Comments on: What to make of this Black Friday’s sub-$200 laptops https://dfarq.homeip.net/what-to-make-of-this-black-fridays-sub-200-laptops/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-to-make-of-this-black-fridays-sub-200-laptops David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more Wed, 28 Nov 2012 20:20:03 +0000 hourly 1 By: Dave Farquhar https://dfarq.homeip.net/what-to-make-of-this-black-fridays-sub-200-laptops/#comment-26360 Wed, 28 Nov 2012 20:20:03 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=6045#comment-26360 In reply to Don Armstrong.

Agreed on all counts, though I found Office 97 didn’t hold up all that well under my workload. It crashed a lot while I was writing my book. Office 2000 held up under similar conditions when I was writing my aborted second book. I didn’t use Office XP long enough to come to a conclusion about it. I think Office 2003 is the best version of Office that Microsoft ever made, and probably ever will.

I also think Office 95 was underrated. It was designed to run well on a 486, so it was awfully nice on marginal machines. From time to time I used it even after Office 2000 came out.

]]> By: Don Armstrong https://dfarq.homeip.net/what-to-make-of-this-black-fridays-sub-200-laptops/#comment-26342 Fri, 23 Nov 2012 07:21:20 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=6045#comment-26342 Heck, even what it comes with would work; but when you get a clean operating system (Chrubuntu), Libre Office, and put the latest Firefox up, it does all most people would need at no extra cost. Heck, Office 97 still does everything I need except browsing.

]]> By: Dave Farquhar https://dfarq.homeip.net/what-to-make-of-this-black-fridays-sub-200-laptops/#comment-26295 Thu, 22 Nov 2012 13:27:01 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=6045#comment-26295 That is good hardware for $200. The difference is you’re only paying for the hardware. With a sub-$200 Windows box, you’re getting $110 worth of hardware and a Windows license.

]]> By: Don Armstrong https://dfarq.homeip.net/what-to-make-of-this-black-fridays-sub-200-laptops/#comment-26280 Thu, 22 Nov 2012 02:12:02 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=6045#comment-26280 I’m posting a relevant direct quote of someone else’s post on a forum you prefer not to frequent:

“rick says:
21 November 2012 at 12:48

I am playing with a $200 Linux laptop I received Monday. Google sells the Acer Chromebook C7 for $200 (plus shipping). Best Buy is also supposed to sell it. It has a dual core Intel Celeron Sandy Bridge architecture processor, 2 gb of RAM, a 320 GB hard drive, both wired and wireless Ethernet, 3 USB ports, an HDMI port, a VGA port, an SD Card reader and an 11.6” screen. Not bad hardware specs for $200. There is already a Linux distribution tailored for it, Chrubuntu. (see http://liliputing.com/2012/11/how-to-install-ubuntu-12-04-on-the-199-acer-c7-chromebook.html) Chrubuntu installs over the wire.

The hardware is nice, especially for the price. It is light (about 3 lbs) and its battery is smaller than I’d like, but, all in all, a bargain.
…
…
The Chromebook C7 is at http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/landing-acer.html#utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-bkws&utm_medium=ha

Best Buy will supposedly sell it, but they don’t show it in stock. Right now they show free shipping, which would make it cheaper than buying from Google, but any sales tax might make a difference. (No sales tax here in Oregon) I ordered mine from Google on November 12, the day it was announced, and it arrived on November 19. Google charged about $14 for second day shipping.
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