Refurbished Laptops

[ImLostAgain]

I've just had a pal on the phone telling me his laptop has died. I'm not surprised. I think it ran on steam and string. Anyway he'd like to know which is the best choice between Chromebook and Cloudbook (I've never heard of the latter) or should he go for a refurbished one, and if so, where would you recommend. He just uses it to surf the web and use emails etc.

[barry1010]

Chromebooks run Google, Cloudbooks use Windows. Both have minimal storage space and relies on 'the cloud' for accessing apps and storing files, photos etc.
Ideal for some, hopeless for others. He needs to know what he wants and decide whether that sort of computing will suit him or whether he needs a more traditional laptop.
Buenchico has recommended a company that sells refurbished laptops many times.

[ImLostAgain]

barry1010,cheers for that. Like I say he's just doing everyday stuff. I'll wait and see if Buenchico pops in and tells me the company he uses.

[barry1010]

Found it! https://accomputerwarehouse.com

[ImLostAgain]

Brilliant, I'll text him that address. Cheers.

[Buenchico]

This is where I've bought lots of stuff from, both for my self and on behalf of others. (Several other ABers have followed my recommendation and they've all given positive feedback). The quality of the products is excellent, as is their customer service:
https://accomputerwarehouse.com/product-category/cheap-refurbished-laptops-uk

However the laptop I'm typing this on at the moment didn't come from there, solely because they hadn't got exactly what I was looking for when I needed it. Instead I bought from this eBay seller:
https://tinyurl.com/4wbfv924
where there's 99.9% positive feedback after thousands of sales. Every laptop listed by that company is described in the finest detail, down to things like 'Missing Windows sticker', so purchaser's always know about any fault (even if it's only a tiny scratch on the lid) before buying. (Read the 'Condition' statement, at the top of machine's description, carefully to see what you'd be getting). Their prices are good too.

Chromebooks use their own operating system, Chrome OS, which has its root in Android. That means that users can't run Windows programs on their machine.

Cloudbooks are the Windows equivalent but both Chromebooks and Cloudbooks are based around the idea that you'll do everything 'in the cloud', often using online apps and storing files online, rather than having everything on your machine. That way of doing things might suit some but it's not for me. I'd rather stick with a conventional laptop.

One thing I would urge your pal to go for though is a solid state drive (SSD). They make everything VASTLY faster than when using a conventional hard drive (HDD).

This might meet his needs well:
https://accomputerwarehouse.com/product/15-6-laptop-8gb-ram-120gb-ssd/

[Buenchico]

Thanks, Barry ;-)

[ToraToraTora]

neither! get a proper laptop

[HFJL2020]

hello mr b could u reccomenb a store where i could buy a
vhs hdd player t u

[Buenchico]

Henry:
'VHS' and 'HDD' together in a post doesn't really make much sense to me. VHS machines haven't been made for a couple of decades, so you can't buy a new one anywhere.

Are you looking for a PVR (= personal video recorder), which record TV programmes onto a hard drive? If so, a Humax machine, from almost anywhere (e.g. Currys/PC World) might be what you need:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/humax-tv-and-home-entertainment/digital-and-smart-tv/set-top-boxes/304_3021_30021_1816_xx/xx-criteria.html

[barry1010]

I think henry wants a machine like I had years ago. I backed up many VHS tapes to the hard drive, I also had one that recorded from VHS to DVD.

[Buenchico]

Thanks, Barry, (and apologies to ImLostAgain for abusing his thread) but the simple answer then for Henry is that what he's looking for hasn't been available new for about 20 years now. All he can do is to try eBay to see if there's a decent second hand model available.

[davebro]

I think Daewoo did a VHS/HDD machine - seen a couple on ebay.