Computer Question.

[cupotee2]

Hi, I wonder if anyone can offer advice please.

A friend has today registered for job seekers and the requirement is he will need to log in each day looking for jobs online.

He can make an appointment and attend the centre daily but would be so much easier to do it from home. [ I think I have that right but never been in that position to know]

He is looking for a cheap laptop with word installed. Size doesn't matter.

What he also needs is advice on connection as he doesn't have a land line.

I have a Dongle I can give/ loan him but wonder if there is a more up to date method of getting online without a land line?

You can tell neither of us have a clue on advances in technology.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks for reading.

[Buenchico]

Firstly, an important point about secondhand or refurbished laptops: They generally don't come with any guarantee that the battery will hold a charge for very long (if at all). That's no problem if you only intend to use it on the mains supply anyway but you need to add in the price of a new battery if you actually want to be able to use it on the move.

Having got that out of the way, I can thoroughly recommend A C Computer Warehouse as a supplier of refurbished laptops:
http://www.accomputerwarehouse.com/products/computing/laptops-notebooks

I can see no reason why your friend would need Word installed. It would simply be adding an unnecessary expense. There are several equally good free alternative. See my post here for details:
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Technology/Computers/Question1308849.html
(I use OpenOffice on my netbook. It does everything that Microsoft Office does but it makes things easier if you set things up so that it uses Microsoft Office file formats by default. See my second post here: http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Technology/Computers/Question1312233.html ).

As you'll be aware, dongles aren't really suitable for large amounts of internet browsing (because you only get a fairly small amount of data for a relatively large sum of money) but they're probably the only option open to your friend. However it might be worth checking to see whether any of his neighbours are using BT internet services. If so, anyone who subscribes to BT Wi-Fi can connect to the 'public' side of their BT Home Hubs with 500 minutes access per month (which might be enough for a quick daily look at the jobs available online) for a monthly fee of £6.

See here to find out if there's a local hotspot for your friend (or simply use a wi-fi enabled phone to search for a BT signal):
http://btwifi.hotspot-directory.com/
See here to subscribe for £6 per month:
https://my.btwifi.com/selfcare/purchase/chooseProduct.htm

Lastly, it occurs to me that your friend is going to need an email address to use the online jobseeker's service. I recommend GMX:
http://www.gmx.co.uk/

[cupotee2]

Your a gem Buenchico. You have thought of everything.

I will pass on this information as I don't understand the half of it. Old age being my excuse:-))

Thank you.

[Hymie]

About 2 years ago, in between jobs for a couple of months, I signed up for JSA.

The ‘proof’ that I had to present every other week to someone at the Job Centre, was a personal log of the dates and times I had been searching (for a job) on-line, in the local papers and other sources etc.

There was no way that the staff could check that I had actually spent the time stated searching. Sometimes I completed the log for the previous two weeks on the day of attendance (using a different pen for each days entry); much like MP’s expense claims – it was a complete work of fiction.

There is no need for your friend to spend hard-earned money on a computer (and internet connection) which he does not need.

[factor-fiction]

I think it may have changed now, hymie. it was like that for me about 18 months ago but then I had to register with an online jobsearch and there would have been a record of my searches and probably applications. I find it hard to imagine that all claimants are doing this though

[cupotee2]

Thanks Hymie,

I know my friend gained his last job via an internet search and has registered [via my laptop] with a couple of agency's where there are fresh emails each day.
He doesn't live close my and feels he's like his own if possible hence the need to find some answers first.

[Buenchico]

Hymie:
I was 'signed on' (with breaks when I had casual work) for several years up until about 12 months ago. Towards the end of that period all 'job seekers' were required to register with the online service. (The change was made after a TV documentary exposed the fact that job seekers could make up anything on the paper diaries you refer to).

Job seekers were put under a great deal of pressure to accept the option which allowed JobCentre staff to see what they'd been looking at. (I didn't accept that option and I was heavily frowned upon every time I went to sign on and the staff realised that my job searches weren't showing on their screens).

So my experience tallies well with what Cupoftee has written.

[Buenchico]

Just an additional point:
Up until the online system was introduced, all information about any jobs notified to JobCentre plus could be viewed on the 'JobPoints' in their offices.

Once the new system was introduced anyone could still see which jobs were listed but the details of how to apply for those jobs were no longer on the screens. Those details were only made available to people who were registered for the online service and who used their home computers (or a library or internet café) to view the jobs listed.

So even going into a JobCentre daily wouldn't allow a job seeker to actually apply for any jobs!

[Buenchico]

. . . and having mentioned libraries (which nearly all offer free internet access) it occurs to me that Cupoftee's friend might live near one, in which case he could save himself a lot of money by simply calling into the library every day.

[cupotee2]

Thank you again Buenchico. Thats how my friend explained the need for the internet.

Hopefully it will lead to early employment.