What cheap laptop to buy?

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totalburnout

totalburnout

Well-Known Member
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I am so out of the loop - so please do my homework for me.

My wife and I own a gym. Currently we have an old laptop that is serving double duty as both our computer for members to log in and log out of their entry/exit of the gym (and to log results) and also the work computer that is running our Quickbooks, posting pictures to Facebook and twitter, and doing some light graphic design work for flyers, business cards, or other logo/marketing type work.

I plan on wiping the old laptop and just using that for logging while purchasing another laptop for the Quickbooks, pictures, logo, etc.

I have not followed computers in recent years so I am not sure what chromebooks are capable of at this point. I believe my wife uses a MS software product for pictures instead of good old Adobe Photoshop. I assume there is either Google Docs or Open Office that we can use as an open source alternative to the Office suite?

Last thing. We are just looking for cheap - hence the idea of a chromebook. Willing to look at none chromebooks. Hoping to find something around $300 or less. Any ideas on specific models or deals that are being run? Woot ran one the other day but I didn't have enough time to research if it was actually a good deal for once.

This is the one that Woot ran.
http://www.woot.com/offers/hp-14-du...erm=0_c5ca76da11-ae3f6edfd3-278282901#tracked

Cliff Notes: Need a cheap laptop for around ~$300 that can handle word processing, pictures, basic graphic editing and the internet.
 
you have customers touching the same machine that you run your accounting on? SHAME SHAME!!!

with a Chromebook you'll have to store your files in the cloud without an internet connection the thing is pretty much a fucking "book" considering it has enough space just to store the hunger games trilogy on it.

I can probably get you a good cheap laptop for less than 300. It will be used.
 
TurboMirage said:
you have customers touching the same machine that you run your accounting on? SHAME SHAME!!!

with a Chromebook you'll have to store your files in the cloud without an internet connection the thing is pretty much a fucking "book" considering it has enough space just to store the hunger games trilogy on it.

I can probably get you a good cheap laptop for less than 300. It will be used.
Click to expand...

I would be interested in what sort of laptop you could get.

I did not think storage would be a big issue because we are not storing a ton.

And yes, accounting on the same computer under a different profile that is password protected. Definitely not enterprise level security, but then again we are less than a 100 member gym and the computer is out in the open for everyone to see what is up on the decent sized flat screen.
 
Don't go to the web based QB. They will charge you a monthly user fee, vs the software that you already paid for once and will use for several (5+) years before you need to upgrade, unless you run payroll in which case you will need to upgrade once every 3 years.
Penny wise, pound foolish.
I would recommend a dell laptop with windows 7. These can still be found under the work side of their website.
Anything on the personal side will be pushing windows 8.
 
Send me a message with specs against what you're using now and I'll see what we have here that can help you out.
 
I usually hate TD but they sent this out and it looks decent.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8519636&CatId=3981

These look okay too.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5727471&CatId=3981
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7903694&CatId=3981
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9082262&CatId=3981

@TurboMirage - what the wife has is as old as dirt. I have a Samsung RF511 w/ a 17in screen and a core i7 that is a few years old and I am definitely not a fan of this thing. If we need to this one may get repurposed and left at the gym as well.

As far as security. Again, this is a mom and pop business. It does not need the corporate protocol that you guys need to run. A member would need to be standing in our member lobby and hack/steal the passwords to access any information of note. If someone stole the computer overnight, it would be the same as any other theft where someone physically stole a PC. Really not concerned here. We don't even line item invoice membership payments - those are all done through an online portal that is encrypted with Amazon Payments security. QB just the entries as a single line item. No CC info is kept there, no payroll is kept there. Mainly payments to outside vendors and journal entries once a month for membership dues.
 
phunky.buddha said:
Get an Android POS kiosk type of thing for them.
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea but the logging in is not an issue - looking to replace the other direction and buy something that can handle the light graphic editing and accounting - instead of having to buy a kiosk AND a new laptop.
 
wow those 3 you posted in a row we've sold them all here in the past. i could probably hook you up with an 8540 or whatnot for like 200 shipped.
 
Actually I have an 8440p and an 8460p that should be available mid next week. I'll get you spec and you can take your pick.
 
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