Laptop Recommendation

[Nancy & Bill]

We are in the market for a new laptop, that we would use for traveling. I know we need wireless capability, and I take lots of photographs, so that's another consideration. Any suggestions out there?

[Nancy & Bill]

We are in the market for a new laptop, that we would use for traveling. I know we need wireless capability, and I take lots of photographs, so that's another consideration. Any suggestions out there?

[Dave G]

look at the macbook or macbook pro. They have good photo and video programs, built in camera, wifi, etc and are not prone to virus attacks.

[BigSkyBob]

Anything Dell builds. Very dependable.

[NLOVNIT]

We just got a Dell Inspiron Mini 9. So compact. Love, love, love it!

Lori-

[DAN L]

i bought a black macbook almost 3 years ago. i have t-mobile wifi. it works well in my moho near starbucks, kinkos, at relatives homes and at airports.
when i have to run windows for a particular program, i use the parallels program to run win xp.
on the mac side you get no viruses, etc.
on the xp side i have 2 firewalls, virus protection, and anti spyware.
i mostly use the mac side.
no problems so far.

[moldmkr]

We bought an apple last Jan after having Dell, HP products and we are very happy. Apple has a much more user friendly operating system. It has the I-photo software on it which is great for photo albums and slide shows. Hope this helps.

[LindaH]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by NLOVNIT:
We just got this one. So compact. Love, love, love it! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Lori, I've been looking at these, too, but have a question.

I notice this small laptop doesn't have a CD drive, so how do you install programs on it?

[NLOVNIT]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LindaH:
I notice this small laptop doesn't have a CD drive, so how do you install programs on it? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is great but its compact size foregoes some bulky hardware. Programs can be installed through the network, internet, or USB ports (CDs/DVDs can be copied to a USB flash drive). This size of computer is often termed 'netbook'. Great for small lightweight programs, music, photos, video, and web surfing. Everything is solid-state (including the hard drive) so I don't worry about it getting jostled while on-the-go. I wouldn't consider this a replacement for a larger desktop, but it is a great companion. We take both the Mini and a larger Dell Inspiron 15" with us on trips. Have received lots of interest from others when they see the Mini and are impressed with its functionality after a brief demo. There are USB versions of most peripherals if you need to add additional hardware. If this is too small for your needs, I would recommend other Dell laptops.

Lori-

[SeeTheUSA]

We also bought a Dell Mini . . . . made the purchase the day of release. Took a couple of weeks to get it, but no regrets! NICE for traveling.

We bought an external CD/DVD-RW unit, but haven't even used it yet. With so much software downloadable on the internet, maybe we won't need it after all.

[Max Hubrich]

I have a 12" Dell. Had it for 2 years now. Works good but the screen is too small. Next one will be a 15". I don't like being right up in its face all the time.

I could never use a 9" screen------

[M&EM]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Nancy & Bill:
We are in the market for a new laptop, that we would use for traveling. I know we need wireless capability, and I take lots of photographs, so that's another consideration. Any suggestions out there? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I use a MiniMac in an overhead cabinet and a 17 inch wide screen monitor hung from the overhead cabinets above the dash. The minimac is small enough to fit anywhere in the overhead. Blue tooth mouse and keyboard work nicely from almost anywhere in the coach.

The monitor acts as a sun visor and a heads up screen for GPS and map and OBD2 gauge displays.

A Verizon usb720 modem card keeps us connected almost every where.
Built in wifi for locally available internet access

The MiniMac will run windows (using Boot Camp) as well as any pc and also runs virtually virus immune on the Apple OS.

At home I just unplug and relocate the Minimac. The monitor stays in the coach.

edit to add photo instead of link <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Bill Adams]

I am sure I will catch a lot of flak with this answer, and I have been avoiding answering this question for that reason.
Since I have had a couple of cocktails it's a whole lot easier!
Here's the reality of the thing. Most all of the computers on the market today that are available at any of the big box stores are about the same. If you are a Mac person you are going to believe that everyone should buy a Mac. If you are a Windows user (yes, even those who are using Vista) are going to recommend a Windows PC. Mac's do some very cool stuff if you are into photo or video editing but this is a pretty small percentage of computer users.
The very small computers have some drawbacks including a smaller sized keyboard which can be difficult to become accustomed to, missing options such as a CD/DVD drive and the very small screen.
I like to buy a computer from a place I think will help me down the road should I have problems. This may be unrealistic but it helps me sleep at night. I bought my very first computer that I wanted to connect to my DataStorm on-line and it was a factory re-built Sony. This seemed like the right thing to do as I saved a bunch of money. I later found out that I could have spent about the same amount and gotten a better computer just about anywhere because I had NOT done my homework.
Long story short, here's my (nearly worthless) advice. Go to all of the big box stores that you like to frequent and check out the various computers that they offer and take copious notes. If you buy a Vista computer you should be looking at 2GB of memory at a minimum. If you buy a Mac (Heck, I don't know, good luck!?) get all that you need but not too much more.
Are you really going to use the web-cam that came with your new computer? If not, why did you pay for one? Most folks will want, and most computers will have, built-in Wi-Fi cards. I can't recommend buying one that does not, but if you find a great deal on a perfect computer a wireless card is a very cheap after-market add-on.
Well, there you have it. Buy what you like, from people you like, and don't listen to anyone (especially me) when they tell you that THIS is the only right one!


Wow! I've been edited (Thanks MM)! I guess it was one cocktail too many. I will have to think twice before posting in the future.

[rjf7g]

The Dell Mini is basically a web appliance. I wouldn't get one for doing any high-end work with photos.

I have a MacBook and two Dell laptops...all for work. We just bought the grandkid a MacBook.

Get the best Mac you can afford.