Hi.   I'm Bob.   I've been a user of laptops since the days of the Toshiba T1000 - a little PC with a non-lit screen and a floppy drive (back in the 1980's), and I've been a fixer of more of these things than just about anybody else alive.    Wait, let me correct myself:  I've fixed more of these things than most countries.    Fixing laptops is a Passion of mine and yes -  that's Passion with a "P".   Give me a bunch of these sick puppies, and I can go days without sleep, food, or water.   I'll memorize things and details about laptops that no one else paid any attention to, and, as I've always said: "Gimme a dozen of these things, and I can tell you - with accuracy - how the entire lineup will fare, how they'll fail, how long they'll last, and how much effort you'll have to put forth to keep 'em going over time."      So ... I'm dang good at these matters and I'm not gonna try and pussyfoot (tip-toe is probably a better choice of words) around it and pretend that I'm ... you know, humble bob or anything.   To be honest, I'm too old for that.

In this guide, I'll try to help set some parameters on what to look for in a laptop.  We - in America - have been living in the Stone Ages when it comes to the concept of portable computing.   Want evidence?   It's the year 2008 and laptop sales are just now surpassing the sales of desktops.   Stationary computers (desktop computers, towers, ....) belong in the Stone Ages:  they require too much material to manufacture, package, and transport (which generate massive pollution), they require far too much power to run and operate (which generate still more ongoing pollution), they occupy far more space than most of us could afford, and their disposal means at least 70 lbs worth of steel, plastic, cardboard,  foam, and toxic electronic garbage to our environment, and as such, they should've been banned and outlawed by any modern society - goes to show you how progressive we've been.    There is just no shame in us in keeping these things going!    

By comparison, a laptop computer takes less than 1/10th of the materials to make, runs comfortably on 1/10th of the electricity (and is just as fast), nibbles on space, is far less environmentally challenging to dispose of, and on top of all that, gives you the ability to move about with ease, and as such, laptop computers should have been the only consideration in any modern society.   I wouldn't tie myself down with the latest, greatest desktop computer if one was given to me for free.  Not even with a NFL-sized signing bonus attached!

The proliferation of the wireless networks means that computers have finally been set free from copper wires and fixed locations - this is likely the second coming of the PC revolution and .... I can only say: "What took us so long?"     And if you're having difficulties coming to grips with the concept of a laptop computer that's running "wirelessly", just think ...cell phone.   A "wirelessly" laptop is just a big clump of cellphone with a real keyboard, mouse, hard drive, and a big screen.   There is not a lot of difference between the two!

Of course, nothing in this world is ever "free."   Having a laptop brings much the same intrusions into your life as having a cell phone: just think of those peaceful days when people could only call you thru a land line, or the times when you're standing in line at the store not having to listen to the 14-year-old standing next to you argue with her "boyfriend" over her "cell"!   And with all the wireless signals bouncing all around and through you and I, we may all one day live to regret these ... self-inflicted technological "advancements".   But ... that's a story for another day.

Anyway ... let's get back to my mission here:   since we're on eBay and I'm talking laptop computers, it's safe (for you) to assume that I'll be covering used laptops in this guide.    With so many used laptops being offered for sale on eBay, how does one go about finding the right ones?   How much money should we expect to pay?    And how long are these things good for?    What are the pitfalls to avoid?     I will briefly cover only the computers and will try not to be too technical here, and speak in generalized terms.   I will not tell you how to place bids or how to protect yourself from bad merchants or such - as this is a guide about laptop computers, not eBay.

So who needs a used laptop?   Much as I hate to say it, there's a laptop in nearly all of us.   Simply put, a good, used laptop is more than powerful enough to handle most, if not all, of our computing needs.   A Pentium III laptop will handle web browsing, music/video applications, and emailing with such ease that it is in danger of falling asleep on the job the entire time it's being used.    A Pentium IV handling the same chores will be so relaxed that it will be in danger of slipping into a deep coma and turning into a vegetative state!   I kid you not.   The sad truth is: we needed dual-core processors as much as we needed those Ford Excursions and GMC Suburbans, or, as my in-law would have it: "why on't take your RV to the grocery store and git yourself a quart of milk!" - it is as wasteful as it is laughable. 

Here's an actual-case comparison of how much power one needs:  In the red corner of the room stands Bob, with a PIII 650mhz, 256mb memory, 20gb hard drive, and a $10 wireless card that gets excellent signal reception; in the blue corner sits Christy, with her P4 2.4Ghz, 1gb memory, 80gb hard drive, and a DSL (wired) connection that, quite simply, is not up to snuff.   Bob and Christy both clicked on the ESPN main page (which is a pretty "loaded" page) at the same time, and the ESPN main page finished loading on Bob's old PIII in under 2 seconds, whereas Christy was still scratching her head at 10 seconds and counting. 

Bob and Christy then exchanged their network connections:  Christy got the wireless card with the good connection, and Bob got the underperforming land line plugged into his, and guess what?   Their situation reversed immediately -  Christy got  instantaneous response while Bob waited, and waited, and waited...

The bottom line is: in this era of networked computing (connecting to the internet is just that), the speed at which you're connected to your network will  largely determine your computing experience, and by the speed of your network, I'm referring to the rate of data that's actually flowing through your network - be it a dial up modem, DSL router, cable modem, or wireless router.   The speed of your computer - so long as you have a relatively modern, suitably equipped computer - becomes largely secondary.  And this is about as honest an assessment that you'll ever hear from anyone!

When a relatively modern, suitably-equipped computer connects to the internet, it should offer relatively instantaneous performance and provide you with a ... relatively pleasant experience.  So let's get to it!

What do I mean when I describe a computer as relatively modern?   By that, I'm referring to something that's a Pentium III at a minimum.  Pentium III's start at 450Mhz and top out at around 1.1/1.2Ghz, and in general, I'd say that any Pentium III at or above 600Mhz would be a safe bet and will provide you with very decent and acceptable performance.   Pentium IV's start at 1.2Ghz and, although they are "theoretically" several times faster than the III's, in reality, Pentium IV's are only marginally faster than III's, if at all.    I won't go into the details of "why's" in this article but just think of this:  a super-duper car with 400hp will max out at 180mph - certainly not 4 times faster than a 100hp cheap subcompact that will top out at over 100mph; and in congested conditions, the two will be side-by-side the entire way.

Having defined the issue of a relatively modern computer, let's fill in the blanks as to what it should have and how it should be equipped.   So ... let's start with the all-important operating system - the decider - its advantages, disadvantages, and overhead.   Bear in mind that the decider (operating system) comes before anything else, and its overhead (how much memory it'll use up and disk space it'll occupy) will decide how much of the remaining computer is left (allocated) to you!!!     So ... without further ado, here's a brief overview of the popular Windows operating systems (from old to new):

Windows 95: not covered here - it's too old and limited to have any generalized appeal;

Windows 98/98SE (Second Edition): lack internal support for nearly all USB devices/PC cards, nearly fully debugged, requires 32MB of memory and, fully updated, just under 1GB of disk space.

Windows ME (Millennium): a continuation of Windows 98, easier to use, requires a minimum of 64MB of memory and, fully updated, sits on just over 1GB of disk space.

Windows 2000 Professional: the ancestor to Windows XP, stable and rock solid, nearly fully debugged, requires 128MB of memory just to be usable and, fully updated, takes up a little over 2.5GB of disk space.

Windows XP/XP Professional: over half a decade after its release, it has finally been debugged to a point where it is stable and reliable, requires a minimum192MB of memory just to be usable and, fully updated, takes up a little over 3.5GB of disk space.

Longhorn (or do they call it Vista these days?): not covered here - it'll take several more years of debugging and fixing and patching - all of which are being called "updates" in this whacky world we live in...

Now ... let's look at an example: you're looking at this great looking, barely-used laptop on eBay and it has a Pentium III processor (700Mhz) with 128MB of memory and a 10GB hard drive and Windows XP, and the item is in "mint" condition and the seller is reputable.   What's wrong with this picture?    Well ... according to me, Windows XP requires 192MB of memory just to be usable, so the computer you're looking at is going to be slow right out of the box - very agonizingly slow - and you'll have to add more memory just to bring it up to normal speed.   The computer has more than enough power - just not enough memory, and if it had, say, 256MB of memory, it'd be a good one right out of the box!

Several years ago, a realtor sold me her laptop for $1.  It was a great Pentium III 850Mhz, nearly new,  had 128MB of memory and a 15GB hard drive and came with Windows ME - a nearly perfect setup.   Well ... upon listening to some office-hearsay about how Windows ME was "garbage", she went to CompUSA and bought herself Windows XP for $200, installed it, and her laptop immediately slowed to an absolute crawl.   She kept re-installing Windows XP and, for sure, it was hopelessly slow and she reckoned there must be something wrong with her computer and gave up on it and got herself a new one.    Well .... I got all-of-it for $1 - spent another $5 on a 128MB memory chip - and ended up with a great computer that I'm still using to this day.    

Okay, let's not get carried away by my past glory here...   Continuing on, having gotten a good grip on what the operating system needs, let's figure out the rest:

Memory:  For computers with Windows 98 or ME, it'd be good to have 128MB at your disposal; for computers running Windows 2000 or XP, it'd be good  to have 256MB - unless you're a real power user who runs many applications simultaneously, there'd be little or no advantages in having more memory installed.     Bottom line: once your computer has enough memory for what you're doing, all the extra installed memory ain't gonna bring you a nanosecond's worth of added performance - they'll just be there to suck up electricity. 

Optical (cd-rom, dvd, cd-rw, dvd-rw) drives:  have at least a DVD drive with your laptop, as it brings entertaining and educational value to your computer.  Beyond a DVD drive, cd-rw (cd copier) drives or and DVD-rw (DVD copier) drives are over-rated as all they do is generate plastic junk - and you'll find yourself drowning in an ocean of bootlegged CDs and DVDs.  

Screen size:  Laptop screens range from 12", 13", 14", 15", 16" and up.   12" screens are likely too small, and 15"-or-larger screens are too big, too heavy, and unwieldy.   Go with the 13" or 14" screen sizes for maxium versatility.     Keep in mind that as small and nimble as laptops are, they do have a footprint and will take up air space, so don't get greedy with size here:  a laptop with a 15" or larger screen will likely become stationary due to their extra size and weight (and they'll be too close for comfort when sitting on your lap!).   And remember: accidents do happen, and the bigger they come, the easier it is to knock over  because they'll be ... in your way!  

Weight:  Based on weight, there are really 3 classes of laptops:

Subnotebooks:  These are the lightest (and most expensive) ones that fall into the 3-4 lb. category and tend to be exotically priced.  How is the reduction in weight achieved?  By using smaller screeens (<12"), and by making everything (other than absolutely necessary) external.  For instance, your beloved DVD drive is an external device, and so forth.   The rule of thumb here is: if you have to have any of the external devices with you (or even in your carrying case), you oughtn't be using one.

Regular laptops:  these will weigh-in at 5.5lbs - 7lbs, give or take, and will have everything (including optical drives) installed.   The heavier ones will use more substantial materials and have more structural reinforcements, and will likely be less prone to failures; the lighter ones use less materials and will likely be less reliable - all else being equal. 

Desktop replacements: these are the real boat-anchors that come equipped 15", 16", 17" or larger screens that are ... little more than glorified desktop computers, and will weigh in at 8 to 10 lbs easily.   With these, you get to tell 'em: "Stay!"   They're not going anywhere due to their bulk and size, so weight becomes irrelevant.  

 (... to be continued ...)

Hey ... this is a work-in-progress and is merely a ... first draft that I'll be editing and adding to every day.   If you have any questions or comment, please feel free to email me at any time.