[soulsurvivor]

Mine is getting ready to bite the dust. This is a Compaq laptop that's been in constant use since purchasing new in 2007. The screen is more like wavy gravy than not and the memory is so overloaded it's... well, it's almost history. So, what would you recommend for an old woman that does nothing online except come here, view youtube, and play desktop freecell?

 

[mrs whodunit]

I have a Toshiba Satellite with a 17 inch screen.

I really like it minus the month it took to get my head wrapped around Windows 8

 

[Sawmill Jim]

I use a 11'' Acre notebook with a bigger monitor .keyboard and wireless mouse plugged in to it .Notebook $169.00 keyboard ,mouse and monitor about $60.00 . I can pull the plugs and take it on trips if need be .

 

[BlackFeather]

Mine has no cd disk drive, has a screen, keyboard, network, usb, memory card, and headphone. It has a wireless connection too, mine cost $300. Windows 8 is ok you just have to get used to it. I do word processing too. You sound like you don't need much, so an inexpensive computer should work. I have and ASUS.

 

[unregistered358967]

Hi SS, I love my Asus. It's pretty basic. I don't know if you have a store like I do near me but they sell refurbished computers..people bring in ones they no longer need and the techs tinker with them and put in new memory and get everything up to speed. It's a real cost savings. If and when we need a new one I will go this route.

Though the little eee laptops are temtping, we've found them too slow to use...

 

[Nevada]

So, what would you recommend for an old woman that does nothing online except come here, view youtube, and play desktop freecell?

People always buy more computer than they need. I hate to see people spend a lot more money on a computer than they have to. I've been told a lot of reasons for doing that.

1. Quality - People think that if they spend twice as much on a computer that it will require less service. The fact is that computers are priced for performance, not quality. There is no reason to believe that a $200 Lenovo model will have any more or less problems than a $600 Lenovo.
2. Longer Life - People often get the idea that if they buy a high end laptop that it will remain contemporary longer than lower priced models. There's some truth to that, since laptops usually become obsolete because they don't have enough processing power or memory capacity for newer applications. But the life difference between a $200 laptop and a $600 laptop may only be an additional 6 months. You're better off getting what you need now, then in 5 years buy another economically priced model.
3. More Must Be Better - This idea comes from the fact that there are very expensive laptops available, and only the most advanced users seem to have them. It's true, you can still pay thousands for a laptop, and they have features that a $200 laptop won't have. But the truth is that those laptops are designed with specific purposes in mind, such as high end gaming. A good gaming computer will have a video adapter that costs more than some entire brand new laptops. But if you bought a gaming computer and only used it for forum browsing, youtube and freecell you wouldn't see any difference in performance from a $200 laptop.

For your needs, I would look for a laptop with a larger monitor (15" will do), and in your case I wouldn't look for newer features like touchscreen and detachable keyboard. Those newer features are on laptops with monitors small enough to double as a tablet (normally 10" to 11"). As you age the larger monitor will probably become more important to you. For your purposes this looks like a good machine for $250, no sales tax, and free shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231876

They seem to be phasing out CD/DVD drives in contemporary laptops. You'll probably want to get an external drive, but they aren't expensive. Here's an example.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/External-Bl...=US_CD_DVD_Blu_Ray_Drives&hash=item232ca181de

 

[BlueRose]

Soul Survivor thank you for starting this thread.

Nevada I need one that I can do spread sheets, word processing for school (and I hope small home business), forums, research, watch movies (no tv), play games (solitaire), suggestion? I am thinking I should get a desktop?

Thank you

 

[Wolf mom]

I use a 11'' Acer notebook with a bigger monitor .keyboard and wireless mouse plugged in to it .Notebook $169.00 keyboard ,mouse and monitor about $60.00 . I can pull the plugs and take it on trips if need be .

I love my Acer/ V5. It's about 9 months old, and yes, you can plug stuff into it. Windows 7 (yeah!) no disk player but bought one for under $50.00.

I was planning on plugging in a larger screen, but found it's so much nicer being able to take it wherever I want in the house. ie: Kitchen for following a recipe. Great size on a trip - 17 inch laptop is too heavy, used one for work & home visits - hated it.

Wasn't sure about the screen size, but you can adjust the type (control+) and I now think it's perfect. BTW: I have a Logitech wireless mouse. And, yes, I use it for just about what you want to do with yours.

 

[Nevada]

Nevada I need one that I can do spread sheets, word processing for school (and I hope small home business), forums, research, watch movies (no tv), play games (solitaire), suggestion? I am thinking I should get a desktop?

Thank you

I do spreadsheets & word processing with my laptop. I don't use my laptop to watch movies because I have a 40" TV to watch.

How big of a monitor do you have now? Is it satisfactory for movies?

 

[BlueRose]

I believe it is a 15 inch. It is okay I am use too it. I am thinking that if I had a desktop to do everything on I could use my laptop to take with me when I need one.

 

[mnn2501]

So, what would you recommend for an old woman that does nothing online except come here, view youtube, and play desktop freecell?

Any cheap computer will do those easily

 

[sniper69]

If you're not looking for a brand new laptop but one that is gently used, maybe something like I bought my oldest child for Christmas last year (no it wasn't new, but looked new). It is a Sony Vaio VGN_FW series. The VGN-FW series offers a lot in a laptop - even for ones that are a few years old. He likes my vaio, so I bought him one that looks the same but has some minor differences under "the hood". Many have 16.4" screens, dual core processors, room for up to 8GB ram, mine has a blu-ray burner, my sons has a blu-ray player. The seller I bought my sons through on ebay is mantis10eddie.


If you prefer to purchase a new computer instead of a used one, that is understandable too. The brands I would recommend are Asus, Sony, MSI, and Acer. The best thing to do is to try out some of the new ones on display at the store, make a note of the model numbers you like, and then come home and research them to see reviews of the various models, if they can be found online cheaper, etc.

 

[Nevada]

I believe it is a 15 inch. It is okay I am use too it. I am thinking that if I had a desktop to do everything on I could use my laptop to take with me when I need one.

A second laptop should do fine for you. I'm partial to laptops because when you consider the cost of monitor for a desktop, laptops are less expensive.

 

[Nevada]

Any cheap computer will do those easily

I prefer to say inexpensive. Cheap implies substandard quality, but an inexpensive laptop should be of the same quality is an expensive model.

 

[Evons hubby]

So, what would you recommend for an old woman

A couple of young men. :drum:

 

[sisterpine]

We have a newer Asus and an older HP laptop. One is windows 7 and the newer one is 8. the older one, purchased in 2010 took me through grad school and has managed both my small businesses without difficulty including spread sheets and paper writing. I have the 17 in screen so I can increase the font size and avoid vision fatigue. sis

 

[soulsurvivor]

Thanks everyone for responding to my request for help. I keep forgetting there's a really great computer forum here on HT and I'll use that from now on.

 

[sidepasser]

A couple of young men. :drum:

You always make me laugh~!~!:thumb: