Zero or anybody else who has an opinion,
Is this any good? Wife wants one; use will be nomadic rather than mobile, photographs, internet, Microsoft Office, Skype. Little else.
www.falabella.com/falabella-cl/browse/productDetail.jsp?skuId=3597814&productId=3597814
Its about £260. ($765 = £1)
p.s. Link is in Spanish, but fairly obvious I think.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 11 Jul 13 at 21:55
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I cannot comment on the build quality but for the price you really can't go wrong. The processor is a fairly basic one, but it is still more than good enough for on demand TV and the usual internet duties.
At that price I am tempted myself!
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Its an older spec CPU/Chipset, but with good memory and HD, clearly specced as an end of line clearout. It wont be Lenovos best build, but it will be good enough and you'll get support there (drivers, warranty etc) as befits one of the top global brands.
See no reason not to buy, should meet the intended requirement admirably.
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This Lenovo is very similar specification to one we got for my daughter a few months ago:
lowest spec processor, etc.
Of the stuff we looked at it was the only one with a keyboard which works sensibly and is pleasant to use.
Build is quite good too.
The only bug bear is Windows 8. It's the only computer in living memory I've had to do research to find out how to turn it off!
I hear talk of a Windows 8.1 update which may address some of the nonsense, but I haven't been there yet.
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>>lowest spec processor, etc.
It wouldn't work for me, or the girls for that matter, but I think it'll be OK for my wife, she doesn't do anything intensive on it. (except write me "To-Do" e-mails)
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>> It wouldn't work for me, or the girls for that matter...
The one we got (as far as I know) is used primarily for writing long documents, surfing, and email - so it's good enough.
Regarding Windows 8.1, I've just been looking at the September edition of PC Pro which rattled through the letter box earlier, and it seems the start button is back again, but it needs a right click to find the shutdown option - which is probably better than the "charms bar" madness of Windows 8.
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It's not a start button like Windows before it (95, NT 4, 2000, XP, Vista and 7). It just takes you to the applications pane for the new UI... It would be better to install a third party start menu app.
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OK, I have that laptop and I quite like it, so thanks for that.
But #windows 8, what an effin nightmare. As a rule I like Microsoft, and previously I've done alright by just going with the flow. But W8 is quite clearly designed for people who have a touch screen and who have never previously used any version of Windows.
A complete effin nightmare. I hate it.
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My parents system uses Windows 8 and they just use the desktop mostly and are fine with that.
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Rat, I couldn't even tell you how many laptops I've installed over the years. Sorting this POS out for my wife is doing my head in.
I'm pretty much sure I'm going to init the disk and stick W7 on it.
I'd be chucking this thing in your lap so fast if you were close enough.
*$&%&%^&%^!!!!
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If you just try and forget the metro interface and make icons on the desktop etc you can escape the hell.
Or have a look at this
www.classicshell.net/
A few similar alternatives exist too.
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How Microsoft convinced themselves that the interface 'improvement' in Windows 8 was good baffles me. Plenty of feedback long before it was released... even with touch it's not that intuitive with the stupid charms menu.
Before sticking on Windows 7, take a look at third party start menu applications.
With Windows 8, it shows Microsoft really has lost the plot with Steve Balmer in charge.
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I entirely agree.
Surely they let a few "normal" people use this before releasing it? Because I would have thought just about anybody would have given them some fairly strong feedback.
Anyway, I'm off snowboarding and will get back tot his tomorrow.
I need to vent some frustration.
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>> A complete effin nightmare. I hate it.
Did warn you, but would you listen? oh no. Now go back, slap your daughter, and tell her "Uncle Zero is right"
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I downloaded the preview for Windows 8.... installed it, used it for maybe 5-10 minutes and then left it at that. It's not even a decent interface for a touch enabled laptop/desktop because there are two totally different UI paradigms going on.
Some fool at Microsoft thought taking what is a fairly good UI on Windows phone and bolting it alongside the usual desktop. Then thinking... oh we'll have to get rid of that start menu now... At least as a visual cue, the update to Windows 8 put in a start button.
Some of the rubbish design elements of Windows 8 are in Windows Server 2012. Which is crazy because how many servers have touch enabled displays. Took a few moments to work out the easy way to shutdown or reboot a Windows Server 2012 install.
There will be many saying fewer PC sales is down to tablets... but Windows 8 will also be to blame. In fact some might have got a tablet instead of a new Windows 8 laptop because Windows 8 is so bad in terms of user interface.
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>> There will be many saying fewer PC sales is down to tablets...
It is, 100% and its been seen coming for a while, you cant blame windows 8.
>>but Windows 8
>> will also be to blame.
>> In fact some might have got a tablet instead of
>> a new Windows 8 laptop
Windows 8 was the attempt to see the tablet threat off, and confuse people into thinking they would get a tablet experience with a PC when they saw it at PC world.
>> because Windows 8 is so bad in terms of user
>> interface.
Its a good interface for a tablet, it works wonderfully well on the windows phone, and should be good on a tablet, except no-one has made a good thin ipad type tablet for it, and the base os wasnt designed for good thin tablet hardware.
MS can not stop thinking "windows" its all they know and they havent got the bottle or the talent to start with something new, so you end up with this windows "hybrid" called 8
MS have never ever done light or mobile well. they just dont get it.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 19 Jul 13 at 15:41
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which part of
>> See no reason not to buy, should meet the intended requirement admirably.
was this?
>> Did warn you, but would you listen? oh no. Now go back, slap your daughter, and tell her "Uncle Zero is right"
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My requirement was driving him round the bend.
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If Microsoft had replace the entire UI with this new Metro thingy, then I'd assume I was behind the times and persist with it.
But actually, from a UI point of view, it only replaces the "Start" button. Because insofar as running programs are concerned you're back to good old explorer, just without the Start button.
Its Microsoft trying to be Apple. They're better at being Microsoft and should have stuck at it.
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Some applications don't run on the old desktop - the newer 'Metro' apps run full screen from the start pane. Or that's how I understand it because I didn't install any apps when I tried it.
I still don't think a touch UI works for a desktop or a laptop. It works for a tablet and phone because you have to hold those to use them.
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It works [sic] pretty much as the existing interface on the children's XBox does. And that's horrible too.
I think its horrible, but having thought about it for a while I doubt there's any point in trying to hang on to the past. W8 for all its horror will be the Os that we need to use at some point. So, it might as well start now and lets hope the various updates sort it out somehow.
However, mine's staying on W7 for as long as possible.
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If you install a third party start menu, it's pretty much how you'd want it. Windows 8 under to user interface is better than Windows 7.... but then it would be.
For my main computer if it was a PC, I'd contemplate a Linux distribution to be honest. Except my main computer is a Mac... and I run Mac OS X on my PC as well (probably more powerful than any real Mac).... but it also dual boots to Windows 7 for some games.
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Interesting comment about Linux;
I was thinking of changing my own PC to Linux, or at least trying it.
However, when I try to install Ubuntu for dual boot it refuses to acknowledge that there is already a windows installation.
Looking into that it would appear to be an issue with my disk caused by the fact that it has previously been used in an Apple.
It would seem that the obvious thing to do is to swap the disk, but I haven't the energy for that at the moment.
I could find no way of manually forcing the installation to not overwrite the Windows partition so I gave up for the time being.
Any thoughts/recommendations?
I'm just about to Google for a TP Start Menu. Before I do, any recommendations?
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I can't recommend any TP start menus because I've not gone down the Windows 8 route. With XP in support until next year I think I'll stick with Windows 7 for a bit for games. And by that time most of the games will be available on a Linux system too.
Going back to the disk issue... stick an SSD in the system and try using that. Select boot drive via the system/BIOS options on too. You'll then realise you want an SSD for the system drive - assuming it's not already an SSD.
My "PC" has a drive for Windows 7 and another for Mac OS X 10.8... both were originally hard drives but I cloned them to SSDs a few months ago. And they are faster. Boot times for Windows 7 is much faster than hibernation before.
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>> Interesting comment about Linux;
>>
>> I was thinking of changing my own PC to Linux, or at least trying it.
>
Its still a POS. I have a spare sandpit machine that I use, and regularly install the next greatest distro, and they still look unpolished and always hit the 'ah you'll need to something techy with the kernel to do that" phase.
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Laptop Spec - Any good? - RattleandSmoke
