Well first off I would find out what the person is going to be using?
Second decide of a good processor and a good size of ram plus a healthy
sized harddisk too. If this person is in a non USA area make sure they have
the right modem adapter and power adapter too. Also see about sometype of
carrying case too. For 40 bucks I got a carrying case that looks like a
bookbag. I am sure that doesn't draw as much attention as a computer carry
case would if this person travels.

I bought the Toshiba satellite 2505 CDs. I bought a satellite since I use
JAWS and everyone recommends it as a great laptop to use that speech
software. I personally use Office 97 pro and the internet. I bought it to
use as a portable system also I got at a reasonable price too. However it
only has a 2 GB harddrive and no docking capabilities. This means I cant
buy the adapter or port replicator and use this system as a desktop
computer. I didn't attend on that feature when I bought it but its features
that are nice include the USB the universal Serial bus which is suppose to
be the new universal standard interface in add on accessories to a system
with out taken it apart or rebooting it. I hope to add a web cam and use
that as a portable CCTV. It also has a serial port a printer port a monitor
port and a PS/2 port. Some smaller laptops like I think the IBM's have an
adapter you attach to the rear of the system to add these ports. At one
time they were prone to having pin connection problems. Last but not lease
is the Infra red port. This port is for wireless communication to either a
printer or a network. The speed is around 1.2 mega bits a second. I bought
it at circuit city and also bought a 3 year extended warranty. It included
a one year warranty and the satellite pro systems I believe come with a 3
year warranty. It is a Pentium 233mmx system with 32 megs of ram which I
plan to upgrade later and it uses PC cards to add accessories that are
currently on the market. Mines also included a PC card modem. Later on I am
going to leave the desktop world completely so either I will get a USB
scanner or a PC SCSI interface or a USB to SCSI interface. Also this system
has no docks so you cant add a second hard drive or a second battery or a
internal zip drive. Other models have this feature but this one has a
intergraded CD floppy and harddisk. Some of the other models the floppy
drive is external or you have to swap the CD drive to use the floppy drive.


Well I hope this helps.


On Sunday, November 29, 1998 9:45 AM, Joaquim B. Lourenco
[SMTP:[log in to unmask]] wrote:
> In a message dated 98-11-24 07:06:50 EST, you write:
> Hi....
> In one of your messages, you mention to some one, to make sure that his
<<LAP-
> TOP>> suports <<USB>>.
> What this abreviation means?
> I'm trying to buy a nice lap-top for a  blind freind of mine in Portugal,
and
> i dont know what to buy, because there so many things on the market, that
make
> me confused, and also there is so many diferent hardware and software,
that
> also confuse me.
> I dont care much about how much i have to spend, what i want is, to buy
the
> right piece of equipment, with the best things inside. I dont want to
came
> back with it from Portugal to upgrade equipment for a great while.
> I apreciate your sugestions and comments.
> Very truly yours
> [log in to unmask]
>


Later

Mark A Cobb

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