Looking for advice for buying a new laptop

StarSong

StarSong

Awkward is my Superpower
Location
Los Angeles Suburbs
I looked at Consumer Reports, but holy cow! Their reviews mostly cover laptops in the $1500-$2000 range. Eek.
I'm thinking more like $500-$600 as an upper limit. Need Windows 11 OS, but hope to avoid massive amounts of bloatware.

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

p.s. Am also hoping for recommendations to replace DH's pokey desktop. Again, not looking to spend a fortune.
 

If a Chromebook is out of the picture and you are just looking for a laptop to do simple tasks then I would suggest you research this Acer Acer Aspire Go 15 Slim Laptop: 15.6″ . I have used Acer laptops for a few years now and have had little issues. The only bloatware that has come with my laptops is the Acer Performance app but it's not obtrusive.

Wait for suggestions from others though. There are several good choices at the price range that you are looking for if you aren't wanting to do anything intensive on your laptop :).

I just double checked on that model and the one big downside is that it has limited storage capacity.

If you are looking for a laptop that has a higher storage capacity then I would suggest this Acer instead https://www.acer.com/us-en/laptops/aspire/aspire-intel/pdp/NX.KVUAA.002

It's a little higher in price but has a newer processer and more storage space.
 
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I use credit cards for the rewards knowing that the info's going out there anyway. - I guess he told me!
 
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Roadwarrior said:
I use credit cards for the rewards knowing that the info's going out there anyway.
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Recently I have been making large cash withdrawals from the bank. We are preparing our house for sale, which has been quite expensive. To that end I have paid cash for the likes of floor covering, decorating, garden makeover and so on. Each expense was paid in cash and each time I withdrew the money the bank cashier would ask me what it's for.

The cheek of it, holding eye contact with her I said that it's for an expense that I don't want profiled, not by the retailer, the card company or you, the bank, so that you can buy and sell that information, so that's why I pay cash. It was clear that I had rattled her, but she didn't deny that profiling account holders expenditure was part of the bank's agenda.

You might not care about your personal information being profiled and subsequently bought and sold, but I am not willing to such underhand practices.
 
I mostly use a desktop, but bring a laptop when traveling. I use it for business purposes, including spreadsheets, so the laptop needs to have the capacity for MS Office (or clone) type of tasks.
 
horseless carriage said:
Recently I have been making large cash withdrawals from the bank. We are preparing our house for sale, which has been quite expensive. To that end I have paid cash for the likes of floor covering, decorating, garden makeover and so on. Each expense was paid in cash and each time I withdrew the money the bank cashier would ask me what it's for.

The cheek of it, holding eye contact with her I said that it's for an expense that I don't want profiled, not by the retailer, the card company or you, the bank, so that you can buy and sell that information, so that's why I pay cash. It was clear that I had rattled her, but she didn't deny that profiling account holders expenditure was part of the bank's agenda.

You might not care about your personal information being profiled and subsequently bought and sold, but I am not willing to such underhand practices.
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In the US, scams are more common than one might think, and seniors can be very easy targets. Banks now regularly question large withdrawals and wire transfers for that very reason.

Your bank clerk was probably instructed to do exactly that. She was more likely looking out for you than prying into your personal business.
 
John cycling said:
I got a refurbished Lenovo T520 Thinkpad for $117 from Ebay in March of 2019.
It had a Windows operating system, but I removed it and installed an updated version of Linux Mint.
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I so appreciate the tip, but truth is I wouldn't have the first idea how to remove an OS without turning the computer into a brick, or how to work Linux if I did succeed at installing it. :(
 
Buy a reconditioned OptiPlex 5060 Dell with 11 Pro. and a curved screen.
$500 or so for your home & An iPad for travel with your iPhone. You do
have word processor choices that don't pay Microsoft $100's!
Download the latest updates from Microsoft. Word processors run about
$25 with memory sticks. With the new hard drive systems and memory
in the OptiPlex you can update to later Microsoft OP systems. 3 + speeds
are really only needed with gaming. You will have plenty of Chips with it.

Adding systems on a DVD need a Drive that plugs into the front of the OptiPlex.
 
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Is there a store in your area that fixes computers? We have one that is privately owned and they have quite a few refurbished laptops. I got a Toshiba Satellite for $1200. They had a couple that were cheaper also. Maybe somewhere like that? We also look for used computers for sale in area. I bought a couple desktops that way.
 
Depends on what you want to do with your computer, how much speed you need and how much storage you want. Touch costs more.

My laptop is slow, doesn't have much storage. I don't know if it would do gaming. But it does everything I want it to do. It cost less than $200. It was on sale but there are others in that price range that would work for me.
 
Im also in the market for a new laptop , the last one I purchased was a Dell i went Into the dell site and clicked the boxes of how many ports / size of hd ect i wanted it even came with a floppy disc drive .

I looked it up prior to leaving on our usual 2 month holiday to a warmer part of Australia ( Queensland ) that we call “escaping from South Australia's winter “

I bought my laptop in 2010 is was the worst of the worse ..…and it’s rarely been used other than using it for my embroidery sewing machine programs (it’s way to slow, right from new it took 15 mins to be ready for use after turning it on )

I’ve only used a iPad for years, so when we return to South Aust next week I’ll be checking out one that’s been recommended to me being a Chrome book, we have several huge stores that will advise me in what I’d like to buy suitable for my needs .

My biggest issue is my old embroidery sewing machine , ( purchased in 2000 )my old Husqvarna operating files are not compatible with newer operating systems , however I can download and store designs on a newer system
 
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Kadee said:
Im also in the market for a new laptop , the last one I purchased was a Dell i went Into the dell site and clicked the boxes of how many ports / size of hd ect i wanted it even came with a floppy disc drive .

I looked it up prior to leaving on our usual 2 month holiday to a warmer part of Australia ( Queensland ) that we call “escaping from South Australia's winter “

I bought my laptop in 2006 is was the worst of the worse ..…and it’s rarely been used other than using it for my embroidery sewing machine programs (it’s way to slow )

I’ve only used a iPad for years, so when we return to South Aust next week I’ll be checking out one that’s been recommended to me being a Chrome book, we have several huge stores that will advise me in what I’d like to buy suitable for my needs .

My biggest issue is my embroidery sewing machine , and while my old Husqvarna operating files are not compatible with newer operating systems I can download and store designs on a newer system
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I'm very familiar with digitzed patterns and their compatibility and instructions for embroidery machines, but generally on a commercial level (24-48 head machines). Embroidery machines are fascinating to watch, aren't they?
 
By the way, I kept an older (Windows 7 OS) desktop because some of my programs weren't compatible with Win10. I hear tell that Win 12 will be released in less than a year, so I'm not sure I want to jump on the Win 11 bandwagon just as it's moving toward obsolescence.
 
StarSong said:
I'm very familiar with digitzed patterns and their compatibility and instructions for embroidery machines, but generally on a commercial level (24-48 head machines). Embroidery machines are fascinating to watch, aren't they?
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When I bought my designer 1 in the year 2000 I had to purchase additional computer programs, one essential one that I have to use is called customiser , where I choose a design,( all stored on computer )

I can alter the size and put the design into a floppy .…in that program ….. I then put the floppy disc ….into my old but still very good machine to sew out the design
Yes altho I don’t sew much now days , I still enjoy making a few fancy mug rugs / book marks / small football team cushions @StarSong
 
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IMG_6670.jpegIMG_6669.jpeg
A couple of items I made earlier this year @StarSong.
Sydney swans football team small cushion (S) …made from scratch including inner cushion …and mug rugs made for friends
x 6 …
My clunky old LP is still running on XP and alltho I could upgrade it ….my macine programs will no longer work if I upgrade….. and it would cost me almost the cost of a replacement LT just to purchase newer version Husqvarna programs which include digitising my own designs ….and the list gos on …
 
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StarSong said:
By the way, I kept an older (Windows 7 OS) desktop because some of my programs weren't compatible with Win10. I hear tell that Win 12 will be released in less than a year, so I'm not sure I want to jump on the Win 11 bandwagon just as it's moving toward obsolescence.
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Users of Windows 11 will still be fine but Windows 10 users will need to upgrade when 12 comes out. If you are not in a rush it might be a good idea to wait until then because I'm guessing that Windows 11 laptop prices will drop when 12 comes out. And you will probably get a free upgrade to 12 anyway, just like Window's 10 users were offered when 11 came out.
 
horseless carriage said:
Recently I have been making large cash withdrawals from the bank. We are preparing our house for sale, which has been quite expensive. To that end I have paid cash for the likes of floor covering, decorating, garden makeover and so on. Each expense was paid in cash and each time I withdrew the money the bank cashier would ask me what it's for.

The cheek of it, holding eye contact with her I said that it's for an expense that I don't want profiled, not by the retailer, the card company or you, the bank, so that you can buy and sell that information, so that's why I pay cash. It was clear that I had rattled her, but she didn't deny that profiling account holders expenditure was part of the bank's agenda.

You might not care about your personal information being profiled and subsequently bought and sold, but I am not willing to such underhand practices.
Click to expand...

I was shocked when a bank official asked me why I wanted cash. I asked him why he wanted to know. He said that it's not uncommon for seniors to be scammed out of their hard-earned money.

I told him there was no fear of that.
 
I get frustrated because laptops—and desktop PCs, for that matter—used to always come pre-loaded with Word, Excel, etc. Now all of that has to be bought separately. I accept that, but I'm not happy with it.
 
horseless carriage said:
Recently I have been making large cash withdrawals from the bank. We are preparing our house for sale, which has been quite expensive. To that end I have paid cash for the likes of floor covering, decorating, garden makeover and so on. Each expense was paid in cash and each time I withdrew the money the bank cashier would ask me what it's for.

The cheek of it, holding eye contact with her I said that it's for an expense that I don't want profiled, not by the retailer, the card company or you, the bank, so that you can buy and sell that information, so that's why I pay cash. It was clear that I had rattled her, but she didn't deny that profiling account holders expenditure was part of the bank's agenda.

You might not care about your personal information being profiled and subsequently bought and sold, but I am not willing to such underhand practices.
Click to expand...
We purchased a brand new car being a Nissan Qashqai in 2020 , @horseless carriage we didn’t want to upgrade from my trusty old Toyota Corolla till we had the ‘ spare “ money to pay cash for the car , when I went into the bank to get a cheque for the balance of $16.000 the bank questioned me why I was drawing money out of my account ….and what I was spending the money on ….and said do you really need to upgrade your car ….
The cheque was to be made out to a car dealership in the city ( Adelaide ) so it was self explaining where the money was going.

Photo taken where we live in SA
IMG_3063.jpeg
 
papa tiger said:
Word processors run about
$25 with memory sticks. With the new hard drive systems and memory
in the OptiPlex you can update to later Microsoft OP systems. 3 + speeds
are really only needed with gaming. You will have plenty of Chips with it.

Adding systems on a DVD need a Drive that plugs into the front of the OptiPlex.
Click to expand...
Word processor is one of those descriptions that I have come across but in truth, never really understood, so I just asked Wiki.
"A word processor is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current word processors are word processor programs running on general purpose computers."
script 001.JPG
My lack of any sort of technology knowledge might be due to not having any children and therefore, grandchildren. They are, or seem to be, born with the knowledge. Often a range of feelings ensue about my lack of know-how. Frustration and annoyance are up there but thinking about it, I do seem to get by so what I don't have I don't miss.
 

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