Laptop for the old girl?

[ytrebil]

Has anyone got/used one of those Asus Eee PC's? I want to get a compact laptop for my mum. It will mainly be used for basic office apps, the internet and e-mail.

Obviously not too pricey as it's just going to be a surprise gift for her.

Thanks in advance.

[Greedydog]

I've got a couple of the Asus 701 EEE's and to be honest I wouldn't recommmend them for anything other than VERY basic stuff and due to the small size they are a bit fiddly to use.

The standard ones are Linux based so it's a bit problematic to get more software on them (and before I get pilloried by Linux fans I know there's lots of software available etc. etc. but I'm assuming the OP's mum wants something that is as easy as possible) although they do allow most basic functionality without further upgrading. Having said that I installed XP onto one of mine and it runs quite happily so it is possible to add Windows software.

Personally I go for something slightly bigger, I also have a MSI Wind something or other that I paid about £275 a few months ago which has a larger screen than the 701 EEE's that I've been talking about (there are bigger ones now)... have a peek at Expansys, they have a number of ultra mobile PC's, then shop around to see if anywhere does them cheaper!

GD

[PJR]

A couple of years ago my mother got a Macbook when they were £800.. She was a complete and utter technophobe then, as she'd never really used any computer before (In fact she still cant work the TV in the livingroom) and she was very wary about blowing £800 on something she might not even like or use much...
Shes never off the damn thing now Must spend more hours on the net than I do... Now shes eyeing up the latest metal Macbooks, despite the fact it wont offer her any real benefit above what shes got already. She just likes how they look better.

Anyway, im not especially suggesting a Macbook.. I only suggested one for my mother as im more familiar with Macs personally, so if she had a problem then I could help out easier. I just found it interesting how a modest laptop transformed my mother from complete technophone into hardcore silver surfer

P,

[cyberface]

How nimble are her fingers? Obviously depends on her age (no idea how old you are) but if she's a bit slow and she's got any age-related arthritis etc. then I'd strongly advise against one of the small Eees. I've had a 701 and currently have a 900 - the keyboard is very small and it's tricky to type on. And I've got very small hands, very nimble fingers and spend most of my time on a keyboard. My Mum wouldn't have a hope in hell of operating an Eee.

The MSI Wind has a decent keyboard for a netbook, and is surprisingly powerful all things considered (you can bung 2 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard disk in, if you really fancy). However the achilles heel of the Wind is the tiny trackpad. It's simply too small for comfortable use - I know I'm used to Apple laptops and their huge iPhone-sized trackpads but the Wind is too small. Again this would be a pain for an older person unless she's going to always have a nice large mouse connected to it. Definitely worth considering.

The Apple laptops are ergonomically superb, with large, easy to use trackpads, comfortable keyboards, and crucially they all have a specific dpi display - Apple don't like the high-res laptop panels that are damn difficult for people with poor sight to use. OS X is nice and easy to use as well, I know I always recommend Apple kit but there's a reason in this case.

Otherwise I'd ensure you get a large but low-res screen (the high-res screens will be uncomfortable for older eyes) and an external mouse. Any operating system will do the job - however if you choose a Windows OS then make sure it's stacked up with anti-malware and you're prepared to regularly make sure it's up to date with patches, unless she's clued up with IT security then this will probably got forgotten until it's too late and you have to rebuild the thing...

The 'Netbook Remix' GUI on Linux is quite cool - very easy to use and not too detailed / tiny widgets etc. If you're not interested in Apple then an MSI Wind running Linux with an external mouse would work well.

[ytrebil]

Thanks guys. She's 'only' 49 but is a young 49 - well as young as one could be! She keeps nicking my laptop (Dell Vostro 1500). Arthritis etc isn't an issue and she used to be a secretary many moons ago so has pretty good typing skills.

Really the important issues are boot up times, clear screen and compact size (small and light) so she can take it into work with her. She only uses it for surfing the web and e-mails as mentioned.

I very much doubt she will use a mouse attached to it. So it's getting a good balance between size/weight and a decent/clear screen and mouse & keyboard.

[cyberface]

Ultimate option would be the Macbook Air. It's very light, very portable, battery lasts ages, has a superb screen and a huge trackpad. Excellent ergonomics. Of course, it's not cheap

If she's not going to want an external mouse then seriously consider the laptop trackpad. Some are too small for me to happily use them in a heavily mouse-driven GUI (the MSI Wind, for example, has a trackpad the size of 6 postage stamps. It's not enough). The Asus Eee 900 trackpad is big enough to be comfortable but the keyboard is very small. But with a big battery, the portability is superb. Mine lasts 7 hours or so, is solid state so can easily be thrown in a bag.

[plastik]

try this, an ibook for £250 ish not a bad price and the comany is good i used them several times before. a cheaper option

http://www.pcagain.biz/ProductDetails.aspx?product...

[cyberface]

plastik said:

try this, an ibook for £250 ish not a bad price and the comany is good i used them several times before. a cheaper option

http://www.pcagain.biz/ProductDetails.aspx?product...

iBooks are a good call, any of the old Apple machines are good but if she's going to be doing Office app work then you really need to sling more RAM in there. MS Office for the Mac works reasonably well but it is a huge RAM hog. One gig minimum IME.

Given the cheapness of RAM, you may as well max out the RAM in any second hand laptop you buy... makes a huge difference to Macs in particular (more so than on Windows pre Vista, can't speak for Vista) due to the OS architecture.

[Jeux]

have been looking at these recently for the OH. seem a reasonable price and the screen isnt 'too' small.

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?quicklinx=58Q...