Ugh, we bought a new Dell in December. First off...

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was a piece of junk, so I'm not the one to ask if you should buy a Dell.   I'd get at least double that processor speed.  My computer is about 10 months old and I have 5 times that, which means that there is probably something faster out now, or soon will be.  It is more than I need for work, but I also use computer to download music/pictures, and a bunch of other stuff.   The Dell I had had 650 mHz and it was slow and that was almost 6 years ago.   You may have to customize anyway to get XP unless you buy one previously owned, which you can also buy from Dell.   It is always a good idea to buy bigger than you need currently just to allow for updates to any software or new software you may add.    You need to also think about tech support.  I know Dell has tech support in India, which can be extremely frustrating.  I don't know that other computer companies don't offshore their tech support, but that would be a question I would ask and find out if there is a locally authorized dealer to handle warranty repairs or if you need to send off the computer.    I would not recommend a Gateway computer and I would not recommend any computer that has a Celeron processor.   They tend to be in all the lower end computers. 

It was used when I bought it and I want to make sure that I have everything I need to work from home on it.  The PC I'm on now will be going back to the hospital.  It is a Dell Latitude.  It has a Pentium IV processor, 512 mg of RAM, 40 gig hard drive, wireless internet plus ethernet card, Windows 2000.  Will that laptop suffice for working from home?  I assume it will, but I just want to make sure before I starting applying places.

Thanks!   

fixed under warranty. I guess you Fed Ex it back and wait on it. Can you tell me how this went please.

Make sure you get the extended warranty, again, MAKE SURE YOU GET THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. And, here is why.

My first laptop went out on my, though it was a couple of years old.  Because I had the extended warranty, a service tech came to my house, replaced motherboard, hard drive, heat sink, and keyboard.  He was able to back up everything first and restored it once all the new stuff was in place. 

One of my PCs kept giving some weird blue screen error and I couldn't get to go even in safe mode. I called up Dell, told them the problem, they looked up my extended warranty and they sent someone out to repair it.

Overall, I have been happy with Dell products.  The only drag is that everything Dell sells regarding accessories is proprietary and you have to order it through Dell.  No generic accessories will work.  My suggestion is if you decide to buy a Dell laptop, make sure you get the car power supply and you might even get a 2nd regular power supply because I have been known to leave town and forget the power supply at the house.  Now, I have everything in my laptop bag for when I go out of town and can just throw my laptop in the bag and know everything is there.

Lastly, some Dell laptops require a special aircard to connect to the internet.  I ended up getting a 2 cabled USB air card and I'm glad I did because 2 USB plug ins give better reception than one.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. I'm happy to help.

The best days to go are December 18 to December 23rd.  We went to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure on December 21 this year because they gave us discount passes for that week.  There were no crowds at all.  We walked on all the rides.  I think our longest wait was 20 minutes for Spiderman.  The lines were so short that we were able to go on all the rides at both parks, several of them 2 to 3 times each, and we were pretty much done by 3:00.  I asked one of the workers there, and she said that week was the slowest of the year, but that December 24 to Jan 1 is usually very crowded. 

If you decide to go, my kids and I actually prefer Universal/Islands of Adventure over the Disney parks.  We like the rides better, and it is a lot cheaper.  I also like the fact that you can bring one of those big sipper cups in those parks, they will let you refill it for $1.25.  They also let you bring food in the park.  I usually bring PB&J sandwiches and our sipper cups, and then we only purchase dinner in the park. 

Anyone who's from Florida or has been there knows the rates for EVERYTHING go shooting through the sky come the season, which is the week before Thanksgiving through week after Easter.

Granted, the weather's beautiful in December, but you WILL pay for it if you go to Disney, make no mistake..... 

I liked using the CMT Review Guide and the CD that comes with it.  It's very similar to the real test. 

Good luck!!!!

seems like it was just yesterday!  So, so senseless.  Hard to believe Sean's 30 already.  Man, this makes me feel my age!! 

What's your favorite song he wrote?  Mine's "Imagine."  Absolutely love it...always have, always will 

I have LOTS of peripherals on both my laptop and desktop Dells and they certainly didn't come from Dell. You've been misinformed.

I love my Dells.

My computer is an Inspiron 5150... it ran about $1200 and I have had it going on 3 years  now.  Probably more computer than I needed, but I figure if you can afford it  try to get the best, especially since I use it mainly for work and got a tax write off for it. Mine has a CD burner and other stuff which I probably could have done without, but I have been very happy with it.

Dell has been a lemon, no problems with HP.  I do not have a docking station, not really needed unless you plan on moving the laptop a lot without using any of the peripherals such as foot pedal, external keyboard.

Just about any laptop you buy off the shelf will have 256 RAM, I would recommend more if available.  I have a 15" screen, which is pretty standard, although I have seen some with I think 17" screen.   I have a serial port, game port, and USB port.  These are pretty standard too, but you can get adapters for any of these if your computer doesn't have them.

I don't understand why laptops confuse people.  They perform all the same functions as a desktop, come with the same options, just in a smaller package.