By Andy Valencia
As I mentioned last month, laptops tend to be tougher on the budget than a desktop PC. Buyers want a big, bright screen, a keyboard with a crisp feel, and lightning-fast performance. All this while everything is paper-thin and weighs less than your phone. Oh, and it runs all day on one charge.
The laptop makers will try to oblige, but you are going to pay dearly for such cutting-edge technology. I don’t want to discourage you, but living within a modest budget requires compromise. A budget laptop is more like blue jeans than something from Saks Fifth Avenue.
If your budget can handle $700, Apple is offering the MacBook Neo. It gets rave reviews, and as a new, in-warranty device, it should work well for years to come. Everything you buy for it will cost more – the so-called “Apple tax” – so be sure to factor in the cost of peripherals and any commercial software you need. I don’t buy Apple products myself, but have to acknowledge that they’ve done a good job with their entry-level Mac product.
Does that $700 also need to cover some gas, groceries, and rent? There are cheaper options. If you have children in the school district, you probably have seen them using “Chromebook” devices. These are laptops, with the hardware integrated into Google’s Chrome browser. But they are far more than school-kid devices – they automatically update themselves and reinstall their software if anything gets muddled. You sign on to your Google account, and all of your Google docs and Gmail are right there.
Chromebooks are manufactured by the millions, and a quality refurbished Chromebook will cost around $150. There are $50 offerings, and I’ve had some of those actually turn out fine. But a vendor who moves hundreds of them will be good at making sure the device is clean, unlocked, boots, and has a battery that will hold a charge. $150 is a solid price point these days.
If your Chromebook is stolen or destroyed, buy or borrow another one. Sign in with your Google account, and your life can continue. This is “living in the cloud,” and Chromebooks plus Google services works extremely well. There are stories out there of Google accounts suddenly disappearing, so you still want backups – Google Takeout is the way to get a snapshot of your digital world from Google.
Be aware that Google is getting to launch a significantly more expensive device called a Googlebook. They’re being quite coy about price, but given the global RAM price inflation, my guess is it’ll come in closer to the $700 of the MacBook Neo rather than the great price of your typical Chromebook. I’m planning on a wait-and-see approach.
If you want a “real” laptop, things are currently not so great. For years, corporations would dump all their laptops and buy new ones every year or two. Modern hardware in good shape was cheap and plentiful. Money is tighter now, and the supply of such laptops has dried up.
You might find something OK on eBay or Craigslist, but a better bet is an old laptop gifted to you by a friend or family member. It’ll probably have a slow and stale Windows, so dig up my article on installing Linux from our June issue, and have your best techie family member convert the laptop to Linux. It’ll run much faster, and will even continue to get security updates.
For instance, this article is being typed on a free Toshiba laptop I was recently gifted. It still has its “Windows 7” and “Skype” stickers, but is instead doing a great job running fully updated Linux and Firefox. The Linux install took less than an hour.
If you can consider the $200 to $300 range, have a look at a refurbished Lenovo ThinkPad. They have decent RAM, disk, and processor, and are known for their solid construction. If it doesn’t come with the power adaptor, be sure to allow for that in your budget. As with the family member’s contribution above, it’ll probably arrive with some clunky version of Windows. And, once again, that Linux option might save the day.
As with the desktop PC’s I covered last issue, you MUST keep a backup. For a Chromebook, that’s the Google Takeout files you can request. For Linux, just copying your whole home folder onto a thumb drive is usually sufficient. It’s better to buy that USB thumb drive rather than eventually have a sad story of losing all your photos and documents.
Laptops usually cost more, but they don’t have to empty your wallet. Spend a little time to see if one of the budget options I’ve covered can handle your needs without breaking the bank. Good luck!
