My understanding is the one big stumbling block to this are PC games. Many have built-in anti-cheat/anti-piracy code and they are made for x86. When they are on an ARM system they assume someone is doing something nefarious and stop the game from running.
But, OP said he doesn’t play games so probably not a problem (and not all games do that either so many would work fine).
Yeah, that’s my (limited) experience too. The emulator works so well most of my coworkers who were using Windows apps didn’t realize they were doing so under emulation.
It’s a very far cry from:
Which was presumably an older version of WINE, or maybe a third-party emulator back in the UNIX days…?
Microsoft’s own Prism emulator is miles (and decades) ahead of that, and should run most apps just fine, including Kedit, without the user ever even knowing that it’s happening.
I should also note that the emulation is totally invisible. You just install and run apps as usual, no special launcher or commands needed or anything like that. It all happens automatically, invisibly, in the background. Windows takes care of the emulation on its own, and to you, it just feels like any other app.
It’s not like trying to fiddle with WINE, a VM, or cygwin or anything like that.
For what it’s worth, though, it also does run on WINE nowadays, no Windows needed at all:
Except don’t get a Dell XPS, because Dell renamed the XPS line to Premium (I think), so if you look at Dells you should look a the Premium or Pro Premium lines. They still show some XPS computers for sale, but they may be based on old technology. I see that when searching the Dell site for XPS, they’ll actually show the new Premium and Pro Premium lines.
To continue the (what I can only assume are) deliberate attempts to confuse customers, if you are looking for any laptop with an Intel processor, you should look at the “Core Ultra” cpus.
The performance difference across all of those CPUs may not be enough to matter for your planned use, but it would be wrong to pay full price for a CPU that came out in 2022.
Thanks, @echoreply. I haven’t bought a new laptop in more than five years, and hadn’t noticed the branding change.
Sorry for the unintentionally misleading info.
I don’t have much of a breadth of experience but I can also recommend an HP Envy. I has three of them which may sound bad but one was a work laptop that worked very well for years until I retired. My first personal one only had to be replaced because I dropped it and the bezel cracked
Yes, that is the editor I have used for the past 41 years, much upgraded.
I got out my ten year old Surface, charged it and turned it on. It really runs fine, has Bluetooth (which I didn’t know about) a very good camera, fine speakers and is otherwise a good bet. In the past I have used it only as a travel computer. Just two problems. Only one USB port and I need that for a mouse, which would make it very awkward to transfer files using a USB stick. Second, it is only about 10” which makes the print too small (even with the mag jumped up to 200%) for my eyes. Also it would be awkward to actually use sitting on my lap, which I sometimes do in my wife’s very comfortable lounger. Do the later Surface machines still use that somewhat awkward fold-out stand?
I may wait for my son to come visit before doing anything. Meantime I will bookmark this thread. Thanks all.
I hate that awkward foldout flap too.
Thankfully, the Surface line has expanded to include several different kinds of devices now, including a traditional laptop form factor with a 15" screen:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-laptop
Just make sure you get a Surface Laptop (or an older Surface Book if you’re looking refurb), not a Surface or Surface Pro. Just look at pictures and you can make sure it’s not a flappy one.
Here’s a detailed review: Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) Review - RTINGS.com
It has 2 USB-C ports and one USB-A.
You can get wireless USB-C mice (which are generally better than Bluetooth); see our previous thread on that if you’re curious. You can also get USB-C flash drives or external SSDs, which can be a lot faster.
It’s a good, solid choice that should do everything you need. If you ever need a bigger screen than that, you can easily buy an external monitor and connect it.
Honestly, I think your needs are straightforward enough that you guys can just go to the nearest Best Buy and see what “feels” good to you, new or refurb (ask to see their refurb laptops). The software you want to run can run on any laptop made in the last decade, so performance isn’t really relevant here.
On the other hand, checking them out in person means you’d get a much better feel for the screen, sound, and keyboard that way. You have several recommendations to start with (Surface, Envy, whatever Dell calls their premium entertainment laptops now), which are likely all at Best Buy for you to play with. They may also have Razer laptops there worth checking out. Touch them, play a YouTube 4k Dolby demo video on each one to get a feel for the screen and sound, try the keyboard out, and just grab what feels good. Once you buy one, you have a couple weeks (I think) to play around with it at home and a no hassles in-store return if you end up not liking something.
Best Buy has improved tremendously in the last decade and it’s actually a pretty good place now. They also price match Amazon and other retailers, and offer longer warranties with Geeksquad support if you need that (or just recruit your son for help).
Costco also has a laptop section with good pricing usually, but it’s not as hands-on as Best Buy. They have a much smaller selection and the laptops aren’t always unlocked or even powered on.
(Sorry, I didn’t know you were in Canada. Do you have any similar stores up there?)
Many manufacturers make Bluetooth mice. I haven’t had a wired mouse in about 20 years.
Some manufacturers (Logitech, I’m giving you the stink-eye) sell “wireless” mice that use a proprietary protocol and need a small USB dongle plugged into the PC to work. That’s the worst of both worlds.
If you have a wired or Logitech-ish USB dongle mouse, get a real Bluetooth one. Much mo’ bettah.
As @Reply said, the Surface tablets do, while Surface laptops don’t.
Although the “kickstand” (official term) on modern Surface tablets is infinitely variable. The very early Surfaces had a 3 position kickstand that was either stowed flush or deployed at one of two fixed angles. Don’t know which you’re used to, but the infinitely variable kind is much better.
I agree with that. Although the old Surface recognizes my Bluetooth mouse I cannot get them to successfully connect, although I tried at least a half dozen times. The pairing function reports connecting, then failure. I had to give it to my wife (it paired immediately with her Bluetooth) and steal her dongled mouse. I doubt she will notice. Presumably a newer Surface will do that better.
Bluetooth protocols have evolved over time. It may be your new(ish) mouse is not playing nice with the older Bluetooth. There is supposed to be backwards compatibility…emphasis on “supposed to.” I just built a new PC and did not notice the wireless part of the mobo only works with Windows 11. I was shocked there was no backwards compatibility for Windows 10 (and I tried hard to make it work…nope). I don’t need it in my case but still…it was not a cheap mobo and that sucked.
I’ll piggyback on Hari’s thread, if he doesn’t mind.
I need about a $1000 gaming laptop, tl;dr. Since I already have a pretty hefty desktop, its portable partner doesn’t need to be a state of the art $3K behemoth as none of the games I have or plan to get require that much chrome. Be using it on the road natch when I am not at home, as my Samsung tablet simply can’t do a lot of things I need.
Want to avoid having it come preloaded with a bunch of extra crap, most notoriously McAfee. Windows 11 is fine. I will need a fair amount of RAM, 16K at least.
lol (I get what you mean but that’s still funny) 
Also, RAM today has gotten weirdly super expensive. Really weird. Really expensive.
For $1000 (ish) I’d recommend:
I have not used either of them but on paper they look good (and I was looking for family to advise for a Christmas present so I had been doing some research…FWIW…don’t blame me if I got this one wrong).
Shoot, wish you asked last week over Black Friday / Cyber Monday.
You might also want to consider the Steam Deck, depending on the kinds of games you want to play. A lot of bang for the buck, especially if you wait for a sale.
I can’t provide any useful info on your main query. But …
Why? Every bit of that bloatware is an example of that software company subsidizing your purchase price. And on Windows, unlike other platforms, it’s mostly trivial to remove bloatware cleanly and completely.
My attitude to e.g. MacAfee on a laptop I just bought is like the box containing a “Send this coupon in to MacAfee and we’ll send you $10 cash”. But instead of having to address an envelope, I just need to click “Uninstall”. Either way I’m $10 ahead for near-zero effort.
You do you of course. But that’s how this sordid game of preinstalled bloatware plays for me.
Now if only Android devices were as unlocked as Windows ones. Sigh!
Some things do not “delete” themselves as cleanly as one might like.
I would recommend a full wipe and re-install of Windows. It’s not hard, be sure to copy the license key. Takes a little time but not a lot (maybe an hour or two). A 16GB USB thumb drive is all you need and a little effort to get it how it should be (really easy…don’t tell your family so they keep thinking you are the genius).
Now you have a pristine system.
ETA: Here is a link that also helps loads when building a new system…not really a secret but also makes you seem smart when building a new system (everything there is free…pick what you want):
It used to be that before wiping a Windows PC and reinstalling everything, it was helpful to record all of the hardware components so you would know which drivers to obtain. But I think now, Windows is much better about locating the drivers on its own.
I should add that if the PC comes with apps you want and paid for (e.g. Microsoft Office) then you need to either figure out how to keep the license and download again and register it after wiping the system or…don’t wipe the system.