Sarah81

Okay - now that I've started thinking about "laptop" and "notebook," I have a question for anyone who might be able to explain.Is there a difference, or is it just a matter of two terms describing the same thing? If there's a difference, what is it? Now that I'm wondering about it, it's going to bug me for the rest of the day! *grins*

Hehe - seems like all I've been doing since I signed up was babble about laptops. Okay. If you look at a bunch of my other, very-recent posts, you'll probably see that I've covered at least some of your question elsewhere. But just to make things easier for you, I'll hit a couple of basic points. First: what are you designing? I HATE-HATE-HATE to say it, but Macs are usually really good for graphical design. I hate to say it because I dislike Mac ... and yet here I am recommending it. But if it's what works best for you - and you can afford that outrageous investment - then check into it at least. (Yes. They *are* more expensive than IBM-compatible things like Dell, Acer, Compaq, HP, etc.) If you're going to design with graphics, video, non-HTML Web coding (for video and animation type things) .... you're probably going to be making a decent investment. So don't be too shocked if you can't find a $700 notebook that does everything that you want/need it to do. Then again, there have been some very good deals going around lately, particularly with everyone here in the US going back to school. So ... like I said, see some of my other posts, as they might actually be mildly helpful. And I'm sure that the other people who reply to your post will have lots of great advice.

Freeware has *really* gone down the tubes in the last few years. I used to have no problem getting free programs - and I *loved* the "guiltware" concept that some programmers came up with. (They asked you to donate to a charity or foundation of their choice - and they often gave you several options - if you felt bad about getting a good program for free.) However: now there's so much spyware and adware packaged with so many of the "free" programs that I tend to avoid them unless it's absolutely necessary. Example: I thought it would be sweet to have a Kill Bill desktop theme, so I Googled for one. I kept running into this seemingly *great* theme (XP user here) from this one guy. It was all over the Internet ... looked really awesome from the screen shots, etc. I tried installing it and was given a message stating that an adbar would be included "to help keep it free." I canceled the installation and deleted the file, then went back to the site and gave it a bad rating. I mean ... seriously ... if someone wants to get something in return for creating desktop themes, set up a site that requires us to <- snipped -> banners before we're taken to the download screen. Or charge us a buck apiece through PayPal. Or just put ads up on the page. Or something. But dumping spy/adware into programs ... really ... really ... stinks. And that's my tangent for today. }

Hmm ... I don't know much about Wicca even though I once dated a guy who was Wiccan. (I learned a few things about his take on it - and I say "his take" because I realize that, like any other belief / religion / faith, it's adapted to a degree for each one of us personally.)Also ... as for the part in your post about Wicca offering more freedom than Christianity: I have to politely disagree. I'm a Christian, but I could be anything (feminist, buddhist, insert your own preference here, etc.) and still have as much freedom within that "definition" as I am willing to take for myself. In other words: just because a bunch of dead white guys started my religion and still try to control it, at least here in America, doesn't mean that I have to go along with whatever it is that they're currently babbling about (I'm talking to YOU Pat Robertson and 700 Club in general).And if I don't stop there, I'll go on a tangent or something equally absurd *smiles*

I've been kinda-sorta checking out MP3 players myself. I won't be able to get one for awhile yet, but there's nothing to stop me from narrowing down my future options *smiles* I've heard great things about Apple of course, so I would recommend that you keep looking into them. You can check out user review sites such as epinions for information from people who have actually bought and used the things. Granted, you'll find some poorly written, biased, just-plain-bad pieces, but there are some really iinformative pieces there as well. I've also heard that some Rio models have bad habits of falling apart on people - more than once, and with more than one person. I don't know if that's very common or if it's just another matter of people NOT talking when they're happy but saying plenty when they're not, but I think it merits investigation. I hope this helps a little bit.

Hey. What you are going to want depends on what you'll do with your laptop. Example: I'm a college student and freelance writer. I play video games very, very seldomly, but spend plenty of time with MS Word and other "low-rent" type apps (i.e. they don't consume RAM like high-end video cards and such do). Therefore, I didn't need a really, really, really expensive laptop. I ended up buying a Compaq M2105US last week, and it's really working out so far. You can visit the Compaq Web site and check this one out - I didn't have anything customized or upgraded, so WYSISYG for this one at least. Anyway ... to the processor, which is actually the point of all this: I'm running an AMD Mobile Sempron (2800+), which just means that A) it's AMD, which usually get a little bit better performance than Intel and I didn't get the very best AMD processor available. (If you want a REALLY good one, go with their Athlon series - more expensive but they're worth it depending on what you want them to do). Now ... because I personally don't do much high-speed type stuff (like gaming), I don't really care that this processor is of lesser quality than the Athlon line. You on the other hand might want to invest in the higher quality version. Either way, my personal recommendation is to stick with AMD. They're comparable in price to Intel in most cases but you're getting a little bit more out of them more often than not .. at least in my experience. That and I hate Intel's chimes. Maybe it's a Pavlovian sort of conditioning or something. I don't know. One more thing before I shut up: if you do lots of typing (and who doesn't?) invest in a separate keyboard. One of my geek friends swears by them for his laptop and wouldn't shut up until I ordered one. He says it's far cheaper to replace those than to have the laptop's keyboard done when you wear it out. and yes. Some of us are *very* hard on our keyboards. Poor things. I would feel for them if they didn't annoy me so much sometimes.

I haven't heard anything about those monster hard drives being available yet ... but when I had to defrag it ... I would probably sit and cry tears of unrepentant joy at how long it took.And then I would call my mother, who is also a computer nerd of sorts."Mom! Guess how long my hard drive's been defragging?""How long?""TWO DAYS!""I hate you, Sarah."

Ooo, a Splinter Cell movie! Okay, so I don't play the game (I really stink at that type of game - give me GTA or Mario Bros. hehe) ... but I watch my brother play it all the time. I think I would actually sit down and watch the movie version

No antivirus?

I *very vaguely* remember it being a big deal on network TV and such. It was weird. I didn't care. I was ... 13? Yeah - I didn't *really* start getting into computers until something like the year after that. But Windows *can't* release a new OS! I'm actually COMPLETELY HAPPY with XP! This is the first time Bill's done something that I have ZERO complaints about! Then again ... give me time ... I'm sure my balloon of optimism will explode someday.

*Note: this seemed like an appropriate place seeing as you download the iTunes program for free. Anyway: First, you can get a free iTunes code from Geico. Actually, you get three free songs. My question is: does anybody know where else I can get free iTunes codes? I also went and did the WellsFargo newsletter sign-up thing, but I can't find the URL for it anymore (sorry)! While I'm on the subject of iTunes ... I used to hate this program but when I got this laptop it was already installed. I sort of took my sweet time getting around to the uninstall-this-piece-of-junk-program point, then started finding free song codes. Lo and behold, I don't hate this program so much anymore. But I'd love to read what y'all think about it.

Welcome to the forum. I'm new too (just signed up a few hours ago - me ... need ... ad-free ... web space). Yeah. Anyway. Hi. I'm Sarah. I'm a Texan, full-time student, computer nerd (uh, but not a genius at it), writer ... I love baseball ... can't swim (I sink) ... and I am currently eating chili mac. Yum!

I noticed the validation process when my computer did updating a few days ago. It's not such a bad idea, really ... especially if there's *any* chance that it will help keep prices down, even if it's only by a few bucks.

Mine's sort of on the heavy side too (Compaq M2105), but I'm willing to lug it around if need be. If nothing else, I'll have super-strong back muscles by the end of this semester *smirk*

I definitely recommend the notebook. It's a little more expensive than a desktop, but the benefits are worth it. This is especially true if your university of choice offers wireless access. Odds are that you'll be paying for service (through tuition/fees charges) whether or not you use it (this applies to "hard" connections too), so you might as well take advantage of it.I just bought this notebook last week and can't begin to tell you how much easier it is to have around than the desktop I used the first year I was here.However, there are a few things that you might want to do. It'll take a little research, but if you can save some money on it your parents will be ever so grateful - and more willing, I'm sure, to invest in some extra stuff for the notebook.1. Check for mail-in rebates and actually use them. It can take six weeks to get 30 to 50 bucks back, but it's money that you can use for software (or your parents can use).2. Upgrade the battery if you plan on taking said notebook to classes. I'm running a 4-cell, which is what came with this notebook (Compaq M2105). Love the computer, but I'm stuck at my desk more often than not because the battery starts to *really* drain after about an hour of use.3. Visit your school's computer store. Some universities will sell you complete systems cheaper than you can get them anywhere else. Others will give you awesome deals on software. For example: I got MS Office (legally) for 20 bucks total. And an upgraded XP (to Pro) for 5 bucks. You won't know what sort of deals you can get if you don't ask, so it doesn't hurt to drop in and take a look around. 4. Make use of your student discount, even if it means that you can't buy your notebook before you leave for school. You can save a good chunk of money this way. Let's see ... I think that covers the very basics. I'd also suggest using a flash drive for data backup and adding a plug-in keyboard for when you're at your desk. Then again, maybe that's just me; I tend to go through 'boards fast (I'm a writer).Good luck with the shopping - and let us know what you end up with so that we can drool and envy *grins*P.S. Don't forget insurance coverage. You wouldn't believe some of the crazy stuff that happens to notebooks.

It was a great OS at the time. I think that I actually still have a Win95 install CD somewhere at home. I KNOW that I have Win98. Wow. I'm a nerd. My favorite part: the really smooth, awesome GUI. I'm one of those lazy PC users who loves the mouse.

Actually, I prefer DeadJournal (deadjournal.com) because it fits my darker personality a little better than LJ. It's also based on the same programming as LJ, so ... no learning curve there. The only problem is that LJ is now completely free, while DJ still requires new users to cough up a code. Which, at least in some cases, requires the user to give them money. (I got one free code to pass out to a friend after I signed up, but I had to give it to the friend who gave me her extra code so that I could sign up in the first place - what a pain in the butt).

Ahh, brings back the student-newspaper days! I was the photo editor (among other things) so I got to do cool stuff like this. Although I never *did* think about "bloody text" - very cool.