FlyingJ 0 #1 July 17, 2006 Currently I have two options for internet access. I can go to the public library to use a computer where I normally have to wait an hour or more for a 30 minute time slot, or I can use a dial up connection in the horse barn next to where my rv is parked in the state park that I live on. The latter option is a connection at 14.4 if it's blazing, and it's also a state owned computer which means I could technically get fired for using it for personal reasons. So, I need a freakin laptop!!! It would allow me to use any of the several hotspots very close to where I live. My question to you all...does anyone have experience with any companies that sell older refurbised units for cheap? I'm a full time volunteer for another 6 months so you can imagine the kind of budget I'm working with. Two people close to me have had bad experiences with laptops from eBay so I was kind of hoping that there might be a place out there selling old refurbised stuff with some type of guarantee that it will at least work when it arrives! I'm not looking for much. I was perfectly happy with my old PII 233 that died about a year ago. I've done some internet searches but so much garbage comes up I am hoping someone might have had personal experience. Anyone have any suggestions? Best, jason.Killing threads since 2004. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hawkins121 0 #2 July 17, 2006 buy a used laptop off craigslist for $300 or so.... Or buy a new dell for 650... The refurb prices from most manufacturers arent worth it IMO. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freefalle 0 #3 July 17, 2006 I bought my lap top less than a year ago from best buy, Its not the "top of the line" but I dont need that, I use mine for photo editing, writing school papers and connecting to the net. I paid about 400 dollars for it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
missg8tordivr 0 #4 July 17, 2006 I need a new one! This one weights about a ton. Need to get a top-of-the-line notebook or something....for lighter traveling! *** F LORIDA! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingJ 0 #5 July 17, 2006 Thanks for the craigslist suggestion. I bought and sold like crazy from craigslist when I lived in NYC. I'm not sure that I've ever seen what the site is like where I moved down in Florida. I agree about the manufacturer refurbs. I'm thinking more along the line of the type of place someone on here might have around the corner from them that sells records, restrings tennis rackets and on the side fixes up and sells old laptops for a few bucks. We'll see how that search goes! Thanks freefall - I'll have to check bestbuy. I didn't realize they sold anything that cheap. Honestly even that is out of my range, but can't hurt to look. I'm thinking along the lines of the kind of stuff the seller's best friend is going to say "you mean someone actually bought that thing?"Killing threads since 2004. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingJ 0 #6 July 17, 2006 QuoteI need a new one! This one weights about a ton. Need to get a top-of-the-line notebook or something....for lighter traveling! That's a really great idea. Time to go out and get something new a flashy and sell off your old one real cheap! Killing threads since 2004. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
missg8tordivr 0 #7 July 17, 2006 Well old one belongs to the job...so, can't sell it, maybe I can get them to buy me a new one. I keep looking on Slick Deal to see if something comes up. I hear they have some good deals sometimes. edit to fix site ....again*** F LORIDA! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingJ 0 #8 July 17, 2006 QuoteWell old one belongs to the job... Oy...isn't that always the case? Seems like you've got the perfect opportunity and then work messes it up!?!? hehe... Just trying to check the Slick Deal website crashed my dial up connection. I'll have to look at that one the next time I'm online at the library. Thankfully dz.com works pretty well because it is all text - just can't open many attachments, which is probably a good thing. Killing threads since 2004. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #9 July 17, 2006 I'd suggest financing a new macBook. Intel based processor, so you can run both MacOS and Windows, comes with pretty much all the mac software you'd need, very reliable, great tech support, and, if you buy AppleCare, a 3 year pretty much anything goes (including spilling grape jelly in your keyboard) warranty. $26 a month if you finance it. $1099 if you buy it outright, or $1049 if you're a student. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingJ 0 #10 July 18, 2006 Well, I went against my original feeling of staying away from eBay for a computer and just won an auction to pick up a laptop for $70. The kind of messed up thing about it is that the computer is the exact same make/model/memory, etc. as one that I bought in 1999 on eBay for $700. Wow how things change! It also means that a few of my additions to the old computer should work just fine! Thankfully I was perfectly happy with the computer up until the day the hard drive and power source died simultaneous ugly deaths about a year ago. Oh, and it's cheap enough that I can just spend the next week and a half riding my bike to work instead of paying for gas to drive and I won't know the difference at the end of the month! Killing threads since 2004. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
