Laptops.
We each have a chromebook, which is our de jure computer. So, for example, right now we've got a bunch of Weird Al stuff going on the chromecast -- broadcast from one of the chromebooks. I adore these things.
I also have a crappy windows laptop, which is pretty great for my ten year old video games (and Endless Sky, an open source space game, which doesn't take any real processor.)
Anyway, this shitty little windows laptop is now ~3 year old. I cracked the screen two years ago a bit, and it doesn't charge very fast.
We're moving, so it is time to get rid of things.
Suggestions for a replacement?
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I'm not sure exactly what your needs are, but if you're looking for just a basic family laptop with a current windows OS, this seems like it'd do the trick.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-1tb-hdd/5723314.p?skuId=5723314
Good first pass, but too expensive. I paid $400 several years ago; I expect to pay less.
ReplyDelete/sub'd
ReplyDeletePrices on computers are pretty much stabilized so you're going to pay about the same year to year for a similar grade machine. If you're looking for something cheaper it will likely have a mobile processor or an i3 like this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-110-15isk-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i3-4gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/5496140.p?skuId=5496140
ReplyDeleteI've no idea what a "mobile processor" is, or why it'd matter to running games from the 90s / games that're easy to run.
ReplyDeleteThis is looking reasonable:
amazon.com - Amazon.com: 2017 Hp X360 11.6" 2-in-1 Convertible Premium HD Laptop, Intel Dual-Core N3060 Processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD, WiFi, Webcam, HDMI, Bluetooth, Windows 10- Free One Year Microsoft office 365: Computers & Accessories
a mobile processor is smaller and generally used for tablets and phones, but that also makes them less powerful. They have more trouble running a pc OS like windows 10. That doesn't mean they can't, but will slow down more often. Old video games probably aren't going to an issue, but I've heard of some surprises with them.
ReplyDeleteThe model you posted is basically a tablet as far as the hardware goes. I'd say one of the trickiest parts of that is the hard drive which is a 32gb solid state. The problem is base windows 10 install is about 20 gb, which means that you'll fill it up real fast. 12 gb might sound like a lot of room now, but even basic programs can take up half a gig, you you probably want to save at least 2 unused. I'd also be careful with the seller. It might be shipped out of Amazon's facilities, but it's another company who is responsible for the product and sale. This means that Amazon's return policies and customer service won't apply.
Why in the world is Windows 10 20 gigabytes?
ReplyDeleteI don't design OS's, so I'm not sure. I'm sure the designers were keeping in mind that a typical hard drive these days is at least a terrabyte, so 20 gb seems like no biggie. That is until you factor all the manufacturers that are trying to fit windows 10 onto tablet hardware. That's where the big issue with mobile components come in. The parts are designed to run something like android OS but then people stuff them into something that's going to run a computer OS
ReplyDeleteWe generally buy Acer's and have been pretty happy with them, but haven't done it in years, and I run Linux so..... Ymmv
ReplyDeleteExcept a "typical" harddrive is a 32 GB SSD. I'm not ever gonna own spinning disks again, those things are noisy and slow.
ReplyDeletePatty Kirsch Acer you say? one of our chromebooks is an Acer, and it seems to work. I hadn't thought about brand identity as a differentiator, but you're right -- that's gonna tell me a lot about quality.
ReplyDeleteYou can get a solid state HD designed for computers but they're way more expensive, but tend to be 500gb. The typical 32gb you're seeing is for 2 in 1's which are basically tablets running windows.
ReplyDeleteI'd recommend finding a ThinkPad on ebay. They are pretty much tanks and are meant to be serviceable and upgradable. I've got an X220 I run Linux on. It's not my primary device, but it is good for running Wine on if there are old Windows games I want to play.
ReplyDeleteShane Liebling The certified refurb ones i see on Amazon all have hard drives with spinning disks. And a bunch have CD drives, even more spinning disks. Am I missing something?
ReplyDeleteI think this is about as cheap as you'll find for a computer with solid state drive and still having enough space so the OS doesn't take the majority.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-710-11-2-in-1-11-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-pentium-4gb-memory-128gb-solid-state-drive-silver/5206500.p?skuId=5206500
David Rothfeder This is $100 MORE than I paid 3+ years ago for the laptop.
ReplyDeleteSolid state is expensive, which is why spinning disk is still a thing. You'll need to comprise somewhere on this whether it be price, moving parts, or functuonality.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Nichols Look on ebay for ones with ssd. You can find complete builds for two or three hundred.
ReplyDeleteI'd also ask: what is your concern re spinning disks? Are you doing things that are going to be bogged down by read/write throughput? Are you worried about dropping the machine?
ReplyDeleteWhen i bought the current one three years ago, I went to the microsoft store, and first tried buying the cheapest. It had a spinning disk, and was:
ReplyDelete-- slow
-- loud
-- had about an hour of battery life.
Went from that to the 400 thing, and all of that was immediately solved. Boot time was now seconds rather than forever, silent, and battery life is long enough for half a work day.
And also, I've dropped that computer several times. That's why the screen is cracked.
does your old machine have an ssd? I didn't think they were that inexpensive 3 years ago.
ReplyDeleteOh, and heavy. Those spinning disks are heavy.
ReplyDeleteYeah man. There's no spinning disks. They were excused from the house about three years ago.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, while packing Dianne found a music CD of mine. The only one I still own. The only thing we had that could play it was the standalone DVD player. I gave it to a friend to rip, as I no longer have such technology.
ReplyDeleteAnd, its a suficiently rare album that I'm unlikely to find it on amazon. This: en.wikipedia.org - Victims of the Modern Age - Wikipedia
i've been incredibly happy with my spectre. bought ~2 years ago, still a great machine. store.hp.com - HP.com Spectre Laptop: New, Thin, Light and High Performing
ReplyDeleteTodd Sprang Thanks, but a grand is right out of the ball park.
ReplyDeletegotcha. i didn't read all the posts. if you're trying to stay that cheap, i'm not sure, but i recommend doing what i did when i bought the spectre: http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/best-laptops-1304361. i see some cheap options
ReplyDeletetechradar.com - The 15 best laptops of 2017: the top laptops ranked
Why is this still more like buying a car than a toaster?
ReplyDeleteBecause the computer industry uses technological advances to price control their products, much like the auto industry did to prevent their products from becoming like toasters.
ReplyDeleteThere are some high-end toasters out there, dude.
ReplyDeleteIt might actually be worse than buying a car, just because the space of all possible "computing a consumer/prosumer might want to do that can be meet by laptops" is bigger than the space of all possible "personal surface transport needs for a consumer, prosumer, or family," which is already huge.
But I'm not looking for a high end toaster; I'm looking for a lightweight, small toaster with a mechanical switch. That is, a small laptop with long battery life and an actual keyboard. I'm even looking for the most generic OS, as I've got the chromebooks to deal with the internet.
ReplyDeleteAt least chromebooks are like toasters.
... and can easily be meet by "not cars," just how devices that fulfill that "computing... [with] laptops" space aren't necessarily laptops.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I mean, I solve the car problem with lyft and zipcar. Effectively,. I outsource the purchase as it is not one I can understand or believe I will profit from participating in.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, I solve 90% of my computing problem with my phone and a chromebook. Its the other 10%, the conventional computing tasks, that seems hard.
[side-eye re: chromebooks/toasters] en.wikipedia.org - Chromebook Pixel - Wikipedia
ReplyDelete... And yes, like a toaster that are some ridiculous models. And, like a toaster, the differences are largely immaterial.
ReplyDeleteThe base unit is what, $200?
https://www.amazon.com/Chromebook-C202SA-YS02-Ruggedized-Resistant-Celeron/dp/B01DBGVB7K/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1489431797&sr=1-3&keywords=chromebook
> 8x DVD Double Layer Drive
ReplyDeleteHeavy useless spinning disc drive that sucks battery life and hangs there, heavy and ready to break for no reason.
But, that's really a nice one!
ReplyDeleteAn extra sata mounting point that you can easily cover and will give you options for expansion, storage arrays, dual booting to a dedicated drive rather than a partition, etc.
ReplyDeleteThat was four links, not one!!
ReplyDeleteWhile there are some expensive toaster, most of them are slapped together cheaply and sold off for whatever creates a profit. Heck, they're stereotypical bank give away (I'm partial to the James Veitch bit where he makes a scam artists give up because he's obsessing about a free toaster). But when you boil it down to the consumer zeitgeist, toasters aren't differentiated. People don't have brand recognition of the manufacturers except by the reputation with other product lines. You cannot sell somebody that the 2017 toastmaster is any more efficient at heating up bread than the 2015, and even if you could it's doubtful they'll care. A lot of the development in consumer technology has been for the express purpose of keeping the products relevant (which works because I'd still be rocking my snes). At the end of the day, the computer industry wants about $400 for basic level laptop that supports a full OS without compromise.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I see cars, laptops, and toasters as similar purchases, beside the fact they're all basic modern needs. When I need one, I go to the internet and ask it for things with good semi-objective reviews, and I probably have a target price in mind by which to filter results. To me, all 3 are complicated enough to warrant asking someone who's taken the time to actually do the footwork.
ReplyDeleteDavid Rothfeder And $400 is what no one has hit!
ReplyDeleteBesides, there's no real producter differentiation between windows laptops. There's no brand names that mean anything -- certainly not since Lenovo bought ThinkPads and IBM went out of the laptop business. Acer/Asus/HP all sound the same to me.
George Austin Best so far:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.microcenter.com/product/463633/Aspire_R11_R3-131T-P3NN_Touch_116_2-in-1_Laptop_Computer_-_Sky_Blue
Todd Sprang What's the differentiator on toasters?
ReplyDeleteHere's a toaster, cooks two slices of bread. has reviews of 4+ stars. $16, found in under a minute:
ReplyDeleteamazon.com - Amazon.com: Westinghouse WT2201B 2 Slice Toaster, Black: Kitchen & Dining
I expect to be able to do that with a laptop, but that expectation remains unmet. Its probably due to the huge list of things I don't want: spinning disks, large monitor, blah blah blah.
Brands still have recognition even if it's the same company. Same with cars, there's ford and there's mercury and some people might know they're built 20 feet from each other, but they are still brands with unique reputations
ReplyDeleteamazon.com - Amazon.com: ASUS E200HA Portable Lightweight 11.6-inch Intel Quad-Core Laptop, 4GB RAM, 32GB Storage, Windows 10 with 1 Year Microsoft Office 365 Subscription: Computers & Accessories
ReplyDeletesame - took 5 seconds to type... but if you want ssd, etc, that'll cost more, and you might be best served by going to a mfr's website and building your own. though you also said $1k is too much, so i don't know what you're going to do.
David Rothfeder Is your suggestion that I know about those computer brands from something other than reading upthread, or that the normal consumer knows about those?
ReplyDeletelol seriously, these results are as good to me as typing in "toaster" :) amazon.com - Amazon.com: laptop - Computers & Accessories: Electronics
ReplyDeleteWilliam Nichols nichrome vs quartz vs ceramic heating elements (more important if you're buying a toaster for a business then for home)...
ReplyDeleteTodd Sprang Indeed, and according to the upthread that computer -- or one so close i can't tell a difference -- is unuseable because of ... i dunno, probably space plus processor.
ReplyDeleteand amazon even tries to help me. does it help you? amazon.com - Amazon Laptop Buying Guide
ReplyDeleteHadn't seen the buying guide. Here seems to be a reasonable list of that which meets my specs:
ReplyDeleteamazon.com - Amazon Laptop Buying Guide
That normal consumer know them and believe in the names. Also that the industry as a whole has a plan to prevent erosion of brands and value of products, which is both vaguely good and horribly terrible for consumers.
ReplyDeletemaybe you'd like this too? newegg.com - Laptop PCs & Notebook Computers - Newegg.com
ReplyDeleteTodd SprangThat one is $800.
ReplyDeletethat's not a link to a product, it's a link to a bunch of filters, including amount of ram, ssd size, price ranges to the $100. if it doesn't work, google "newegg laptop and notebook" and click the 1st non-ad
ReplyDeleteoh. you just looked at the top item. use the filters on the lefthand side.
ReplyDeleteI also have a crappy windows laptop, which is pretty great for my ten year old video games (and Endless Sky, an open source space game, which doesn't take any real processor.)
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