Cheap new Linux laptop advice?

Wed Jun 20 07:04:27 MST 2018

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 <vodhner at cox.net> 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 <Rusty.Carruth at smartm.com> 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
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
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
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