Which?:Laptop or desktop?

This about sums up my thoughts. If you don't need a portable computer, you don't want one. Portable batteries need to be replace every few years at $50-$100. They have small keyboards, lots of cables, hard to use touch pads or USB mice that you need to keep up with, etc. I have a laptop I use for travel, but I use a desktop whenever possible.

Once more for a few dollars you can buy a cable that will connect a full feature keyboard/mouse to any computer with a USB port.

Right now I am typing on an old keyboard hook to my full size laptop and this will also work fine with my netbook.

The batteries now in laptops life depend on the numbers of charge/discharge cycles and if you are running your laptop mainly on AC your battery should last as long as the computer useful life.

If the unit is properly cooled. Overheated laptops damage the chemical process in the battery.

You do not even need to have the battery in the laptop when running on AC if you are worry about heat or anything else harming the battery!

I do not have that worry and it is very nice to have the battery online in case the AC power go out for some reason.

You need to spend a lot of money for a battery backup system for a desk top that all laptops come with.

That is not true of all laptops. Especially the older ones.

It would have to be a old cheap LAPTOP to need to used the battery as a capacitor! The last such device that had that need was my TI59 Calculator dating back to the 70s.

Right then! Desktop it is. Or will be ....
Just curious, what sort of warranty would be reasonable to expect for a 2 year old desktop, do you think?

I do hope you've sorted out that confusion about the medicine by now, farmer. (Poor ol sick ewes!)

I wouldn't pay more than $300US for a used computer (actually my new computer only cost $320US, but that's the beauty of being a Linux user)

Given that warranties are always a bad idea over the long run (the warranty companies always make money on the things)... at this price range, I would get no warranty (or whatever will lower my purchase price the most).

$320 Us for a computer! Hey, I'd buy a brand new one if they were so inexpensive here!

The deal I'm being offered is a 3 month "warranty" & an understanding that if any problems should occur that he'll do the repairs.

$320 US for a computer! Hey, I'd buy a brand new one if they were so inexpensive here!

The deal I'm being offered is a 3 month "warranty" & an understanding that if any problems should occur that he'll do the repairs.

I don't know how International shipping works, but there are plenty of bargains here.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4374328&Sku=S445-10018

This is the new system I just bought (which is perfect for Linux)

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4195811&CatId=3757

I just bought a new battery and the instructions that came with it said that using AC continuously would reduce battery life and I should disconnect the battery if using AC for long periods of time! That was the first time I ever heard that advise before.

New netbooks are cheap. some for around $300 american.

No good for big games, but plenty for web browsing, E-mail, etc. Even use Google apps for document editing and whatnot.

Netbook showdown: The top 10 mini laptops rated

Depending on the brand, there should be battery conditioning software with the laptop. Set it for "optimize for battery lifespan" or somesuch.

The second one listed is advertised as "NO OS", which means it's pretty useless for a casual user.

I'm not persuaded by warranties in general, but a verbal isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Hence my comment-- perfect for Linux-- and I would argue the phrase "useless for a casual user".

Linux is ready to lose its reputation of being hard to use-- a casual user will have no problem using the latest versions (particularly Ubuntu).

There is the issue of installation and setup. You don't need to be an expert to do this (I don't know what the step just above "casual user" would be). A patient smart person could do it in a few days... a reasonably smart person might want to have an expert on hand.

If you are looking to get a fully functioning, user-friendly system that is good for pretty much everything except for gaming-- while saving money on hardware and software-- Linux is something that you should consider.

I found the new Ubuntu distro very simple. Booted to a CD image and was fully functional, with web browsing, Open Office, etc.

However, I deal with the computer-using public as my job. There are very few people to whom I would recommend a bare-metal system. Perhaps I'm jaded, but I don't really think so.