I don't know pretty much anything about computers, except the fact that I need a new laptop. My current one is around 10 years old; it can't run youtube videos without lag and its battery doesn't hold any electricity so it has to be plugged in all the time.
I don't need a laptop for any specialized purpose such as gaming, as long as it lasts a long time and is reliable. My price limit is around 450 pounds, 500 max. I'd prefer Windows 7 because everyone says Windows 8 is not very good for laptops (it was mainly built for phones). I'm not very picky about these things but I guess an in-built webcam would be nice so I can talk to people in Skype and such.
I've been advised to go to PCWorld for some discounts and I found
this. Any comments on my choice? You can suggest a different laptop if you've got something in mind.
I'll leave this out here for a day or two and then order. So speak now or remain forever in silence.
Thank you.
None.
An artist's depiction of an Extended Unit Death
Everyone who hasn't tried Windows 8 says it's only good for mobile devices. Its desktop is basically identical to Windows 7 sans the start menu, which is full-screen in 8 (and you can patch it to act like 7 in that regard if you're stubborn and want to fall behind the times). It integrates its metro features and apps into the desktop (so you can throw a Skype app on the side of your desktop if you wanted), which is an improvement over using regular widgets (if you even used those). It's sleek, fast, and is probably the direction Microsoft will move toward in the future.
Someone's gonna come in here and tell you the woes of the Intel Graphics HD series, but honestly, they're getting to be pretty good, and unless you really want a gaming machine, it's a good choice (an HD 4000 would obviously be better, though, unless you never plan on going beyond, say, watching videos).
That's a lot of storage for a laptop. The CPU is good. The RAM is good. The resolution may be a little small (kinda common among reasonably priced laptops), but if you're not picky about that, it should be fine. It comes with a ton of bloatware, sadly, but that's not really an issue.
Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Dec 27 2012, 10:01 pm by Roy.
On one hand I don't mind switching to the new windows 8 if that's what everyone's gonna be using next year. On the other hand I'm a very old-fashioned person and anything that looks and works similar to windows XP is a good thing for me. I probably won't be using the new comforts windows 8 offers anyway; and the speed improvement is not that huge, right? So it boils down to this: is windows 7 acceptable or is it considered archaic now?
None.
An artist's depiction of an Extended Unit Death
Windows 7 will probably float around like XP is floating around right now. I would say that 7 is definitely acceptable; I try to keep up with the latest technologies, though, so if I were given the option, I'd personally aim for 8.
Here are some OS statistics just for fun (8 isn't logged yet because the market share is too small and/or because it was released in late October):
http://www.w3schools.com/BROWSERS/browsers_os.aspWindows 8 is still very new, so I guess you could also say it would be
safer to get 7.
Edit: Also from Wiki:
Windows 8 introduces significant changes to the operating system's platform, primarily focused towards improving its user experience on mobile devices such as tablets to rival other mobile operating systems like Android and iOS,[4] taking advantage of new or emerging technologies like USB 3.0, UEFI firmware, near field communications, cloud computing and the low-power ARM architecture, new security features such as malware filtering, built-in antivirus capabilities, a new installation process optimized for digital distribution, and support for secure boot (a UEFI feature which allows operating systems to be digitally signed to prevent malware from altering the boot process), the ability to synchronize certain apps and settings between multiple devices, along with other changes and performance improvements.
So there are significant improvements regarding how the OS interacts with newer hardware, but that won't really be important for your laptop choice.
Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Dec 27 2012, 10:10 pm by Roy.
I can't get my VPN to work on windows 8. I'm sure someone can get some vpn client to work, but I can't.
"Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chairman - do we have to call the Gentleman a gentleman if he's not one?"
If you want to use the newest technology, go with Win8.
If you want to use the best technology, go with Win7.
Do you care more about appearing technologically savvy, or actually being technologically savvy? That's really what it comes down to.
Also, Win7 operates very similarly to XP, it's basically XP 2.0. If you liked XP, then you should like Win7.
One thing though, once you get Win7, download
this and run "disablefullrowselect". It'll add the XP functionality of being able to organize file icons in folders with "Auto-Arrange" and "Align to Grid" (the options will appear under "View" when right-clicking inside a folder).
Also, Win7 operates very similarly to XP, it's basically XP 2.0. If you liked XP, then you should like Win7.
No it isn't, it's fundamentally different. The GUI looks and operates about the same. And that's about as similar as it gets.
None.
The way the GUI looks and operates is exactly what he was asking about, and is all that is relevant to him.
We can't explain the universe, just describe it; and we don't know whether our theories are true, we just know they're not wrong. >Harald Lesch
A few random facts and thoughts about Windows 7 vs. 8:
Windows 8 starts incredibly fast. But it doesn't really run applications faster.
Windows 7 hasn't reached its prime yet as a ton of old XP machines are still waiting to become Windows 7 machines. Or Windows 8. But in all likelyhood the majority of Windows 8 you'll see in 1 year will be either OEM (the user didnt't have a choice) or on mobile devices.
Windows 8 offers a new UI. Some people will like it, some won't. Being old-fashioned I suspect you belong to the latter group.
Roy claims it's as efficient as a Windows 7 UI. I've tested it and I don't think so. But maybe because I haven't tested enough?
Windows 8 is a new OS. History teaches us new OSes have bugs and quirks. Windows 8 seems pretty solid in that regard, but I'm sure it's not as stable as Windows 7 now. Give it a year or 2 and it certainly will be.
It seems like Windows 8 is a step in the right direction (minus the UI) but imo it's too early to jump on that train yet.
