Trying again: LAPTOP NEEDED for 4 thinsg only!

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I need a laptop for ONLY the following

Internet Explorer
Outlook Express
(wireless internet access 80211b)
WORD
EXCEL

that's it.
no more.
no CAD.
no games
no fancy graphics
no movie editing

please.....
just tell me where to start!

133?
233?
RAM?
OS?

and what "slots" would i need to use one of those wireless cards?!

thanks!

 

[Craig]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

sean archer wrote:
> I need a laptop for ONLY the following
>
> Internet Explorer
> Outlook Express
> (wireless internet access 80211b)
> WORD
> EXCEL
>
> that's it.
> no more.
> no CAD.
> no games
> no fancy graphics
> no movie editing
>
> please.....
> just tell me where to start!
>
> 133?
> 233?
> RAM?
> OS?
>
> and what "slots" would i need to use one of those wireless cards?!
>
> thanks!

Go to ebay and pick up a IBM thinkpad 600e or 600x. I used a 600e with
128 megs of ram and a 366MHz processor. You can use any PCMCIA wireless
card with just about all notebooks/laptops.

 

[Mike]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

sean archer wrote:
> I need a laptop for ONLY the following
>
> Internet Explorer
> Outlook Express
> (wireless internet access 80211b)
> WORD
> EXCEL
>
> that's it.
> no more.
> no CAD.
> no games
> no fancy graphics
> no movie editing
>
> please.....
> just tell me where to start!
>
> 133?
> 233?
> RAM?
> OS?
>
> and what "slots" would i need to use one of those wireless cards?!
>
> thanks!

You don't seem to be in a hurry. If you don't mind running windows 98
and taking a minute to boot, you can do what you want with a 486 laptop
and a 16-bit PCMCIA wireless card. 486/50 with 16MB ram is about the
minimum you can get by with. More is better. P1 machines in the $10
range are also nice. Ditch the bloated microsoft browser and go with
something slimmer.

I find that if I stand in one place very long, people come up and give
me 486 laptops. (some assembly required) Certainly more frugal than a
faster machine.
The wild card is the battery. A used laptop with a bad battery is a
doorstop, no matter how fancy it is. And don't expect the seller to
tell you the battery is soft. I have NEVER bought a working used laptop
with a good battery. If the laptop died recently, the battery is quite
likely to be good. YMMV.
mike


--
Return address is VALID.
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
Toshiba & Compaq LiIon Batteries, Test Equipment
Honda CB-125S $800 in PDX
Yaesu FTV901R Transverter, 30pS pulser
Tektronix Concept Books, spot welding head...
http/www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"sean archer" <seanarcher@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:83c2eb19.0404122027.54cce8a5@posting.google.com...
> I need a laptop for ONLY the following
>
> Internet Explorer

.... etc.


These days, Explorer includes
lots of things/stuff/plug-ins.



dk

 

[Hawk]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Just buy the cheapest new Dell or Gateway or Toshiba you can find. It
will need a PCMCIA slot for a wireless adapter unless it comes with
built in wireless. Take what ever OS it comes with, most likely
Windows XP Home. I wouldn't mess with a used laptop.

Regards, hawk

sean archer wrote:

> I need a laptop for ONLY the following
>
> Internet Explorer
> Outlook Express
> (wireless internet access 80211b)
> WORD
> EXCEL
>
> that's it.
> no more.
> no CAD.
> no games
> no fancy graphics
> no movie editing
>
> please.....
> just tell me where to start!
>
> 133?
> 233?
> RAM?
> OS?
>
> and what "slots" would i need to use one of those wireless cards?!
>
> thanks!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Word, Excel, and email doesn't require a whole lot, but Internet Explorer
really includes a lotta extra stuff that demands memory and processing
power, so I'd start with at least a fast Pentium II (400mhz), or a slower
PIII (500mhz), at least 128MB of memory, at least a 6GB hard drive, and,
if at possible, one equipped with a dvd player (instead of just cd rom).
Display-wise, you'll want at least a 13.3" capable of 1024x768, or larger.
Plus two PCMCIA slots are a must (for network/wireless cards, or a
firewire card, or usb cards...) OS wise, I wouldn't go with anything
older than Windows 98.

Then you also have to consider what you already have: printer
(parallel/usb connection), scanner (see printer), digital camera or what
not, and Word/Excel (will they run on the OS that you've chosen). After
that... I think you're set.

I would not consider 133 or 233 systems. Many of them use obsolete RAM
that's hard to find and have very low RAM ceilings (64MB, 96MB common),
many of them won't even take larger hard drives, many of them don't even
have sound, and on nearly all of them the batteries are deader than dead.
Speaking of batteries, you'll want a laptop which you can get a new
battery for less than $100. Without a battery, a laptop is just another
boat anchor.

Of course, everything I've said will push your budget to around $300 (eBay
prices), but I think it'll be well worth it. Get anything older, it'll be
like getting a TV that doesn't come with a remote...