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From: journey on 4 May 2008 20:04
On Sun, 04 May 2008 20:08:20 GMT, "Tom" <yahoo(a)earthlink.com> wrote:

>Hi, I've got a friend who is computer naive or computer phobic who needs to
>get a PC Because of her job.
>At least for now, primary use will be Word documents, email and web
>browsing. At a future time may upgrade to VISTA home premium. I'd like to
>start w/ XP because I don't know anything about VISTA and none of my friends
>who have it are in love w/ it.
>
>I'd like to keep the cost below a $1,000.00 delivered.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Tom

Does your friend want a laptop or a desktop? If it's a desktop, does
s/he have a monitor already?

It's really hard to recommend anything based on the limited
information.

So, taking what little I have, here's my recommendation:

- Latitude D530 with XP Pro.

If it's going to be for work purposes, and if you are going to help
her with it, I'd stick with XP for the OS. That way you'll be able to
help and she will have the most compatible OS.

The Latitude can be bought off the Small Business division Dell
website. Be sure to check out the outlet at outlet.dell.com.

After the end of June XP may not be available on new systems although
Microsoft may change that.
From: Christopher Muto on 4 May 2008 23:22
"Tom" <yahoo(a)earthlink.com> wrote in message
news:D8sTj.26702$Bb3.19642(a)trnddc01...
>
> "Christopher Muto" <muto(a)worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> news:db6dnSR_2pY0o4PVnZ2dnUVZ_jqdnZ2d(a)earthlink.com...
>>i think you should start by having your friend ask her company exactly
>>what they expect him/her to learn/know. knowing the necessary
>>applications dictates the platform (operating system) and that in turn
>>dictates the hardware to buy. if they want him/her to work from home it
>>may be irrelevant what kind of computer he/she has as they may just have a
>>remote desktop session to the office computer (which works from windows,
>>mac os, or linux). and for a complete novice that lives near an apple
>>store i don't think you can beat going with their products. a newbie can
>>start by attending their training seminars for free and then sign up for
>>their $100 one on one training program which provides you with a total of
>>52 one hours weekly one on one sessions with one of their tutors at their
>>store - for just $100. i don't know how good a friend you are of this
>>person but they may end up not being as easy to work with as you might
>>think... great to leave it to a paid tutor.
>
> Good points. She lives in Florida and I live in the mid atlantic area.
> Her boyfriend has a PC. I considred a Mac but don't it's the right thing
> to do at this time.
> She is a physical therapist and will need to enter progress notes and
> such. I don't believe
> remote access is an issue right now.
>
> Tom
>

you need to find out exactly what she needs a computer for otherwise it is
impossible for anyone to make a good recomendation as to what she should
buy. given what you said she may only need a web browser to do the data
entry that you mention into the company web site. now is the time to ask
questions, not after something is purchased. weather mac or pc you can
install free logmein.com host software on her computer so that you can log
on and assist her remotely.


From: Hank Arnold (MVP) on 5 May 2008 05:25
Tom wrote:
> "Rich/rerat" <rrr_news(a)isp.com> wrote in message
> news:_4CdncMPNvbEtoPVnZ2dnUVZ_jydnZ2d(a)comcast.com...
>> Tom,
>> You might want to look under the Small business Dell Outlet for the Dell�
>> OptiPlex� 7xx Series w/XP Pro, with a Vista Business Licence. Several are
>> listed in the $300 to $500 range, and then go over to the monitor section
>> in
>> the Outlook store, 19 in Flat monitors for approximately $200.Extra memory
>> and HDD capacity can be added later if needed. If planning to use the
>> Vista
>> software, I recommend that the PC have at least 2Gb of RAM installed.
>>
>> I recommend the Outlet store, since they items usually come with a 2 or 3
>> yr
>> warranty built into the price. You only need to add the accidental care
>> option (I personally think worth it) for a few bucks more.
>>
>> When ordering just use Friend's Name Co., when filling out the order form.
>> --
>
> Thanks Rich but i don't want to use VISTA rught now.
> I'll check out the small business outlet.
> Tom
>
>

He wasn't recommending Vista. When you get Vista Business or Ultimate,
you can buy a "downgrade" license. You pay for the Vista license, but
they install XP on the machine. You get both XP and Vista CDs and you
can "upgrade" later (if you want to).

--

Regards,
Hank Arnold
Microsoft MVP
Windows Server - Directory Services
From: Tom on 5 May 2008 19:10

"Christopher Muto" <muto(a)worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:a86dndbX-o3o4IPVnZ2dnUVZ_tyknZ2d(a)earthlink.com...
> "Tom" <yahoo(a)earthlink.com> wrote in message
> news:D8sTj.26702$Bb3.19642(a)trnddc01...
>>

>>
>> Good points. She lives in Florida and I live in the mid atlantic area.
>> Her boyfriend has a PC. I considred a Mac but don't it's the right thing
>> to do at this time.
>> She is a physical therapist and will need to enter progress notes and
>> such. I don't believe
>> remote access is an issue right now.
>>
>> Tom
>>
>
> you need to find out exactly what she needs a computer for otherwise it is
> impossible for anyone to make a good recomendation as to what she should
> buy. given what you said she may only need a web browser to do the data
> entry that you mention into the company web site. now is the time to ask
> questions, not after something is purchased. weather mac or pc you can
> install free logmein.com host software on her computer so that you can log
> on and assist her remotely.

No remote access from this PC. It'll be used for web browsing, Word
documents, copying photos from camera.
I like to buy more PC than is needed. I plan to used remote desktop and
maybe remote acce4ss to access the PC. I'll check out logein.com.


>


From: Christopher Muto on 5 May 2008 20:08
"Tom" <yahoo(a)earthlink.com> wrote in message
news:ItMTj.5115$sp.4865(a)trnddc02...
>
> "Christopher Muto" <muto(a)worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> news:a86dndbX-o3o4IPVnZ2dnUVZ_tyknZ2d(a)earthlink.com...
>> "Tom" <yahoo(a)earthlink.com> wrote in message
>> news:D8sTj.26702$Bb3.19642(a)trnddc01...
>>>
>
>>>
>>> Good points. She lives in Florida and I live in the mid atlantic area.
>>> Her boyfriend has a PC. I considred a Mac but don't it's the right
>>> thing to do at this time.
>>> She is a physical therapist and will need to enter progress notes and
>>> such. I don't believe
>>> remote access is an issue right now.
>>>
>>> Tom
>>>
>>
>> you need to find out exactly what she needs a computer for otherwise it
>> is impossible for anyone to make a good recomendation as to what she
>> should buy. given what you said she may only need a web browser to do
>> the data entry that you mention into the company web site. now is the
>> time to ask questions, not after something is purchased. weather mac or
>> pc you can install free logmein.com host software on her computer so that
>> you can log on and assist her remotely.
>
> No remote access from this PC. It'll be used for web browsing, Word
> documents, copying photos from camera.
> I like to buy more PC than is needed. I plan to used remote desktop and
> maybe remote acce4ss to access the PC. I'll check out logein.com.
>

never heard of the remote access you mention, but nothing beats free
logmein.com for the occasional support call. their are snappier methods for
remote access but they cost you or are too complicated to configure when it
is only to be used occasionally. next it to see if she is near an apple
store and if she is then i strongly suggest looking into them because of the
inexpensive one-on-one training available from them (not sure how the majors
are going to come up with an answer to this formidable advantage). nothing
handles photos like a mac. it is spectacular. vista tried to copy it and
came up short. otherwise use the photo management application that came
with the camera. as for dells, i like the suggestion of a basic optiplex
330 that stew suggested, but be sure to upgrade it with an dvdrw.


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