Vista or not for new laptop

[Southern-Nupe]

As long as he can find a notebook running XP, that is Vista capable, he'll be fine and likely come out cheaper. We have a HP notebook that we bought less than a year ago, and currently have no regrets. It's Vista capable (although I'm holding off until it's more stable), and It didn't break the bank either. Even though I like HP, he could also check out Dell and Acer. Especially Acer, they tend to be lower priced than some of the competition.

 

[rnoldh]

Thanks for the Acer tip.

I found out today that machines that still have XP installed on them aren't being discounted. It's the old case of Microsoft doing what they want. So I recommended that my friend go with Vista rather than paying for an upgrade later. Microsoft does not give away any free Vista upgrade coupons with XP machines any more.

But after a lot of online shopping I found the following deal at Circuit City.:

Circuit City $499 deal with lots of extras

Basically it is an Acer 15.4" laptop with an AMD MK-36 (not a dual core)
with a 120 GIG HD, I Gig Ram, DVD Burner, & Vista Home Premium

It's $499 after rebates and you also get a Lexmark All In One(print, scan,copy) machine and a Router( an actual external router not the internal wireless card).

Given that his computer skills and needs are minor, this seemed like a great deal to me for $499!

Comments please?

 

[Southern-Nupe]

Originally Posted by rnoldh

Thanks for the Acer tip.

I found out today that machines that still have XP installed on them aren't being discounted. It's the old case of Microsoft doing what they want. So I recommended that my friend go with Vista rather than paying for an upgrade later. Microsoft does not give away any free Vista upgrade coupons with XP machines any more.

But after a lot of online shopping I found the following deal at Circuit City.:

Circuit City $499 deal with lots of extras

Basically it is an Acer 15.4" laptop with an AMD MK-36 (not a dual core)
with a 120 GIG HD, I Gig Ram, DVD Burner, & Vista Home Premium

It's $499 after rebates and you also get a Lexmark All In One(print, scan,copy) machine and a Router( an actual external router not the internal wireless card).

Given that his computer skills and needs are minor, this seemed like a great deal to me for $499!

Comments please?
No problem,

Even though it's not dual-core, that seems like a really good deal.

 

[v0rtex]

If you're buying a new machine, I'd say go with Vista. Hardware compatibility in new machines is good, it's just older or obscure hardware which can cause trouble.

Waiting for a service pack or two to be released is good advice for existing XP machines, or if you have specialist or old software which you absolutely must run.

Also, $750 is quite low for the spec you're thinking of, especially for a decent brand. You could get a refurbished system of the spec you're looking for, not sure about new though (I sell refurbished laptops online, so I have more of an idea about that market).

Edit: That Circuit City deal is great, but they're notorious for not actually sending rebate cheques out. I'm still waiting for a few... *sigh*

 

[dusty]

Windows and OSX are both the dark side. LINUX (Ubuntu). It's free, secure, frequently-updated, not bloated, and most importantly, it's open source.

 

[rnoldh]

Originally Posted by dusty

Windows and OSX are both the dark side. LINUX (Ubuntu). It's free, secure, frequently-updated, not bloated, and most importantly, it's open source.

Are you really recommending Linux (Ubuntu) for computer newbies and semi-literates?

If so, would you set up a dual boot configuration and use Linux as your primary OS?

There used to be some machines (generally value systems meaning the lowest prices), that came with Linux as the installed OS. Does any maker still do that?

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by rnoldh

Are you really recommending Linux (Ubuntu) for computer newbies and semi-literates?

If so, would you set up a dual boot configuration and use Linux as your primary OS?

There used to be some machines (generally value systems meaning the lowest prices), that came with Linux as the installed OS. Does any maker still do that?

Millions of people are using Vista with few or no problems. Unless you are a heavy gamer or use your computer in an unusual way, you should have no problems with vista. Gamers are currently a bit screwed because the driver model has been completely changed and so they've had to be re-coded and optimized all over again. If you're running standard office apps and internet exporer you're really not going to run in to any issues. Vista is so much nicer to use than XP.

And dusty, recommending linux to a computer newbie that likely uses ms office apps for work is marsupialed.

 

[adversity04]

And dusty, recommending linux to a computer newbie that likely uses ms office apps for work is marsupialed.

Ubuntu is one of the closest distributions to Windows that you can get. And if he's just using Word/Excel/PP it can be had in the way of Open Office which is free instead of $$ for Microsoft's version. Not to mention not worrying about viruses/spyware...Linux really has its perks if you're willing to sit down with it for more than 5 seconds.

 

[WN2]

Open Office is no substitute for Office unless you have decided that linux/open source is the greatest thing since internal combustion engine.

 

[rdawson808]

FWIW, we got Vista on our new laptop. I'm not sure you have a choice. But if you do, I say go for XP.

The main problem we've had is compatability issues. iTunes still doesn't work perfectly (or at all in some cases), various software has to be downloaded to upgrade, etc. It's all a pain.

bob

 

[dusty]

Originally Posted by rnoldh

Are you really recommending Linux (Ubuntu) for computer newbies and semi-literates?

If so, would you set up a dual boot configuration and use Linux as your primary OS?

There used to be some machines (generally value systems meaning the lowest prices), that came with Linux as the installed OS. Does any maker still do that?

Are there really any computer newbies anymore? Anyway, yes, Ubuntu is easy to use. Linus Torvalds (wrote Linux) accused the Ubuntu creators of dumbing it down too much. And about the Linux pack-in thing, DELL recently announced that it would be offering Ubuntu as an alternative to Vista as a pack-in OS.

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Millions of people are using Vista with few or no problems. Unless you are a heavy gamer or use your computer in an unusual way, you should have no problems with vista. Gamers are currently a bit screwed because the driver model has been completely changed and so they've had to be re-coded and optimized all over again. If you're running standard office apps and internet exporer you're really not going to run in to any issues. Vista is so much nicer to use than XP.

And dusty, recommending linux to a computer newbie that likely uses ms office apps for work is marsupialed.

It's not about Vista "not having problems," it's about it being a ******, bloated OS. Requiring 1 Gb of RAM to run a front-end is a problem. I agree with you on the Office apps, but the OP never mentioned anything of the sort.

 

[v0rtex]

Originally Posted by dusty

Are there really any computer newbies anymore? Anyway, yes, Ubuntu is easy to use. Linus Torvalds (wrote Linux) accused the Ubuntu creators of dumbing it down too much.

Said by someone who obviously works in the field.

The fact is the average office worker doesn't have the time or inclination to learn anything beyond the basic operations required to get their work done. They do not know about different file formats and operating systems and do not care.

If they have to learn a new user interface, then remember to save their documents in a different format every time they need to send them to Bob down the hall or Alice at the printer's they will see it as an inferior system.

Even if the above wasn't a huge obstacle and everyone in the world used Linux, there would still be the problem that Linux is a pain ********** if you want to do anything beyond very basic tasks using the built-in applications and don't have a computer science degree. Even Playing MP3s in the supposedly easy-to-use Ubuntu involves around a dozen steps, most of which need to be done at the command line.

Linux is great for some uses (servers, embedded devices, specialist workstations) but absolutely awful at others, including general-purpose desktop use.

I have a degree in a compsci-related subject, I've run UNIX shell providers, worked at ISPs, and even I can't be bothered with all the work Linux puts you through to actually do anything.

Originally Posted by dusty

And about the Linux pack-in thing, DELL recently announced that it would be offering Ubuntu as an alternative to Vista as a pack-in OS.

Only after Linux fans bombarded their "Suggestions for New Ideas" site with requests for Linux-loaded systems.