Computer help desk

[prhoshay]

I bought one - it is a small flat plastic thing with fans built it that runs off your usb port.
except mine quit working about 2 weeks after I got it.
but, I still keep it under the laptop.

You can take it back, can't you???

The one I read about was a Targus brand from Best Buy for $18.99. The person writing the article seemed happy with it, but I don't know how long they had had it.

[Leo]

Thanks - I had my hopes up by an ad in Time magazine where you buy a laptop (XO) for a 3rd world child and get one free for your own child for $400. I checked it out and they're designed to be water proof, heat resistant, hold a charge for a long time, have super-powerful antennae. My BIL checked it out and said it isn't compatible with Windows, but if anyone wants to check it out the website is laptopgiving.org and the offer is good through December.

I've heard about this. Setting aside my misgivings about the whole project, the laptop is, I think, too compromised for home use. They're really locked down so you can't do anything except what the manufacturer wants you to do - which is fine out in Africa, but for home use it's too inflexible. If people want to give to charity, that's fine, but don't expect an awful lot out of the laptop you get.

[Brodie]

Do you laptoppers use chill mats under your units?

I don't, but I have a nifty lap desk that I keep my laptop on so it isn't directly on my lap. It does two things. Keeps the laptop off my lap where my lap gets hot, and keeps the vents on the laptop clear and cool so IT doesn't overheat and or suck in lint off my clothes or anything else like that.

[burntbrat]

My laptop gets insanely hot if I have it on the leather couch or on my lap for too long. I've made my own chill mat of an ice pack under the fan once or twice And I've mastered the manuever of the laptop wedged on my thighs with the fans in free airspace. You just have to put your laptop on a hard surface once-in-a-while or it's going to get too hot and bothered.

Gutmutter if you post the specs of the cheap laptops at Walmart that you're thinking of getting, I'm sure some of the resident gurus at the Fort can give you some pros and cons. It's just hard to say without knowing what you're buying. I bought an Acer from Walmart really cheap back in '97 and it lasted a few years. Since then I've been a Dell girl because they are cheap and easy to fix. Gateway is pretty good too because they will let you argue with them about the operating system and such, but they're not as affordable as Dell.

[Gutmutter]

I'll go back to Walmart when weather permits and check out exactly what they are. That was just the first leg of my investigation to start mentally preparing for how expensive it was going to be. Luckily my mom and ex are going to go in on it with me, so I won't have to bear the expense myself. I just went to Walmart.com and they have one called Everex for $495. It says it can burn CDs which is one of the things she wanted extra if I could swing it. And it has Windows. Again - bottom line is she needs it for an on-line class. If someone who knows computers could look at it and give me any pros-cons I'd be forever grateful.

[Leo]

Is this what you were talking about, Gut?

Everex 15.4" StepNote NC1610 Laptop PC w/ Via C7-M Processor - Wal-Mart

If so, I can't recommend it at all. I honestly think it's too slow for day-to-day use with that Via processor. I've also never heard of the Everex brand, so that's a little problematic too. Granted, it seems to be that they're cheaper than other brands, so that might help if the budget is an issue.

If you can expand the budget a little to $800, I like these three laptops. I picked them all from the Walmart page, but I'm sure you can get similarly priced models from just about every brand out there. For my money, they're much better than the $500 model - you get a current-generation Intel processor, a good amount of RAM (though if you're getting this from someone where you can customize the configuration, I'd double the RAM to 2GB). All of these can burn not just CDs, but DVDs as well.

Sony 15.4" VGNNR160E/S Vaio Laptop PC w/ Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5250 - Wal-Mart
HP 15.4" Pavilion dv6626us Laptop PC w/ Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5250 - Wal-Mart
Everex 13.3" StepNote SR5210T Laptop PC w/ Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5250 - Wal-Mart

[Gutmutter]

Thanks Leo. I guess it comes down to you get what you pay for and I'm just going to have to bite the bullet. I do really appreciate your insight on this. It is really hard when you don't know anything.

[Melitta]

Gutmutter, I don't know if it would help or not, but Wal-Mart offers (I think it is 18 months) of free financing on purchases over $250 with the Wal-Mart Discover card.

Also, My mom and I built our computers (her laptop and my PC) from the Dell web site and we got 18 months of interest free financing on them. It was a lot easier on me to get the computer that I wanted and be able to pay it out. My payments were just under $100 a month and I paid it off before any interest incurred. We bought both systems almost 3 years ago now and both still work nicely!

[just1paul]

Gutmutter - you could try tigerdirect - I buy a lot from them.

Compaq Presario C504US Notebook PC - Intel Celeron M 440 1.86GHz, 802.11bg Wireless, 512MB DDR2, 100GB HDD, Dual Layer DVD RW, 15.4" WXGA, Windows Vista Home Basic RQ334UA#ABA at TigerDirect.com

[Gutmutter]

gabriel - There's only one left... (I just found your post - I've been busy). Can it burn CDs? I can't tell from the description. I'm really beating myself up about this - it is frustrating not to know enough about them to tell whether I'm looking at something she would want. What is the difference between Windows Vista and Windows XP? I just noticed gabriel's light isn't on. If anyone else could follow his link and answer the CD question, I'd appreciate it.