New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible
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I need a new laptop for my mother.
Requirements:
- 15" screen size - Touchscreen is preferred but not required.
- SSD HD
- 8-16 RAM
- i5 is plenty of processing power.
- Windows 10, because there is no way I teaching how to use other things.
- Around $1000 is the max spending cap.
Should be sturdy, as she uses it a lot. She had a Dell Inspiron for about 5 years, and it is starting to have hardware issues. (lines through screen, keyboard/touchpad doesn't work sometimes, the WIFI died, and more)
I've been looking at Dell Latitudes, Dell XPS, and Asus Zenbooks.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
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@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
I need a new laptop for my mother.
Requirements:
- 15" screen size - Touchscreen is preferred but not required.
- SSD HD
- 8-16 RAM
- i5 is plenty of processing power.
- Windows 10, because there is no way I teaching how to use other things.
Nothing is harder than Windows 10. If you want to avoid teaching new things, you must avoid Windows 10. Windows 10 updates every six months and is insanely confusing.
Why not keep it simple and avoid constant support needs with a Chromebook?
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What's the use case?
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Right, forgot about the use case:
Web stuff ( eBay, Facebook, etc)
She uses Word, Excel, publisher, PowerPoint
Light photo editing and storage -
@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
Right, forgot about the use case:
Web stuff ( eBay, Facebook, etc)
She uses Word, Excel, publisher, PowerPoint
Light photo editing and storageAh, that explains why Windows 10. If it was just web, Chromebooks are perfect because it is just "less", nothing additional to learn.
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I like both Dell and Asus a lot. Have both, both are working great (sans Windows... which has a lot to do with why they work so well.)
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Right, plus she also remotes into her work PC I believe, but not sure what app she uses for that.
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Anyone have any experience on the Asus Vivo books vs the Zen books?
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@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
Anyone have any experience on the Asus Vivo books vs the Zen books?
I love Asus, but am using the RoG line.
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@scottalanmiller said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
Anyone have any experience on the Asus Vivo books vs the Zen books?
I love Asus, but am using the RoG line.
Yeah that line looks great, but not what she would be looking for. It has to be on the lighter side as well.
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@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@scottalanmiller said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
Anyone have any experience on the Asus Vivo books vs the Zen books?
I love Asus, but am using the RoG line.
Yeah that line looks great, but not what she would be looking for. It has to be on the lighter side as well.
Quality is good, performance is great, but year, it's bulky.
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I'd highly recommend what I've been using the last few months:
Dell Latitude E7270 with Fedora 27 Workstation... but in her case I'd go Cinnamon desktop, as it'll be the most familiar and never confuse her any more than Windows would.
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@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
Right, plus she also remotes into her work PC I believe, but not sure what app she uses for that.
This is the only thing that may stop a Chromebox/Chromebook from being her best choice. Definitely check with her and see what she is using. Chromebox/Chromebook's are the way, the truth and the light when dealing with family IT issues. I can't even accurately articulate it. It's huge.
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@wirestyle22 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
Right, plus she also remotes into her work PC I believe, but not sure what app she uses for that.
This is the only thing that may stop a Chromebox/Chromebook from being her best choice. Definitely check with her and see what she is using. Chromebox/Chromebook's are the way, the truth and the light when dealing with family IT issues. I can't even accurately articulate it. It's huge.
Remoting to and from Chromebooks is easy. It's MS Office that's the issue.
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@scottalanmiller said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@wirestyle22 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
Right, plus she also remotes into her work PC I believe, but not sure what app she uses for that.
This is the only thing that may stop a Chromebox/Chromebook from being her best choice. Definitely check with her and see what she is using. Chromebox/Chromebook's are the way, the truth and the light when dealing with family IT issues. I can't even accurately articulate it. It's huge.
Remoting to and from Chromebooks is easy. It's MS Office that's the issue.
Even if she's using Citrix or something? I haven't specifically attempted to do that so I'm not sure
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@wirestyle22 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@scottalanmiller said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@wirestyle22 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
Right, plus she also remotes into her work PC I believe, but not sure what app she uses for that.
This is the only thing that may stop a Chromebox/Chromebook from being her best choice. Definitely check with her and see what she is using. Chromebox/Chromebook's are the way, the truth and the light when dealing with family IT issues. I can't even accurately articulate it. It's huge.
Remoting to and from Chromebooks is easy. It's MS Office that's the issue.
Even if she's using Citrix or something? I haven't specifically attempted to do that so I'm not sure
Well you have to use the right tech for the right job. But MS Office is specific and needs compatibility. "Remote access" is generic and is covered.
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@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
Right, plus she also remotes into her work PC I believe, but not sure what app she uses for that.
Horizon View works just fine on a Chromebook. Just need to use the Blast Extreme protocol. Citrix has a reciever for chromebook also.
My wife uses VPN's and RDP's still like a barbarian, but for civilized remote users you should be fine. -
@scottalanmiller said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
But MS Office is specific and needs compatibility
Office Online (If they have 365) runs just fine in Chrome.
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@storageninja said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@fuznutz04 said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
Right, plus she also remotes into her work PC I believe, but not sure what app she uses for that.
Horizon View works just fine on a Chromebook. Just need to use the Blast Extreme protocol. Citrix has a reciever for chromebook also.
My wife uses VPN's and RDP's still like a barbarian, but for civilized remote users you should be fine.Works fine FROM it, we are talking TO it.
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@storageninja said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
@scottalanmiller said in New laptop recommendation - Mom compatible:
But MS Office is specific and needs compatibility
Office Online (If they have 365) runs just fine in Chrome.
Maybe that is all that she needs.