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#16
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Buying A Laptop
On 9/24/2015 5:52 PM, FredW wrote:
On Wed, 23 Sep 2015 17:25:27 -0600, Ken1943 wrote: As I say, I use computers not smart phones. I tried an Android phone 4 years ago, when it died I got a simple cell phone. That one just died and I got another Android because my cell company didn't have any "good" simple cells. The old timers can't win !! Just for the record, if you are willing to go to Verizon, you can get a prepaid card that cost $100 and is good for a year. For your $100 you get about 400 minutes on their simple phone. Mine is a Samsung Gusto that can be purchased at Walmart for about $20. For me the 400 minutes last me for a year that I get to carry over to the next card. So my simple cell phone is costing me less that $10 per month. I can even send text messages if I ever take the time to figure it out. I know I can receive Text messages as I occasionally get one from my daughter |
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#17
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Buying A Laptop
On Thu, 24 Sep 2015 19:03:57 -0400, Keith Nuttle
wrote: Just for the record, if you are willing to go to Verizon, you can get a prepaid card that cost $100 and is good for a year. For your $100 you get about 400 minutes on their simple phone. Alternatively, T-Mobile has a similar plan (if they still offer it). $100 gets you 1000 minutes. For me the 400 minutes last me for a year that I get to carry over to the next card. With T-Mobile, it carries over to the next year *if* you buy additional minutes before the year ends. And you can buy more minutes (I forget how many) for $10. So my simple cell phone is costing me less that $10 per month. So leaving aside the first years cost, since I wasn't using many minutes, I was paying only $10 a *year*. I did this for a good number of years, but just a couple of weeks ago, I entered the 21st century and graduated to a smart phone with Consumer Cellular. It's a very inexpensive smart phone plan, as these things go, but it is more than $10 a year. |
#18
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Buying A Laptop
On 9/24/2015 7:25 PM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
So leaving aside the first years cost, since I wasn't using many minutes, I was paying only $10 a*year*. I did this for a good number of years, but just a couple of weeks ago, I entered the 21st century and graduated to a smart phone with Consumer Cellular. It's a very inexpensive smart phone plan, as these things go, but it is more than $10 a year. I tried that a couple of months ago, but could not quite justify spending about $50/mon for the joy of having a smart phone (As I said above I pay less that $10/mon) for the 20 minutes per month that I use the cell phone. I was not happy with Verizon as if you ask a salesman in a Verizon store they will tell you you can get a prepaid plan with a smart phone. However it is not the same as the $100 card, that us are charged as you you the phone. I visited different stores and they all agree that the $100 card would work with a smartphone, until I tried to activate the smart phone on the $100 card. Then they said it could only be activated on a no contract monthly plan. I got all my money back, but had to report them to the better business bureau to get them to return the money. |
#19
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Buying A Laptop
On 9/23/2015 10:14 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:39:59 -0700, Old Guy wrote: I found a laptop I can afford and it has Win 8.1 but no touch-screen. So how important is a touch-screen. How similar to Win 7 is Win 8.1 ? I can deal with Win 7 OK but not sure about Win 8.1 ? -- If you like Win7 and you buy a new laptop with 8.1 on it just immediately upgrade it to Win10 and you will have Win7 back for all practical purposes. That is complete BS. |
#20
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Buying A Laptop
On 9/24/2015 5:40 PM, Old Guy wrote:
So Windows Media Player is there? I use that every day for hours on end. If you install a start button/menu it will boot to the desktop and it will look and act just like Win7 for the most part. (You can make Win8/8.1 boot to the desktop but you will not have a Win7 type start button/menu) Classic Shell seems to be the most popular freebie start button. http://www.classicshell.net/ I like Start8 http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/ It's $5.00 if you buy it. If you know where to look you can get it for free. Windows 8/8.1 does have WMP, but it will not play DVDs. __________________________________________________ ____________________ I found a laptop I can afford and it has Win 8.1 but no touch-screen. So how important is a touch-screen. How similar to Win 7 is Win 8.1 ? I can deal with Win 7 OK but not sure about Win 8.1 ? __________________________________________________ ________ Is this a new laptop that CAME with Windows 8.1 or is it a laptop (used or "new") that was upgraded to Windows 8.1? I would NOT but a laptop that has been upgraded from 8 to 8.1. The reason being, you can't use the Windows reset/refresh feature. And you can't use the factory reset/recovery partition in case you ever need it. Touch screens are for tablets and cellphones, they are useless on a laptop..IMO. |
#21
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Buying A Laptop NO third party Start button, NOTHING.
On 9/25/2015 2:08 AM, Ron wrote:
If you install a start button/menu it will boot to the desktop and it will look and act just like Win7 for the most part. (You can make Win8/8.1 boot to the desktop but you will not have a Win7 type start button/menu) You do NOT have to install anything to get Windows 8.1 to boot to the Desktop. NO third party Start button, NOTHING. When Windows 8.1 is installed go to the desktop. Put the cursor in the desktop taskbar and right click. Click Properties in the popup menu. In the Navigation tab, Click "When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop" With this clicked, your computer will boot to the desktop, and you can access all of the computer functions from the MS Icon on the left end of the Desktop taskbar. Including the shutdown options. |
#22
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Buying A Laptop NO third party Start button, NOTHING.
On 9/25/2015 8:01 AM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
On 9/25/2015 2:08 AM, Ron wrote: If you install a start button/menu it will boot to the desktop and it will look and act just like Win7 for the most part. (You can make Win8/8.1 boot to the desktop but you will not have a Win7 type start button/menu) You do NOT have to install anything to get Windows 8.1 to boot to the Desktop. NO third party Start button, NOTHING. WHY ARE YOU USING CAPS? I never said it wouldn't boot to the desktop w/o a 3rd party start button. Reread what I wrote. |
#23
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Buying A Laptop
On Fri, 25 Sep 2015 01:40:51 -0400, Ron wrote:
On 9/23/2015 10:14 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote: On Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:39:59 -0700, Old Guy wrote: I found a laptop I can afford and it has Win 8.1 but no touch-screen. So how important is a touch-screen. How similar to Win 7 is Win 8.1 ? I can deal with Win 7 OK but not sure about Win 8.1 ? -- If you like Win7 and you buy a new laptop with 8.1 on it just immediately upgrade it to Win10 and you will have Win7 back for all practical purposes. That is complete BS. No it's not. In the same way Win 8 can be made to be like Win7 from the user perspective, by installing add-ons, Win10 can be configured, without addons, to give the user the Win7 "look" for all practical purposes. Obviously what's under the hood is different. |
#24
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Buying A Laptop
On 9/26/2015 2:05 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Fri, 25 Sep 2015 01:40:51 -0400, Ron wrote: On 9/23/2015 10:14 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote: On Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:39:59 -0700, Old Guy wrote: I found a laptop I can afford and it has Win 8.1 but no touch-screen. So how important is a touch-screen. How similar to Win 7 is Win 8.1 ? I can deal with Win 7 OK but not sure about Win 8.1 ? -- If you like Win7 and you buy a new laptop with 8.1 on it just immediately upgrade it to Win10 and you will have Win7 back for all practical purposes. That is complete BS. No it's not. In the same way Win 8 can be made to be like Win7 from the user perspective, by installing add-ons, Win10 can be configured, without addons, to give the user the Win7 "look" for all practical purposes. Obviously what's under the hood is different. Windows 8.1 can be configured to look like Windows XP and definitely like Windows 7 Without any addons. |
#25
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Buying A Laptop
knuttle wrote on 9/26/2015 5:58 PM:
Windows 8.1 can be configured to look like Windows XP and definitely like Windows 7 Without any addons. Like XP? How? |
#26
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Buying A Laptop
On 9/26/2015 5:58 PM, knuttle wrote:
On 9/26/2015 2:05 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote: On Fri, 25 Sep 2015 01:40:51 -0400, Ron wrote: On 9/23/2015 10:14 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote: On Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:39:59 -0700, Old Guy wrote: I found a laptop I can afford and it has Win 8.1 but no touch-screen. So how important is a touch-screen. How similar to Win 7 is Win 8.1 ? I can deal with Win 7 OK but not sure about Win 8.1 ? -- If you like Win7 and you buy a new laptop with 8.1 on it just immediately upgrade it to Win10 and you will have Win7 back for all practical purposes. That is complete BS. No it's not. In the same way Win 8 can be made to be like Win7 from the user perspective, by installing add-ons, Win10 can be configured, without addons, to give the user the Win7 "look" for all practical purposes. Obviously what's under the hood is different. Windows 8.1 can be configured to look like Windows XP and definitely like Windows 7 Without any addons. How? |
#27
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Buying A Laptop
On 9/26/2015 8:57 PM, Ron wrote:
On 9/26/2015 5:58 PM, knuttle wrote: On 9/26/2015 2:05 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote: On Fri, 25 Sep 2015 01:40:51 -0400, Ron wrote: On 9/23/2015 10:14 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote: On Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:39:59 -0700, Old Guy wrote: I found a laptop I can afford and it has Win 8.1 but no touch-screen. So how important is a touch-screen. How similar to Win 7 is Win 8.1 ? I can deal with Win 7 OK but not sure about Win 8.1 ? -- If you like Win7 and you buy a new laptop with 8.1 on it just immediately upgrade it to Win10 and you will have Win7 back for all practical purposes. That is complete BS. No it's not. In the same way Win 8 can be made to be like Win7 from the user perspective, by installing add-ons, Win10 can be configured, without addons, to give the user the Win7 "look" for all practical purposes. Obviously what's under the hood is different. Windows 8.1 can be configured to look like Windows XP and definitely like Windows 7 Without any addons. How? It depends on what you mean by "looks like". My current Windows 8.1 desktop looks like the desktop that I had in Windows XP. When I want to access the computer functions I right click (left Click in XP) the icon on the left of the desktop task bar. I have a menu that allows me to shut down the computer, access the task manager, the control panel, the network and many other functions that I seldom use. The primary difference is that in Windows 8.1, I access the programs for a screen that has large easy to read icons that are easy to scroll through instead of a series of folders that collapse once I go down three or four levels. In my mind that is an evolutionary change from Windows XP to Windows 8.1 As for accessing recently accessed files and folders, that are all there with a right click on the program icon in the desktop task bar. An you do not need any third party addons to get the arrangement |
#28
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Buying A Laptop
On 9/26/2015 10:23 PM, Keith Nuttle wrote:
On 9/26/2015 8:57 PM, Ron wrote: On 9/26/2015 5:58 PM, knuttle wrote: On 9/26/2015 2:05 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote: On Fri, 25 Sep 2015 01:40:51 -0400, Ron wrote: On 9/23/2015 10:14 PM, Ashton Crusher wrote: On Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:39:59 -0700, Old Guy wrote: I found a laptop I can afford and it has Win 8.1 but no touch-screen. So how important is a touch-screen. How similar to Win 7 is Win 8.1 ? I can deal with Win 7 OK but not sure about Win 8.1 ? -- If you like Win7 and you buy a new laptop with 8.1 on it just immediately upgrade it to Win10 and you will have Win7 back for all practical purposes. That is complete BS. No it's not. In the same way Win 8 can be made to be like Win7 from the user perspective, by installing add-ons, Win10 can be configured, without addons, to give the user the Win7 "look" for all practical purposes. Obviously what's under the hood is different. Windows 8.1 can be configured to look like Windows XP and definitely like Windows 7 Without any addons. How? It depends on what you mean by "looks like". My current Windows 8.1 desktop looks like the desktop that I had in Windows XP. When I want to access the computer functions I right click (left Click in XP) the icon on the left of the desktop task bar. I have a menu that allows me to shut down the computer, access the task manager, the control panel, the network and many other functions that I seldom use. The primary difference is that in Windows 8.1, I access the programs for a screen that has large easy to read icons that are easy to scroll through instead of a series of folders that collapse once I go down three or four levels. In my mind that is an evolutionary change from Windows XP to Windows 8.1 As for accessing recently accessed files and folders, that are all there with a right click on the program icon in the desktop task bar. An you do not need any third party addons to get the arrangement I'm talking about the start *menu*. Sorry, but I think the Metro screen with all of programs sucks. There is a reason why developers created a start button for Win8/8.1 and now Win10. AFA "folders that collapse"...I have no idea what you are talking about. To each his own. |
#29
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Buying A Laptop
On Wed, 23 Sep 2015 15:39:59 -0700, Old Guy wrote:
I found a laptop I can afford and it has Win 8.1 but no touch-screen. So how important is a touch-screen. I know you asked about a touch screen, (I don't think it's important on a laptop at all), but IMO it's much more important to get a laptop with a lighted keyboard. In my case, that's one of those features that, once you've used it, you wonder how you got along without it. I'm exaggerating, but only a little. |
#30
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Buying A Laptop
On Sat, 26 Sep 2015 22:23:56 -0400, Keith Nuttle
wrote: The primary difference is that in Windows 8.1, I access the programs for a screen that has large easy to read icons that are easy to scroll through instead of a series of folders that collapse once I go down three or four levels. No, they don't. ;-) To prove it, try using the keyboard to navigate the menu tree instead of a pointing device. You'll see that you can go as deep as you want without any fear of collapse. |
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