What laptop?

[Theboybilly]

I tend to do most of my computing on a laptop nowadays. My old PC gave up the ghost a while back and I've had the use of an HP laptop for a while. I have very basic demands of a computer so would just require one for surfing, shopping, forums & emailing. FWIW I have mobile broadband/wi-fi and a fairly decent printer to hand. a lot of IT stuff goes over my head so you'll see that I don't really need a laptop with all the bells & whistles. As a ball-park budget I would think £ 400-500. By the way, the vast majority of my electrical goods are Samsung - just in case that helps, their stuff seems so very user-friendly and reliable. You can't ask for much more.

Bill

[khaosaming]

A system with Ubuntu preloaded, such as...

System 76:
https://www.system76.com/laptops/

[gn2]

Get the cheapest one you can find, no need to spend more than £250 Linky
You can ignore the System 76 suggestion, they're not available in the UK.

[maddiedog]

It's likely higher than your price range, but I'm absolutely infatuated with the Dell XPS series. I had an XPS13, it was the greatest laptop I've ever owned. I switched to an XPS12 to upgrade to ivy bridge, increase screen resolution, and for the convertible tablet capabilities, and it has been amazing as well.

I've deployed several XPS14s to clients this year, they're always very impressed by the finish and build quality -- the carbon fiber and metal makes for a much more rigid laptop than ones in similar form factors (Macbook pro or air).

[khaosaming]

HP's Probook series...

I have a Probook 6460b running Ubuntu 12.04 and dualbooting with Win 7. Pretty small and robust, easy to upgrade (add solid state drive, increase memory).

Whatever you choose, there should be a maintenance hatch for easy access to the innards, so you can change the hard disk. Nowadays SSD's are getting more affordable, and they are guaranteed to make your system really fast. You can always use external USB drives for more storage, if you find SSD's lacking in gigabytes.

Notebook Check provides good interviews on laptops:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-HP- ... 818.0.html

[gn2]

For the UK market I would avoid HP like the plague, in the event of any problems requiring hardware investigation/repair under warranty it has to get sent to Germany and takes five weeks minimum.

[Anfield800]

Buy a MacBook. Over priced, unusual software, limited compatibility. I've never looked back.

[Theboybilly]

Thanks for the replies. A Macbook is a non-starter I'm afraid as I/we don't want to go with Apple. Something with plenty of capacity for 'her indoors' to do her union rep stuff (nothing too heavy) and for me to grab occasionally to use for forums like this, ebay, ancestry websites and sorting out my social life etc. I'm actually using an HP laptop now but it has seen better days.

Bill

[you you]

I don't really use a laptop anymore. I've got a 10 inch android tablet and a blackberry playbook and I find them perfect for browsing, watching tv/movies, listening to radio etc. ~£300 for both.

[Mel46]

I can't help you much over there as I don't know what is sold over there but from my point of view, and I am a retired computer engineer, I would go with the Dell XPS that maddiedog mentioned. Very nice machines. At my house we have a MacBook Pro, 2 Dell desktops, and a beautiful Home Theater PC that I just built. Everything is networked together, of course. We also had 2 Dell laptops but recently gave them to our 'kids' . Our kids are all grown and moved away but they never really move away. They always need something or some help. In fact, my wife is presently in Seattle helping one of our daughters who has just had surgery. Considering that we live in Atlanta, you can see why we are always broke. :-/

[khaosaming]

No-one has mentioned Lenovo, the company that bought IBM's PC business in 2005. Lenovo's Thinkpads have a reputation as reliable machines. Moreover, they are supposed to be made in Japan.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/5/313841 ... -trial-run

I'm not sure if this applies to the more affordable Edge line of Lenovo laptops:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Len ... 754.0.html

[you you]

I can't help you much over there as I don't know what is sold over there but from my point of view, and I am a retired computer engineer, I would go with the Dell XPS that maddiedog mentioned. Very nice machines. At my house we have a MacBook Pro, 2 Dell desktops, and a beautiful Home Theater PC that I just built. Everything is networked together, of course. We also had 2 Dell laptops but recently gave them to our 'kids' . Our kids are all grown and moved away but they never really move away. They always need something or some help. In fact, my wife is presently in Seattle helping one of our daughters who has just had surgery. Considering that we live in Atlanta, you can see why we are always broke. :-/

That's having kids for you. Wish somebody had told me just before conception

Our parents will have said the same things

[maddiedog]

No-one has mentioned Lenovo, the company that bought IBM's PC business in 2005. Lenovo's Thinkpads have a reputation as reliable machines. Moreover, they are supposed to be made in Japan.

Lenovos are still made in China. Damn near everything is nowadays though, so that doesn't mean much. Lenovo makes good laptops, I'd recommend them.

[gn2]

Nearly all computers are made by a very few ODM companies.
It is extremely unusual for the real manufacturer's name to appear on a laptop.

[khaosaming]

Lenovos are still made in China. Damn near everything is nowadays though, so that doesn't mean much.

-------------
That wouldn't surprise me. I only rely on information on the Internet -- not all of that information is true or accurate. On several sites they still claim that some of the production of (top-end ?) Thinkpads has been removed to Japan. It seems that it's partially true -- these Thinkpads allegedly made by NEC in Japan are only available to Japanese customers.

Japanese customers who purchase ThinkPads currently have to wait about 10 days for delivery. By moving some of the production to Japan, the company will be able to ensure faster delivery and convenience for their Japanese customers. The executive chairman of NEC Lenovo Holdings B.V. made it clear that the future of the project will heavily rely on the choices of NEC-Lenovo group partners and customers.

NEC and Lenovo launched the venture about a year ago focused on Japan with the goal to capture about a 30 percent domestic market share within three years. NEC and Lenovo’s main competitor, HP, made a similar move in 2011 to shift some production away from China and into Japan to make it more convenient for Japanese customers.

http://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-to-move ... -05237286/

Anyway, it's not that unusual to hear stories about production shifting back from China. Apple is one of those companies. I hope they will do it for real and start producing Mac Minis and iMacs in the USA again. It still doesn't mean that Apple will do it themselves (they don't have plants and facilities any more). It'll be the same old Foxconn.

I've had plenty of motor scooters made by Honda and they all came from different places: India (Lead 100), China (Lead 110), Italy (SH300), PCX (Thailand). It's Taiwan that's missing from the list so far.

Nearly all computers are made by a very few ODM companies.
It is extremely unusual for the real manufacturer's name to appear on a laptop.

That's true. You never see these names on your laptop's shiny bezel: Compal, Quanta, Wistron, Inventec, Flextronics, Pegatron. Only Foxconn (one of Apple's contract manufacturers) is ever heard of on a regular basis.

But if we’re serious buyers, shouldn’t we be evaluating which contract manufacturers produce the best laptops? Is an HP laptop made by Quanta better than an HP laptop made by Foxconn? Are the laptops that Wistron makes for HP, Acer and Dell better or worse than the ones Quanta manufactures for the same companies. What if the different contractors are manufacturing identical designs?

This is not something the big brands want to talk about. They certainly won’t tell me which contractors make which machines, let alone which ones are more reliable.http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/ ... d-you-care

[khaosaming]

...I'm absolutely infatuated with the Dell XPS series. I had an XPS13, it was the greatest laptop I've ever owned.

-----------------
Check this out:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/ ... ok-review/

http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter ... ition.aspx

[maddiedog]

Check this out:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/ ... ok-review/

http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter ... ition.aspx

Oh man, the new one comes with a 1080p screen!

I wish more OEMs would default-ship with Linux support. It's rare to see this, and definitely a push in the right direction.

[gn2]

True it's rare to see but easy to find if you already know where to look

http://www.debian.org/distrib/pre-installed#us

[former50cc]

We have both the Lenovo Thinkpad x220 and x230. Small, sturdy, and the best keyboard you will ever find on a laptop.
Highly recommended.

[valuesynthetics]

Check out: CowBoom.com
They are a Best Buy company & have some good deals on used electronics...