I have a wide open query, if I may:
I'm looking at the purchase of a laptop for my wife (birthday) and I am, to say the very least, out of touch with the current market.
I realize the first question is 'what is it going to be used for?' At the moment our Dell desktop is used mostly for email, some simple ones (not overly ambitious graphic demands), some MS Office type stuff, the occasional movie and, of course, surfing. That's pretty low-end stuff it seems to me. But I'm hoping to be able to afford something that will allow her to start exploring some computer art. (She's a an artist - painting and some sculpture, mixed media...)
I really have no idea what level of processor, HD speed, memory, ports, USBs ... on and on ,,, which would be advisable and no idea which makes and models might be suitable for such use.
I would greatly appreciate any guidance, expressions of preferences, pitfalls to look out for. Also applications which might be suitable - Photoshop? and ...???
Budget??? Hmmmn ... I'm not really sure... Free would be great; it would be even better if they would pay me for getting one, but that nott being likely, any ballpark ideas of prices of suitable machines? (Mac's seem way higher than other machines? Are they worth it?)
I have started looking for websites providing comparisons, but have yet to find any really good ones. Many of the links seem to go to the manufacturer's sites where of course you get the apple pie and mother-love statements of how grand their particular product is.
Sorry to go on so long. Any help will be gratefully acknowledged by a lot of bowing and scraping and tugging of forelock!
(Hmmmn .. I hope this is in the correct forum. Mea culpa if it isn't.)
I'm looking at the purchase of a laptop for my wife (birthday) and I am, to say the very least, out of touch with the current market.
I realize the first question is 'what is it going to be used for?' At the moment our Dell desktop is used mostly for email, some simple ones (not overly ambitious graphic demands), some MS Office type stuff, the occasional movie and, of course, surfing. That's pretty low-end stuff it seems to me. But I'm hoping to be able to afford something that will allow her to start exploring some computer art. (She's a an artist - painting and some sculpture, mixed media...)
I really have no idea what level of processor, HD speed, memory, ports, USBs ... on and on ,,, which would be advisable and no idea which makes and models might be suitable for such use.
I would greatly appreciate any guidance, expressions of preferences, pitfalls to look out for. Also applications which might be suitable - Photoshop? and ...???
Budget??? Hmmmn ... I'm not really sure... Free would be great; it would be even better if they would pay me for getting one, but that nott being likely, any ballpark ideas of prices of suitable machines? (Mac's seem way higher than other machines? Are they worth it?)
I have started looking for websites providing comparisons, but have yet to find any really good ones. Many of the links seem to go to the manufacturer's sites where of course you get the apple pie and mother-love statements of how grand their particular product is.
Sorry to go on so long. Any help will be gratefully acknowledged by a lot of bowing and scraping and tugging of forelock!
(Hmmmn .. I hope this is in the correct forum. Mea culpa if it isn't.)
