cottonmather0 Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I need to buy a used laptop (~ 2-4 years old) with a functioning wireless card and MS Office installed and I don't really know where to find one. If anyone has an old one they want to get rid of or know where I can find one from a trustworthy source, I'm looking. My old iBook died last night and I can't afford to fix it or buy a new MacBook for a couple of months until a couple of other priorities are taken care of at home. I have a big fancy iMac at home that I used for most things computer but I'm a contract writer for a living and I prefer to leave the house most days and work remotely. All I need is something that can write, build spreadsheets, and surf the web and IM. (Powerpoint would be a plus but I'm not holding my breath)Mac or PC, I don't care, although I am a Mac guy FWIW.Many thanks in advance. You can reply here or via PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I think I can help you. I'm going to ask my dad. His friend has a bunch of laptops in his garage, all meet the requirements, and he is selling them all. He lives in Alief if you want to drive and pick it up, but like I said, I'll ask (in the morning). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Have you looked on Cragslist? They've got several that might meet your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I need to buy a used laptop (~ 2-4 years old) with a functioning wireless card and MS Office installed and I don't really know where to find one. If anyone has an old one they want to get rid of or know where I can find one from a trustworthy source, I'm looking. My old iBook died last night and I can't afford to fix it or buy a new MacBook for a couple of months until a couple of other priorities are taken care of at home. I have a big fancy iMac at home that I used for most things computer but I'm a contract writer for a living and I prefer to leave the house most days and work remotely. All I need is something that can write, build spreadsheets, and surf the web and IM. (Powerpoint would be a plus but I'm not holding my breath)Mac or PC, I don't care, although I am a Mac guy FWIW.Many thanks in advance. You can reply here or via PM.Have you checked out any of the netbooks. They can be small but you can run Windows or Linux and if you have modest 'office' needs just run Google Apps and get all of it over the 'net. They tend to run between $300 - $500 and they can be found in Targets to Frye's.Good luck. Let us know how you make out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Have you checked out any of the netbooks. They can be small but you can run Windows or Linux and if you have modest 'office' needs just run Google Apps and get all of it over the 'net. They tend to run between $300 - $500 and they can be found in Targets to Frye's.Good luck. Let us know how you make out.I think that getting a netbook as a second laptop is a good idea, and once you get your ibook fixed, it will still be useful for traveling and coffee shop surfing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmather0 Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 Yeah, a lot of people have forwarded me links to different netbooks and I think that might be a good solution given the limited needs I have for a mobile computer. I am particularly interested in the 12" Dell Mini, which is a little above my price range but looks like it might be a good choice. $1000 cheaper than a Macbook Air, too, and only a quarter ounce heavier. Also comes with Linux (Ubuntu) instead of Windows, and that's a big plus. I love Macs but I can't justify the extra money right now. Maybe in 6-9 months, but not now. I gotta get a laptop, though, because I can't work full time on my family iMac in the kitchen like I am today. BTW - the iBook isn't getting fixed. The solder joints on the logic board have started going bad and the only real fix is to replace the whole board, which would be at least $500 or so. You can try all kinds of shortcuts or resoldering, but they didn't work for me (I got it to boot once and then it quickly crashed) and as near as I can tell it's just a temporary fix, anyway. That's more than a used one of the exact same model would cost and it's already 4 years old. Interesting result of research on the iBook - apparently Denmark has been going after Apple for this particular issue and has declared it to be a design flaw. Apparently, Apple is VERY much against this for obvious reasons (ie then it becomes their fault and their liability). I took the iBook to the Apple Store yesterday to confirm that this was the problem and the guy at the Genius Bar very politely and quickly told me that they had never heard of that problem and that I must have dropped it (well duh). Then he winked at me and said he was sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 A second vote for getting a netbook, but these do not have CD or disk drives, just so you are aware. Not sure if you would need this, but other than that, they are great.Dell has one, $300 with Ubuntu (Linux) or $349 with Windows XP: http://www.dell.com/content/products/produ...piron%20netbookHP has one for $399: http://www.shopping.hp.com/mini/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 A second vote for getting a netbook, but these do not have CD or disk drives, just so you are aware. Not sure if you would need this, but other than that, they are great.Dell has one, $300 with Ubuntu (Linux) or $349 with Windows XP: http://www.dell.com/content/products/produ...piron%20netbookHP has one for $399: http://www.shopping.hp.com/mini/I'm really for going new. If you can afford it, I would try to go with a 10" netbook with a full factory warranty. You can always go back and throw in an extended warranty within that first 12 months, buying you a bit more time.I'd go with Linux too. The overhead on computing resources is much lower and you'll need that with such a small form factor and the underpowered Atom processor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Sell your dead iBook on eBay for parts and you can probably get half the price of a very good netbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arisegundo Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I have an iBook G4 14" I'm selling. I had the logic board replaced some years ago and it still works. Might be good for parts for your own iBook or to use on its own. Send me a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I just bought a new one and am looking to unload my old one, a Sony Viao with Windows XP. It does have MS Office 2000 (with Powerpoint) and free Anti-virus installed, and is fine for basic Office, email, IM, and surfing the web. The battery is essentially nonfunctional at this point, so it has to be plugged in. Price negotiable (probably well below $300), and I'm happy to look into the exact hardware specs if you want them (I can't remember). Just email me at tgattis (at) pdq.netI'm in the Meyerland area, as far as hand-offs and pick-ups go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmather0 Posted February 1, 2009 Author Share Posted February 1, 2009 Thanks for the responses, everyone. After some consideration I went ahead and ordered a new Dell 12" Mini netbook and spent a little more than $300 in the end. A LOT of people counseled me on buying new vs used and the more I looked at the netbooks the more I liked the idea - I just didn't like the smaller screens, until I found this one. It's also pretty much the same size and weight as a Macbook Air, so I think it's going to work well for me considering all of the traveling that I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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