Charlie Self wrote:

JohnT writes:

I'm using a compaq I bought new at Xmas time on a "special" sale that
was $700 after rebates at my local CompUSA. 15" screen, 30gig HD,
DVD/CD-R, etc, etc. Maybe you need to look around some more, wait for
sales, etc.

I've got time yet. Helluva lot more of that than money. I don't need the
machine this year, even, but need to have it ready to go about February or
March.

I don't need a 15" screen, either, which is why I'm looking at used
laptops, but there's no way I'm paying 65% of new prices for a machine
that has to be 3 years old. And that seems to be what a great many of the
used sellers are asking.

As I said, I haven't had time to check locally, but I'm positive that
within a dozen miles, there's only one such store (there's one in Bedford
and it's a dozen miles from my house to there).

Charlie, if that Bedford is Bedford, MA and you're driving something that
doesn't burn up a hundred bucks worth of gas on the trip to Hartford you
might want to go by Kaplan Computers http://www.kaplancomputers.com/. He
always has used notebooks in stock ranging from dirt cheap and pretty old
on up, and usually has several Thinkpads. Not as cheap as the best ebay
prices but not bad. Nice thing about Kaplan is that you can see what
you're getting before you buy.

One thing to watch for with used laptops though, is the battery--if you
can't test before you buy then just assume that you're going to have to
replace it--that adds 200 bucks or so to the price. Another is the
drivers--if it comes with a wiped disk and no recovery disk (usually the
case) then you're going to need the device drivers to get it up and fully
functional--IBM has drivers for some rather ancient machines up on their
site--you can generally count on being able to get drivers for every
operating system that was ever supported on that machine.

Charlie Self
"I have always felt that a politician is to be judged by the animosities
he excites among his opponents." Sir Winston Churchill

--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)