I am old and I am blonde and I am going to buy a laptop next week. Does anyone have any advice for me?:help:

I just got my first laptop. I went through Dell online and had no problems and am very happy with the product and the prices. I have had it for about 2 months now.

The Dell site is a good suggestion. You can customize it and get exactly what you want/need. Enlist the help of someone who is a bit more computer savy than yourself. Any 15 year old nerd should do nicely.

carlene you are too funny. I third the dell, I'm using a dell latitude as we speak and i love it.

My hubby is a certified network engineer and he's a certifiable geek. He said Dells are over rated. He said at the moment HP is the best price/quality ratio, and you can also customize them. If you pm me with how much u want to spend and what exactly u will be using the lap top for I can ask him for a suggestion if you like.

I'm old too but a brunette! LOL. I had to replace my old laptop 3 weeks ago and went to Best Buy. They have a store full of geeks. I told two of them what I wanted the computer for (I don't play action games, etc) and ended up buying a Toshiba Satellite A205-S4577 for $850.00 on sale. Before going, I did a consumer reports search and found Dell rated high for desktops but Toshiba was tops for laptops.

I have a toshiba lap top at the moment. They use to be good but the newer models aren't as good. The first one I bought we returned it after 3 days because it kept shutting it self off. And the one we returned it for, after about 6 months i had to have them replace the mother board in it because it wasn't recognizing the battery. Fortunately they honored the warranty and I didn't have to pay, but I've had more then my fair share of problems with this Toshiba which is why I'm replacing it for an HP after I move.

I also endorse Dell laptops. I would get a Latitude instead of an Inspiron. The Latitudes are the work/business models. Inspirons are for home use. The Lats are a little more sturdy.

I have a Latitude D510 for home use.

I have a cruddy HP 4400 for work use, and don't like it nearly as well.

I've got a Gateway and my dh has a Dell. I've had absolutely no problems with mine and his has been to the shop twice. I have the 20 in. screen and it has beautiful color and clarity. I'm sure it's to each it's own just look them all over and just buy what appeals to you. Our computer in the office is seldom ever used and it is a hp. We both use our laptops hours each day. They will ruin you.

One more bit of advice (or two). Before you buy, consider how you will be using the machine. Will you travel with it? If so, take weight/size into consideration and pass on the big screen, dual DVD drives, etc.

Less is not always more. Get one with a fast chip and plenty of RAM.

Buy the extended warranty. I know it's a lot of money, but today I am taking my almost 3 year old HP back to Best Buy and they are replacing the battery (the second most expensive part of the whole package, after the screen) for FREE. It's not dead - just doesn't hold a charge the way it should any more.

Again, I say take a trusted geek with you, or get one to help you order online.

One more bit of advice (or two). Before you buy, consider how you will be using the machine. Will you travel with it? If so, take weight/size into consideration and pass on the big screen, dual DVD drives, etc.

Less is not always more. Get one with a fast chip and plenty of RAM.

Buy the extended warranty. I know it's a lot of money, but today I am taking my almost 3 year old HP back to Best Buy and they are replacing the battery (the second most expensive part of the whole package, after the screen) for FREE. It's not dead - just doesn't hold a charge the way it should any more.

Again, I say take a trusted geek with you, or get one to help you order online.

I completly agree with this...especially about taking a trusted geek. Geeks in the computer stores are still there to make money off you.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. The immediate reason we need the laptop is that my husband will be away in Mexico for a month or more and we would like to be able to keep in touch. He wants to take pictures and send them to me. In the long term, however, the computer will end up being used by me and I will use it for blogging, internet, and for photography. I do want a fast one and I will need enough memory for Photoshop and for photographs. Saving money is not be as important as getting a reliable machine that will be able to perform. We are also figuring that although we are not set up for Wifi with our machines at home, maybe the laptop should have this?

We don't really know any computer geeks and this is why I am asking all of you to give me your input. Actually, I used to know some geeks when I was working but kinda lost touch with them when I retired. And I myself have no inner geek, alas. :cry

I use mine for about the same reasons as you will use yours. What I was told is to be sure to get 2MB so you don't have to wait for stuff. I wanted to get an Acer since they are so well thought of, and I saw one at shopNBC.com, but I ended up getting a Gateway from Office Depot for just over $800. It has the new Windows Vista Home Premium operating system (be sure to get the "premium" they tell me....). I just love it. Here are the stats that they said were so important....:

Gateway MT6821 Notebook

Duo Processor

2MB

Windows Vista Home Premium

There's a lot of other stuff, but the above were the things they emphasized.

green! Get a MacBook! You can't get anything easier to use. It'll last forever, you'll never get crazy errors that make no sense, no worry about getting viruses, and it'll last you forever! It comes with a built in camera, and it's just plain old COOL!

check 'er out ----> apple.ca If you're near an Apple store (and I'm sure you are), go check it out and give it a chance... you won't regret it!

Well, we have just come back from buying the laptop and we have taken everyone's advice except that I forgot Carlene's advice about buying the extended warranty! Damn!! We bought an HP Pavillion series model with a 14" screen. It has got the stuff which Betsyjane said it should have and so it will be fast and it can perform a bunch of clever tricks because it has a microphone and videocam/eye? built into it along with a CD/DVD burner. The little thing cost $950 in Can-bucks which are cheaper than Ameri-bucks. Of course we have hugely expensive sales taxes - 14% - and then we bought an external mouse (a red one), a Norton's complete protection programme, a WiFi router to hook up to our D-link, a travelling case for the thing, etc.... (It seems the only downside to this smaller model compared to the larger model of the same make is that the battery doesn't last as long but on the other hand it will fit on an airplane table.)

And so we had ourselves quite a little spend-fest. Then we continued on to have either a late lunch, a very late breakfast or an early supper!

Argon: We were afraid to get an Apple because we had heard that Bell Sympatico which is our internet provider gets strange with Mac.

Oh get a Dell. My DH the super computer guy (network server architecture engineer or osmething like that) always recommends them and he also recommends looking at their refurbished ones-- they are usually a good deal. That is what I am using now. I had a HP before and I experienced a lot of problems with it, the hit sink didn't work right, etc. and it basically died on me slowly and best buy wasn't that helpful even with extended warrenty.