Hi there. I'm back again with one more final question about this particular laptop (that you gave me the link to),

does it have a headphone jack?

That is of ultimate importance!!! lol

thanks so much

I did look at the specs but didn't see where it mentioned it has a headphone jack.

Melody

Well, the ones I bought have one...the one in the pic in the link above has the audio port, so I am going to go with a 99.99% chance that it does....

Ah, you see I was looking for the word HEADPHONE, which is on every other computer that I have bought. I know what audio means, but I thought that MIGHT mean one of those yellow or red or whatever video/audio cables that go from the dvd player to the tv.

See, I am not COMPLETELY clueless!!! rofl.

Thanks much
So it's safe to say it has a headphone jack. Thank god.

I'm going to wait a bit and go and and personally look at laptops before I get one.

They have them at $249, $299, etc. but I don't want a piece of junk. So I'm going to be extra careful and keep looking. There will ALWAYS be a sale going on somewhere.

And I saw on Tiger Direct that they sell Dell Inspiron refurbished laptops. I read all the reviews. One guy said "A refurbished Dell is as good as a new Dell!!

What do you think?

Thanks much
Melody

Hi. I believe in providence. Signs from above WHATEVER!!!!

I was shopping and found myself in front of a computer store. I have been there before. Nice guy. I always ask questions. He is patient and answers them. So today i walk in and announce! !!!Do you sell laptops??!!!

He proceeds to show me all the various laptops and they were 15 inches and i knew i always wanted a bigger screen to watch my youtube movies. And Hulu etc. It has flash. He is loading it up with word processing software. Dvd software. Etc. 17 inch screen. I tested it out. Went on the internet. Dont need bells and whistles. Needed a plain old laptop. Oh what make and model??? A Dell Inspiron. Same one i asked you about. Costs $280.00 no tax. I will pick it up in a few days. Glory be i have a laptop. I put down a deposit. Next week its mine. It's BIG just what i wanted. Lol

Cool...I have had a couple Dell laptops with the 17"....they are a tad heavier than the competition but overall a good machine...

Congrats!

I think I will bring it home this week. Since he put me as the administrator, I'm all ready and set (at least I think I am). Never owned a laptop before but then again, I never had a tablet and look at me now. I am ALL things tablets.

Do I have to know anything special about laptops? He told me that when I get home and bring up my browser it will automatically search for the nearest wi fi connection and that will be my wireless network. He told me to just type in my password and that should be it.

I once read where people need to buy cooling fans for laptops. I asked the guy and he said 'no you don't need to buy that". I asked him "How long do I charge this? and he said "It will be all charged up and if you want to use it plugged in then do that, no problem". I thought one doesn't do that but then I asked my friends who all have laptops and they ALL keep them plugged in while using it and they unplug them when they go to sleep. I really don't know anything about laptops. Have much to learn.

But I'm ready willing and able. I call this my starter laptop. For $280 and a 17inch screen, it will do nicely until I get rich and buy one of those Alienware laptops. I read about them. Good Lord!! lol

Thanks much, Mel

1) When you turn your laptop on for the first time it will search for the nearest wifi signal with the best signal, keep in mind this may NOT be yours. If you click on the little icon it will show you the wireless networks that are within range or YOUR laptop at that moment. Choose yours, enter the password, and then you are good to go.

2) Battery, its a battery, not an electronic mind-blowing thing that you need a manual and a degree to understand. Its a battery. Your laptop should survive on its own for about 3 hours under normal use. When the battery gets low, plug it in, if you need to go to the kitchen with it to cook a recipe on the food network, unplug it, if you take it to bed with you to play solitaire, leave it unplugged overnight on the floor, its a battery....charge it while you leave the house for a couple hours or if you are just sitting at the dining room table.

Be comfortable with it, dont treat it like a King

One of the things I like to do with a new to me laptop is change all the power settings in the control panel. Laptops are defaulted to go to sleep after XX minutes...that drives me nuts...I set mine that there are NO screensavers, NO diming of screens and NO sleeping while plugged in. In battery mode I like to have it sleep after 20 minutes of inactivity.

Play with the settings, you cant break it.....

Unless you turn into a total gamer for 8 hours a day you wont need a cooling fan either, but if you think they are cool (no pun intended) go for it...

I like a wireless mouse too, as the touchpad can be a pain for certain tasks for long periods...

I just sold an Alienware laptop on eBay...got $600 for it without an operating system...and the damn thing weighed 15lbs....sheesh....

But I do recommend having a password (a good one, not "password") as they are portable and there is a black market for them....be careful....

Other than that...ENJOY!

What would i ever do withot you???

Thanks much..

Will make a video when i get this. Lol

Mem

Curl up into the fetal position and suck your thumb?

here's my new baby!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McAMaGOfSCY

Melody


P.s. Can I buy a different keyboard (like the microsoft broken ones, I like them.) and hook it up via usb and then use THAT keyboard? Is this possible? Thanks much