Need new laptop advice

[Invader3K]

So I posted a few days ago about how my beloved and reliable Chromebook bit the dust when I accidentally dropped it. So I now need a new laptop.

 

Primary uses are for work: internet, email, spreadsheets, and word processing. I use Google Drive and Google Docs extensively. No gaming and very little media consumption.

 

I really liked the Samsung Chromebook that I had, but not too impressed with the current offerings out there. The new HP ones have pretty mixed reviews.

 

Price range is pretty wide open right now, but I'd like to stay under a grand. Can someone point me in some direction?

[Patrick425]

I'm a big user of online reviews and ratings when it comes to things like this. You might have a friend who says.."Yeah, I have an HP and it's great" or "Don't buy a Dell. I have one and it stinks"...but I always have a hard time going by what one or two friends/relatives tell me about a product. Too small of a sample size. Perhaps they just happened to get a lemon or they are too proud to admit that they made a mistake and so they tell you that everything they ever purchased is "great". Here are a few sites that review laptops:

 

http://www.pcworld.com/category/laptop-computers/

 

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/

 

I also like consumer reports, but it requires a subscription ($30 per year or $6.96 per month).

[RobDeer 45]

Cnet is solid too. Try to get the most up to date tech is my only suggestion (whatever that is).

[Invader3K]

Thanks guys. I will check out those links. It's just it seems like there are so many different options these days, that it's a little bit overwhelming.

[RobDeer 45]

I would say to narrow it down, since you liked the samsung, start there. See if you can find a Samsung that gets good reviews and meets your needs. If not, expand from there. I think samsung is solid overall.... that's what I have now. I have had no issues and the reason I initially bought it was the reviews for samsung didn't scare me off.

 

I agree that it can be so overwhelming if you are trying to compare everything out there.

[DHonks]

Invader, not offering advice, but just saying that this is the first time I've heard a positive comment about a Chromebook. My school has had them for 2 years and students complain about them and swear they would never want a Chromebook unless it was free. I thought about one for my mom before she passed away, but I realized I never could have gotten her off AOL mail. Good luck with your search...lots of decent options out there. I love cnet and notebookreview.com

[1992casey]

Shouldn't you be able to do AOL mail (or any mail) on a Chromebook?

[DHonks]

1992casey, yes on the web, but she liked the program. I tried unsuccessfully to shift her to gmail. That's also the reason that the teachers at my school didn't switch to chrome books. We couldn't run our current grade programs--even web-based ones--or test generating software. We showed lots of video clips and found they didn't load as reliably on them as well. The one benefit is our district's email is through gmail.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, they're great for Gmail and basic work applications (through Google) but for video steaming they aren't powerful enough yet.

[Invader3K]

Ended up purchasing a 15" Toshiba Satellite model yesterday. Upgraded to Windows 8.1 last night. It's been an interesting experience. The model has a touch screen, which is really nice, and fairly intuitive. The OS as a whole is going to take me quite a while to get used to.

 

I've had a few frustrations already. Can't get my HP Bluetooth mouse to connect, for whatever reason, even though the laptop detects it. Also, the Windows Store wouldn't work for me at all. I searched online, and was apparently supposed to do a bunch of command prompt "stuff", which is just utterly ridiculous in 2014. The average person is going to have no way to figure any of that out.

 

The Windows Store now works for me, after a random number of restarts. Can finally download apps like Facebook, Twitter, etc. I'll let you all know random further thoughts later.

[RightFieldCoder]

Some of the updates (especially the 8.1 update) require multiple steps which include multiple reboots. I also had problems after going to 8.1 until I realized that not all of the steps were completed and I needed to restart a couple more times.

[Invader3K]

Some of the updates (especially the 8.1 update) require multiple steps which include multiple reboots. I also had problems after going to 8.1 until I realized that not all of the steps were completed and I needed to restart a couple more times.

 

They really should do a better job of spelling that out...I'm not sure what "steps" I've done and not done yet. Not sure how the average person would figure any of this out either. I'm not exactly a computer newbie, but I'm not an IT expert either, and I feel somewhat lost on why certain things aren't working correctly.

[1992casey]

I'm having trouble fathoming why an OS upgrade should require any more than two restarts, i.e. one at the beginning of the installation process and one at the end. Also, there should be adequate prompts so users know when or if they need to intervene.

 

Mac OS X does a restart about three minutes after the installation begins. A restart button appears, and if the user doesn't hit it within 30 seconds, the restart happens automatically. I don't recall if there's a second restart at the end of the installation process or not.

 

The bottom line is that I've seen enough of your posts over the years to feel that an OS upgrade should definitely be within your capabilities, and it should be within the capabilities of someone with much less knowledge than you have. If things are messing up, it's definitely not your fault.

[LouisEly]

A year ago I bought this HP 6730b laptop (15" screen) that I am typing this on off of eBay, seller refurbished, with Windows 7 and full MS Office Professional 2010 for $160 plus I paid an additional $25 to upgrade the RAM to 4GB. The only thing I am dissatisfied with is that it only has VGA and S-video ports (no HDMI or DVI) and the screen is LCD (hard to read in a bright room). But Office 2010 Professional alone costs as much as I paid for the laptop.

 

If you only use it for work you should check eBay refurbs. I know there are a couple of guys on Craigslist in the Milwaukee area that do laptop refurbs with a MS Office license.