Random stuff

[Packfntk]

Get a Peleton.

[TheGreenMan]

Get Yak Trax for your comfy shoes if you are doing paved trails. Otherwise, if doing boots/snow, it doesn't take much to get a great workout.

I finally looked into these, and I might grab some to put on my Cloud running shoes. These might fit just the bill for running on pavement in the winter for sure. Thanks for that @NCF I had never heard of these.

Having run the marathon back in the day, I would never ever recommend running just on pavement for any long durations. Knees and other joints don't like it. Any softer surface and less monotone motion helps, like running on forest paths, on grass or on snow. Plus since the softer surface slows you down, you get the same energy spent in lesser time. Cross-country skiing is not a bad substitute, if you can do it.

My personal method was to run in a forest, randomly choosing small paths or just wild terrain until I had to turn back. Got to see new places, had fun exploring while running.

I do probably 50/50 mix of pavement and cross country courses. Knees definitely don't like the long distances anymore and I usually keep my runs under 3 miles.

[paco]

Buying a new laptop. I've never had a brand new, not 3-10 years old laptop at home. Kind of excited for it. $600 check from the government going toward something I absolutely don't need!

Maybe I should have just bought $600 worth of whiskey? Still might.

[Trudge]

Buying a new laptop. I've never had a brand new, not 3-10 years old laptop at home. Kind of excited for it. $600 check from the government going toward something I absolutely don't need!

Maybe I should have just bought $600 worth of whiskey? Still might.

Pff...I'm still waiting on mine. Probably cause I didn't work the last two years I gotta get mine through tax returns.

[salmar80]

Buying a new laptop. I've never had a brand new, not 3-10 years old laptop at home. Kind of excited for it. $600 check from the government going toward something I absolutely don't need!

Maybe I should have just bought $600 worth of whiskey? Still might.

Just be sure you get one with a SSD hard drive (almost all new ones have it). That makes it work as fast as your phone when doing basic tasks. No loading times.

You'll save so much time, you can afford a whole lotta whiskey.

[paco]

Buying a new laptop. I've never had a brand new, not 3-10 years old laptop at home. Kind of excited for it. $600 check from the government going toward something I absolutely don't need!

Maybe I should have just bought $600 worth of whiskey? Still might.

Just be sure you get one with a SSD hard drive (almost all new ones have it). That makes it work as fast as your phone when doing basic tasks. No loading times.

You'll save so much time, you can afford a whole lotta whiskey.

lol, yes indeed. No worries sal. I don't know much in this life, but PC tech is something I'm pretty good with (IT guy for 22 years).
I'm getting an HP Pavilion 15z. 15.6 FHD IPS screen. 256Gb M.2 SSD (pretty sure there is a 2nd slot as well). 16Gb DDR4-3200 (2x8Gb), Ryzen 7 4700U. It's considered a gaming laptop, but one of the newer style cheap-o ones. I really won't do much gaming on it, I've got my workstation for that. But I figure this should be solid enough and fast enough to last me for a few years.

It was this or the Acer Nitro 5. But I got the HP almost $150 cheaper and they were pretty comparable.

[salmar80]

Buying a new laptop. I've never had a brand new, not 3-10 years old laptop at home. Kind of excited for it. $600 check from the government going toward something I absolutely don't need!

Maybe I should have just bought $600 worth of whiskey? Still might.

Just be sure you get one with a SSD hard drive (almost all new ones have it). That makes it work as fast as your phone when doing basic tasks. No loading times.

You'll save so much time, you can afford a whole lotta whiskey.

lol, yes indeed. No worries sal. I don't know much in this life, but PC tech is something I'm pretty good with (IT guy for 22 years).
I'm getting an HP Pavilion 15z. 15.6 FHD IPS screen. 256Gb M.2 SSD (pretty sure there is a 2nd slot as well). 16Gb DDR4-3200 (2x8Gb), Ryzen 7 4700U. It's considered a gaming laptop, but one of the newer style cheap-o ones. I really won't do much gaming on it, I've got my workstation for that. But I figure this should be solid enough and fast enough to last me for a few years.

It was this or the Acer Nitro 5. But I got the HP almost $150 cheaper and they were pretty comparable.

Sorry, i didn't remember your background when giving advice. The specs look good.

HP's tend to come with a TON of their unnecessary software, but it can be dealt with.

Cheap gaming hardware is much better then cheap office hardware when it comes to longevity. No bottlenecks.

[paco]

Just be sure you get one with a SSD hard drive (almost all new ones have it). That makes it work as fast as your phone when doing basic tasks. No loading times.

You'll save so much time, you can afford a whole lotta whiskey.

lol, yes indeed. No worries sal. I don't know much in this life, but PC tech is something I'm pretty good with (IT guy for 22 years).
I'm getting an HP Pavilion 15z. 15.6 FHD IPS screen. 256Gb M.2 SSD (pretty sure there is a 2nd slot as well). 16Gb DDR4-3200 (2x8Gb), Ryzen 7 4700U. It's considered a gaming laptop, but one of the newer style cheap-o ones. I really won't do much gaming on it, I've got my workstation for that. But I figure this should be solid enough and fast enough to last me for a few years.

It was this or the Acer Nitro 5. But I got the HP almost $150 cheaper and they were pretty comparable.

Sorry, i didn't remember your background when giving advice. The specs look good.

HP's tend to come with a TON of their unnecessary software, but it can be dealt with.

Cheap gaming hardware is much better then cheap office hardware when it comes to longevity. No bottlenecks.

Definitely. The only downside with the laptop I have is that it doesn't have a dedicated graphics card, just the integrated. But I think it'll suit my purposes just fine. What I'll do is more RAM or CPU heavy than anything else.

Software on any out of the box PC is insane. First thing after setup is done is the crap gets uninstalled. I haven't had my own branded PC (that wasn't work) in a long time. My home machines were usually work cast-offs or I built them myself.

[TheGreenMan]

Get a Peleton.

My wife wants one. They're so damn expensive though! I'm not so sure I can justify the price?

[paco]

Get a Peleton.

My wife wants one. They're so damn expensive though! I'm not so sure I can justify the price?

My wife has talked about it too, but I know it'll be a waste of money. I told her to buy a bike without wheels, put it on bricks and put your phone in front of you. Voila! Peloton-ish.

[NCF]

Get a Peleton.

My wife wants one. They're so damn expensive though! I'm not so sure I can justify the price?

My wife has talked about it too, but I know it'll be a waste of money. I told her to buy a bike without wheels, put it on bricks and put your phone in front of you. Voila! Peloton-ish.

You can swing by and kick her every once in a while, too, then it will be just like she's going over big bumps.

[APB]

Buying a new laptop. I've never had a brand new, not 3-10 years old laptop at home. Kind of excited for it. $600 check from the government going toward something I absolutely don't need!

Maybe I should have just bought $600 worth of whiskey? Still might.

Just be sure you get one with a SSD hard drive (almost all new ones have it). That makes it work as fast as your phone when doing basic tasks. No loading times.

You'll save so much time, you can afford a whole lotta whiskey.

lol, yes indeed. No worries sal. I don't know much in this life, but PC tech is something I'm pretty good with (IT guy for 22 years).
I'm getting an HP Pavilion 15z. 15.6 FHD IPS screen. 256Gb M.2 SSD (pretty sure there is a 2nd slot as well). 16Gb DDR4-3200 (2x8Gb), Ryzen 7 4700U. It's considered a gaming laptop, but one of the newer style cheap-o ones. I really won't do much gaming on it, I've got my workstation for that. But I figure this should be solid enough and fast enough to last me for a few years.

It was this or the Acer Nitro 5. But I got the HP almost $150 cheaper and they were pretty comparable.

So what would you fine gentlemen recommend for replacing a light use laptop that is primarily used for email checking, facebook perusing, Candy Crushing, and the occasional Packer forum posting when the hubby is allowed on it?

Some necessities:

A number pad
Lighted keyboard capable
USB port accessible

The wife has been wanting a replacement for some time. This one is nearly 8 yrs old and is getting slower to respond by the day. She's got a birthday coming up so I figure what the hell...

[Pckfn23]

Chromebook, only thing you might not find is the lighted keyboard.

[TheGreenMan]

Chromebook, only thing you might not find is the lighted keyboard.

You will if you're willing to spend some money.

[TheGreenMan]

My wife wants one. They're so damn expensive though! I'm not so sure I can justify the price?

My wife has talked about it too, but I know it'll be a waste of money. I told her to buy a bike without wheels, put it on bricks and put your phone in front of you. Voila! Peloton-ish.

You can swing by and kick her every once in a while, too, then it will be just like she's going over big bumps.

I just don't see the point of spending $1500ish more over a standard exercise bike.

[Pckfn23]

Chromebook, only thing you might not find is the lighted keyboard.

You will if you're willing to spend some money.

I would go at least 6 Gigs RAM. 15" screen. I think if you want the number pad you need to have the bigger screen. Don't spend more than $400.

[paco]

Chromebook, only thing you might not find is the lighted keyboard.

You will if you're willing to spend some money.

I would go at least 6 Gigs RAM. 15" screen. I think if you want the number pad you need to have the bigger screen. Don't spend more than $400.

I echo this. Most cheaper ones will come with 4gb RAM but look for an upgrade or laptop with 2 RAM slots. Usually a cheap easy upgrade to do yourself.

Acer Aspire 5 series looks good. As do Lenovo IdeaPads if you go the Chromebook route. A bit more $ for the HP Pavilion series.

Almost always best to get your hands on one. Go to Walmart, Best Buy, etc and look at a few.

[Trudge]

You will if you're willing to spend some money.

I would go at least 6 Gigs RAM. 15" screen. I think if you want the number pad you need to have the bigger screen. Don't spend more than $400.

I echo this. Most cheaper ones will come with 4gb RAM but look for an upgrade or laptop with 2 RAM slots. Usually a cheap easy upgrade to do yourself.

Acer Aspire 5 series looks good. As do Lenovo IdeaPads if you go the Chromebook route. A bit more $ for the HP Pavilion series.

Almost always best to get your hands on one. Go to Walmart, Best Buy, etc and look at a few.

I'd go to best buy. Can look at Walmart but there just so cheap feeling.

[APB]

What are the differences between a standard laptop and a Chromebook?

[Pckfn23]

What are the differences between a standard laptop and a Chromebook?

Operating system, for the most part. If all you do is web-based things, it's the way to go.