Search is on... mom-friendly laptop

[cbelt3]

Woofa- it she's using Windows Me, I've got a Powerbook 5300c sitting in the basement that she would find nice and snappy.


As Peter noted- the Clamshells are very inexpensive and very rugged. The only problem is that any functioning clamshell you find will most likely have a dead battery and a power plug that doesn't work too well. But what would you expect for a laptop that is at least 7 years old ?

IMHO, the G4 iBooks are overpriced. Considering refurb Macbooks are going for $849, it may just be time to get the other siblings together and pony up a nice belated Mother's Day / advance Birthday / Christmas present for Mom. Leopard, Back to my Mac, and you can even do some long distance support for Mommy dearest.

Peter- thanks, I'll try system utilities. Obviously I've done something worng. How much RAM do you have in your Clam ?

[RecipeForDisaster]

Yeah, I think my Powerbook 1400 is way faster than the Dell.

She's not too concerned about battery life-generally is going to use it in bed near a power outlet anyway.

She can be hard on her belongings... I can't imagine spending even $849 and have it get dropped or a dog jump on it. Even if we could afford that.

Unfortunately ponying up isn't gonna happen-but at least it won't be long distance support, she's quite nearby :<). We need to be extra careful since the loss we had to take on her recently purchased iBook... not that she isn't worth it! *I* don't even have Leopard!

Thanks,
rfd

[kap]

How much is a Pismo going for these days? I had mine running on Tiger fine. Gave it away to a relative when I got my MBP.

[lafinfil]

The folks here that have gotten one of the G4 iBooks from StingMe (a forum member) have been happy.

http://macswap.org/cgi-bin/detail.cgi?777

[simonm]

[quote RecipeForDisaster]... our old Dell running Windows ME, always thinking it wasn't working ...
Wndows ME is guaranteed to make any hardware on the planet look bad. It was probably the worst windows version ever produced. The cheapest option would be to blow away the windows and install a linux on the Dell. Dell hardware is generally quite ok - just doesn't look pretty. Popular today in the Linux for end users is Ubuntu - you can configure it to look a bit like MacOS if you want. Another flavour of windows would be better too. May w2k?

[rgG]

Have you considered an eeePC running Linux? They start at $299.99, no tax and free shipping, at Amazon for a new one with a 2-year warranty. They come preloaded with the basics that she would probably need. They are small, light, and easy to use. They have built-in Wi-Fi, too. You can get one in black, white, blue, green or even pink.

I looked at one at our local MicroCenter and was impressed. If Apple doesn't come out with a sub-notebook of some sort in June, I will probably get one for travel. The only problem is that MicroCenter is the only B&M store that I know of where you can see one in person. Here is the link to the entry level model.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det...oding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

[C(-)ris]

You don't want to be looking for iBooks. Look for G4 Powerbooks. They go for less than a comparable speed iBook because people "know" the iBook name.

[RecipeForDisaster]

Unfortunately she got spoiled on the laptop, so whatever I do with the Dell(it's 8 years old and really underpowered anyway)isn't going to do it. I tried to talk her into a desktop machine anyway. I know ME is the worst...

She'd love a pink laptop but is sold on Apple. That's a nice little machine, though!

That MacSwap G4 iBook looks pretty good-what do you guys think? It says OBO, so maybe I could get it shipped for that price and we'd have a deal.

Thanks,
rfd

[PeterB]

Overpriced, but still: http://cgi.ebay.com/APPLE-IBOOK-G4-LAPTO...dZViewItem

... places to look -- your local Craigslist; the LEM Swap List; MacSwap.

Pismo is another good thought.

Agreed though, if you can pony up the bucks, go for something better, like a refurb MacBook or even a Mini...

cbelt3, I have a 512 chip in there, for a total of 576MB. Easy upgrade, and the chips have gotten a lot cheaper recently.

[RecipeForDisaster]

The Mini is what I'm running for my primary machine. I love it... she still wants a laptop, and we don't have the extra cash to spare, either.

She'd love the pink iBook! Too bad it isn't much cheaper.

Thanks for all the leads... so far StingMe's G4 is in the lead, as far as I can see.

rfd