Todd and the gang...I know I've bugged you before about a new home computer, but now I'm looking for a good business laptop for Bill. His is SLOOOOOWWWWW, and it's probably about 3 years old now...so it's time.
I've always gone with Dell because it seems easy, but they now have an hour and half process to customise and I never know what I need.
For instance do I need Windows 7 Professional, or would the Home version be sufficient? He does all his business work on Quickbooks and the internet of course, but it's not like he's networking with a bunch of other business computers, so I was just wondering.
I know now that we can transfer our Microsoft Office 2007 from his old to his new, so I'm obviously not going to buy that again. Just didn't know what I really needed.
Thoughts? OR maybe some links to a good review site?
New Business Computer for Bill
New Business Computer for Bill
Okay, let's try this!
New Business Computer for Bill
A laptop that is 3 years old isn't that bad IMO. What brand and model laptop does he currently have? It probably isn't that bad. I'll check the specs on it to see if it's worth keeping around or not.
Here are the differences between the flavors of Windows 7:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/compare/default.aspx
What does he need? Lightweight laptop for portability or does he not care? How long of a battery life does he need?
Here are the differences between the flavors of Windows 7:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/compare/default.aspx
What does he need? Lightweight laptop for portability or does he not care? How long of a battery life does he need?
“The Knave abideth.” I dare speak not for thee, but this maketh me to be of good comfort; I deem it well that he be out there, the Knave, being of good ease for we sinners.
New Business Computer for Bill
Sorry, I didn't answer your questions sooner. Well, we have gotten a couple of batteries replaced, and he just got a bigger hard drive (?) on the advice of my Disney IT friend who set it up for him. It's a Dell Lenovo...I think 1000.
The DVD player in it is all screwed up and I was hoping to use it to download a program my nephew recommended to burn DVD's. Solve my lifelong problem with scratched up DVD's. But the damn thing won't even play music CD's without them skipping and sounding all garbled and won't read the DVD's I put in them recently.
And like I said, it is majorly slow. I will try some basic clean-up on it which I know he never does, but other than that, I'm not sure what else I can do to make it run better. Our home computer is pretty much in the same boat. It was one my parents gave to us and my IT friend just cleaned it up and made it usable. But the kids complain about it all the time. My nephew says that we can use it to burn DVD's though, so I may try. I dunno.
As far as what Bill needs, it doesn't have to be super light weight or anything...or small or anything. It just needs to run decently with minimal headaches. He works on Quickbooks and of course, the internet. Needs Adobe Reader at least, etc.
The DVD player in it is all screwed up and I was hoping to use it to download a program my nephew recommended to burn DVD's. Solve my lifelong problem with scratched up DVD's. But the damn thing won't even play music CD's without them skipping and sounding all garbled and won't read the DVD's I put in them recently.
And like I said, it is majorly slow. I will try some basic clean-up on it which I know he never does, but other than that, I'm not sure what else I can do to make it run better. Our home computer is pretty much in the same boat. It was one my parents gave to us and my IT friend just cleaned it up and made it usable. But the kids complain about it all the time. My nephew says that we can use it to burn DVD's though, so I may try. I dunno.
As far as what Bill needs, it doesn't have to be super light weight or anything...or small or anything. It just needs to run decently with minimal headaches. He works on Quickbooks and of course, the internet. Needs Adobe Reader at least, etc.
Okay, let's try this!
New Business Computer for Bill
You could look into memory upgrades on both machines. If they only have, say 1 Mb of RAM or less, I would upgrade the RAM. Also, are they running Windows XP? Do you have any kind of Spyware/Malware/Virus protection running on the machines?
I would look for reviews of laptops. You don't have to spend a ton of money. I would recommend getting something that has a Dual Core, like the Intel i3 or i5 processors. You could spend $500 - $900 depending on what 'extras' you want to pay for. For work I use a Lenovo and its a beast. Awesome laptop but pricey.
I would look for reviews of laptops. You don't have to spend a ton of money. I would recommend getting something that has a Dual Core, like the Intel i3 or i5 processors. You could spend $500 - $900 depending on what 'extras' you want to pay for. For work I use a Lenovo and its a beast. Awesome laptop but pricey.
“The Knave abideth.” I dare speak not for thee, but this maketh me to be of good comfort; I deem it well that he be out there, the Knave, being of good ease for we sinners.
New Business Computer for Bill
Dell and Lenovo are two different brands, by the way. If given a choice, I'd go with Lenovo. They're pricier, as Todd said, but they have an excellent reputation for quality - they used to be branded as IBM Thinkpads.
New Business Computer for Bill
hehe...good catch Doc! I assumed she meant a Dell Latitude.
“The Knave abideth.” I dare speak not for thee, but this maketh me to be of good comfort; I deem it well that he be out there, the Knave, being of good ease for we sinners.
New Business Computer for Bill
No, it's a Dell Vostro...I have a Lenovo (ThinkPad) from Disney. It's my work computer and it is a beast although I've had a lot of issues with the "ThinkVantage" thing for my wireless...I had to have it removed so it would let me connect to a wireless router. Now it connects but I'm constantly getting kicked off the Microsoft Exchange Server...but that's another story and I digress.
Since it's his computer, I'm just waiting until he absolutely can't take it anymore and then I'll get him a new one. He's the one who has to deal with it. If I used it, I would have gotten a new one months ago. The few times I've had to use it, I wanted to throw it through the window. Annoying.
Since it's his computer, I'm just waiting until he absolutely can't take it anymore and then I'll get him a new one. He's the one who has to deal with it. If I used it, I would have gotten a new one months ago. The few times I've had to use it, I wanted to throw it through the window. Annoying.
Okay, let's try this!
New Business Computer for Bill
What I did with my Lenovo is blow away all that crap that came with it and just installed Windows 7 on it.
What model Dell Vostro is it? If you know the model number I can look up the specs and tell you if it's worth hanging onto and fixing or not.
What model Dell Vostro is it? If you know the model number I can look up the specs and tell you if it's worth hanging onto and fixing or not.
“The Knave abideth.” I dare speak not for thee, but this maketh me to be of good comfort; I deem it well that he be out there, the Knave, being of good ease for we sinners.