Laptops

Thinking of getting a laptop budget is around £600. Any recommendations? Most of the reviews say Win 8 is terrible so I would be replacing that with either Win 7 and/or Linux. What minimum screen resolution should I be looking at, the cheaper laptops all seem to be 1366 x 768 which looks very chunky on mrs snaps screen.

Thanks for suggestions

Thanks Andy_Bell
Have looked at the Sony page, "built" a system for £630 very like what you have listed. I'm not to keen on Sony because I could see a problem replacing Win 8 and putting Win 7 on it. Mrs Snap has a Viao running Vista which I upgraded to Win 7. Had to revert to Vista using the back up dvd's as a lot of functions wouldn't work in Win 7 and could not get the appropriate drivers for the sound etc., even had to write a program to eject the dvds because as you probably know the button on the dvd drawer is a PITA not just on Sony either. There is a Sony center in Newcastle so may have a look anyway and see what they have on display.

Are you using Win 8 ?

I've never understood why Windows doesn't have a button to
open and close the CD/DVD drawer. A lot of software used to
have it.

It's the same with Domestic HDD/DVD recorders they used to
have an OPEN/CLOSE button on the Remote....... looking at
my Remote for the Panasonic.... there it is!..... GONE!

Oddly the Remote off an earlier Panasonic has the button and
it works OK on the latest Recorders.... so it's still there
in software.

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mycomputer, right click the drive, select eject.

Used to work, not sure if its disabled in recent Windows versions.

Alternatively shove a paperclip in the tiny hole.

I've always replaced the computer, not the operating system. There's nothing wrong with still using XP or Vista if that's what the computer was designed for. If I bought one today it would have Windows 8 and apparently the fancy front page can be reached beyond to reveal something more familiar.

In any event, we have to progress otherwise we won't be able to use the latest versions of programs or eventually even communicate with the web properly.

We started off using Compuserve, but that's a very distant memory now. It's usually just a matter of getting to grips with a new style and I'm sure Windows 8 is no different.

Only major snag with going for Win OS post Vista is that many older bits of hardware such as Nikon Coolscan scanners aren't supported - drivers optimised for 32-bit systems and obliging you to splash out on software to enable continued use.....

So my 4 year old Vaio will be wrapped in cotton wool when I get my new desktop so that I can continue to use film and scan into PS.

Sony Store - build your computer? - must investigate. Thanks for the tip!

My solution:

Write very simply program in C#, install, with fancy icon of a CD on the desktop/task bar, thereafter a single click of the mouse, drive opens.

This program works on all my computers


Mrs Snap's laptop has a dedicated button for doing this except I could not locate a driver for it. Sony were no help

I've just got a Win8 phone and I really like it. So much so I am considering upgrading to Win 8 on the computer. To me it is very intuitive and easy to use.

Doug's right their is an eject in My Computer at least under
XP, but no CLOSE item.

The Freeware ImgBurn has Icons for EJECT and CLOSE

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I thought Win8 was written to work on a phone in the first place and according to many reviews I've read that is where it should have stayed

So far away now from original query will remove notification from this thread. Thanks for your useful input andy_bell

Have a good look at the Dell range.

I will only specify Dell PCs for a number of reasons including support, warranty and build quality. There is also some room for negotiation with Dell.


Dell still offer a large number of their machines with Win7 as standard - maybe they realise that customers do not like Win8.

So why dont you just ask for windows 7 like i did,
Nic PC win 7 all good....still pleased with the outcome.....

That is because on a laptop there is no motor to open/close the CD drawer, it just runs on a spring to save space. so you can open, (by releasing the spring) but you cant close....i can't see a problem with this as you have to physically load a CD/DVD anyway....

I have a laptop but rarely use it and never realised that
the CD/DVD drive was crippled. Quite a lot of writing
programs OPEN/CLOSE the CD drawer during writing.

Both you and I seem to have two good arms, but some
people might struggle changing a CD with one hand or
the computer might be under a desk and difficult to
access

Sometimes a CD/DVD can't be read and opening and closing
the drawer often helps. Besides I hate putting my beer
glass down