Computer Geeks Unite! And farging help me!

[ice grillin you]

can someone tell me what the difference is btwn this thing....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N2ROG9O/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

and a thumb drive

or maybe for all i know they arent even remotely related items

[General_Failure]

Short version: thumb drives are for computers, MicroSD cards are for phones and tablets.

[ice grillin you]

is there any reason to get a microsd card if you already have an external hard drive...other than i guess more friendly portability

[General_Failure]

An external hard drive's probably going to have way more storage space, so no.

[SD]

Need a good recommendation on a laptop. Trying to keep it under $700. My buddy has a refurbished Apple that's nice but I have no idea what I'm looking for. I use it to browse the net and sometimes stream movies.

[ice grillin you]

I don't know about streaming movies cause the screen is only 11 or 12 inches but I just got an asus...its basically a tablet but it comes with a hard drive and windows...it was only 199....cant imagine a better deal out there...I like it a lot so far

[SD]

Is it one with a keyboard that detaches or is it a straight tablet?

[Zanshin]

If you seriously just use it for internet and movie purposes, you could save a lot of money by checking out a Chromebook. I had a cheap Windows laptop that was stupid slow, so I took a chance and replaced it with a Chromebook that's light, thin, lightning fast and has amazing battery life for about $100. My kid has a much nicer touch screen laptop, but we bring the Chromebook everywhere because it's more portable, the battery lasts forever, and if something happens to it, it's not a major investment.

Now, if you need to install and run software or play installed games, that wouldn't be for you. We use Google Drive anyway, and it works great for that. It's not for everyone, but for what we use it for, the thing has been a champ on the cheap.

[ice grillin you]

no it doesnt have a detachable anything...its definitely a laptop not a tablet....the two things that differ from any laptop ive ever had and maybe you to is again the smaller screen....it also has a smaller hard drive but i have a standalone hard drive and i also bought a storage card that slides right inside the laptop so thats not an issue....if you dont mind a smaller screen for the movies its a no brainer imo for the two different kinds of usage you mentioned...movies/internet....i could drop the thing in a river tomorrow and i wouldnt care as it cost me less than 200 bucks...cant beat that shtein

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OBA5AZU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[SD]

Both good choices thanks fellas

My big hold up is we're supposed to get work from home soon and they're 'supposed' to be issuing us laptops. If they do then I'll go one of these cheaper routes. If not I'm going to have to upgrade to something faster with more processors because we have to view so many different programs and documents at the same time.

[PhillyPhreak54]

I have a Toshiba that I bought for around $550 that is great. I can't recall the exact dimensions of it but I will post the model number when I get home

[Zanshin]

Figure out what you need first-- but for $700, you could easily get a Windows computer that would easily do what you need. If you're not gaming, a Core i5 with 6-8 gigs of RAM would be more than enough. Keep an eye out on SlickDeals.com for a bargain. You could probably get what you need for about $500. I bough a refurbished, but nice ASUS touchscreen ultrabook with a Core i5 and 8 gig of RAM for my son about a year and a half ago for $500. I'd look at refurbished if you're looking to save some money-- I've had a lot of luck with that, personally.

I think you'd have less luck with a Mac at that pricepoint, honestly. But if you're going to be using it for work, that's a big consideration if you need something in particular to connect to their network, etc.

[Zanshin]

Here's a link to the laptop deals. That Acer on there for $323 would probably be absolutely fine for what you need.

http://slickdeals.net/deals/laptop/

[SD]

Awesome thanks bud

[Beermonkey]

Has anyone here ever used internet phone services like Ooma or Vonage? I'm specifically looking at Ooma and was curious what the experience has been for others. I've read some mixed reviews on the internet so far.