Good deal on Dell laptop?

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I think I will finally replace my laptop. Perhaps a Dell w/ the new Windows Vista. Is there someplace I can get a good deal on a Dell? Internet specials? On line discounts or coupons?

TIA-
KCT
 
As a technical manager, a word or two of advice:
  • I would hold off buying anything with Vista and Office 2007 for a year, if possible. This will mean trying to catch the last of the laptops at Dell bearing WINXP.
Microsoft has the bad habit of putting out product as close to its projected date as possible. If that means all the lab work and tests aren’t finished, oh well. You will be patching through Update for a year. Automatic updates are not always good, because the patch is not always tested, either. This means there will be another patch for the patch. In the interim, your computer may not act as it should.

I know of two colleges having trouble with Office 2007’s lack of compatibility with Office 2003 and below. Work comes to the instructors through email, and it causes real problems. There are patches and downloads already, but the easiest solution seems to be teaching students and professors who’ve opted for Office 2007 to save at the lower level by using the selection “Save as type” during the “Save” process, down to *.rtf.

*What Microsoft says is minimal to run its products and what the average person needs to run the product is different. If you decide to get Vista anyway, you should really have a 60 GB hard drive, running at least 1GB RAM. Have the company or desktopper set the VRAM to 2GB over 4GB, and the registry to at least 3 GB.
  • Never get anything with Microsoft Works. Why Microsoft makes it I don’t know, but it is NOT compatible with Office. You’re better off using the Wordpad feature in Accessories, or downloading OpenOffice from OpenOffice.org.
  • If possible, never buy the home version. The tagline for home versions is slow, small and insecure. It has been the tagline since Windows 95 competed with NT 4.0. That refers not to the computers emotional state, but to its speed, its size, and the fact that sooner or later, spyware and the like easily crack it, even with the best firewall.
  • Dell SEEMS to bait and switch. Do your research on the deal, and don’t be surprised if, when you call, the machine that fits the sale criteria is gone. In the Midwest, I prefer the big TigerDirect in Orland Park, IL. Buy a refurbished about 4 years old. Even better, if you have the capacity to learn, buy a Linux machine. It is still GUI driven. You will learn to love the penguin.
 
How much do you want to spend? HSN has one on sale today for about $1000.
 
Nobody asked me, BUT, here’s one vote to check out the Mac’s.
 
Al_Masetti said:
Nobody asked me, BUT, here’s one vote to check out the Mac’s.
Click to expand...
An excellent and oft overlooked choice. A tad on the high end of cost, but the goodies bundled into the latest Mac laptops are worth it- particularly Garage Band.
 
Seatuck said:
How much do you want to spend? HSN has one on sale today for about $1000.
Click to expand...
That all depends on the specs. Could be a good deal. With a refurbished going for $450-500, and a new laptop for $800, could be expensive.
 
Al_Masetti said:
Nobody asked me, BUT, here’s one vote to check out the Mac’s.
Click to expand...
I am a PC person, have been since I’ve owned computers (not including my good 'ol Commodore 64).

BUT … if I had to do it all over again, I would probably go Mac. So it might not be a bad thing to think about.

I also second NOT getting Vista right now. My ex is a computer technician and has had a beta version of Vista for awhile. He says it’s no where near ready for widespread use - too many bugs.

That being said, you should get a really good deal on a PC with Windows XP. I would think that stores would be trying to get rid of them.

Good luck!!

God bless,

Trish
 
Al_Masetti said:
Nobody asked me, BUT, here’s one vote to check out the Mac’s.
Click to expand...
Here’s another vote for the Mac’s. I have Microsoft Office for Mac installed on mine. I’ve never had a compatibility issue running the docs created on PC’s (ran a powerpoint file on a classmate’s Dell just last week, no problems) and the software doesn’t crash the computer the way it often does on PCs. Plus, the Mac OS is so nice and comes with so many cool features.
 
Thanks for the warnings about Vista. Dh likes the most up to date programs, but since I, the computer novice, will be using it, it doesn’t have to be the newest and best!

—KCT
 
KCT,
I have been testing Vista, Office 2007 and now Groove. Actually, I have been pretty impressed and surprized this time around. I worked very closely with a software company when XP came out and I still remember that nightmare very well… this time it wasn’t like this at all. Overall, I usually recommend waiting a year too, but if you can hold off a couple of months… I think Vista will be quite a change of pace.
 
I have ONE piece of advice DO NOT GET A DELL - they will offer you a great deal they will offer you anything to make the sale but the after sales is awful - there call centres are in India and they do not understand english properly! You can’t get through to someone in your own country and there complaints dept is a joke! Do not go there! It took us 12 months to get a refund on a computer which was faulty from week 4!

Just my 2 cents!

Jay
 
bunnynessuk said:
I have ONE piece of advice DO NOT GET A DELL - they will offer you a great deal they will offer you anything to make the sale but the after sales is awful - there call centres are in India and they do not understand english properly! You can’t get through to someone in your own country and there complaints dept is a joke! Do not go there! It took us 12 months to get a refund on a computer which was faulty from week 4! Just my 2 cents! Jay
Click to expand...
Thanks. I’m now considering an HP or a Toshiba. (A Mac is not in the running for various reasons)
—KCT
 
KCT said:
Thanks. I’m now considering an HP or a Toshiba. (A Mac is not in the running for various reasons)
—KCT
Click to expand...
Toshiba Satellites are very reliable- and sturdy. And if you have the money and plan to keep the computer for a long time, consider Toughbook by Panasonic. I was not a believer until I saw and played.
 
I purchased a Dell Inspiron 9300. It came with Windows XP installed. No installl CDs just a recovery partition. The whole drive was formatted as a NTFS partition. I had a hell of a time installing a dual boot linux / XP sysem. Luckily I found a Linux version with a repartition tool on the internet.

Their technical support is useless when it comes to linux.

It is a good machine otherwise. The touchpad sucks. Get a separate mouse.
 
epower said:
I purchased a Dell Inspiron 9300. It came with Windows XP installed. No installl CDs just a recovery partition. The whole drive was formatted as a NTFS partition. I had a hell of a time installing a dual boot linux / XP sysem. Luckily I found a Linux version with a repartition tool on the internet.

Their technical support is useless when it comes to linux.

It is a good machine otherwise. The touchpad sucks. Get a separate mouse.
Click to expand...
One might / would think that if a customer wanted Linux on the Dell, they would / configure it that way ‘special for you’ at the factory, wouldn’t one.

Maybe charge $5.
 
I’d hold off on a Mac. Wait for the new Mac’s with the new Leopard OS installed.

How about getting a notebook with good specs and running Linux? Everything Vista and Mac OS X does Linux does just as well if not better. Some good distros that I have used in the past are SUSE and Ubuntu. If you want ultra easy then try Xandros.

I’d look at Gateway and HP/Compaq. They are solid companies. PLUS, Gateway has its customer service center in the USA!!!
 
Hi,

I bought a refurbished IBM thinkpad from TigerDirect & have been quite pleased. It can with windows 2000 on it, but I had my son replace that with Kubuntu linux. The distributions come with OpenOffice, which handles Microsoft office documents well, exports documents as PDFs, and is free!

OpenOffice is also available for Windows.

I really like the stability of linux. I like the fact that linux distributions value my work - if, for any chance I would ever need to reinstall my operating system, my home partition comes through untouched. I also like the fact that it has a smaller footprint, leaving more room on my hardrive for my stuff.

Whatever you get, make sure that you have a good warrentee. I have had hard drives fail, fortunately while under warrentee.
 
Al_Masetti said:
Nobody asked me, BUT, here’s one vote to check out the Mac’s.
Click to expand...
I second the motion! I have a iMAC and love it. It is userfriendly, doesn’t crash and is easy to update if needed.
Please treat yourself to the pleasure of a MAC.
The operating system now is OS 10 .
I highly recommend it!
👍
 
Trudy_Whittaker said:
Hi,

I bought a refurbished IBM thinkpad from TigerDirect & have been quite pleased. It can with windows 2000 on it, but I had my son replace that with Kubuntu linux. The distributions come with OpenOffice, which handles Microsoft office documents well, exports documents as PDFs, and is free!

OpenOffice is also available for Windows.

I really like the stability of linux. I like the fact that linux distributions value my work - if, for any chance I would ever need to reinstall my operating system, my home partition comes through untouched. I also like the fact that it has a smaller footprint, leaving more room on my hardrive for my stuff.

Whatever you get, make sure that you have a good warrentee. I have had hard drives fail, fortunately while under warrentee.
Click to expand...
As I sit here in the “company” office (not the school computer room), I am looking at a TigerDirect refurbished Thinkpad that has been running flawlessly for two years without using a recovery disk or rebuilding the image.

As far as Linux goes: Didja know you can run it from a CD, and use the hard drive for almost all storage?👍

I have been educating school people for years on OpenOffice, as well as Sun’s free StarOffice for educators. The objection I frequently get is, “The kids won’t know how to use *real *Office software,” meaning unless it comes from Microsoft, it’s not useful or even relavent, and kids who prefer it will somehow to go high school or college unprepared.
 
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