Computer Problems and\or Advice 2008 to 2011

[Michael J Campbell]

Darren, Helen's advice is correct, at least a17inch monitor, and 3gigs of ram. Get a proper broadband connection and a wireless modem. BT will do you a good deal, Telephone,broadband and line rental. I have 5 computers running on a single  BT broadband connection and have no problems. Too many complications with that deal you were looking at.
I agree with your idea about Cannon, That is the brand I use.

Cheers

[David Nicholson]

Hi everyone and Happy New Year,

Maggi - even if Gerry doesn't appreciate the wink, I do.

We have decided it is time we had internet access from home so we can finally participate properly in the forum. This will also entail buying a new computer. I confess to being somewhat bewildered by the options available and wondered if any of you had views on the following:

1)   One of those ‘free’ laptop mobile broadband deals. BIG pro for me is that I can get one from the shop ready-to-go with no installation etc to worry about. Cons are manifold, firstly I’m told it is an expensive option (though over the two year contract it seems to work out about the same as buying a separate laptop and getting a broadband contract in addition), secondly the one I have tried has a very small screen which I may find frustrating when looking at pictures, thirdly I worry that it may not be powerful enough for using Photoshop etc – my old laptop crashes if I try to do much digital image work on it, and that’s with my little 3.2 MP compact camera.
2)   As above but buy a laptop to my own spec and get a separate mobile broadband deal.
3)   Get a desktop PC OR a laptop and have broadband installed in the house, possibly with a wireless router.

Luddite of  Lancashire

p.s. I’m not going to ask advice about my first digital SLR camera because the camera thread really hurt my head when I read it earlier…. Therefore I intend to go for a Canon Eos model simply because my existing lenses and accessories (from my 35mm) will be compatible.

Hi Darren, uninformed views from another Luddite. Computers are like greenhouses, go for the biggest (ie memory) that you can afford because that means less faffing about later adding memory (or replacing what you have with something else). I think £ for £ you can get a better spec desktop system cheaper than a laptop but then you are more tied to where you use it.

As far as Broadband is concerned you probably know of Web Sites where you can check the connection speed available to you on your local exchange and you are able, sometimes, to check if there are any developments pending that will make faster speeds available in the future. In actuality, in my experience, you rarely get the speed you are paying for, always slower, but there is no point in paying for a speed that your local exchange can't provide. This information will help you evaluate competing Broadband packages. Mine is from Virgin Media and is a 2Mb connection but is always much slower than that, but still significantly faster than a dial-up connection. With the bundle come free telephone calls after 1800 daily and all day weekends but still necessary to have BT line and hence line rental. When I bought it it cost £9.99 per month but I think the equivalent package is now £14.99

Hope this helps a bit.

[mark smyth]

Darren dont assume your Canon lenses will be OK for your new camera. My old ones, 7 years old, will be OK but they need a new chip according to Canon. They say send the lens in and if it's OK they will return it. If it needs  new chip they will tell you first. Around £30 for the chip.

For your new computer make sure it's at least dual core

[David Shaw]

At the back of the January 'Gardeners' World' is and add for a book - 'Computing for Seniors - it's never too late to start'. Sounds like something I need and the price is £9.95 for one copy or £17.95 for two. TWO! Why do I want TWO! Either they think I am going to throw the first one to the back of the fire in frustration or that Carol will need the second to explain to the police why I threw myself, the book and the computer to the back of the fire I think I will just save myself a tenner.

[mark smyth]

There was an ad on TV just now for a Dell computer with a quad core processor
http://www.dell.co.uk/offers

[Carol Shaw]

No dear the second copy is for me to hit you over the head with when you ask me for the umpteenth time to explain something... We both have laptops and bigger screens, mine is a Mac and David's a P.C. whilst I can get my laptop to do anything I want it to I can't work my way around his at all  

[TC]

Darren, 
You get more bang for your bucks with a PC and it can be updated down the line if required. 
I use talktalk's package for Broadband at a cost of £20.50 per month.  This gives me, (in theory), unlimited downloads, up to 8 Gb speed depending on the area I live in, (actually about 2.9 Gb), telephone line rental and free calls 24/7 to all standard UK lines - not premium rated ones.  In addition, I can call 32 international countries for free !  The last service I have never used as I have no relations living abroad.  Other suppliers offer similar packages.
I don't think the "free" laptop is a good deal - you could buy better cheaper.  Get hold of the latest computer magazine such as PC Advisor and look at their tests and pricing for computers.
When I came off BT's line rental and freeserve for internet, I saved £15 a month and got a much better service.

[Gerry Webster]

Maggi - that animation on your post 65 is truly horrible. I anticipate nightmares!.

Really, Gerry? I could post a pic of me, that would really keep you awake!
Have a stiff gin,  my little Aardvark will soon be forgotten!

I've decided to take pity on you, Gerry, is this better?

(Attachment Link)

Maggi - How thoughtful of you. I've only just seen this - far more suitable for someone of my age. I've never fancied aardvarks - a somewhat specialised taste I believe.

[mark smyth]

TC, free calls no catches? Do still have to pay for BT line rental?

[TC]

Mark

The package from talktalk is for line rental, telephone calls and Broadband.  The only calls I pay for are from numbers such as 0845 and 0870.
The only "snag" is that if the call lasts more than an hour the excess time will be charged.  All you have to do is put down the phone after an hour and redial for the free call to continue.

Check out their web site and also Google broadband suppliers which should get you to some other sites.

I had BT line rental plus one of their phone call packages and Broadband from Freeserve.  I dumped BT about 14 months ago and now pay £15 less for a better service.  However, BT may have got the message and improved their service since then.  It is always worthwhile checking on what is available as offers change frequently as suppliers vie for custom.

[ranunculus]

Hi Darren,
If the pennies allow (?) then I would VERY STRONGLY recommend an iMac (23" screen and amazing digital capacity) and a wireless Broadband connection. I adopted this set-up after advice from Alan Grainger in Kentucky and I wouldn't change it for the world.  If you decide later that a laptop is also required then a Macbook does everything that your little heart will desire.  I run hour-long Keynote lectures and presentations from my Macbook (but compiled on the iMac) straight onto a digital projector and the iMac currently stores well over 60,000 images and masses of music.
Kind regards from East Lancashire.

[johnw]

Hi Darren,
If the pennies allow (?) then I would VERY STRONGLY recommend an iMac (23" screen and amazing digital capacity) and a wireless Broadband connection.

I fully agree, this is exactly what we have, combined with Safari browser and Apple Mail it can't be beat. I dread going to work and using XP.

At home I found XP was disappearing under many layers of protection, to the point of being but a pinhole in the middle of the screen.  We decided to take the plunge to Apple about a year ago. No regrets and fantastic for photos.

johnw

[Anthony Darby]

At the back of the January 'Gardeners' World' is and add for a book - 'Computing for Seniors - it's never too late to start'. Sounds like something I need and the price is £9.95 for one copy or £17.95 for two. TWO! Why do I want TWO! Either they think I am going to throw the first one to the back of the fire in frustration or that Carol will need the second to explain to the police why I threw myself, the book and the computer to the back of the fire I think I will just save myself a tenner.

David, save yourself £17.95 and not buy 2! Then you're more than halfway to buying a decent bottle of Malt. In fact, you are almost the whole way to buying a half decent bottle of Malt!;D

[Darren]

Wow, thank you all for your advice so far. You have really helped clarify my thoughts on this issue. It looks like I may go for a good desktop and a wireless router, despite it not being the easiest option, but had not even thought about the Mac option and it looks well worth considering! Mark – thank you for your note about the Canon, my lenses are 14 years old so could be problematic, I can live with that though I’d really like to be able to use my EF25 macro extension tube which apparently is not fully compatible with some of the new digital lenses.
Maggi – I confess I bought a lovely little CD/DAB radio system then went and got a big separate turntable for the vinyl too.  I honestly even considered buying an antique wind-up gramophone for my few 78rpm records as I’ve nowt to play them on…. 

I'm away now for the weekend but will look in again monday. I'll let you know if I decide anything!

Darren.

[gote]

A few latish comments.
A desktop is most certainly more bang for the buck. It can also be upgraded with various fancy stuff such as faster graphics cards, cards that interface your old printer that needs a paralel interface, disk players for that high definition that everyone will use next year and perhaps most important secondary hard disks. The second disk on a laptop is just a second partition on the same disk so if on crashes both do.  Some good scanners require that you install a card in your computer they are not for laptop users.A desktop is also more likely to be able to run a large screen. I am now using a 1920*1200 pixels from Acer. Bare bones no Speakers not high speed. It is an enormous help since it will take two written pages or biggish pictures sidebyside or a large number of thumbnails for comparision and choices.
If you have one PC and one broadband acess why use a router?
A wireless router can be overheard unless your encryptation is good.
The broadband situation is different in different countries. Thus advice from Sweden or the US is misleading to someone in the UK.
Here in Sweden I get the same connection for broadband and cable TV. That is faster and more reliable than the wireless broadband I use when travelling with the laptop .
My Acer laptop came with wireless connection that will hook into the local wireless routers but in reality I nearly always use the wireless modem that runs from the 3G-telephone system.
Lots of memory is important if you do photographic work. The money is better spent on memory than on the highest speed CPU.
It is probably better to get the best buy in broadband and the best buy in desktop and then interface. This makes it possible to compensate when your broadband provider goes bust or increases the prices by 1000%.
Göte

The best advice is probably to visit people who already have made their mistakes. Then you can make your own original ones just as I do.