Recommend Me a Laptop.

[MrGongGong]

I think its an old one (when they started making clones in China) and we have had it for about 4 years or so
I bought it mainly for the keyboard and the build quality as I know that the IBM ones were bomb proof
but the Lenovo software was a total pain (got rid of it all now with a clean install etc )

I've had irritating things with other Lenovo machines with Lenovo software that is supposed to make it easier to do things with the sound BUT if you want to do anything slightly more complicated (like use an external soundcard) is almost impossible to get round without wiping the whole thing
but I know i'm not a typical user

[Auferstehen2]

Would people seriously consider an iPad as a replacement for a laptop? I’ve had an iPad for months now and would never consider it for serious computer work, even given its lightness and portability. ian russell seems to be speaking from personal experience and I agree with everything he says. A 17” screen is far too big for portability. Like him, I too would love a 10” screen on a laptop with a CD-ROM (currently unavailable I believe).

And also, I cannot understand this importance that people are giving to the touch pad on a laptop. I never use it, and always attach a laptop mouse like the Microsoft Arc.

Mario

[french frank]

Would people seriously consider an iPad as a replacement for a laptop? I’ve had an iPad for months now and would never consider it for serious computer work, even given its lightness and portability.

"But the more you play with it, the more uses occur so that within days it’s insinuated its way into your life. What started out as a whimsical luxury, a gorgeous piece of kit, becomes a necessity. Maybe you don’t yet know what it’s for, but iPad’s great trick is that, before long, you will. "

That seems to me to encapsulate the argument against an iPad (and many other modern gadgets ): A-D-D-I-C-T-I-O-N

[Yes, I admit it: I had to look that up to find out what an iPad actually did.]

[Flosshilde]

I doubt Vista is pre-installed on any PCs now, is it?

I bought mine a year ago & it had Vista installed. It was reduced, so I assume that it was the previous year's model.

Mario - a mouse might be OK if you are using the computer on a table or desk. but if you are using it on your lap, or on a train () then a mouse isn't very convenient. It's also another thing (along with the cable & bulky 'transformer') that you will have to carry around.

[Auferstehen2]

Mario - a mouse might be OK if you are using the computer on a table or desk. but if you are using it on your lap, or on a train () then a mouse isn't very convenient. It's also another thing (along with the cable & bulky 'transformer') that you will have to carry around.

Very good point Flosshilde, all that extra rubbish you have to carry around. You're absolutely right of course, only...

We don't have trains here in Malta, hence it didn't even enter my mind! In a country some 17 miles by 9? What does one expect?

But your point is indeed valid, as we do indeed have laps!

Best wishes,

Mario

[Dave2002]

"But the more you play with it, the more uses occur so that within days it’s insinuated its way into your life. What started out as a whimsical luxury, a gorgeous piece of kit, becomes a necessity. Maybe you don’t yet know what it’s for, but iPad’s great trick is that, before long, you will. "

That seems to me to encapsulate the argument against an iPad (and many other modern gadgets ): A-D-D-I-C-T-I-O-N

[Yes, I admit it: I had to look that up to find out what an iPad actually did.]

iPads have their problems, but ours are used constantly now. Despite the problems they seem to be the tool of choice for many situations. Typing using them is very much enhanced with a wireless keyboard, and poking around is easier with one of those pen thingies. Even allowing for that though, I often use mine without any extra add-ons (which is why the typing is sometimes even more rubbish than usual ....).

Other Apple products are out of bounds because of being out of budget, but the new MacBook Pros (latest) are brilliant (they are actually more powerful than my iMac desk machine) while the MacBook Air - which may get an update soonish - has many of the merits of the iPad, but is also a real machine. I wouldn't recommend any machine for use with Windows. Why not buy a new CD player or new loudspeakers instead? Or maybe a Squeezebox Touch!

[hackneyvi]

Would people seriously consider an iPad as a replacement for a laptop? I’ve had an iPad for months now and would never consider it for serious computer work, even given its lightness and portability.

iPads have their problems, but ours are used constantly now. Despite the problems they seem to be the tool of choice for many situations.

I only use a computer outside the office for leisure (very occasionally, a letter). Earlier in the year I was doing a 2 hour commute each way on public transport. A laptop is impossible on the bus and a nuisance on the tube style overground trains. I found myself heaving this great lump of a thing out while all around me, people were whisking away on phones, kindles and iPads.

The only previous computer I'd had was a fine but heavy pre-flatscreen tower unit (and I'd got rid of that in 2005 because it seemed to be taking over my life). I couldn't envisage using IT on the go and have always loathed the mobile phone. No iPod or equivalent because I dislike listening to music unless I'm settled.

But in the circumstances I was in, something flexible like the iPad seemed like it would have been just the thing.

[kernelbogey]

I love my MacBook. Stylish, different, iconic (in the IT sense!). Reputed to be less vulnerable to attack from viruses etc. I bought mine from the local Apple store. The staff are incredibly helpful and you can book a Genius [sic] appointment with them if you have a problem. BW, kb

[gradus]

Sorry to go off-topic but I am baffled as to why Vista is said to be so bad, it seems to work perfectly well for me.

[mangerton]

I have a desk top, now eight years old, and it's showing its age. I was very surprised to get an iPad for my birthday in March. I find it brilliant - very portable, and there are some amazing apps for it. I was also given a keyboard which connects and acts as a stand, making typing very easy.

[Dave2002]

The dock devices for iPads may/may not work depending what kind of cover you might decide to buy. I have the Apple Neoprene cover for the iPad1 (definitely useful, but pricey - protected the thing when it fell out of by bag onto a concrete floor), and with the cover on the units won't fit into the docks. However the wireless keyboard works fine.

[mangerton]

Dave, that is of course quite correct. I too have the neoprene cover, and wouldn't be without it. The glass screen is rather vulnerable!

[french frank]

Getting back to Petrushka, we haven't established whether he has a desktop computer. My assumption was that he hadn't, and that like many for whom the computer is not a way of life he'd opted for a laptop rather than a desktop. He may use it mainly in the house rather than on the move, in which case a rather larger model with a good screen (occasional iPlayer TV programmes?) would be preferable.

[MrGongGong]

Or

a small laptop and a separate screen ?

now that my PC laptop is well and truly dead I only have a 13" macbook, several external hard drives but a large flatscreen for when i need to work at home,
osteopathy is expensive and i do lug heaps of stuff around all the time ............

[Don Petter]

We've had a Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop for four years (Running XP) with no problems.

The battery has just had to be replaced, which may be because we'd nearly always run it on the mains. I now notice they recommend that if you use it for long periods on the mains you should take the battery out, but this is not ideal in practice as one of the four feet is physically part of the battery! At least I can now use the old battery as a dummy with foot.

Dell's price for a new battery was a high proportion of the cost of the machine (£140), but I found a genuine one from Amazon for half that.