Need a laptop recommendation...
 

A friend asked for a recommendation of a laptop for his wife.

She's a piano teacher and needs one with a camera for Zoom classes.

$200-$300 range, Best Buy is the preferred store of choice.

Which one should he get?

She isn't computer savy except for accessing email basically.

Thanks.

Contrarian view? I have bought lease return / refurbished high end Lenovo think pads with SSD's on eBay. All had a generous warranty and strong reviews of the sellers.

Bought four for myself and my kids. All still work and work well.

They do take a little bit of confidence to make work as there is no corporate handholding. I am NOT a tech guy.

I've always had good luck with Dell's
The price may be above what you list...you get what you pay for is true.

It seems they all have eliminated the CD/ROM drive for weight reasons.
Is this the case now days?

When I see 65 inch smart tv's going for less than $500...I wonder why laptop prices have stayed the same for the past 5 years.
Chromebooks don't have cd/dvd drives. Others will, but cost more.

I just reco'd this one to him:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-imaginebook-mj401ta-14-laptop-intel-core-m3-4gb-memory-128gb-solid-state-drive-textured-white/6375336.p?skuId=6375336#tab=buyingOptions?bof=open box

It's got a built-in camera and mic, which not all the others had. I think it will work for his wife. If it doesn't I'm sure he'll let me know.

I am by far, no expert on the subject...but that one looks very good...esp for that price.

It has an SSD and it has a camera and mic built-in.
I hope it will fill the bill for him.

The kids locally use rented out chrome books. They offered to teachers who don't have one at home. Prolly cheapest option. Android OS, and Google docs suck a major dick to what one can do over office.

That said. I can run zoom on my MacBook, but switched to webex due to lectures being hacked with pornography...... My parents use it on a cheapo 250$ HP running a real operating system.

If they need a laptop with SSD drive that should work. Another option is an ipad. They work great for Zoom, internet browsing, and many other things with apps that are cheap or free. As a piano teacher she might find Garageband a very useful free app to record performances remotely, add tempo or percussion, even fill out a student's virtual recital with a virtual orchestra or jazz ensemble. Excellent mic and camera also.

https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM7Au30MYNI

10 inch iPad.

Can be had for ~$300.00

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-ipad-latest-model-with-wi-fi-32gb-space-gray/5985609.p?skuId=5985609&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc= 1&ds_rl=1262659&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkefVxdPp6AIV4__j Bx0H4Q8WEAQYASABEgJc4PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

That model also supports the Apple Pencil.

Lotta bang for the buck.

She may even qualify for an additional edu discount.

Agree

Sorry, I'm not going to reco an Apple for her. She is not computer savy and he will have enough trouble getting her up and running on the Win machine as it is I'm sure.

She needs a Lotus Elise

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WWnAdB-vkXo" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Chromebook. Fast, easy to use, inexpensive.

That Asus should be fine. Good choice.

It only has 4GB RAM, so tell her not to open too many programs at once.
Try to only open 1 program at a time.
Close all windows that are not being used.
If she does not do this, it will work like dog****.
If she does, it will work well.

Please update this thread after 2 weeks and tell us if it works for her

I hear you on the RAM, sw, but I'm pretty sure she'll only be using one program at a time. I could be wrong on that but we'll just have to see.
I'll try to remember to update this thread.

Something with an i3 processor should be good enough and will keep the price down too. If not then i5.

Either of these would be more than good enough:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-elitebook-14-refurbished-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-128gb-solid-state-drive-silver/5581186.p?skuId=5581186

https://www.newegg.com/lenovo-t430/p/N82E16834319123

Personally, I wouldn't go anywhere under 8GB RAM and that 1.1GHz processor is, well, it is there. Have her try the keyboard as well. Some are pretty flexible in that price point and she may not like it.

You would get a better machine in a tablet for that price than a laptop.

The first Best Buy unit would not be welcome in our house, but that is just me. Also, check sales on Newegg. You will get a better machine for the price than Best Buy.

In other words, that unit is a 924 with 67hp and only a passenger seat.

He just called and said he just got home from picking up the Asus at the store.
We shall see what happens now.

I hear you guys loud and clear. These folks are not your typical computer users. The most 'computing' this machine will be asked to do is Zooming or Facetime (if it's possible, I'm not even sure of that).
That and surfing the web possibly.

She drives a Civic so I'm sure it'll be fast enough for her needs.

Did you watch the video I posted?

That's an odd perspective.

iPads are possibly the easiest thing to use.

She has a phone right?

Tablets, Android or Apple, are really just larger versions of a device she already uses every day.

There is nothing "to learn"

Yep i gotta agree the macbook is about as good as it gets for laptops. had my pro for several years now and, unlike every pc product i've ever owned, still operates as quickly and well as the day i bought it.

You can mess around with the 'ok, NOW we got it figured out' ms based laptops or you can buy one that just plain works.

I have not watched it, yet.

All - The neighbor asked for a laptop recommendation. As big a screen as possible, camera capable, and $300 tops for budget.
Are there better solutions?
More than likely, but I'm not about to try to convince him of that.
Could he get something better elsewhere?
Sure, but he can't drive there and have in his hands right now and have the ease of replacement he got by going to Best Buy.

I haven't heard back from him so I THINK all is going well. Today will probably be the first test.

Probably too late but this is a misunderstanding. There is simply no easier tech to use than an Apple ipad and they were specifically designed for folks who are categorically "not computer savy". If she got one she would love it and find it 100x easier to use than a bottom basement Win laptop filled with bloatware.

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4237/bloatware

Scott, you did great: Nobodies wrong if everybody is right!

We all have our preferences...I am a Mac convert, still have the Pro I bought 11 years ago and repaired with help from the folks here.

Now, if your Buddy is looking for a 1/2 ton truck...

Ridgeline!

Hey, I'd be a Mac nut too if I could have afforded to buy one way back in the mid'80's when I ended up with a Mac II on my desk and the company said they could get us a deal on one.
Yeah, $6k for a box, no monitor included.
Wish I could have sprung for one then but it wasn't going to happen in a million years.

Show me an iPad or whatever that I can get for less than $300 so I can replace my wife's iPad when she runs it into the ground. Her iPad II or Air whatever it is, is running out of space (16gb).
I'm all ears.

Anything here?

https://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php?src=SearchBarV2&q=ipad&pp=20&rating= 3&previousdays=7&pricemin=200.00&pricemax=400.00&f orumid%5B%5D=30&forumid%5B%5D=71&forumid%5B%5D=9&f orumid%5B%5D=25&forumid%5B%5D=54&forumid%5B%5D=38& forumid%5B%5D=4&forumid%5B%5D=10&forumid%5B%5D=53& forumid%5B%5D=8&forumid%5B%5D=13&forumid%5B%5D=39& r=1

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ipad+tablets&rh=p_89%3AApple%2Cp_72%3A26616190 11&s=relevanceblender&dc&qid=1587058058&rnid=26616 17011&ref=sr_nr_p_72_2

Thanks Steve.
I just reco'd this one to my neighbor since he just called saying he can't Facetime with the Asus so it is going back to Best Buy.

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-iPad-10-2-Inch-Wi-Fi-32GB/dp/B07XL7G4HH/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=ipad+tablets&qid=1587 058126&sr=8-3

I think this would be a good one for my wife too.

I'd recommend to stick with the platform she and the neighbor knows already.

I'm maybe an upper-low-level Windows user but the Mac platform still has me stumped.
There are so many new tricks and sub-menus needed to find where your files actually are.
And iTunes is a pure mystery.

For instance, using a DVD is as easy as plugging in a USB external drive on the PC.
Same with creating back-ups. Just drag over the files. Done.
(Apple got rid of that handy feature and others such as a simple headphone jack).

The installed bloatware can removed in "Control panel->Programs".
"Task manager" tells you what programs are running and the used resources.
Make desktop shortcuts to access them quickly.

The OEM Win10 bloatware/spyware also needs to be removed by going through all the "apps" and removing permissions for each one. Tedious. And only a start.

UPDATE!
He just called and is having problems with Facetime not working on the PC. (Duh, for me, but not him)
Seems only two students use Zoom, the others use Facetime. Go figure. I suggested Skype. No, she doesn't want to learn how to use it.
Her old iPad doesn't work well for Facetime. Why? I'm clueless.
I just suggested he get her a new iPad:

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-iPad-10-2-Inch-Wi-Fi-32GB/dp/B07XL7G4HH/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=ipad+tablets&qid=1587 058126&sr=8-3

Not sure what he is going to do though.

Like anything, you just gotta choose and commit to your choice. I use a Win machine for work due to required software, I use a 2009 Macbook Pro laptop for the bulk of my stuff at home and use ipad for travel/internet/music & photo editing/on location invoicing and billing.

Of the three the ipad is by far the easiest and most intuitive to use. It is iOS based and not Mac OSX so all of the apps are simple, no hidden menus, high functionality with low user sophistication needed. There are still some things you cannot do with an ipad that you can with a full featured laptop but for Zoom, facetime, internet browsing, basic photo or music editing and creation, it works pretty great. You can add a keyboard if needed or a mini USB drive for more storage and backup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6BH_-m5-ZQ

Not for everyone but a lotta bang for the buck.

I get it, suggesting a minivan with an open back to take the place of a truck since it's so different from what was requested.

And yet here we are, back at the Tundra/Ipad

;)

You might THINK you want a cheap pos laptop or a glorified minivan but what you REALLY want-and will end up with- is a Tundra/Ipad-macbook!


:D

Some people just can't be told what they need, they have to figure it out for themselves. It might help justify raising the budget too.

And some...esp when older, hate the idea of changing to a different platform.
Can't blame them for that.

I suggested they make the students conform to what they wanted to use (Zoom) but he wouldn't go for that.