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| Thread ID: 45051 | 2004-05-07 12:38:00 | Internet in a Caravan | Sherilee (4441) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 235062 | 2004-05-07 20:06:00 | For what you plan to use the laptop for, which type of processor shouldn't have too much of a significant effect on performance. Most -of-the-shelf- laptops will have all the bits and pieces you need to get it going - a charger, all the software preinstalled, etc. Some laptops come with a carry bag, but in your case it probably won't be necessary. A good idea would be to go shopping, and tell the salesperson what you want to do with the laptop, see what they recommend, go home and think about it, and if you have further questions, ring the salesperson or ask on here. Don't rush into buying a laptop just because the salesman says it's good, do a bit of comparing around with different stores. |
somebody (208) | ||
| 235063 | 2004-05-07 21:18:00 | For the type of laptop you need it sounds like all you require is a basic $2000 unit . Cebtrino is great however if you have power readily available when using your machine then save yourself the $$ . Centrino is desgined to give laptop users longer battery life, usually up to 4 hours or so . If you do not need long battery life then spend the $$ on other bits for the laptop like the wireless card . Be aware that internet access through wireless/cellular network is NOT cheap so check costs carefully before rushing out and grabbing a card . Stats for a laptop would be aprox these: 256mb ram celeron/duron 2 . 4ghz or higher 30GB Hard Drive dvd rom/cd writer combo drive at least 1 pcmica slot (for wireless card) 15" tft display and then go from there for the extra bits available . Laptops are also not the cheapest to upgrade at a later date so plan for that also . Check the warranty available also as many laptops manufacturers are downright abysmal when it comes to repairing LCD displays and dead pixels . Inserting *rant* here I have just finished fighting with one well known International brand after having a dead pixel at first power up which they refused to repair as their criteria required 5 dead pixels within 5cm before they would do anything . I am just about to start on yet another manufacturer with regards to a known problem with their laptops and heat that they will not repair as the customers laptop is 6 months out of warranty . . . . . . . they have known about the problem and had a "fix" for their unit available for the last year but say as the customer had no problems up till now then its nothing to do with them . Personally I am now very wary of the "big" brands and their overseas helplines and no knowledge of New Zealand law, hell its hard enough to get a competent english speaking person on the helpline let alone a repair for anything that is even slightly out of the "norm" but which falls under the Consumer Guarantees Act . The scariest bit is I am the Salesperson and as such I have some avenues available to me that the poor customer does not so I pity the poor customer trying to get problems sorted if their "shop" will not help . end *rant* here before boredom strikes readers |
dipstick01 (445) | ||
| 235064 | 2004-05-07 21:59:00 | Start rant here: Yes I have to admit I have had friends that have bought so called well known international brand laptops and had nothing but trouble with them and when taken back to the store they didn't want to know about it and even if they did do something they had to send it away for a month or more. I sell a brand that to me is very well known but to the uninformed probably not so well known (and this company actually build there own laptops, unlike most others) I have only had one warranty issue with one and it was fixed within a week by the distributor! Alot of them can come without an OS so you are free to install whatever you want not what they think you should have and all can have a different OS installed if needed. They even do a Transmeta based laptop which is very small and lite and for $1300 it even comes with a DVD combo drive. |
tech_meister (5509) | ||
| 235065 | 2004-05-07 22:10:00 | so your talking about Protac,whom are the dristributer for laptops manufactured by ecs/elitegroup/Excell....all three of which are the same group of companies and 90 porcent of gear marked with the excell brand is sourced from elsewhere and rebranded. Whats the big deal with not mentioning names? |
metla (154) | ||
| 235066 | 2004-05-07 23:36:00 | Hi Sherilee >I just want to surf and do e-mail If you use a mobile phone (whether Telecom or Vodafone) to connect to it the internet, and if you just stick to emailing and net surfing you are looking at a very expensive monthly bill . As an example, if you download 5 emails a day, one with a jpg picture and one with a word document attached, and also view 50 webpages (a view consists of loading a single page) a day, you are looking at $100 - $150 per month - this is based on a downloading 70-110 MB [/b]per month[/b] . I don't know where abouts in Coromandel you are, but a quick look of various areas with the Woosh (wireless internet) ISP, suggest that the service is not yet available in that region . You can confirm this by entering in your address here ( . woosh . com/Userinterface/Woosh/Commerce/Availability/Availability . aspx" target="_blank">www . woosh . com) . Another option that maybe available is Ihug's satelite coverage - High Speed Satellite internet ( . ihug . co . nz/ultra/index . html" target="_blank">www . ihug . co . nz) . You will need some extra hardware including a satellite dish on the caravan roof . If the caravan is not permanently stationed at the current site, then this will not work either, as the dish needs to be calibrated and lined up correctly to receive the signal . |
Jen C (20) | ||
| 235067 | 2004-05-07 23:47:00 | > Another option that maybe available is Ihug's > satelite coverage Doh! Forget that option - you still need access to a land phone line for that service - sorry :8} |
Jen C (20) | ||
| 235068 | 2004-05-08 04:56:00 | There is always the option to park your caravan near a house and very quietly run an extension cord through to their phone line. Don't forget to practise the innocent "I know nothing" look when they follow the cord to find out why their phone is always engaged lol. Metla I haven't mentioned names of laptops for a reason. It seems every one here has a definate opinion on various brands and mega/mono/ogopolies and as various visitors cannot seem to accept the fact that different people have different opinions I will not mention Names or Brands. |
dipstick01 (445) | ||
| 235069 | 2004-05-08 06:43:00 | Ok then,can i ask if the item with the dead pixel and 3 year international warrenty was Asus? For what its worth i recently returned a $700 dollar lcd screen back to the supplier because it had a dead pixel,rather then return it as defective i sent it back as unwanted stock and asked for a credit. We are still ....uh....discussing the situation,as it stands i currently have no credit and no lcd.......:( |
metla (154) | ||
| 235070 | 2004-05-08 07:01:00 | Nope sorry metla NOT Asus . Sadly Asus and Acer both seem to have the best international warranty offers in laptops . I have now switched our shop to custom built units from Arche Technologies as I know they look after their customers and now offer very very competitive units for the $$ and they are very nicely presented units that are also very nicely appointed specification wise . |
dipstick01 (445) | ||
| 235071 | 2004-05-08 07:03:00 | Sweet, i've been pushing the asus line of laptops....would hate to think i was sending people up a bad road. | metla (154) | ||
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