Re: Off topic: Need cheap new laptop, any suggestions?

[flash flash@xxxxxxxx]

Lisa,

I would second everything Patricia wrote about laptops (importance of
keyboard, monitor size, etc.), and add only this: the current generation
of very compact laptops (some of which are purse-sized), save space by
not only eliminating the CD-ROM drive, but also ports such as COMM1,
external video, modem, cable Ethernet, and so on. The MacBook Air, for
example, has audio out and a single USB port and that's about it;
everything else must be attached via a USB hub to the one on-board USB
port, or reachable via wireless LAN. So make a quick inventory what
external devices a new laptop must be able to communicate with, and
check that any prospective new machine has the necessary port(s).

Cheers,