# How much for laptop?



## Andyshiv (Aug 5, 2008)

Can I buy one for 1500 dirhams?


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## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

Andyshiv said:


> Can I buy one for 1500 dirhams?


Maybe a netbook or something second hand but I doubt you'd get much power for £225

What do you want to use it for?


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

The cheapest laptop I've seen since I got here was about 3,500 AED.


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## hari (Jul 12, 2008)

You will get refurbished laptops without warranty, check in rolla street , Sharjah where you can find lot of options


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

I wouldn't go anywhere near a used laptop, especially if it doesn't come with warranty! There are plenty of shops here where you can buy laptops, amongst other things, on credit. That might be a better option as you can spread out the payments and will become more affordable!


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## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

Maz25 said:


> I wouldn't go anywhere near a used laptop, especially if it doesn't come with warranty! There are plenty of shops here where you can buy laptops, amongst other things, on credit. That might be a better option as you can spread out the payments and will become more affordable!


I disagree would, but I would replace the Hard Drive as a matter of course as they are the most likely thing to fail.

There is a lot of potential in a second hand laptop as most applications don't need the power that most new laptops have. Also if you use XP instead of Vista then you don't need as much power again. Microsoft are working on their next OS (Microsoft Windows 7) and they have realised that people don't want bells and whistles that sap power, they just want it to run quietly and relatively resource free in the background. Should be out in 2010 (so probably 2012)

If you just want to use it for general word processing and the Internet a 2nd Hand Laptop (and a replacement Hard Drive) would be more than adequate. It's also environmentally friendly too.

HTH


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## Andyshiv (Aug 5, 2008)

Hiya All,

Many thanks for your replies.

Hubby wants it for skyp only I think.

Have since heard tho that Skype is one of the blocked websites?

Also, I'm not sure it's free to use it either??

Regards,

Siobhan


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

Andyshiv said:


> Hiya All,
> 
> Many thanks for your replies.
> 
> ...



Skype to skype (PC to PC) is free. There are still places in Dubai that where you can still download Skype/


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## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

Andyshiv said:


> Hiya All,
> 
> Many thanks for your replies.
> 
> ...


You don't need much power to run Skype. 

_"For voice and video calls we recommend a computer with at least a 1GHz processor, 256 MB RAM and of course a webcam. "_

It's free Skype to Skype but calls to other countries vary but are in the pennies per minute rather than pound per minute. It is, 'blocked' 

You could probably get a laptop with that spec for less than £100

Maybe persuade your company could give you one

Business case = 'remote working' or 'business continuity'


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

crazymazy1980 said:


> Business case = 'remote working' or 'business continuity'


Oh, so that's the line you used! Hope your boss ain't reading this!!!!


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## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

Maz25 said:


> Oh, so that's the line you used! Hope your boss ain't reading this!!!!


I never asked for mine, just work for a very good company who want to look after their staff.  

{humming corporate song}


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## bubble_boy (May 28, 2008)

I just saw an Asus starter laptop at Geant. Guess the price. 999 dhms. Its a "real" laptop as well. 512 meg ram. celeron processor, 7" screen. This I think might be perfect for skype.

Pretty much this one. A cute little thing.

Asus Computers - Eee PC 4G Surf Notebook - Black - 90OA01A20102111U305Q


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## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

bubbles said:


> I just saw an Asus starter laptop at Geant. Guess the price. 999 dhms. Its a "real" laptop as well. 512 meg ram. celeron processor, 7" screen. This I think might be perfect for skype.
> 
> Pretty much this one. A cute little thing.
> 
> Asus Computers - Eee PC 4G Surf Notebook - Black - 90OA01A20102111U305Q


It's operating system is Linux vice XP or Vista, which is why it's very cheap. It will limit the sort of software you will be able to put on it but Linux is quite a stable platform and its user base is getting stronger. 

And you could probably just uninstall it and put XP on it instead anyway, it's not powerful enough to run Vista (which is rubbish anyway)


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## Ogri750 (Feb 14, 2008)

The OS is Linux. They are ok for the money (bought one for my wife, mainly for the webcam and it's total portability). Only 4gb HDD, so you will either need an external drive or a big usb storage device (32gb curently on sake at Carrefour)

The next one up from those has an 8gb HDD and runs Vista

Neither machine has an optical drive (cd/dvd) so you would need to buy and external one of those too


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