A friend of mine aged 72 is thinking of becoming a silver surfer. She needs good advice on which laptop computer to buy.

[AryomGrob]

My friend is not yet sure what she wants to do with the computer, but I think she will want to use it to help with crosswords and possibly do some home shopping with Tesco. I wonder whether anyone in the know, could recommend a tough hard - wearing laptop, costing £350 or less. Any advice would be much appreciated. Moyra A Borg

[alanogden]

They are all pretty good these days. Just go for a cheap one, I doubt your friend will be playing games so won't need a fast processor and sophisticated sound. Crosswords are pretty slow and gentle. I have found the most important thing is the state of the eyesight, it may be necessary to go for the biggest screen and a plug-in mouse is much better than those fiddly touch pads.

[ethandron]

i'd defo go for a mouse, but i'd recommend a wireless one, much better and easier to use as they don't have a rollerball.

[TTG]

Don't let them go to a pc store on their own. No offence but would not want them to be sold kit they would not need.

[denis567]

I am a silver surfer and I have had a Acer Aspire 5315 for over 2 years now. It has given me no trouble, it is wireless and is quite adequate for what I use it for, and it only cost £275.
By the way, you quickly get used to the touch-pad, so I would not recommend using a mouse

[AryomGrob]

Oh thank you all so much for your kindness in replying to my question. Indeed I went with my friend to a well known PC shop yesterday. The chap in there was very kind and explained lots of things but my poor friend didn't know if she was coming or going as there were so many things to think about! I take it that there is no scheme to encourage pensioners to buy computers. If there were one, it would help as it would guide them away from things they don't need. I will encourage my friend to do a lot of thinking before she buys her own computer.