"XJDano" (xjdano)
05/17/2015 at 19:48 • Filed to: None
0
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"XJDano" (xjdano)
05/17/2015 at 19:48 • Filed to: None | 0
| 26 |
I basically don’t have a computer anymore. I’ve been reading & commenting on mobile phone for quite some time. My MacBoor from ‘07 is sluggish, and my wife’s Mac from ‘11 crapped out and hard dive bit it (is what they told me).
My question for suggestion is either to buy another computer or Mac or just a wifi tablet (which I may get anyway).
I’m in construction and don’t computer. So I’d need something for basic web browsing, paying bills, steaming movies or races. No gaming or music producing or any extra stuff like that.
Thanks. Have a box of Miata parts.
TheHondaBro
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 19:51 |
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Basic PC for ~$400-500. Don’t go the Mac route.
jkm7680
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 19:55 |
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Why don’t you just get the Macbook serviced a bit?
William Connor
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 19:55 |
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The Mac route is expensive. It is my computer of choice but if you only web browse and comment then a good tablet is fine. The cheapo PC laptops are terrible and not worth the money.
DoctorNine
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 19:56 |
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Since you fix things, I’d say to put a SSD in the old MacBook, make sure it has 4GB of RAM, and put a fresh copy of Yosemite on it. You should be able to get a lot more years of service out of it, as long as you start out with a clean iteration of Yosemite OS X. Heck, you could even put Linux, or a old copy of Win XP/7 on it, if you had those hanging around.
JGrabowMSt
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 19:56 |
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What state are you in? I work in a computer shop, and can help out. A chromebook isnt bad for your use, but may be too basic. A basic $300-400 laptop (as previously mentioned) would be plenty for you. Computer advancements have come a long way, so a low end machine today really shouldnt be considered low end anymore.
Frank Grimes
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 20:03 |
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you should try to fix the macs. replacing a hard drive isnt hard and putting new software on it if it needs it isnt hard either and new hard drives are really really cheap. there are plenty on here that can help you.
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XJDano
> DoctorNine
05/17/2015 at 20:03 |
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Like I mentioned, I don’t computer, I don’t even know what that stuff means.
I know it may be easy stuff, but I just never got into it. I'd need a lot of learning to know what is going on inside that box.
Montalvo
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 20:04 |
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If you really just need the absolute basic then you might as well get a chromebook or something similar. You can pick them up for just over $200.
http://www.asus.com/us/Notebooks_U…
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XJDano
> JGrabowMSt
05/17/2015 at 20:04 |
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Missouri, 30 miles west of St. Louis.
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XJDano
> jkm7680
05/17/2015 at 20:09 |
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When I took the wife’s Mac in I mentioned it to “the guy” he was all like “that’s basically obsolete”.
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DoctorNine
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 20:10 |
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Nothing to it. Here’s a video:
If you find that too intimidating, take it to iFixit , and have them do it.
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JGrabowMSt
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 20:11 |
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Okay, pretty far from NJ.
Do you frequent Costco, Best Buy, or any other electronics store?
Asus, Toshiba, Acer, Samsung or Lenovo are my top pics for laptops. I would pick Acer first for you, but see what the selection is. I wouldnt go for a Netbook or anything under 13 inches, but only so that its easy to fix from a shop perspective, but also a sweet spot for your user experience.
A 15” Acer could be around $400-450, and be more than enough laptop for you. I think it would also serve you pretty well.
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XJDano
> Frank Grimes
05/17/2015 at 20:11 |
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I’d be willing to try, it is one of those things I know nothing about.
ttyymmnn
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 20:13 |
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A Mac of the vintage that you own, especially your wife’s, is eminently repairable. I know you say that you don’t computer, but you’d be surprised at how easy it can be. It’s all plug-and-play. And just about everything you could need to know can be found on YouTube. Hell, I’ve fixed my dryer twice, disassembling the whole thing and replacing parts, with videos on YouTube. With a basic set of tools, a little bit of knowledge, and a dab of courage, and you can fix most anything. And besides, if the computer is already borked, how could you make it worse?
But if you just don’t want to dabble in it, I understand completely. It can be intimidating. If you’ve got time invested in the Mac world, I would suggest you stay there. I would bet that there are local resale shops in your area that sell older laptops. Hell, there’s even a Goodwill computer store here in Austin that sells older yet still fully functional computers for a song. And there’s always Craigslist. You might find somebody who is willing to take your older computers as partial trade.
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XJDano
> Montalvo
05/17/2015 at 20:15 |
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Isn't that basically a tablet with keyboard and trac pad?
PS9
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 20:20 |
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Don’t negate the keyboard. Navigating is fine with a touch screen, but typing on glass feels like absolute ass. Also kinjacorrect...
That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 20:41 |
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Second on the SSD. It's a massive improvement.
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XJDano
> That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
05/17/2015 at 21:09 |
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What is SSD?
jdmrookie
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 21:35 |
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A solid-state drive. It has no moving internal parts compared to a hard-drive. If your wife no longer uses it anyway I would tinker around with it and replace the old hard drive!
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XJDano
> jdmrookie
05/17/2015 at 21:41 |
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Well we did use it occasionally. Like baby pictures. Which are likely all gone. Hah.
Thanks.
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Montalvo
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 22:01 |
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Pretty much that within a laptops body, it will pretty much do exactly what you want since that is pretty much all it is good for.
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That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 22:05 |
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What jdmrookie said. With a regular hard drive, my MacBook took around a minute to start up. With the solid state, 18 seconds. It makes it feel like a much newer computer.
MuchWagon
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 22:33 |
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Fix the busted macbook, get a Chromebook, or do a low end hackintosh (i3 CPU).
bryan40oop
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 22:39 |
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If your Mac’s keep failing... why would you consider another? Get a PC and be done.
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Frank Grimes
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 22:47 |
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computers for some reason freak me out partly because computer nerds suck at explaining things. but its pretty simple really. I recently added a SSD on my lappy and moved over all the operating system to it and added ram. was pretty easy. I would be willing to help but I bet the internet and people on here know more than I and would be totally happy to help.
here is a really good tutorial on how to do a hard drive swap on a imac.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Changing-an…
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MuchWagon
> XJDano
05/17/2015 at 23:08 |
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The 07 is probably a little dated depending on the specs. My 06 core duo was falling off the supported list for Chrome. The macbook likely fine. Get it fixed... Just don’t buy a straight up windows PC and you will be fine.