Looking for cheap laptop for small business

[CleanChucks]

My mother's been using a first-generation imac (bondi blue, lol) for ages now and needs a new pc - and fast. We're really stuck for cash right now and would obviously prefer the cheapest pc we can get - anything under $500 would be great.

She basically will be using it for text applications, printing (invoices etc), and light internet usage.

She's unfortunately gotten so used to the mac interface that it will most probably be tough for her to transition to XP or Linux, but we'll have to make due as Mac books are way too high over our budget.

The price tag on the Asus Eee PC caught my eye, but I'm not sure that tiny screen will suffice, nor do I think my mom could figure out how to use linux. We're in a bit of a rush, so I'd have to learn first, then teach her, and I think that would take too much time.

Anyways I'm kind of ranting here - but my basic question is if anyone could help us find a <$500 or $600 laptop that will handle word processing/printing fine, and also give me some help on how to transfer files from a mac to a PC (specifically AppleWorks word documents).

Thanks in advance.

[Lespaul20]

Best Buy has a few for under $600 as does Circuit City
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....P&id=pcat17080
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Lapto...ategorylist.do

[thefultonhow]

Dell Vostro 1500:

http://www.dell.com/content/products...tab=bundlestab

Click on the leftmost configuration and choose the following options:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5270 (1.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition

Price is $569. I would recommend upgrading the warranty too, but since you are on a budget, I didn't include that upgrade in the price.

[CleanChucks]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Also fyi I'm in Toronto, Canada if that helps with stores/locations etc.

Originally Posted by thefultonhow Dell Vostro 1500: http://www.dell.com/content/products...tab=bundlestab Click on the leftmost configuration and choose the following options: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5270 (1.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache) Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition Price is $569. I would recommend upgrading the warranty too, but since you are on a budget, I didn't include that upgrade in the price.

Why would I need to upgrade my processor? Would the base-line Intel® Celeron M® M540 not be beefy enough?

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by ChuckTs Why would I need to upgrade my processor? Would the base-line Intel® Celeron M® M540 not be beefy enough?

It doesn't have power management circuitry, so battery life will be pretty bad. It's also not a dual-core -- dual-core chips can make a big difference for performance.

If you are in Canada, the Dell will obviously cost a bit more. You're not going to get a satisfactory computer for much less than that Dell, though.

[Masaki 7-11]

Here's a pretty good dual-core laptop for under $600: http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...gon=&langid=EN

Here's a pretty good dual-core laptop for under $500:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

[glc]

You are probably going to have to convert all the Appleworks docs to rich text format in order to use them in any Windows-based word processor.

[thefultonhow]

I would strongly recommend against Gateway (worst support in the business) and Compaq (below average).

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by thefultonhow I would strongly recommend against Gateway (worst support in the business) and Compaq (below average).

Usually any support you get for a laptop can be handled through the store. Compaq is part of HP, and HP has pretty good quality and support, but again, most of the support issues can be handled through the store, going for an extended warranty would make a manufacturer's warranty rather pointless, and usually it's easier to deal with the store you buy it from rather than with the manufacturer.

[thefultonhow]

That may be true for manufacturers that don't have as good support, but for Dell, support is very good, especially if you go with on-site.

[Masaki 7-11]

If you can get good performance for a better price than a Dell, and support is good (through the store is good, and Compaq has good support because it's part of HP), I don't see a particular reason to go with Dell instead.

[thefultonhow]

Sorry, but HP support is not good. It's average at best, and much worse than Dell's.

[Masaki 7-11]

I have 2 HP laptops of various age, both which have worked well, and I've had good support from HP if I've had problems with either. In addition to the HP support, you still have BestBuy support which is pretty good and less troublesome than dealing with the manufacturer, if you have any problems with the laptop, you don't even have to ship it to get it fixed, just go to the BestBuy you got it from, and they'll fix it or give you a replacement there.

[pctime1]

I think with that budget you can go and choose something in Dell..

[kilgoretrout]

Have you considered a mac mini? They retail for around $600. If you already have the keyboard, mouse, monitor, it might be your best bet and it would have the mac interface your mother is used to. You would also have fewer mac to windows compatibility issues when transferring data from the old system to the new system.