need a basic laptop for word 2003 & internet

jaapbond

hi, I have just started an online study course and assignments must be in word 2003 or older. I only need it for online searching and word processing, maybe some photo uploads. Needs to be a laptop so i can keep study flexible.

any help or suggestions please...how much should i pay...can you sell me one?

thanks

woolymammoth

You should pay as much as you can afford to pay on a laptop. But they don't come very cheap, unless you're happy with a netbook.

If you want to pay for microsoft office, that will set you back some cash alright, but since you only need word 2003 formats, OpenOffice.org is an excellent free office suite.

If you get a laptop that's not very powerful, you also have freely available online office apps;

From microsoft themselves, office.live.com
From Google, docs.google.com
another excellent suite is Zoho, docs.zoho.com

The positive thing about the online ones, is that they're PC (laptop) independent, ie. you can access and edit your documents online anywhere in the world. And they're free.

norbert64

This could be an option.
Fujitsu LI3710 Amilo 15.6in Laptop for €333.99
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5083077.htm

Fairly basic entry level machine, but leaves you a good chunk of change for buying M$ Office

Nadser

Most current word processors will give you the option of saving it in Word 2003 format. I've been using OpenOffice for quite a while and it does the job. Just be careful when saving that in the Save as type box, you choose Word 2003. Alternatively, all word processors can handle rich text format.

Oracle

Agree about OpenOffice, it's just as good as MS Office, but without the €100+ charge. As Nadser said you can choose the format you want to save your docs in, so compatibility with Word 2003 is not a problem. Using OpenOffice you can also export direct to PDF, thats handy as well.

The Argos laptop looks good to me. I'd probably install Ubuntu or Linux Mint on it, that comes complete with everything you need, like OpenOffice, email client, etc.... but thats just my preference:

Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com/
Linux Mint: http://www.linuxmint.com/

Another option would be to buy this laptop from EBuyer and put Ubuntu or Mint on it. Although it would cost more, it's a better laptop: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/240874

norbert64

lol, the Fujitsus seem to be sold out unfortunately, so we will have to look for something else. :cool:

B00MSTICK

Seeing as you asked, I can sell you several

The Acer (€160) I have on adverts would suit you down to the ground IMO.
I should have a few more (Sony/Samsung) around the €200 bracket by the end of the week if that doesn't float your boat.

Even if you don't buy anything from me I'd recommend buying second hand if you're after value for money.
You have the most basic requirements really so even an older Pentium IV/AMD XP based laptop would suit you.

jaapbond

thank you everyone for your advice, my first time posting a thread and really amazed ye all took the time to write. I will have to re read it all and get up to speed on my options,
thanks

btw - you can get the full office suite at software4students.ie for 60 euro - licence for 2 pc's too.