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Laptop help

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LakeDistrictMountaineer 16 Nov 2016
I'm after a new laptop.

All I want it for really is general internet usage but mainly to get all my MLT logbooks complete. I would also store photos on it.

My current laptop has packed in and trying to do an ML logbook on a phone or tablet is hard work. Not wanting to spend a fortune really but would spend a little more if buying on finance.

Is Windows 10 the only option or is it to be avoided?

Not bought a laptop for years so going in blind.

Cheers,

LDM
 john arran 16 Nov 2016
In reply to LakeDistrictMountaineer:

If you're not worried about weight or looks then Windows 10 is probably the best way to go for performance on a budget - there are loads of well-specced but quite heavy machines on the market for not a lot of money. I'm sure you can get a pretty future-proof machine that should last for 5 years or more for a few hundred quid, as long as your needs don't grow a lot during that time. One word of caution would be to get Windows 10 pre-installed and don't assume you'll be able to upgrade, as it's caused problems in too many cases.
 Pbob 16 Nov 2016
In reply to LakeDistrictMountaineer:

Buy a cheap used laptop and use Ubuntu or linux mint or something similar instead of Windowsr. It'll cost massively less and is much more user friendly.
 Gav Parker 16 Nov 2016
In reply to LakeDistrictMountaineer:

Hi
Just recently got an acer laptop from Argos for £200 with windows 10 installed cant fault it at the price just for internet and photo storage really.......
In reply to LakeDistrictMountaineer:
In terms of storing stuff (pictures) hard drive size in a laptop is nowadays less relevant as cheap external drives are widely available - plus they are more crash proof. A cheap Argos or Supermarket deal can often suffice for most stuff.
Post edited at 20:36
TheAtrociousSnowman 16 Nov 2016
In reply to LakeDistrictMountaineer:

Have you thought about Chromebooks? You could get one with decent build quality for less than 300 quid. Should do what you want but bear in mind storage is in the cloud mostly. Very easy to use operating system, though not as customisable as the major ones. Google play store apps will probably work on the new ones as well.

Jon
 elliot.baker 16 Nov 2016
In reply to LakeDistrictMountaineer:

I agree that Chromebooks are an option, I've had one for years and think it's great but if one of your main reasons for using it is writing logbooks then you mind find it slightly irritating using Google Docs for everything as sometimes the formatting messes up when you convert it to word - I don't know if you can print directly from a Chromebook either.

I recently got my girlfriends sister a new Acer Chromebook from the Argos eBay outlet store for around 250 quid or something like that, I didn't even realise it didn't have a DVD drive in it at all!! But then afterwards realised that the equivalent one with a DVD drive had a worse processor or something - I personally would go for one with no dvd drive if you're on a budget. It's lighter, less to break and the money is spent on things which make it work faster (e.g. processor and memory.)

With regards to photo storage I'm pretty sure that the most modest modern laptop could store a life time of photos, not to mention free Google Drive space and others for cloud storage etc.

I would go with Windows simply to make it straight forward to use with 90% of other hardware, software and accessories out there. Even though other operating systems may have their advantages.
 David Riley 16 Nov 2016
In reply to LakeDistrictMountaineer:

Last week we bought a Lenovo 100S with Win10 from Argos for 150 pounds.
It works very well.
 Jim Fraser 16 Nov 2016
In reply to LakeDistrictMountaineer:

I'm a bit of a fan of refurb laptops. You can get a decent spec of Dell or HP for not a lot of money, often with Win7 which is a really sound OS. Sometimes Win 8.1 or 10.

(If you go Win10 then take care with the wifi settings and make doubly sure that tethers and other metered connections are set as metered or the dreaded Win10 updates will get you.)

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