[Discuss] Laptop recommendation

[blu at nedharvey.com (Edward Ned Harvey)]

> From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org [mailto:discuss-
> bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org] On Behalf Of Don Silvia
> 
> I've been tasked with finding a large (17") laptop for my parents.  I
> can't deal with the Windows support burden any more, so on the new
> laptop I'm going to install Linux, probably Mint.  I'm looking for

For the parents, who you don't want to have to support...  Get a chromebook.
I got one for my wife (and am thinking about getting one for my mom) and for
this purpose, it's very excellent.


> should have plenty of CPU and memory for their needs.  The software
> requirements are pretty basic too, besides email and web they need skype
> or something similar, and a personal finance program (MS Money
> replacement) that can do check printing.  A recommendation here would be
> great too.

I haven't tried skype on it, but google chat certainly works.  I personally
use quickbooks online.  I haven't explicitly tried check printing - When
printing from a chromebook you have two basic options. You either have
chrome installed on a laptop nearby that's connected to a printer (and you
share your printer to yourself via chrome) or you get a cloud printer.  I
find the first option is not reliable, so I would recommend the cloud
printer.


> I've had good luck with Ubuntu on Lenovo laptops (a few Thinkpads and an
> S10) but they really want a 17" screen.  The Lenovo G770 looks pretty
> nice but my web searching isn't giving me a lot of confidence that all
> the hardware will work, especially the internal mic.

Every place that I know of - both walk-in stores, and mail-order Dell etc,
offer a 2-4 week return policy.  You can run your ubuntu (or whatever) live
USB, to see how it behaves, without even wiping the internal hard drive.