It’s been awhile since we’ve commented on the home market and what we tend to recommend to friends, relatives and people outside of work for computing. One of the blogs and Microsoft MVPs we follow has updated their regular post with lots of good advice, and I’ll add my comments after. So if you’re wondering what to buy someone who needs a new computer in 2018, read on.
The first thing to do is check out Jeremy Moskowitz’s buying guide. It’s long, but mostly good. I’ll wait. When you get back, I’ll provide my own opinions – keep in mind Jeremy is a Microsoft MVP.
Done?
Good.
Warranties
So – I agree with his point on Warranties. However, he misses a point – which is it’s even better to never need the warranty. So yes, Dell’s warranty is pretty easy to understand, but I still recommend getting business class. And my first choice is Lenovo Think branded products – as he references, he’s never needed the warranty on his. Dell business class would be my second choice. And it is because of the warranty. Dell can match Lenovo’s (Think) warranty, but you have to buy the pro-support upgrade, or on-site upgrade. The basic Dell warranty is pretty painful in my experiences. Lenovo’s Think basic warranty is very simple, with the one difference that you get a shipping box for the laptop and ship it off so it and the part meet at the repair depot rather than you scheduling something after the fact. Unless you pay for on-site (or have a desktop), in which case the service person comes to you with the part. All this said, it’s rare to need a warranty on a business class laptop or desktop. But remember, no warranty is going to get your computer fixed in a day if it needs parts. So if you are reliant on computing, do what we do at the lab, and have a backup device you could use for a week while the main one is getting fixed.
Purchases
I don’t know why he claims the Lenovo purchase process is more difficult that Dells – they’re about the same if you’re going to custom specify a build on their site. But no one is recommending that in most cases – go to a re-seller. Cornell uses CDW or B&H photo. There’s plenty of others too. Just get one of the pre-built models (bizarrely called “TopSeller models”) – those are the ones in stock that are likely to have deals – or if you are purchasing it yourself, look into the SUNY Perks at work as they sometimes have over 50% off direct from Lenovo. It takes on average 9 business days, which is slower, but not an amazingly long time if you are specifying a custom build.
In all these cases, we’re talking about the “Business Class” hardware, usually not available at Best Buy for instance. For Lenovo it’s easy – if it’s “Think” branded – i.e. Thinkpad, Thinkcentre, Thinkstation it’s business class. Dell I don’t know as well, there’s Latitude and Precision, I am on the fence about Optiplex.
Operating System
He’s right – if you’re buying a new computer that’s not a Mac, you’re pretty much stuck with Windows 10. We’ve previously posted about our concerns on this blog, but if you’ve got to have Windows – that’s what you’ve got to get. I have previously discussed using Scientific Linux at home, and I still do use that. I generally have found the think branded products from Lenovo will run SL7.x where you have the latest version, but that still requires you to do the install and configuration yourself or look for someone who can. If you want a “real computer” and some privacy, you’re looking at Mac OSX or installing Linux on a new computer.
Android – iOS – ChromeOS etc
I find that he’s pretty much right. You can consume media via a tablet or the like, but real work needs a “real OS” and these mostly aren’t. You can get pretty cheap “last year’s model hardware” but new Android tablets from China (expect 2 months shipping) via Amazon sellers or AliExpress (site or app). However, you can get lesser screens or smaller devices for similar prices from major and off brands right here. So unless you need that $200 1500×1000 (approx) screen, you’re probably best to get an inexpensive tablet from whoever. I haven’t found people getting viruses on Android – but it is a little more likely than on iOS. The bigger problem on Android is the “bundled apps” from the vendor. Apple doesn’t have this problem as they make the hardware too. All that said, I’ve had several Android tablets and probably will get another for reading comics at night. Otherwise, I personally have found most larger smartphones do everything I might do with a tablet and are easier to carry – and I already have bought one of those…
I totally agree with him about ChromeOS.
I hope this all helps.