New 'I want to buy a laptop' Thread (2 Viewers)

[gracie007]

Hey all

OK so I know theres been heaps of threads on this, but as you know, new models come out all the time and we have to consider those hey.
Anyways, I'm allowed to get a laptop. I will mainly be using it for:
-Uni stuff: Writing up documents, using excel and all that stuff, lecture notes.
-possibly watching movies on at home
-using it a bit for music (definately not a prioroity though)
-surfing the net
-maybe download a few tv show episodes.

As far as things I need for this laptop...well I dont really have much of a clue as Im not very good with all the techy stuff...but here goes:
-Price range of $1500-$2000 or thereabouts
-I DO NOT want anything made by Apple ..whether it be a macbook or whatever.
-Good battery life
-As light/slim as possible, if not then i guess I could deal
-Be able to connect wirelessly to networks (Im at uts so to be able to work here-however i do that)
-DVDRW drive
-If possible bluetooth

Thats about it. as u can see I have pretty much no idea...but thats where u come in!
Thanks all!

 

[go_swans]

pity you don't want apple. You can get heaps slim apple laptops.

 

[jemsta]

ive got an asus w5f notebook, so i highly recommend asus
try looking at the dell website, i know theyre not the best quality made laptop out there, but its value for money
have a look in here and see which tickles your fancy
http://www.laptop.com.au/laptopsu.shtml
oh youll probably be looking at core duo at least, and wireless is acceptable at UTS too

 

[S1M0]

Those new asus laptops with leather is the best for you. Its powerful, small, stylish, and comes in lots of colours. Which i'm sure you'll appreciate.

I forget the name, mabye looking at the asus website, there were ads on tv a few weeks ago.

 

[HotShot]

you got plenty of money there:

For slim, weight = sony vaio
for power, value = acer
for others =asus

toshiba is good as well


yeah stay away Macbooks - expensive and hopeless.
ANd DELL is even worse.

 

[Dee Jess]

Shame about the mac! Mac's the best. And anyway, the only operating system you'll get on anything else is Vista, and Vista is really poor compared to OS X.

Check this article out http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/living/16555680.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

It's so true.

Anyway, if you don't want mac and have money to spend then I'd say the new Vaio, it's gorgeous, it's so small!!

 

[jemsta]

i use to like sony, but like fujitsu, ill prob only buy it for the brand, not for the best value of money
the laptop that S1mo was referring to was the asus S6Fm, which would probably be out of her price range, but there are plenty of others for her to choose from
just dont choose acer

 

[iamsickofyear12]

Shame about the mac! Mac's the best. And anyway, the only operating system you'll get on anything else is Vista, and Vista is really poor compared to OS X.

Anyway, if you don't want mac and have money to spend then I'd say the new Vaio, it's gorgeous, it's so small!!

The mac's are nice the only problem is they run OS X. You can talk all you like about how it is so much better than windows but I doubt I could run 1/4 of the stuff on my current laptop on a mac.

 

[withoutaface]

Shame about the mac! Mac's the best. And anyway, the only operating system you'll get on anything else is Vista, and Vista is really poor compared to OS X.

Except for this little OS that's been running on PC's since the early 90s called Linux, which I understand only really underground people have ever heard of, so it's understandable you don't know what it is. Or BSD. Or Solaris. Or Darwin.

The mac's are nice the only problem is they run OS X. You can talk all you like about how it is so much better than windows but I doubt I could run 1/4 of the stuff on my current laptop on a mac.

1. Macs run Vista natively.
2. List your regularly used programs, I'm sure 99% of them either exist on mac or have an almost identical alternative, unless you're a gamer.

 

[iamsickofyear12]

1. Macs run Vista natively.
2. List your regularly used programs, I'm sure 99% of them either exist on mac or have an almost identical alternative, unless you're a gamer.

I like the "unless you're a gamer" clause. I have 8 games on my computer that definitely won't run on a mac. I can also see you being very flexible with what is considered an "almost identical alternative".

Either way I don't really like the mac interface. I have been using windows for a long time and I like it... there is no reason to change.

But if I could buy a mac with windows installed and working properly just as if it was a PC right out of the box then I possibly might consider it. I'd mainly be using windows but it wouldn't hurt to have OS X as well. There is no way I would try and install it myself though.

 

[withoutaface]

I like the "unless you're a gamer" clause. I have 8 games on my computer that definitely won't run on a mac. I can also see you being very flexible with what is considered an "almost identical alternative".

Either way I don't really like the mac interface. I have been using windows for a long time and I like it... there is no reason to change.

But if I could buy a mac with windows installed and working properly just as if it was a PC right out of the box then I possibly might consider it. I'd mainly be using windows but it wouldn't hurt to have OS X as well. There is no way I would try and install it myself though.

Installing windows just requires you to say "I speak English, I live in Australia, and these are the people who need accounts on the computer :S".

 

[iamsickofyear12]

Installing windows just requires you to say "I speak English, I live in Australia, and these are the people who need accounts on the computer :S".

I'm sure it is slightly more complicated than that.

I haven't used a mac for 10 years and back then all I could do was play that brick game. I might be able to do it easily or I might not be able to do it at all. I don't particularly want to find out.

 

[Dumsum]

I loathe the MacOS UI. I know how to get around, I had to use it often at school, but I find windows so so much easier to use.

Check ebay for some new Dell lappies (particularly Inspiron and Latitude models) which often go for cheaper than the Dell website for the same specs.

 

[withoutaface]

Christian Edition ftw.

 

[AsyLum]

Too bad Macbooks are the best.

Shame it'd be overkill for someone who doesn't want to run anything remotely CPU intensive.

 

[poloktim]

Um Macbooks are the best, k? OS X is the best thing ever.

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant

I have to put up with this "Macs rule" rubbish at uni. They're so cool and secure because they're based on Unix is all I hear. 755 makes me sad.

Now, a system you can be proud of: Solaris. OpenSolaris for the open source fatties. Solaris follows System V standard, but has UCB binaries for backwards compatibility to its SunOS days. I'd run Solaris all the time, if I could.

My next computer will be Sparc architecture, I think.

 

[gracie007]

ok i have no idea what some of u are talking about so anyways, back on topic?
by the way, surely with my new laptop, whatever i decide on, i can ask them to have xp on it rather than vista, i dooonnt want vista.

 

[The_highwayman]

i'm looking to buy a desktop for home and a small laptop to take to uni etc so it needs to be ultra portable.

Dell has a 12.1" one but i'm not sure i like it.

I've been looking at the vaio's but my older brother said he wouldnt buy a sony if it was under 2K (most of the c-series).
So i had a look at the macbooks.
They look AWESOME, they're lightweight and THIN and i get an education discount only because i'm a student. Problem is, all our other computers in the house run on Windows so the OS X isnt really practical. Can i get a macbook with windows?

 

[withoutaface]

You have to buy Windows eperately.

 

[The_highwayman]

but what about networking? won't it cause a hassle?

If i didnt have a network at home i'd be all for using OS X. I just don't want to buy something that will cause me more hassle than it's worth.