002
Location: San Diego, CA
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Regarding SSD:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043634/how-to-stretch-the-li...
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
https://www.regionalinternet.com
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting - since 1999 |
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drzura
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I just bought one of the new Macbook Air's and I have been really happy with it. For traveling, I think a 13.3" laptop is good; its light-weight and
easy to travel with. Microsoft and Apple both have there pro's and con's, so I think any operating system you choose will be ok. I you choose
Microsoft, I heard that the ASUS laptops are pretty good.
Damion
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pauldavidmena
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Registered: 5-23-2013
Location: Centerville, MA, USA
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I have an HP Folio 13 with a 128 GB SSD drive running a lightweight Linux operating system called CrunchBang. It boots up in roughly 15 seconds. I
only store a small number of static files on SSD, instead relying upon an external USB drive for MP3s, images, etc. Not having a hard drive or a
CD-ROM drive, it's extremely lightweight and therefore very portable.
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Cisco
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"I Gave Up My Mac For A Google Chromebook Pixel And Loved It ... Until It Became A Brick At Starbucks"
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mac-vs-google-pixel-mac-wins-...
For the past two weeks, I've been working 100% in the cloud, giving up my MacBook Pro to use a Google Pixel Chromebook.
I loved it. Until it had an epic fail.
For the first 13 days, I was so happy that I was ready to recommend it instead of a Mac (with some caveats). But last weekend, I took it Starbucks and
experienced such a disaster that I changed my mind.
Before I get into the Starbucks fail, I want to talk about the 13 days where things went well. With the Chromebook operating system, all work is done
via cloud apps over the Web. Instead of using applications installed on your PC, you open cloud apps in Chrome tabs or new Chrome windows.
You can save some files to your PC, too, though that's not the default. Mostly your files will be automatically saved in your Google Drive.
That was fine for my job because at Business Insider, we rely almost entirely on cloud apps. We use Gmail and Google Apps. Our main application, the
"content management system" where we write stories, is accessed through a browser. Editors chat to each other through an online chat program called
Campfire, or through Google Chat. I use Hootsuite for Twitter, etc.
I opened the ChromeBook, signed into my Business Insider account and all my bookmarks to cloud apps and saved passwords were there. No downloading. No
installing anything. It was great!
I had one problem: I also use my personal Gmail account for work. For instance, I use RSS reader Feedly and the only way to access it is to be signed
in with my personal Gmail account. But I found a way to rig ChromeBook to sign into multiple Google accounts at the same time. (From Gmail, click on
the user account icon and then "add account"). It wasn't hard, but it wasn't intuitive. That "add account" is a little hard to find.
Pixel and Chrome OS are fast and responsive, even when I have a lot of tabs open. No beach balls. No fan coming on, mysteriously heating up the device
for hours at a time like my Mac loves to do. No bugging me to update my software.
I was a happy camper.
One bad thing: Many Chrome add-on apps are still immature. For instance, the calculator doesn't support copy/paste. I had to manually type in numbers.
Also, the Mac blows the Pixel out of the water when it comes to image editing.
ChromeBook's default Photo viewing app is really weak. It won't even resize a photo (except to crop). I found a Chrome OS app called Pixr, which
worked OK. But the Mac's apps, iPhoto and Preview, are far better.
The Pixel Chromebook does have a beautiful touchscreen, which worked great. I didn't need an external mouse.
For non-work things, like watching movies, it's also great, like the Mac. And because the screen has such high resolution, it took great screen shots,
even when cropping and resizing photos to be bigger.
So, for 13 days, I was delighted. I even wanted to buy a new HP Chromebook for my daughter, who is in college.
Then I took the Pixel to Starbucks. And the Pixel wouldn't let me log on to the Internet.
This particular Pixel has 4G, but it told me that the 4G/3G network wasn't available. That was crazy. I was right in the middle of town, across the
street from the college and 3G worked on my phone.
At Starbucks, AT&T requires you to sign an agreement before accessing the network. The AT&T sign-up page wouldn't load, no matter what
(logging in and out, rebooting, going straight to the Starbucks AT&T page ...). Since that didn't happen, I got an error message that told me I
couldn't use the network:
Without being able to use the Internet, I couldn't access ANY apps. The file I needed was actually stored on the Pixel's hard drive, not in the cloud.
But because I couldn't get to the cloud app Google docs, the file wouldn't open.
The Pixel was a brick. I couldn't even take screen shots.
This would never have happened with a Mac or a PC. Even if I couldn't access WiFi, I could open a file and work offline.
The upshot is, at under $300, like for an HP ChromeBook ($279, no touchscreen) a ChromeBook is fine for home, or school, where WiFi is reliable.
But the Pixel costs $1,300 and for $1,100 you can get a new 13-inch MacBook Air. For $1,200, a new MacBook Pro. (Not to mention a countless variety of
Windows 8 machines.)
So I don't recommend the expensive Pixel instead of a Mac.
That said, I'm going to miss this Pixel after I send it back. For working at home on stable WiFi, I've learned to prefer it.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mac-vs-google-pixel-mac-wins-...
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chuckie
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Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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Seems like it would be easier to stay out of Starbucks?
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schwlind
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Location: Daytona Beach, FL/San Antonio Del Mar (Colonet)
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I've used HP, Dell and a few others but have been using Toshiba Satellite for the last 6 years or so and really like them.
I have the 15+ screen and have keyboard and number pad.
Due for a new one soon...
Linda
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Russ
Elite Nomad
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Location: Punta Chivato
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After my "roll over" trip north I bought a new iMac and love it. I had the older iMac with me and it survived the roll over and now my niece has it
and I got a lot of uncle points. The new is faster, lighter and sexier but has no DVD player. I had a player for the Mac Air so no worries there. I
shouldn't read the Mac propaganda though. Now I'm drooling for the iPad Air. But I've opted for more concrete out back to set my rolling 20' guest
house on.
One more word on the Mac.... When Mac come out with a new operating system they don't charge much to upgrade or the latest OS is free. Yes, there are
always some bugs to work out and those are free to down load too. Every time a Windows has a new OS there is a huge cry about it and lots of folks say
don't get it. With 10 times the number of people using Windows you might thing they would shake down the new system better.
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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DianaT
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I slipped again and did not go MAC --- wish I had. I ended up buying an ASUS laptop which is very good, except to turns itself off now and again and
it is not hot. I am working with the company on that problem.
I have grown to not mind Windows 8, in fact there are some things I like about it.
Next time, MAC
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Russ
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Sheeeshs by then Diana Mac will have a wrist unit that you'll just talk into for all your projects. 
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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DianaT
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Russ, Russ, Russ, why do I NOT listen to you! Maybe I have now learned.
I just received by ASUS back from the company. I sent it in for repair as it turns itself off and the touch screen quit.
The returned it saying that when turning on, it didn't boot to the operating system so then simply reformatted the computer. That was NEVER a
problem. That was just an easy solution for nothing, except I have to reload all my software.
They ignored the real problem and my computer came back with lots of Adware, Malware and viruses that were not there before! It is a mess. I have
now removed most of the malicious programs and am working with Kapersky to get rid of the viruses.
So, ASUS was NOT a good choice.  Okay, maybe I got a lemon, but to return a computer full of malware, adware and viruses is untenable!
Repeating to myself, over and over, learn to listen to Russ, learn to listen to Russ. John also tried to convince me to convert to Apple, but I
just didn't want to spend the money --- BAD CHOICE.
[Edited on 2-12-2014 by DianaT]
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toneart
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DianaT
Russ, Russ, Russ, why do I NOT listen to you! Maybe I have now learned.
I just received by ASUS back from the company. I sent it in for repair as it turns itself off and the touch screen quit.
The returned it saying that when turning on, it didn't boot to the operating system so then simply reformatted the computer. That was NEVER a
problem. That was just an easy solution for nothing, except I have to reload all my software.
They ignored the real problem and my computer came back with lots of Adware, Malware and viruses that were not there before! It is a mess. I have
now removed most of the malicious programs and am working with Kapersky to get rid of the viruses.
So, ASUS was NOT a good choice. Okay, maybe I got a lemon, but to return a computer full of malware, adware and viruses is untenable!
Repeating to myself, over and over, learn to listen to Russ, learn to listen to Russ. John also tried to convince me to convert to Apple, but I
just didn't want to spend the money --- BAD CHOICE.
[Edited on 2-12-2014 by DianaT] |
Sorry, Diana! I'm afraid you listened to me about my ASUS. You did get a dud. Mine works really well and I am happy with it.
Then again, I have not had to send it back to the factory. Wow! There is no excuse for them returning it to you with viruses and malware.
I had the same problem with a MAC laptop which was the laptop before my ASUS. I bought it new, online from Apple, and it came from the factory with
someone else set up as the Administrator and someone else's password. (I have related this problem before on Bajanomad, so please pardon the
repetition if you read it before).
I had to leave in the next few days for Mulege and there was not time to send it back for an exchange. I had to bite it. Upon calling customer support, the engineer said he had never heard of such a thing.
He had me reinstall all the set up software. When it reached the point where I was to enter my name and password, it hit a wall. Wouldn't let me do
it. The engineer had to go away from the phone and figure a workaround, which he did.
At least I could use the damned thing, but it had so many bugs that it was never right. Then I had to continually upgrade from current OS to the next,
often and at great expense. I didn't, and soon the damned thing was obsolete. I could not get into my bank's security encryption.
It would probably be a good idea to buy computers from a local store or from Amazon. That way you have more recourse, less hassle and less time waste.
Then again, if you are buying a Mac, you are stuck in bed with Apple.
I ended up taking bets on how many skips it would take to skim the surface of the Mulege River and land on the opposite riverbank. The only security
the river bank required was to negotiate around the brown trout. One of those would have stopped it midway with a thud, or I guess that sound would be
Plop  
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BajaNomad
Super Administrator
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Still happy with my Asus for a number of years now. Of course I don't run Windows on it. There are operating system alternatives out there besides
Windows that run on a PC.
Just saying. 
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
https://www.regionalinternet.com
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting - since 1999 |
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