OT--slightly anyway, what gives with used laptops

[Charlie Self]

I've got time yet. Helluva lot more of that than money. I don't need the machine this year, even, but need to have it ready to go about February or March.

I don't need a 15" screen, either, which is why I'm looking at used laptops, but there's no way I'm paying 65% of new prices for a machine that has to be 3 years old. And that seems to be what a great many of the used sellers are asking.

As I said, I haven't had time to check locally, but I'm positive that within a dozen miles, there's only one such store (there's one in Bedford and it's a dozen miles from my house to there).

Charlie Self "I have always felt that a politician is to be judged by the animosities he excites among his opponents." Sir Winston Churchill

[patrick conroy]

[ big :) ]

[Jay]

Charlie,

You might want to consider using a TV instead. My sony camera outputs to a TV using a 3.5" walkman type plug on one end and RCA plugs on the other. Check your manual, you might be able to do the same.

Jay

[mp]

A lot of the used notebooks for sale are refurbished off-lease units, usually 2 or 3 years old. My company (reluctantly) sells these from time to time, but at prices 1/3 to 1/2 less than you've quoted. I don't know how much shopping around you've done but you should be able to do much better.

One thing to keep in mind is that used notebooks typically come with a 30 or

90 only warranty, and a battery that is near the end of it's lifecycle. If you have the need for more than a half hour or so of battery run time you'll need to spend a couple of bills on a replacement battery, which may be tough to source.

With new notebooks so cheap these days it doesn't make much sense to buy used unless you can get an exceptional deal. Even then, when you add up the cost of a replacement battery and larger hard drive, you're in the ballpark of a new unit anyway (which gives you a bigger screen, much faster processor and graphics, more ram, better battery life, and a longer warranty).

[Steve Knight]

O

what may work for you is a PDA. you can view pics on it and keep it in your pocket. the only hard part is matching it to the camera memory. what memory does the camera use?

[patriarch]

[e-mail] (Charlie Self) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

The market price is what they sell for. If they didn't sell, the price would drop until they did. Otherwise, they would accumulate, and become a disposal problem, as desktop computers have become.

I believe that what you are seeing is based on folks not being up to date as to what the competitive price is on comparable new product. There may also be a surplus of 'new, but not exactly the latest' product in the supply chain.

The thing to remember is that new laptop product has approximately the shelf life of a fresh bagel, (and can't usefully be frozen.)

I've had good experience with IBM Thinkpads. They are available on similar terms to those you described from Dell. You may consider one of those as an option.

Patriarch

[patriarch]

"Swingman" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

This commment shows, I guess, how far we've come, when a desktop user feels he's a Luddite. ;-)

So, what's the proper OS for a Neander computer user? ;-)

Patriarch, who really appreciates the bigger screen on the desktop.

[Larry Blanchard]

Charlie, do you remember the "lunchbox" computers? Nobody sells them anymore, but at least a couple of years ago you could buy a case with the (small) CRT and build your own. I don't know about battery-powered, but with a converter you could plug it in to your car/truck lighter.

[Larry Blanchard]

DOS 3.1 of course.

Unless OS/MFT or Multics will fit on a desktop :-).

[WoodChuck34]

Yeah, but did you ever tried to work on a desktop on a plane. Smaller means better technology, which means more $$$$$$$.

Chuck

[BruceR]

The OS is the power tool of computers. The Neander computer provides memory for instruction/data storage and a processor that understands basic machine codes to manipulate the data according to the provided instructions. What more would a Neander need? Of course some would argue that having a processor follow your instructions and manipulate your data is akin to a power tool so the true Neander who makes his own woodworking tools should also by definition make his own processor by hand coding an FPGA or actually building a bit slice.

-BR

[Ray Aldridge]

Have you tried retrobox.com ? I recently bought a retread PC from them that's been fine, and they also carry laptops. You may have to replace the battery of any laptop that's a few years old, but they have machines that would do what you want for not too much. As an example, today I saw a PIII 650 Dell Latitude for $317 plus shipping.

[Clif]

Overhead. Dell has HUGE benefits being that they buy in bulk, mass produce, etc etc etc the small guys dont have those advantages. Sometimes they can cut great deals, but they cant match Dell.

Clif

[Swingman]

... or just load up whatever Babbage was using. :)

[Charlie Self]

Steve Knight asks:

Compact flash. That really shouldn't be a hard match. I'll have to check. You're the second one listing PDAs. I'll see if I can locate one that might be suitable for viewing and storage.

Charlie Self "I have always felt that a politician is to be judged by the animosities he excites among his opponents." Sir Winston Churchill

[Charlie Self]

Larry Blanchard asks:

Sounds familiar. My first computer was a 'portable' Kaypro 1, but that little thing weighed something like 22 pounds. I did cart it along a couple times, which may be why I wear a 36" sleeve these days.

Charlie Self "I have always felt that a politician is to be judged by the animosities he excites among his opponents." Sir Winston Churchill

[mp]

You can buy small form factor PC's these days. They're about the size of a loaf of bread. Load them up with whatever components you want, and you have an ultra quiet high-powered portable system. Customers have put them into their boats, RV's, etc.

[mp]

Abacus.

[Charlie Self]

mp responds:

Yeah, well...I really, really don't want to get into building computers again. I built something like 5. That's enough.

Charlie Self "I have always felt that a politician is to be judged by the animosities he excites among his opponents." Sir Winston Churchill

[Nate Perkins]

...

Hi Charlie,

The big companies are taking profits on the chin in the short run, in an effort to drive the competition out of business. It is pretty brutal between Dell, HP, and Gateway.

The little guys just can't compete that way; they don't have the supply chain or volume leverage and they can't afford to take the short term loss.

Cheers, Nate