CleanMPGs new Toshiba Satellite C55-B5200 Laptop

My laptop that died had the first generation quad core i7 processor. I've been spoiled, and won't buy another laptop without a quad core now. I'm borrowing an old laptop from my aunt until I can afford it.

 

$299.99 is a great price.

 

Wayne,
I don't remember how I did it,(on one of the settings menus) but you can start-up or switch to a traditional desktop look at any time and put all your shortcuts on the desktop. Prob. if you google it it will tell you how.That 3rd key from bottom left that looks like 4 windows on you laptop changes mine back and forth.
I never use the tiles page and I did not have to install any 3rd party program.
HTH a little.

Dave

 

I use Norton Internet Security with good results on both our laptops.

 

Wayne, $299 sounds like a great deal. Congrats for the acquisition and the
requisite 'setting-it-up-the-way-you-like-it' part. Hopefully, it's sort of fun
for you.

I agree with Andrew that cpu cycles are cheap these days, especially when
there are multiple cpu cores involved. A couple years ago, I3 was dual core
plus hyperthreading, right? I haven't kept up with the Intel road map since.
I see new and inexpensive Atom "quad core" tablets and transformer type
PCs. I wonder if that's dual core plus hyperthreading, too, rather than true
quad core? And all the high-end smart phones are quad core, though
probably not comparable to the I5/I7/A6/A8s out there. I think people are
fortunate to be living in such rich, technology times.

I'm mostly done with Windows, but I may have to dive back in again sometime.
It's just not going away it seems. I have a Windows XP desktop at work;
unsupported by Microsoft but the company doesn't seem to care. I run
Ubuntu for my own workhorse PC (notebook) at home. The wife still runs
Windows 7 and just got a machine upgrade to replace her prior aging netbook.
The new one's more of a desktop replacement and still manages to be
transportable. The cpu is an AMD A8 though, so quite snappy with room
to grow. She runs her old software such as Photoshop and Dreamweaver on
it. I took over her 10? year old Toshiba Celeron 1.4GHz notebook with
Windows XP as my Windows machine for legacy applications and non-Linux
software. Right now, that's only Toyota diagnostics to program the PIP's TPMS
and Garmin map/GPS updater. And of course, there's Android for everything
else in daily life.

Apple products are not a consideration for me (too expensive), but the wife
has her iPhone for real estate related apps, allegedly. Fortunately, she has
not been eyeing the iPad or other higher-end products and seems satisfied
with her Toshiba tablet. MacOS has a UNIX core, though, doesn't it? That makes
Apple's OS okay with me, just too expensive!

Antivirus software is still quite necessary, unfortunately, for the Windows
machines. It may be needed, too, for Android, Linux, MacOS, etc. but just
less often targeted. Recent news of the massive web site hacks has made
me a bit of a fatalist; I just hope they go after the wealthier folk first.

Cheers,
Bill

p.s. I used to run NAV (norton) as we had a corporate
license and were encouraged to use it everywhere! I
never had any problems. That's not to say it was perfect,
and any antivirus product can have flaws at any point in
time. The best protection is still the wary user...

 

>> Asked the manager to reset the Router and he knew nothing about it.

Not too surprising... I'm usually disappointed with the free wifi hotspots
so I don't use them very often. For my limited data needs, the 2 GB/month
shared data on our cell data plan is more than enough for 2 of us, and she
uses 10x what I use. We still come in under 50% *always*. The free wifi
at work is excellent, though. Not kidding, it's provided for our patients and
employees.

For backup, I signed up for the free 500 MB/month data from FP. It's on a 4G
network, but seems very limited in my area which is mostly served by my
regular carrier, V_W. FP's network is Sp__nt's, I believe. So far, it works best
at my home, not on the road where I need it. Worth checking out similar
services perhaps? Cost of entry was about $20 for a refurbished wifi mobile
hotspot device. I have 2 and 2 accts, so 1 GB/month total free, plus you get
some amount extra (for both parties) for referring someone, so actually about
1.1 GB/month. Anyone want a referral and extra data?

Cheers,
Bill

 

Ouch! Why not pick up one of those Virgin Mobile pre-paid hotspots?

Hopefully Classic Shell works for you. I feel 8.1 + Classic Shell is faster than Win 7 alone.

 

T-Mobile is getting better, bit I wouldn't expect it to work outside well populated areas.

 

re: free mobile hotspot

I hear you, Wayne. It isn't an optimal solution when direct 4G on the
smart phone works so well. What I have now is an in-car 4G hotspot
(when it works). I found one place that works well today. I was charging
at a local Chilis (ChargePoint location sponsored by National Grid power
company) and there's Chili's free wifi, but the signal's week and usually
slow. The FP hotspot got a good 4G signal so I was in business. I checked
my usage a short while ago and found that the 500 MB/month rolls over!
I signed up 3 months ago so I have close to 1.5 GB available now on that
one device. Should be a comparable amount on the other device. One
other benefit I just realized is that one can set up stronger wifi protection
on this hotspot rather than using an open system at a free hotspot location
like McD's or Starbucks.

I'm trying to wean myself off these contract cell phone plans, and when
my current contract runs out, I'll be shopping as you are in the other/new
thread. The "FP" company also does free phone service for those who
can use limited talk and text, but they also have monthly plans for quite
reasonable rates. Sorry, I'm starting to sound like a commercial. I'll stop
now.

Cheers,
Bill