What Kind of Laptop Is Best and ...

1) yes, you must have a laptop with a wifi network card

2) Usually a couple hours (2-8)

3) You really should shop it around but Dell's Inspiron line is consistently in the top of my "best for the price" comparisons.

Thanks CDK - can I use a wirless anywhere?

I am planning to become a nomad - traveling the art, antique, junque, flea marked circuit in some kind of camper/van/rv. But want to stay plugged into A2k.

P.S. I signed up for the chat room and was able to enter even on this piece of junk. Also after the 1st I will be making a commitment for a regular monetary contribution .

No, no. Wireless don't work like that. Wireless networking is more like a cordless phone than a cellular phone now.

I just bought a sony vaio - after much research and advice.

Works like a dream !

The senior development officer I work for now has one overriding piece of advice for buying computers. Start by never, ever, buying an IBM.

you can get wireless internet anywhere from cell phone carriers like verizon, sprint, at&t...

all laptops these days should come with built-in wifi. to use it you have to be in a hotspot where it is available.

and i personally would not get anything but a sony vaio. but that's just a personal preference.

This is what I got and I am thrilled with it....

Sony Vaio GRT786M

Being a computer tech myself, IMO that's bad advice. And Sony Vaio's are like beautiful women, to invent a dumb analogy. They look great but when things go wrong they can be very hard to deal with.

Monger is right - I have a thinkpad at work, and it seems to work fine - despite all that security crap which the IT people insist on installing on our laptops.

I had heard what you say abt Vaios - but my reasoning was that if anything will go wrong, it will go wrong within a year - and that will be covered by warranty. After a year it will be obsolete anyways so if anything goes drastically kaput - might just as well buy a new one...

Besides, it is very difficult to resist a beautiful woman !! (or man !!)

We've got nothing but IBM's where I work. They are dogs.

Wifi access is sketchy at best in the Continential US. The only places really making it available quickly are the airports.

A national/unlimited plan through T-Mobile runs about $30/month but you'd have to look at their coverage map.

I like the Dell Inspirons too. You can get a factory refurbed model with a 3 year warranty for around $800-$900 with ease. If you want more flash you can pay more and get it too. Well equipped refurbs can be found in the $1200-$1500 range.

You should be able to get 3 solid hours of use out of pretty much any model on one battery. In most cases you'd probably be able to get up to 6 hours use before a charge was necessary.

The Sony Viao's are nice but the one's we have here keep having keys pop off the keyboards. It's isn't a major problem but it is an annoyance.

Good question Joanne. I've wondered this myself.

Thanks all now I can start looking. Since I am so dumb about computers I am think Dell would be best for me. I have heard they have good support for there users and we it is a Texas company and I like to support local merchants and all that PC stuff.

I love the Vaio but would never buy one. ;-)

Having just bought one, curious to know why !!!

Because I believe they are overpriced, not well made, and difficult to fix.

But they are very pretty. ;-)

But really, I'd not mind one, I just think Dells give much mor ebang for the buck and I like the Dell casings.

oops

Bah, it's not a big deal. Everyone has their opinion on consumer electronics and some swear by the Vaio.

I have to admit - the "snob" value which goes with the Vaio was one of the factors in the decision making process....