i'm writing this post on my maybe eight-year-old Dell inspiron laptop. as you can see, the left hand shift key doesn't work. also, if i barely graze the 44444 key, it repeats. plus very quickly for mysterious reasons i go to 100% on CPU usage and have to reboot to get it down. however, it more or less works. Which is a good thing.
the hard drive on my Acer crashed and has to be replaced. here are some things i've discovered as a result:
-- that my warrantee will cover the cost of the new hard drive but the new hard drive can't be warranteed as it is for a mexican machine and is being put in an American machine.
-- that while it is much cheaper to buy computers in the us and bring them here, you wreck your warrantee once you have mexican stuff put in an american machine, or so they tell me.
--that Acers have bad repair records. There's an Acer listed on one of the top whatever laptop lists currently on pc world.
since i use my computer to work for money, i need a reliable one, keeping the Acer for back-up. So i am seeking advice.
my son recommends macs, but i would have to buy and install windows and its enabling program to run the software i use on a mac so im not at this point convinced any advantages of mac would outweigh the extra cost, etc.
however, i would like to know if any of you have particular recommendations. i am inclining towards either an hp or a gateway. it has to be a laptop, and not the most expensive version.
i would also like to know what you have found with windows vista and if you have found there are truly advantages of one version over another. im not a gamer but i do like to watch movies, etc.
i don't want to give up ease of use, durability, etc. for price but don't want to spend a mint, either.
any input would be most welcome.