Lost in LapTop Land

[sheclown]

My laptop has died in spite of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation over the years.   

What sort of ECONOMICAL lap top should I get?  I don't really care if it can do special things.  Simple, cheap and basic is what I am looking for.

I don't know anything about computers.   Suggestions? :?:

[Lunican]

Office Depot has some good deals:

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/289194/Lenovo-G560-0679-99U-Laptop-Computer/

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/101319/Toshiba-Satellite-L655-S5115-Laptop-Computer/

[Lunican]

Here is another one today for $350.

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/543417/Toshiba-Satellite-C655D-S5041-156-Widescreen/

[sheclown]

Thanks for the info!  That helps a lot. 

[Dog Walker]

The Toshiba Satellite is not a particularly good laptop.  Ours lasted about 6 months before the hard drive croaked and another year before the motherboard died.

We have two Acers that have given good service.  One is so old that it won't run Vista or 7 so I've installed Ubuntu (Linux) on it and it is great.  Did have to replace the battery on the old one.

[Lunican]

I've had good luck with a Toshiba satellite, but no matter how much you spend it still may break in a few months.

[sheclown]

What IS the life expectancy of a lap top?  If you spend $500 on one, how long should you reasonably expect it to last, and run efficiently enough that you don't want to toss it across the room?  

Will we even be using lap tops next year?

Of course, I am so old that I remember listening to this on my tape deck ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynlW5_rnRVE

crouched down in the seat and smoking cigarettes while I was skipping government class.

That was Revolutionary at the time, I tell ya!  Listen to any song you want, any time in your car, and not have to wait on the DJ on the radio to play it.

Things become obsolete, even cool things like tape decks.  Will lap tops?

"You can't be 20 on Sugar Mountain..."

[RiversideLoki]

I agree with the sentiment regarding the toshibas. We have toshibas come through the shop all of the time. Sony's are pretty but break easily, as do Dell and HP laptops. Pretty much the ones we have the least trouble with are

1. Lenovo - Rugged and full of features. But you spend a bit more.
2. Apple Macbook (not the AIR). People are gonna pan me for this. But I friggin love apple hardware quality so much that I'm using a late 08 as my laptop running windows 7. Apple's warranty service is the best by far. But you spend A LOT for a laptop. However, resale value for Macbooks is phenomenally high. You can consider the proper analogy "buying a Bentley vs. buying a Ford Focus".
3. Acer - great laptops, good warranty service.
4. Dell - good features. But lots of little hardware quirks depending on the model. Avoid inspiron at all costs. Latitudes (their business model) are nice. Great warranty though.

Laptops become obsolete rather quickly. Depending on what you're planning on doing with it (and your budget!) it may not be worth getting a full featured laptop. Look at netbooks, The Asus EEEs are nice. The Dell mini's are nice. And they aren't anything special. Also, you're not out 1000 bucks if you drop it.

[JaxNative68]

i love my macbook.  I have had it for many years and not had any issues/problems with it.  ...hopefully i just didn't jinx that.

[Timkin]

Ive had my Dell for 3+ years, replacing only a keypad on it.  Its beatup and ugly but still runs. Not bad for a gas-powered unit

[danem]

What IS the life expectancy of a lap top?  If you spend $500 on one, how long should you reasonably expect it to last, and run efficiently enough that you don't want to toss it across the room?  

Will we even be using lap tops next year?

My current laptop was the equivalent of a $500 laptop in 2006 ($1100...they cost about twice as much back then) and except for the battery life being cut in half, it's nearly 5 years old and runs OK.

I think for most general use purposes, there's no need to spend more than $500 these days.

[ChriswUfGator]

i love my macbook.  I have had it for many years and not had any issues/problems with it.  ...hopefully i just didn't jinx that.

+1