Carolyn137 offline until further notice

[Mischka]

I just got off the telephone with Carolyn.

Her computer has given up the ghost and she has no way of getting back online until she gets a replacement. We spoke at length about her options for replacing it and hopefully she will be able to order a new one by day's end.

As many of you know, she is for the most part homebound, so it will have to be shipped to her and then set up/connected to the Internet by a computer tech.

If you're waiting for posts, emails or PMs to be answered, please be aware that it will likely take a few days before she's able to do so.

I will update this as needed. Comments/questions can be made in either thread. (There's one in the 2¢ forum)

[nctomatoman]

Thanks for the note. Interesting timing - my laptop (5 yr old Dell running Vista), as well as my wife's (a bit newer, also a Dell running vista) are also on their last legs - in fact I retired mine and got a Lenovo - 399.00, does everything I want, even better - amazing how computers are now considered disposable "run them until they drop" items!

[Mischka]

Even more interesting is that Carolyn's dead desktop was also a Dell... and that I recommended she replace it with a Lenovo (formerly IBM) ThinkPad.
Lenovo still builds the same bulletproof-quality laptops that IBM did back in the day.

[Farmette]

Just "buried" my HP laptop that I had paid $1500 for 4 yrs ago. I was told that HP's are infamous for going quickly. Now I bought a Lenovo All in One and am looking at a cheap laptop. Looking at regular laptops as well as the new Samsung Chromebook as I do not have to have data storage and word processing.

[Deborah]

Strangely enough, my Dell mini croaked a few days ago. I bought a Gateway mini for less than half of the Dell and it's practically identical.

[tam91]

Interesting, I've had Dells for years, and never had one die. I've finally replaced them after years because I wanted some different technology, or given my old one to a teenager or something, but I've never killed one off. I have one now that is probably 5 years old (still running XP) and the only problem I've had is breaking a hinge (that was my fault).
I need to get a new one some day I suppose, will check out the others though.

Am I the only one that really dislikes the new widescreens though? My old 17 inch is taller and not as wide - works great for photos and text. If I want to watch a movie, I have TVs. I wish we could buy a computer not geared for video.

[roper2008]

I love my iMac and MacBook, and iPad.

[clara]

Originally Posted by tam91

Am I the only one that really dislikes the new widescreens though? My old 17 inch is taller and not as wide - works great for photos and text. If I want to watch a movie, I have TVs. I wish we could buy a computer not geared for video.

Me, too, I DO NOT LIKE THE WIDESCREENS!!! I had to buy a new laptop after my good old Sony (17 inches) had slowed down too much and there were more and more stripes on the screen, but couldn't get a new one without that darned widescreen or I would have had to pay even 3 or 4 times more than for my new HP (17,3 inches). It's a very fast one, but I'm not absolutely happy. clara

[Deborah]

My Dell mini didn't croak entirely. A repair shop said that the switch inside was broken and that it'd be cheaper to get a new one so here I am.
The only thing that bugs me-how do I get my frequently used icons on the toolbar? And, I bought a memory stick to transfer my pictures and documents AND I'm both clueless and scared !

[nicky]

I got my IBM thinkpad (ancient) in a draw at my husbands work for $20 last year. I pray it never dies. It is built like a tank. I love it - it gives me a great arm workout carting it around. It must weigh 20lbs.

[amideutch]

We have at least 8 dell work stations at work that run 24/7 and the only problem I ever saw was a bad video card. Ami

[ddsack]

I got my IBM thinkpad (ancient) in a draw at my husbands work for $20 last year. I pray it never dies. It is built like a tank. I

I bid on an older Dell Lattitude 600 laptop, cheap on Ebay last year, just so I could keep our own T'ville Ted's Seedbox programs running. I don't plan on using it to go on the internet, so won't bother with updates. Not going to be used for anything else.

My other accumulated old Dell's, one laptop and one tower have all been reloaded with Ubuntu instead of Windows. So much faster than Windows, and a good learning experience for me. And I have a used Mac mini, and a Mac Book Pro that I got on Ebay. The Dell tower, and the Mac mini share a monitor, so I switch off between them. It's been a long time since I bought a new computer.

It's amazing how much more computer power you get for less money these days. I'm jealous of people getting newer ever faster computers. But these just keep going and going.

And to bring this back to the original topic .... I hope Carolyn gets her new computer hooked up soon, will be interested to see how she likes Windows 8.

[Father'sDaughter]

I'll have to look into the Lenovo's. Our old Gateway PC is about 16 years old, had a memory boost and a hard drive transplant about five years ago, but otherwise is still cranking away.

I get a new PC at work every few years, and we now have an iPhone and an iPad, but some day soon we're going to need to replace "the cow." I'm thinking a decent laptop will be the next purchase.

I hope to see Carolyn back on line soon. The place just ain't the same without her.

[tam91]

I talked to Lenovo, but was disappointed. The only 17" screen they had was an entry model, and can't be customized at all. I guess that's ok if their specific configuration happens to fit your needs, but I'm afraid it didn't mine. At least Dell is customizable.

On a more important note, I really do hope Carolyn is back online soon. No one lives near enough to her to pick up and install a computer?

[SharonRossy]

My Dell is at least 4 years old and it's starting to do weird things. I would love a Mac. I have an iPad but it's limited in what it can do. Carolyn we need you! I must be in the dark ages, I have never heard of a Lenovo! I live in Montreal ( I am American however) and I am pretty sure we're not that isolated, ha ha!
Sharon