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What is better to buy, Notebooks Computers or Desktops?:Desktop computers are pretty cheap these days with discounts available from all the major manufacturers like Dell, HP, Gateway, and IBM. On the other hand, Notebooks have dropped in price significantly and with wireless internet access at home and available almost everywhere else, laptops seems like the best buy these days. I guess it all depends on what you need the computer for (business or home) that will ultimately make the decision on what to buy. If you have a wireless internet connection at home and want the capability to take your computer anywhere in the home to access the internet, then a new notebook computer is the best solution. Even if you don't want a notebook comuter, you would truthfully have to decide why you even want a bulky desktop these days. There is not much of an advantage except perhaps that a larger screen comes with desktop computers versus the smaller screens on the notebooks. Nevertheless, portability is a huge advantage of the laptop computers and they run all the same software and give you lots of hard drive space like a desktop computer. Price is still the one difference bewteen the two, but that is slower shrinking as well. Our recommendation is that if you are buying a new computer, strongly consider a solid notebook computer as the eventual replacement for your old desktop. The new notebooks are powerful, portable, and you can always hook them up to a large monitor at home if you want the larger viewing screen. At the time of this review, a good notebook/laptop could be had for less than $1000 and a quality desktop computer was under $500 and going lower.
Should I buy a computer from Dell or Gateway?:Gateway did have a great image and wonderful customer service until the tech bust of early 2001. Their margins were destroyed by Dell and their overall market share shrank and shrank until they started offering items like plasma tv's and other consumer electronics besides computers to stay afloat. They even bought eMachines to compete with Dell but that still didn't stop the financial bleeding. Dell slowly began to dominate the PC market (even though the market was slowly declining). Dell continues to have superior customer service, a great website for ordering, and a quality product. The one thing we have noticed on PC's we have bought over the last few years is that although they are getting cheaper, they do seem to break down more often (which probably is why they are cheaper - cheaper parts). Dell has always been top notch with repairing computers and giving tech support on issues. They have outsourced much of their tech support to India and some customers have complained that some phone calls for tech support are answered by people that don't speak English so great and the support is minimal at best. I'm sure their computer training will get better and Dell will remain #1 in the personal PC market. Overall we would stick with Dell as they are a proven winner who stands by their products, while Gateway is a little iffy on where their allegiance is these days (computers or electronics). Go to your local computer store like Frys Electronics or Circuit city and see what they offer in terms of computers and compare. HP computers are another hot seller in many stores, so consider them when buying a notebook/desktop computer as well.Notebook Computers:Notebook computers used to be big, bulky things that barely fit on your lap (hence the name laptop). Their screens were too small, they had no memory to speak of and their processors were always slower than their desktop counterparts. That has all changed in the last few years. Notebook computers have advanced much faster than desktop in recent years and with the advancements also came another bonus, a lower price. Yes, lower prices with more features. That's the way computer pricing and technology have evolved. Notebooks now offer all the bang for the buck that desktops did for years. You get larger screens, huge hard drives, fast processing speeds, DVD/CD drives, DVD burning capability and great MP3 software and music capabilities. All the same business applications run faster than ever and with wireless internet accesss at home, in airports, at the office and in Starbucks, you can use your notebook virtually anywhere and get online just as easy. That is why the notebook computer market is growing while the desktop market is slowly leveling off. Again, prices of these laptops has dropped significantly and you can now enjoy a custom built notebook for under $1000. Dell has a quality line of notebooks that you should check out at Dell.com.Buying a discount desktop/notebook computer onlineBuying a discount computer online is easy. Tigerdirect.com offers some great deals on eMachines while Dell and Gateway have such discounted rates on desktop computers it's like they are giving them away for free. Notebooks are harder to find at such steep discounts, but if you search hard enough you can find some great deals. Discountlaptops.com is one site to start with, they offer cheap notebooks and heavily discounted laptop computers. Be aware that some discounted and cheap computers are refurbished and may have had a problem to begin with. Make sure you ask or get that in writing before you decide to purchase a computer that already was returned due to problems.
Technical Support or computer repair:Ah, the old computer technical support or repair dilemma. Most people are not good at "computer talk" and probably never will be. Sure, we know the name of the parts (modems, monitors, hard drives, etc), but we are at a loss in terms of how to fix these issues when they arise. Who knows how to fix the registry settings or how to even access them to begin with. Computer training is what we all need in schools so that we can fix our own equipment, but computer repair is hardly an exciting field to most so we rely on tech geeks to help out. Most manufacturers will give you limited tech support via email or the phone for a year or so but after that you are on your own. Many repairs are minor, but just understanding what to do or even troubleshooting is the hard part. There is an independent group called the GeekSquad that has developed a business around fixing gadgets like PC's. With the price of computers coming down all the time, many people give up on computer issues after a while and decide that buying a new one is easier than hassling with computer repairs or technical support coming from 3rd world countries. Viruses are the #1 issue these days so getting an anti-virus piece of software from Norton or McAfee is essential. Don't download files via email or the internet from sources you don't know or trust and make sure you get a good firewall protection program as well if you have a computer connection that is online all the time like DSL or Broadband.
Do you have a quality site or product that belongs in this guide? We are always happy to evaluate or review new products and websites. Feel free to contact us at the email address below and let us know about you. If you have a demo product you'd like us to look at, please contact us before sending anything. Thank you.
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