Need a new laptop... have no idea

GreyGhost said:
I disagree. I hate typing on a tablet and she mainly wants this for activities that require typing. The only tablet I have that is completely useless is an ipad. Apple stopped ios updates on it and then apps wpuldnt run without updating which wasnt possible. I have never had that problem with an android tablet (yet). The oldest android tablet I have is a six year old galaxy tab A (~$160 when new) that is still in use daily by the monsters.
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- You can pair a bluetooth keyboard to a tablet and have a full keyboard if that's the biggest stumbling block, and then you have the best of both worlds - a convenient tablet that can be hauled around the house easily, or setup at a table and used with the keyboard if desired.

- Yes typing on a tablet sucks a little, but that depends on how one types. My aforementioned elderly relative didnt't like it to begin with either, but quickly adjusted. Someone like me who touch types north of 100 words per minute (Anyone else remember when they taught touch typing in high school on actual typewriters? I do, best thing I ever learned in high school) typing on a tablet without any tactile feedback is infuriating. But for most hunt and peck typers, they quickly adjust.

- Most tablets will be immune to all the cruft that WILL eventually clog up a Windows computer, especially one used by an elderly person and it puts them at risk online if they end up with a keylogger installed.

- Yes, some (very) old iPads are now defunct for a lot of software. The same thing happens with Android tablets as well as some services stop supporting old OS versions that can no longer be secured. Just because your kids might still be using an older Android tablet successfully with some old games and for browsing/email doesn't mean you're going to have any success installing the latest and greatest apps on it - many won't work either. The only iPads that are now unsupported are now *over* 6 years old...so just buy something that's a year or two old and said relative will get 4-5 good solid years out of it.
 
Evoex said:
iphone is a phone that just works. if you don't like to fiddle with things or customize it then it's the perfect device.

i'm always wanting to change things so i know i'd never be happy with one and again, i'm not a fan of being bullied into their eco system. I note they are finally putting USB-C on their devices, so many one day.
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I'm a nut for customizing and tweaking things and yes, the lack of customization ability and such irks me sometimes (although that's improving, you're no longer locked into Apples apps by default for browser/email/etc, and there's features for automations and such now similar to Android) but having tried the Android world as well....when it comes to my daily driver device that I just need to work 101% of the time without fail and without any question about the security of what passes through it, I'm an Apple user. As the old saying goes, "It just works".

But yeah, I'm not buying another one until they go to USB-C as well, and (for fucks sake) bring back TouchID. Face ID is great and all, but now that none of us have faces whenever we have a mask on it's a complete pain in the ass.
 
Good timing on the thread revival. MIL needs a laptop new or used and we are actually considering a chrome book. Only things she uses it for is a mail, FB, and browsing the web. Nothing else. Not spending 1k on that lol.

the refurb posted for $330 is about the price I’m looking to be.
 
mimico_polak said:
Good timing on the thread revival. MIL needs a laptop new or used and we are actually considering a chrome book. Only things she uses it for is a mail, FB, and browsing the web. Nothing else. Not spending 1k on that lol.

the refurb posted for $330 is about the price I’m looking to be.
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My mother has a $1500 laptop and a $200 Chromebook the laptop hasn't been on in months.

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Scuba Steve said:
My mother has a $1500 laptop and a $200 Chromebook the laptop hasn't been on in months.

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I use my Surface Pro 3 many times....but the iPad mini 2 is the go to device for me for 90% of my needs.

Need to figure a way to connect the iPad to the tv at the cottage with no wifi to play movies for the kids though.
 
mimico_polak said:
I use my Surface Pro 3 many times....but the iPad mini 2 is the go to device for me for 90% of my needs.

Need to figure a way to connect the iPad to the tv at the cottage with no wifi to play movies for the kids though.
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When I'm travelling, I download a bunch of shows or movies onto my iPad mini within the Netflix app. Then I can watch them even if not connected to the internet since they are saved in the app on the device itself. Not sure how to connect the iPad to your cottage TV though.
 
shanekingsley said:
When I'm travelling, I download a bunch of shows or movies onto my iPad mini within the Netflix app. Then I can watch them even if not connected to the internet since they are saved in the app on the device itself. Not sure how to connect the iPad to your cottage TV though.
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Chromecast? I think it can make it's own network. I havent tried it in a wifi free environment.
 
mimico_polak said:
I use my Surface Pro 3 many times....but the iPad mini 2 is the go to device for me for 90% of my needs.

Need to figure a way to connect the iPad to the tv at the cottage with no wifi to play movies for the kids though.
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Apple AV adaptor and HDMI cable probably.
 
I run an AppleTV 2 at the cottage so we can stream our Apple devices seamlessly. Netflix app no longer works on the ATV2 I believe.
AirPlay just works great.
 
Katapult said:
I run an AppleTV 2 at the cottage so we can stream our Apple devices seamlessly. Netflix app no longer works on the ATV2 I believe.
AirPlay just works great.
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You need wifi for that though?
 
shanekingsley said:
When I'm travelling, I download a bunch of shows or movies onto my iPad mini within the Netflix app. Then I can watch them even if not connected to the internet since they are saved in the app on the device itself. Not sure how to connect the iPad to your cottage TV though.
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Been doing that for years. But with 2 kids the IPad mini is too small for them both.
 
shanekingsley said:
When I'm travelling, I download a bunch of shows or movies onto my iPad mini within the Netflix app. Then I can watch them even if not connected to the internet since they are saved in the app on the device itself. Not sure how to connect the iPad to your cottage TV though.
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Why not just buy a cheap wifi router? You don't need internet for wifi networking. Cheap wifi and whatever chromestick or apple tv that lets you stream your screen or play movies off your device.
 
wonderings said:
Why not just buy a cheap wifi router? You don't need internet for wifi networking. Cheap wifi and whatever chromestick or apple tv that lets you stream your screen or play movies off your device.
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Can you do that from an iPad let's say to a ROKU stick? Or would I require an AppleTV to do that through said router?
 
mimico_polak said:
Can you do that from an iPad let's say to a ROKU stick? Or would I require an AppleTV to do that through said router?
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IIRC you can do ipad directly to roku or chromecast with a peer to peer network setup by the roku/chromecast. Alternatively you could use a wireless router to setup the network even if it has no connection to the internet. Range would be much better on the router. I probably wouldn't buy one for that purpose but lots of people have old routers kicking around with no purpose (I expect G should be fine for the purpose and most people run their primary residence at N or better)
 
GreyGhost said:
IIRC you can do ipad directly to roku or chromecast with a peer to peer network setup by the roku/chromecast. Alternatively you could use a wireless router to setup the network even if it has no connection to the internet. Range would be much better on the router. I probably wouldn't buy one for that purpose but lots of people have old routers kicking around with no purpose (I expect G should be fine for the purpose and most people run their primary residence at N or better)
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I'm sure I've got 2-3 routers just kicking around here somewhere. Thanks for the info.
 
mimico_polak said:
Can you do that from an iPad let's say to a ROKU stick? Or would I require an AppleTV to do that through said router?
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I have Apple Tv's and have never used anything other than that. I would think some new smart tv's allow you to stream but someone else would need to answer how that works. Not sure how it works with other systems but Apple TV is nice as it can connect to your computers iTunes library as well and play directly from there, it just needs to be on. So if you had a laptop with a movie library in iTunes you just make sure it is on and connected to the same wifi network and the Apple TV will see it and you can navigate to what you want directly from the Apple TV.
 
wonderings said:
I have Apple Tv's and have never used anything other than that. I would think some new smart tv's allow you to stream but someone else would need to answer how that works. Not sure how it works with other systems but Apple TV is nice as it can connect to your computers iTunes library as well and play directly from there, it just needs to be on. So if you had a laptop with a movie library in iTunes you just make sure it is on and connected to the same wifi network and the Apple TV will see it and you can navigate to what you want directly from the Apple TV.
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Looks like I’m looking for an Apple TV. Did some more reading and Airplay will work without a wifi. So it should work at the cottage.
 
@shanekingsley +1 for the Chromebook
Also, what happened to her PC/ laptop?
Have you looked into the FixMeStick?

I actually just purchased a StartMeStick
~$60 gets me 2 years of use
Turned my Vista based laptop into a "Chromebook"
(Something about a Linux based OS running Chromium)
You put the stick in, run it and go.


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