Providing onsite computer care for metro-west "495" area of Massachusetts

Are you looking for someone you can trust to come into your home or business?

A mature individual trusted by police departments to handle their servers and data?
A former Army captain with a top-secret clearance who worked for the NSA?
Please consider the services of PC Doctor Ed Sterling

"I want to purchase a laptop, what do you recommend?"

The price of laptops has fallen considerably, much like the cost of everything in the computer business. For most people, there is no need to spend more than $1000 to buy a good laptop with many attractive features. On most Sunday's, the ads in the Boston Globe from Best Buy, Circuit City and Staples typically feature very good laptops priced between $450 to $550, with the occasional loss-leader at $299 or $399.

To answer the question quickly, I recommend inexpensive Compaq and Toshiba laptops. They are an excellent buy. I think the less money spent on a laptop, the better. They break easily and they are very expensive to repair. So instead of buying a laptop "to really last a long time" (which they won't), buy a less expensive model and then plan to replace it in 3 years.

Understand that all new laptops come with Microsoft's new Vista operating system. Vista is the new system that replaces Windows XP, although most users of Windows XP would hardly agree it is a "good" and even "necessary" replacement!! While it looks fairly similar to Windows XP, there are a LOT of visual and operational differences that can be very frustrating. You get the feeling Microsoft didn't care about what current Windows XP users wanted in a new operating system; they just designed something completely new with little thought about the impact on the millions of current Windows users. How strange.....

As a PC Doctor, I must say that in absolute numerical terms, I observe many more Dell laptop failures than any other brand. Arguably, there may well be more Dell laptops in use today than any other brand, is that possible? I also find many problems with Sony Vaio laptops. One of the "dumbest" design issues on the Sony Vaio is the way that Sony splits the hard drive into a small main "partition" for Windows (the C: drive) and a second larger "partition" for customer data (the D: drive). Great idea in theory, but in practice, the average user doesn't realize this because all the practical experience as well as the textbooks have Windows users load everything on the C: drive. Time after time, I encounter a Sony Vaio laptop that has a 99% full C: drive and an empty D: drive. Fortunately for Sony Vaio owners, I can merge and then eliminate the D: drive (and any data that is on it) into the C: drive and end up with a single large C: drive.

I mentioned Compaq and Toshiba as my two favorites (based on value and quality). I also feel that HP makes an excellent laptop, but usually they are more expensive. I think you could argue you get what you pay for.

A few things to consider when you are thinking of buying a laptop:

1. Because you carry them around, the odds of dropping and breaking a laptop, or damaged a part due to frequent carrying are obviously far higher than a tower computer you keep at home.

2. The laptop keyboard is typically flat, and the key arrangement is usually different than a regular tower PC keyboard. This can be difficult to get used to, and people who need to write a lot may find it difficult to get used to.

3. Laptops can be easily stolen. Students need to be aware of this, and never leave a laptop alone or unguarded for even 10 seconds. Inexpensive cable locks can be purchased to at least lock the laptop to a chair or desk to prevent a quick "swipe" at college or high school. There is also a "Lojack For Laptops" service you can subscribe to, to track a stolen laptop!

4. Laptops cannot tolerate a liquid spill of any kind, not even water. Typically, any beverage containing acid or sugar or fruit will probably cause permanent damage to the internal laptop parts. A plain-water spill might be rescued by quickly turning off the laptop, removing the battery, disconnecting the power, and pouring rubbing alcohol into the spill area, with the hope of "drying" the water. This has worked for some of my customers. The sooner you get professional technical help following a spill the better. If you have a spill, don't wait! Run to the nearest computer repair facility that handles laptop repairs!!

Call Ed Sterling at 978-779-6058 from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. 
Or Email: pcdoctorhousecalls@comcast.net
(There is no charge for a brief assessment of your computer problem)

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