[Liverpool] Laptop Recomendations

Sat Dec 12 16:38:23 UTC 2009

Thank you for this thoughtful reply. Will report back result

Sent from my iPhone

On 12 Dec 2009, at 13:09, Tim Dobson <lists at tdobson.net> wrote:

> OK.
>
> So there is a lot to be said for the approach the other posters have
> pointed out - letting people reach their own conclusions if often the
> most satisfying way of doing things.
>
> I can see his frustrations clearly and understand them well.
>
> There are several issues here, which should probably be addressed
> separately.
>
> "Son frustrated with ubuntu & hand me down computers given to him by  
> father"
>
> So this is probably the most difficult one and there are all sorts of
> things one can do that may or may not work.
>
> Give him something with a "wow" factor. Is he aware of netbooks? A  
> shiny
> small Eeepc might be something he would take everywhere. This might
> sounds like a recipe for it getting broken/stolen/lost etc to a
> concerned father, but if he really values it the likelihood of that is
> less. Oh and at least EeePc's don't cost that much.
>
>
> "Son no longer fully trusts father's advice on what he perceives as  
> best"
>
> That's a deep and interesting dilemma. For me, my mentor in getting me
> interested in all this was my sister's partner, not my dad and I think
> that helped a lot because I've never had my dad telling me what to do
> with computers. It's more or less been taken from the word go with my
> parents that I know more than them with regards to computer related  
> stuff.
>
> The ideal situation for you might perhaps be introducing your son to
> people who you aren't necessarily friends with, but are knowledgeable
> about GNU/Linux & free software and can help him play with stuff on  
> the
> level he's at. Maybe building games or something else fairly  
> graphically
> orientated.
>
> You need to think carefully because anything you personally suggest to
> him is likely to instantly bring about connotations of boring computer
> stuff.
>
> Hopefully you can think of something more motivational to learn about
> computers and networking than trying to bypass his schools content
> filtering system to play Runescape/check email/have a blog.
> (That was the motivation that got me learning about networking - with
> hindsight I'd have prefered to have initially learned about computers
> with less clandestine motives.)
>
> I'd be interested to hear how you end up getting on. My nephew (who is
> six) is getting his first hand me down Thinkpad for Christmas (not  
> from
> me!) and I suspect in several years time we could be up against  
> similar
> kinds of things with him.
>
> I hope this helps somewhat,
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tim
>
> aidan mcguire wrote:
>> Off on a slight tangent but in a similar vein.
>>
>> My 12 year old son is saving up his money to buy his own computer.  
>> He is
>> doing this because he is fed up of the left over laptops I have given
>> him over the years that are always setup with unbuntu. I am pretty  
>> sure
>> he will want windows because he associates unbuntu  with these always
>> slightly dodgy laptops (of course the reason I could justify giving  
>> them
>> to him is they were dodgy or old)
>>
>> I don't want to say "no way" as its his
>> Money and his choice but also don't want him wasting his money on a
>> windows laptop.
>>
>> He uses it predominantly for web based games (runescape for  
>> example) and
>> homework.
>>
>> Anyone - What should I do?
>>
>> Understand if no one can advise.
>>
>> Aidan
>>
>> On 10 Dec 2009, at 17:12, oscillik <oscillik at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I disagree with the recommendation of the Asus EeePC 10**HA for this
>>> particular use. While this machine doesn't look too bad, and meets
>>> most of the other requirements, the graphics capabilities of this
>>> machine are quite subpar since it uses the Intel GMA 950 shared  
>>> memory
>>> graphics...It struggles to cope with anything more modern than the
>>> GoldSource engine for games (that's the original Half-Life engine to
>>> those who don't know). I would think that the 10**HA wouldn't cope
>>> very well with The Sims 2 even with all settings at low and at  
>>> lowest
>>> resolution.
>>>
>>> The good things I can say about it - excellent battery life (i can  
>>> go
>>> for about 7-8 hours without a charge on mine), and the general speed
>>> of the machine when not using graphics intensive applications. also
>>> the keyboard is one of the best i've used in a portable machine (but
>>> of course nothing can compare to my Psion netBook's keyboard)
>>>
>>> I'd totally agree with the thinkpad though - i STILL want one of  
>>> those
>>> machines.
>>>
>>> 2009/12/10 Tim Dobson <lists at tdobson.net>
>>> Well, two ideas.
>>>
>>> I'm surprised the eeepc 10**HA hasn't been recommended yet, I'd  
>>> say that
>>> probably fitted the bill and looks quite neat.
>>>
>>> Failing that, I'd say a second hand lenovo thinkpad which is a few  
>>> years
>>> old would also fit the bill and be highly recommended.
>>>
>>> I'd personally prefer a thinkpad, due to the indestructibility and
>>> indisputable quality of build, however, the eeepc would certainly  
>>> look
>>> flashier....
>>>
>>> Tim
>>>
>>> Andrew Williams wrote:
>>>> It's christmas time and Jo is getting a new laptop for christmas  
>>>> (she
>>>> already knew so i'm not spoiling the suprise). I've had a look
>>> around Dell
>>>> but i'm still not sure.
>>>>
>>>> What shes looking for:
>>>>
>>>> * Full or near full size keyboard
>>>> * Decent screen resolution ( > 800x600 )
>>>> * Something capable of playing some games (Sims 2)
>>>>
>>>> What i'm looking for:
>>>>
>>>> * Hardware compatability with Linux (of course)
>>>> * Price ~£500
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas? Or should I just stick with a Dell Studio?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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