On 26/04/2015 12:22, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Time has come to replace the tower PC with a laptop, so I'm after some
advice from the learned people here, since I'm a computer numpty.

I'm looking for something around 16". I don't play games (only
solitaire) I don't watch films or download music. Don't want a
touchscreen, much prefer keyboard/mouse.

I use Word & Excel frequently, sometime quite big documents. I surf the
net often & use e-mail a lot. We have 4G WiFi at home, probably won't
ever take it out, but will use upstairs in the office, on the deck &
downstairs in the lounge.

Reluctant to change from MS Windows simply because I know how to use it.

Any advice on processor type, memory, make, supplier much appreciated.


In my experience*, laptops can be less reliable than desktops - if only
because they get moved around more, so they can get knocked etc. This
means that the risk of losing your data might be higher than with a
desktop.

You might want to consider getting a NAS Drive (Network Attached
Storage). This is a hard drive that attaches to your router, and gives
you folders that you can access equally from your existing desktop or
from your new laptop. This gives you the benefit of being able to use
either machine, depending on where you are.

If you do this, you may have to change the way you handle your email -
as some mail programs aren't designed to be used with Network storage,
but if you use a web based service like Gmail or Hotmail you should be
able to have mail synchronised across both machines.

I wouldn't worry too much about changing to Windows 8 - at least since
Win 8.1 it's not too dissimilar to Win 7 even without a touchscreen, and
the next version Win 10 will probably make it better still.

* well, my brother's experience - through theft, accident and clumsiness
he and his family seem to get through roughly one every couple of years.