ok my mom asked me what laptop she needed to get for the things she wanted to do so i had her type up this summary of things she wanted out of her computer please include the link to where she can get the computer and about how much it costs with you suggestions thanks!!!

my moms preferences:

manage my mary kay inventory and business,(customers, expenses, etc). manage personal finances.
be able to search the net from anywhere.
need a good printer to make my hand made cards, phrases , and scrapbooking.
Also, will be returning to college soon for a masters and then will be teaching nursing students.
I am also a nurse and hope to get some sort of pda to load medical reference items.
would like to be able to load text books,scan assignments etc.
most of college classes will be on line so need a good computer for this that i can take anywhere.
also, want a printer, fax, copier good quality and color. should i get wireless, laser, inkjet??
I am a very busy mom/nurse/business owner that is on the run a lot and multi tasks all the time.
my kids 9 and 15 will use the lap top some too. son is big into gaming, however, my NEEDS come first!!
I don't have a lot of money to spend, $1000-1500.
But, i do NOT want to get a system that is not upgradable or not going to be capable of the
new functions that are coming down the road.
I also like to listen to my favorite radio station over the internet. So, Dell or HP? Vista or windows xp???

hope you can help!!!!

manage my mary kay inventory and business,(customers, expenses, etc). manage personal finances.
be able to search the net from anywhere. To do this you'll need to buy an extension. Internet server providers generally offer wireless/anywhere internet, and there is usually a usb device of a pcmi card that will connect to the internet just like a cellphone connects to other telephones. It costs monthly.

What you can do is buy a wireless router to take your computer anywhere in your house.
need a good printer to make my hand made cards, phrases , and scrapbooking. Color or laser?
Also, will be returning to college soon for a masters and then will be teaching nursing students. You'll be carrying the computer a lot, I'd imagine?
I am also a nurse and hope to get some sort of pda to load medical reference items. Generally speaking, if you get a small computer you can type everything up. You could use a smartphone or something (like a Palm or something).
would like to be able to load text books,scan assignments etc. An all in one printer would be good.
most of college classes will be on line so need a good computer for this that i can take anywhere.
also, want a printer, fax, copier good quality and color. should i get wireless, laser, inkjet?? I'd get a wireless one. Laser is newer, and has much better quality. Note that the more you pay for the printer, the less computer you'll get, so an inkjet may be an option based on the computer.
I am a very busy mom/nurse/business owner that is on the run a lot and multi tasks all the time. 12 cell battery would allow you to keep your laptop on for approx 6 hours. (correct if wrong)
my kids 9 and 15 will use the lap top some too. son is big into gaming, however, my NEEDS come first!!
I don't have a lot of money to spend, $1000-1500.
But, i do NOT want to get a system that is not upgradable or not going to be capable of the
new functions that are coming down the road. The problem with laptops is they're not upgradeable, other than the RAM, battery and hard drive.
I also like to listen to my favorite radio station over the internet.Shouldn't be a problem. So, Dell or HP? Vista or windows xp??? Are you more familiar with XP or Vista? Which do your work computers use? It would probably be wise to use the same. Most computers come Vista, hard to find someone selling XP.

I also need to know what country you live in (so we can check prices, use the best dealers), what screen size you want (smaller the screen, better for portability. Average is a 15.4 inch screen which is good if in a backpack, but can be kinda heavy if you're carrying in your hands for an hour or so), and if you're ok with buying online.



I'll look for a $1000-1200 computer to leave ~$300 for a printer.

Good computer. 15.4 inch screen, 1024mb of graphics memory (great for games), 2.26ghz dual core processor means you can start up programs fast, 4gb of ram so you can have lots of windows open, weighs 6 pounds which is less than a gallon of milk, has wireless n so you can connect to wireless networks that are far away, comes with a card reader which lets you put in cards from your phone, camera, or anything else and upload them on your computer, finger print reader for added security, and has a built in webcam for video chatting with friends/professors.

Down side is the battery will only go up to about 3 hours.

That leaves $300 for a printer.

http://b2b.vzw.com/broadband/bbapccard.html


The problem with laptops is the more expensive ones will be more compatible down the road since they are faster; however, faster means more heat and less battery life. I'd get a dual core CPU, quite a bit of RAM, and spend extra on a battery with more cells.


She wants a pda also so subtract another $300.

http://reviews.cnet.com/best-pdas/