Buying for Elderly Relative: Another Laptop Thread

Leskanic's Thread

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So here's the scenario: my 92 year old grandmother needs a new laptop. She has a Toshiba from sometime around 2005/2006 that is on its last legs.  She only uses it for email, light interneting, collecting photographs/images, and messing around formatting letters in Word.  I want to buy her a replacement, but am hoping to find a new one that will be simple enough for her to transition to from her old one. More specifically, is there a way to get a new computer that easily clones the Windows XP or ME experience?
 
I searched around trying to find an old thread to answer this, but couldn't quite find it.  I see that the general answer here for cheap new laptops is to get a Dell (despite potential customer service issues) or Lenovos.  But the biggest concern for me is trying to replicate the Windows experience she is used to.  Since I'm part of the Macbook sellouts, I'm way out of touch with current Windows/PC devices.  But I know she won't want one that has a touchscreen interface that looks like an Xbox menu.  This is a woman who resisted getting a new phone with working voicemail for years just because she was used to her old, broken microcassette answering machine.
 
Any ideas?
 

soxhop411

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In all honesty, its really hard to get a new comuter with XP. I would see if anyone is selling one on craiglist. Other then that, you could buy a new/used one and erase the current OS (most likely windows 7 or 8) and install XP I believe   
 

Leskanic's Thread

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NortheasternPJ said:
I think you can just use the windows 7 classic theme.
 
This sounds like what I'd want. But I've been out of the Windows game for a while -- how do you get this theme?  Is this standard on Windows 8 machines?  And is 7 similar enough to the early/mid-2000s interface to soothe a fussy older lady's mind?
 

Marceline

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Leskanic's_Thread said:
 
This sounds like what I'd want. But I've been out of the Windows game for a while -- how do you get this theme?  Is this standard on Windows 8 machines?  And is 7 similar enough to the early/mid-2000s interface to soothe a fussy older lady's mind?
You can pretty much exactly replicate the old win xp type setup on Windows 8 now - I've forgotten the name of the program, but Couperin has posted about it numerous times and should be in this thread shortly to remind us. Or you could go searching through some of the old threads.

Bottom line though is even on a brand new win 8 machine, you can make it look and feel the same as what she is used to for the most part.
 

cgori

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Classic Power Shell is the program to win7-ify win8.  It's great.  I don't know how to XP-ify the look from there, but I'm sure it's possible.
 
You might look (briefly) into a Chromebook.  For the uses described it might be ideal (if Google Docs word-processor is suitable).
 

Orange Julia

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Is there no way to upgrade the laptop she has now, to keep disruption to an absolute minimum?
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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Orange Julia said:
Is there no way to upgrade the laptop she has now, to keep disruption to an absolute minimum?
 
Indeed, a Solid State Hard Drive can do wonders for a vintage machine. I put one in a c. 2006 Thinkpad T-series Dual-Core and it performs almost as well as more recent machines on most tasks (the one exception is graphics-heavy stuff).
 

Couperin47

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Re: Classic Shell, which is free and incredibly good and stable. http://www.classicshell.net/
It can make any version of Win 7 look, feel and act exactly like XP. In Win 8 or 8.1 it can come close, but not exactly (the fonts and themes required to mimic XP exactly simply don't exist in 8) also some basic utilities..like the File Manager are basically so different you can't make them mimic XP, but this can be remedied via existing replacements like the free Explorer++.
 

Couperin47

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The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa said:
 
Indeed, a Solid State Hard Drive can do wonders for a vintage machine. I put one in a c. 2006 Thinkpad T-series Dual-Core and it performs almost as well as more recent machines on most tasks (the one exception is graphics-heavy stuff).
 
The problem is a Toshiba laptop from 2005 doesn't use a Sata interface for the HD, it uses an ide interface and modern ide (PATA) SSD drives are as rare as hen's teeth.  I see Transcend 64 Gig and 128 Gig models at Newegg, at inflated prices ($180 of the 128 Gig). Toshibas of that age also probably are having keyboard, touchpad and even screen issues by now.
 

Over Guapo Grande

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Looking for a homeschooling laptop. Exclusive for school (Currently Grade 7), looking to last a few years.  Hoping to stay < $300.  Any thoughts/hopes/dreams?    
 

IpswichSox

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My kids, 14 and 12, are entering high school and middle school next month and need their own computers. For the last couple of years, they've shared a six-year-old Dell that I previously used for work and had turned into a family laptop. But now they really need their own machines. Still, their needs are similar to the grandmother in the OP: Mostly a browser and Word, maybe Excel for the HS freshman.
 
A friend suggested getting a MacBook Air or Surface Prop 3, but I think I'm going to do the $326 Levovos that Coup referenced above. An Air would give the kids capacity they don't currently need, and when they inevitably drop the laptop down the stairs, I'll be less pissed replacing a $326 laptop than a $1k laptop.
 
Any flaw in my thinking or other recommendations for the kids?
 

Leskanic's Thread

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A bit late in replying, but wanted to thank everyone for the help.  Grabbed one of the Lenovo's that Couper linked up above, and will throw the Classic Shell on it before giving it to her.  This was a great help, so thanks again.
 

derekson

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IpswichSox said:
My kids, 14 and 12, are entering high school and middle school next month and need their own computers. For the last couple of years, they've shared a six-year-old Dell that I previously used for work and had turned into a family laptop. But now they really need their own machines. Still, their needs are similar to the grandmother in the OP: Mostly a browser and Word, maybe Excel for the HS freshman.
 
A friend suggested getting a MacBook Air or Surface Prop 3, but I think I'm going to do the $326 Levovos that Coup referenced above. An Air would give the kids capacity they don't currently need, and when they inevitably drop the laptop down the stairs, I'll be less pissed replacing a $326 laptop than a $1k laptop.
 
Any flaw in my thinking or other recommendations for the kids?
 
Have you considered possibly getting iPads with keyboard case/covers for typing the reports etc? It may or may not be a better solution but it's probably at least worth considering as a point of comparison.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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My kids, 14 and 12, are entering high school and middle school next month and need their own computers. For the last couple of years, they've shared a six-year-old Dell that I previously used for work and had turned into a family laptop. But now they really need their own machines. Still, their needs are similar to the grandmother in the OP: Mostly a browser and Word, maybe Excel for the HS freshman.
 
A friend suggested getting a MacBook Air or Surface Prop 3, but I think I'm going to do the $326 Levovos that Coup referenced above. An Air would give the kids capacity they don't currently need, and when they inevitably drop the laptop down the stairs, I'll be less pissed replacing a $326 laptop than a $1k laptop.
 
Any flaw in my thinking or other recommendations for the kids?
Your friend is nuts. If you get a SP3 or MBA, you should keep it and give your kids whatever you currently use. Unless your kids are about to work in a start-up or something like that.
 

IpswichSox

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Given the kids' ages, needs and the likelihood that the laptops will be at least somewhat abused, I ordered two of the $326 Levonos last night.  I think that's the right value balance all things considered.
 

Couperin47

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Higher end laptop
 
Thinkpad Edge E540 Intel i7 4702MQ    til 8/26    $650
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1J21W28772
 
Quad core i7 (2.2ghz)
15.6 " 1366x768 screen
4 Gig ram
500 Gb HD
DVD burner
b/g/n wifi & BT
HDMI & vga video out
trackpad & trackpoint control
fingerprint reader
6 cell battery
 
With a quad core i7 you don't get this for max battery life. Also like all E540s, you can add an M.2 2242 SSD card as a boot drive.
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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Couperin47 said:
Higher end laptop
 
Thinkpad Edge E540 Intel i7 4702MQ    til 8/26    $650
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1J21W28772
 
Quad core i7 (2.2ghz)
15.6 " 1366x768 screen
4 Gig ram
500 Gb HD
DVD burner
b/g/n wifi & BT
HDMI & vga video out
trackpad & trackpoint control
fingerprint reader
6 cell battery
 
With a quad core i7 you don't get this for max battery life. Also like all E540s, you can add an M.2 2242 SSD card as a boot drive.
 
Not that this is a bad deal, but I've been disappointed by the build quality of the Thinkpad Edge series, to me they aren't real Thinkpads, just dressed up regular Lenovos.
 

Couperin47

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The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa said:
 
Not that this is a bad deal, but I've been disappointed by the build quality of the Thinkpad Edge series, to me they aren't real Thinkpads, just dressed up regular Lenovos.
 
There have always been some who have issues with low end Thinkpads, I owned an A31 for years. It held up very well. I currently just bought an Edge  531 and my only issue with it is shared by many Thinkpads: the current state of the software/hardware being used for the virtual button touchpad.  It may not be built like a tank but it's definitely a large step above the average laptop and it has all the Thinkpad features...This is an argument akin to "Was the LaSalle truly a Cadillac ?" which pretty much nobody here will recall (it's even before my time...)
 

derekson

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The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa said:
 
Not that this is a bad deal, but I've been disappointed by the build quality of the Thinkpad Edge series, to me they aren't real Thinkpads, just dressed up regular Lenovos.
 
The 1366x768 resolution 15.6" display also seemed a bit weak for that kind of money. That's a really low resolution for a 15" screen.