Young Writers Society

...and I'd prefer that it's a Dell. I'm comfortable with the way those are set up, but I know nothing abotu laptops. Like, at all. So, if anyone's a technical expert here, would you please let me know? Anyone have personal experiences with them? Like 'em, hate 'em? Tell all.

Pweety pwease.

Yes, I can help you. There's an inexpensive laptop called the AlphaSmart. Basically, it's just a keyboard and and LCD display. And you can plug it into a regular computer to edit and print your work. Hope that helps.

There's those notebook ones that are th size of a book or something. Thoe are cheap but i've heared mixed reviews. On one hand they're small, but my old iPod nano has 8x the memory, so you'd have to keep EVERYthing either on a flashdrive or google-docs.

There's an inexpensive laptop called the AlphaSmart.

AlphaSmarts aren't exactly laptops though, and I'm sure if she's looking for a laptop she's looking for an actual computer, not just one to write with.

My laptop is incredebly old and therefore, XP and falling apart. I have gotten a chance to play with Vista though, since my mother bought a laptop. I personally cannot stand it, and I'm going to be getting a Mac anyway for college. (Or so I hope!) Honestly, I would say just go to your local computer store, or even costco, they have great deals there, and look at the computers. Talk to a sales person about what certain things mean, if you don't know what something is on the computers specifications. Talk to them about what you want to do with it (Playing video games takes a good video card, for example) and they can help you out.

I hope that was of assistance?

Basically any laptop will do, as long as it's not connected to the internet- even those new lilleputers (mini computers) will do. I've found that Linux and OpenOffice are an added bonus. Also, if it's to write on, I wouldn't buy one with gaming in mind- after all, you use it to write, not to be distracted by games.

The thing about no internet is that hackers can get access to your files through internet. Some can even hold it hostage until you pay a ransom- not a good idea.

About Linux vs Windows- my family spends sixteen hours a month trying to get rid of and solve all the problems in our Windows computer, not to mention that it is proven to get slower as time goes on. As far as I've heard, Linux doesn't get as many bugs and viruses, and doesn't get slower. Sure, not as many games run on it, but this laptop is for writing, not games, right?

No games, sad though it may seem, is another point I'd like to make. I've found that I can't write if I'm constantly being distracted by Bejeweled or Zuma- or any other game. No distractions means more writing time, in my view.

OpenOffice is a really great word processor. I have it on my laptop, and it's much better than Wordpad or another one of those processors that come with your computer. You can get it for free by going to openoffice.org.

So really, just about any laptop will do, from the new lilleputers to a Dell or HP laptop.

Hope that helps.

-Wordsmith

Whoops, forgot to add something-

The lilleputers seem to be made for writing. They're small, really lightweight, easy to carry around, and if the keyboard is a little small, well, at least some of the lilleputers are already outfitted with Linux and OpenOffice. They're also relatively cheap- last I checked, they were between $200-300. With that size, you could carry it around in a small backpack, or even a purse.

Another thing- whatever laptop you get, buy a 2 gigabyte chip as well, and back up your work frequently. I mean, what use is a two-hundred-page-manuscript if you lose the hard-drive when your four-year-old cousin come to play and drops it? If you save with a chip, your cousin drops the laptop, you get a new laptop, insert the chip, and there you have it- all of the story minus that last page you were working on when you lost the work. And if you're really paranoid about losing your work, buy two chips and rotate them when you back up your files, so if you ever lose a chip, the other is there waiting.

You could get one of those really small notebooks but if it's writing you want it for and you're gonna use it regularly, I'd suspect it would hurt your eyes after a while - I know I couldn't work on something that small. Whether you go with Windows or Linux is up to you really, whichever you're familiar with. If you go for Windows, Vista works best with 2gb of ram, but then if you're only using it for writing there isn't much technical specification you need to look for, however Intel processors are better than Sempron, so I've heard. I have a HP Pavillion laptop which I love but it's an entertainment PC so it's got a better spec for gaming etc, but I would recommend HP laptops - mine is very reliable *touch wood*.

TheWordsmith wrote:The thing about no internet is that hackers can get access to your files through internet. Some can even hold it hostage until you pay a ransom- not a good idea.

Not really something you should worry about; it happens, but if you're smart and you back up your work regularly (which you should do anyway), it won't be a problem. Also, internet connectivity can be turned off so you won't be distracted. (I'm not even sure they make laptops without internet connectivity any more.)

Anyway~ since writing is hardly RAM intensive, pretty much any laptop will do - Windows, Linux, Macintosh all have word processors that work with them, and of course there's always Google Docs. If all you're going to do is write and surf the web, don't bother with a ton of RAM or a huge screen or ginormous hard drive; it'll cost you a lot of money for a lot of features you don't need.

I wouldn't recommend one of those tiny computers, as they can be difficult to type on because the keyboards are smaller, too. I've worked on one and it's probably great if you travel constantly, but I wouldn't want to use it for an every day thing, especially if you plan to be typing a lot.

Lastly, pick up an external hard drive (they run pretty cheap nowadays), a flash drive (for whatever you're currently working on) and maybe invest in some writer-specific software like Scrinever.

(Oh, and don't forget a mouse. The touchpad starts to irritate almost everyone after awhile.)

Personally, I think that you should just go to a local computer store. The people who work there can usually look at what you'd do with your laptop, come up with features that match them, and give you some computer options.

I think that those tiny laptops, laptops that you can just type on, etc. are wastes of money. Chances are, you'll need full computer functions. So go with a regular laptop with good features.

hey there, I have an HP entertianment it's a 2008 (: *random*

all i can tell you is don't get a compact. If you go to a store like best buy bring a guy or they will try to hassele you. OH! And make sure it has lots of storege like 3 GB

Have we reached an age where it REALLY matters what kind of laptop or computer you use for writing? Seriously? I don't think it's a big deal. What is a big deal is that you're writing actually, instead of trying to surround yourself with writer-esque crap that isn't necessary. Just get the writing part straight, and you'll find that no matter what, you'll be okay. A laptop is a laptop; nothing more, nothing less. Don't make it out to be more than what it is. There is no such thing as a 'writer's laptop' so for your own sake, don't go trying to get a laptop just looking to use it for writing. A laptop is something you'll need to put to much better use than for just one part of your life.

Trust me; those things are really expensive. You don't want to waste cash on one and regret it later.

Buy the Samsung NC10. It has, by far, the best keyboard for lilleputers.

A laptop is a laptop; nothing more, nothing less. Don't make it out to be more than what it is. There is no such thing as a 'writer's laptop' so for your own sake, don't go trying to get a laptop just looking to use it for writing. A laptop is something you'll need to put to much better use than for just one part of your life.

Yes, you may need it for more than one thing- writing and drawing and saving your pictures, for example- but with some operating systems, it gets slower with everything you install or download on it, or when you get automatic updates *coughWindowscoughcough*. I wouldn't worry too much about other things you might need it for- the more things you worry about and decide to prepare for, the more expensive it gets. And with the lilleputers, they do have the capability to browse the Web, play games, and connect to a printer, as well as just writing.

Trust me; those things are really expensive. You don't want to waste cash on one and regret it later.

While this is also true, laptops and chips and hard drives are getting cheaper. (Did I mention that lilleputers run from $200-300 on average?) But seriously, what else do you need to do? Write a college paper? No problem. Play a relaxing game of Bejeweled? No problem (though games like that don't necessarily run on a Linux operating system, and you can't always play those super-ultra-mega-awesome-realistic games on a standard laptop). Finish and edit your first novel/eleventh short story/that script you've been working on? No problem. Of course, you may have different goals than that, but for what I just wrote, a lilleputer- or even a standard laptop- should work fine.

What I'll be getting soon is the Eee PC 901. It's around $280, small, and portable. You could buy it in Windows XP, with less memory, or Linux with more memory . A lot of reviewers complain about the keyboard, but recently I've been using a VERY small keyboard in another netbook, and it hasn't bothered me a bit. I would recommend getting it with Linux, though.

There is no such thing as a 'writer's laptop' so for your own sake, don't go trying to get a laptop just looking to use it for writing. A laptop is something you'll need to put to much better use than for just one part of your life.

I'm sure that this laptop will work for other parts of your life.