New lap top?

[BarEdul]

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Okay so anyone want to have a panic attack? I am thinking of buying a new lap top... hold your breath... I am going to get it from wal-mart.

Okay commence the bitching. Now please recall I live on a limited budget do nothing but surf the net, play an occassion slot game, write a few stories and ummm..... well that would be about it.. so I figure this model will do it.

Gateway 17.3" NE71B06u Laptop PC with AMD E1-1200 Processor and Windows 8

LK and I have had wonderful success with the AMD processors... although we have heard some nerdy things about the windows 8 program... that it is better for touch screen stuff. Have any of you heard anything really bad about the windows 8 software besides this. Now I know I have opened a can of worms by asking this question. But I do care for your opinions although I may or may not listen to them in the end cause at this point money is definetly a HUGE deciding factor and this little tot of a lappy will only set me back $450.00 with taxes and trust me that is something I DEFINETLY like.

So let's hear your opinions and PLEASE if it cost over 1,000 dollars your out of my price range.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Have you done any online surfing for prices?
Have you directly asked Dylan? I'd go with what Dylan says before making any kind of decision.

If you're not in dire need, take your time and shop around! Why settle for WallyWorld because of price when you can probably get something equal to or better delivered to your door?

I'm not giving an opinion because I've become biased. I'm Apple products all the way and if you can't afford them, I point you toward Dylan who uses Linux.

and now I step aside to let him 'bloviate' on it for you

[BarEdul]

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I have NEVER EVER USED linux. So.... I would be totally lost there.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Don't matter. It's easy and not hard to figure out. I used it for like 15 minutes and had the hang of it. It doesn't need any special software, no proprietary programs or anything of the like.

[BarEdul]

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Okay thats nice, too know... I can adapt fairly easily to things. Just so you know I love apple but the whole house is currently IBM oriented. So I think I would be the hiccup in the system if you know what I mean if I suddenly went apple... I would cause a lot of head scratching around here. So it's safe to say I will be staying in the IBM systems. I do like looking at systems on the net. However I am a tangible kind of girl I like to touch feel.. hell snort whatever I am buying if at all possible before buying it. especially when it comes to key pads.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Apple is never going to be a hiccup in any system. Apple can read / network into your system easily. I had no issues when I got the iMac integrating it with all the stuff in the house. As time went on, we switched over and we still have a few PC's active for things Matt needs for work with.

Apple is an easier operating system for the average person as well. So, If you can afford one, I say go for it. If you need help, your phone call will get you an American in America and they are happy to help on the phone.
There are no "ghosts" like with a Windows system either. That means if you delete something, you don't need to go finding all the folders associated with the program that it has installed all over the place in your system. It's fully compartmentalized. Drag and drop to delete. EASY.
NO MORE .DLL errors! NONE. NEVER EVER AGAIN.

Upgrading - A new operating system comes out and Apple charges you, hold on, $50 (or thereabouts). Microsoft will charge you upwards of $200 (unless they came down in price). Linux is free but there are several levels of the OS that you'll have to talk with Dylan to have explained.

My only gripes are a few things regarding video conversion, but I can help you with that too. Honestly, for your needs, I'd go Apple. Linux system is based off Apple/Unix (same thing kind of) and Dylan can set you up like that.

[ralgith]

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I was just searching for a new laptop for a friend of mine, so I can quickly point to some better deals... most of them running Windows 7. Windows 8 is a serious mistake at the moment because it was focused too much towards tablet computing (hence why Micro$uck is promoting their new tablet so heavy on TV) and leaves a lot to be desired on the desktop.

As for Linux... You can try it without any disruption by using a "Live" CD. This runs the Linux Operating System from the CD without installing anything to the Hard Disk Drive (HDD), and is how I check out different Linux distributions. So... go and download Linux Mint and check it out. If you need information/software on how to burn this correctly let me know.\

Here are some good choices for a new laptop:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6834215427
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6834230898
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6834215568

I know lots of people say bad things about Acer, but I'm currently using an Acer that I've had for 6 years. I had an Acer before this one as well for 3 years, and only lost it to a lightning strike at my Mom's house. I've put about $50 into this laptop during that 6 years. That's nothing.

Good luck!

[AnthonyG]

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I bought my backup laptop from Walmart, it was $990 everywhere I looked including online but Walmart had it for $680. Also their service plan is actually really good if you have any problems that are covered by warranty they send a tech to your house no shipping anything out. They work on it for you right in your kitchen or where ever you have it, the plans are also cheap, for me 3 years coverage it was 90 dollars.

The key to laptops is find a model you like with what you want in it and shop around ,if you buy model 123 from newegg or walmart its going to be the same hardware and tech the retailer doesnt matter at that point and like I mentioned earlier warranty and what you get for your money is important. For the money "NEW Service" which is what Walmart and Sams club uses is the best warranty company I have come across. Start your search online then figure out what companies and retailers have the model you like.

[BarEdul]

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sTill here AND I am reading your advice. I will of course be visiting NEWEGG to check things out. I already saw the system at wal-mart stopped in to check it out I love the size of the screen. It's a big selling point as I have a damaged eye from optic neuritis and MS. The Windows 8 system I am a little scared of like a NEW drug on the market you have to make sure it's not gonna make things worse before you jump on bored with just anything it just might kill you and your computer.

[BarEdul]

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Just so you know after looking at the three you recommended the Acer aspire comes closest to the one I am already looking at but is about $45.00 more expensive including shipping at this point. The acer aspire also has a 2 inch smaller screen than the one I am looking at. The model I am looking at also has a 6 in one card reader for our mulit-media devices. 500 gb hd and 4 gb ram upgradeable to 8gb. Large key pad and separate numeric keypad. (I like that).

Draw back windows 8.