A chromebook could work, but he would have to move to the further end of the spectrum to get a workable device. And then he would have to consider alternatives to a locally run Libre Office. (Google sheets for example or one of the web based libre office options). On Tue, Jun 19, 2018 at 11:32 PM Victor Odhner wrote: > I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread! > My friend Tom also appreciates the concern. > > I’ll feed back what I’ve collected from this so far, but first I should > explain why $200s and 4GB memory is not as stupid as it might seem. > > Tom’s business is going out and tuning pianos, or providing appraisals for > sale. His use of a computer is: > (a) using email to communicate with clients; > (b) preparing quotes and appraisal documents using Libre Office; > (c) printing those documents; > (d) working with simple spreadsheets. > (e) some web browsing. > So 4GB should be just fine. He’s not the kind to get impatient over swap > time. He uses an external disk so doesn’t need to store lots of history in > the laptop. The only real requirement is that the computer keeps ticking! > > > Tips I’m looking at: > > Stephen, re: Latitude i5/i7: Tom does carry his laptop around, rugged is > good. > > In fact, we may be onto one of these: ... > > > Feature Marketing — suggested by Phil.Waclawski. > > They have Dell Latitude i7 E6330 13.3” for $169.00, I think a year > warranty. > I chatted with them. We *may* run over there and close a deal, maybe with > some upgrades. > This place seems pretty solid, they say they sell a lot of linux computers > to local students, whose teachers have sent them repeat business over > several years; some local business, but they do most of their business out > of state. Most of the computers come from big companies. Comments? > They’re in the Scottsdale Airport area, about 8 miles east of me. > > > Resell Electronics — suggested by Todd. > > Interesting, I just called them up at 877-726-0104. Their web site doesn’t > show inventory because they do most of their business on ebay. > Walk-ins are welcome, at 850 W Lincoln St. Door 1 in Phoenix, that’s off > 7th Ave just south of the bridge over the railroad tracks. They have a > computer there where you can search what’s in their inventory, but the > stuff is in their warehouse and you don’t see it till you buy it. I think > I’ll run down there tomorrow. > > > Fry’s deal of the week: HP 11-y010nr, 11.6" Stream Laptop Celeron N3060, > 4GB, 32GB eMMC, $199. The good point here is solid state and the fact that > it’s new, but Fry’s service is horrible in my experience and I don’t like > the idea of sending things away for > > Stephen, re: thinkpad: I’m biased against Corporate China, but I hear > good things about thinkpad with Linux. > > Trent & Stephen have reinforced my feeling against current ChromeBook. And > prices aren’t all that great either, if you do some shopping. > > Eric, we’re in the Paradise Valley area of Phoenix. If we should run into > an ongoing warranty hassle you’re totally right about distance. Since > Feature Marketing is right here, that is a plus for me. But I don’t mind > driving around a bit. (Where are you?) > > Eric, re Red 7: I haven’t heard much mention of them since they started > some 20 years ago, but yes, I see redsevenlinux.com: they seem to still > be in business, and it looks like a good business model. But either their > site has been owned, or they lack focus: Computer solutions are mixed with > a lame porn story and big-cock talk *on their front page.* Looks a tad > unstable. > > I think Somebody off-line mentioned Data Doctors so I dropped in there. > The main guy at that store gave me a friendly lecture on using computers > that someone else got rid of, like trade-in cars at a dealership. I spent > years running second hand cars into the ground, so that isn’t too > convincing to me; but I have also bought one used PC from a repair shop > that turned out to be a total lemon, and I wasted money on a new battery > that didn’t help, so that carries some weight. > > Thanks, > Victor > ________________________ > > On 20180614, at 15:15, Carruth, Rusty wrote: > > Personally, 4G is not QUITE enough RAM. (Disclaimer - I have 16G on both > my personal laptop and my work laptop. I used to have 4G on my work > laptop, bah humbug) > > My wife’s laptop has 4G, and has to kill off firefox every once in a while > due to its apparent memory leak. However, I’ve got 16 G at work running > windows, and every few days **I** have to kill my firefox because it is > taking around 14G (or at least guess which window is causing the leak)…. > > (Ok, yes, I’m a heavy user. I confess. (Is there a group for that?) ) > > We’re using Lenovo at work, and a T410 worked fine (as fine as it can with > only 4G - but all the hardware worked ok as I remember). 4G max RAM, I > think, but I think there’s a T420 or something that takes more RAM. > > I’ve had relatively good luck in the old days with Dell (Inspiron 8000 or > something like that?), but YMMV. > > The only laptops I’ve got personal experience that I know work fine > (again, ignoring memory) are: > > My wife’s, model and so forth forgotten. If you care I can go look > > My personal Alienware, which is WAY outside the price range. The only > real issue with it was: you need a recent distro (Mint 17 didn’t work > well, Mint 18 worked fine). > > Lenovo ThinkPad T410. Used with an older Mint, as I remember everything > worked. > > I just realized that I don’t think I’ve run Linux on my ThinkPad, so > ‘never mind’ on that one, sorry. > > > > *Sent:* Thursday, June 14, 2018 2:59 PM > *To:* Main PLUG discussion list > *Subject:* Cheap new Linux laptop advice? > > A friend needs a cheap Linux laptop for light duty business work: > Libre Office, printing via USB connection, WIFI, email, and light > browsing. > > His business (piano tuning) hangs on this. > He would like the provider to be established with a decent reputation, > whether the computer is new or refurbished. > > His cap is $400 but he would prefer closer to $200 . . . > > *Refurbish?* In past discussions here, I’ve seen references in the past > of a good refurb provider in town. How well established are they, what’s > their batting average? > > *New?* I see: > > At Amazon: > *Dell Inspiron at Amazon for $205, 11.6" HD Celeron N3060, > 4GB RAM32 eMMC HDD. > *ASUS VivoBook E203NA-YS03 $199, 11.6” Featherweight design > Intel Dual-Core Celeron N3350 2.4GHz processor, > 4GB DDR3 RAM, 64GB EMMC Storage, App based Windows 10 S > > At Fry’s Electronics: > * HP 14-ax030nr, 14" Stream Laptop With Intel Celeron N3060 Processor, > 4GB Memory, 64GB eMMC and Windows 10 > > *Chromebook?* I see Chromebooks under $250. > * Scrub & convert to Linux? > * USB ports to run a printer and external backup disk? > * Storage to run Libre writer + mail client + light surfing? > > He doesn’t want to entrust all his data to Google, and is happy with Linux. > > Any specific suggestions would be very welcome. > > Thanks, > Victor > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss -- A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button. Stephen