# Writers--Please steer me to a laptop for word processing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-please-steer-me-to-a-laptop-for-word-processing/528797 "2010-02-13T00:28:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-please-steer-me-to-a-laptop-for-word-processing/528797/41 "2010-02-16T08:53:25Z")
> [@sweetie pea](#): > > I did originally save my work on the computer as well, but it was reaching the point where my husband & I would have some 150 items in My Documents, which was getting unwieldy It sounds like your old computer was very very old indeed and only had about a 500MB hard drive. As opposed to a 500 _Gigabytes_ hard drive being more common these days, a thousand times bigger. Indeed, people now freely talk in _terabytes_, which hard drives now come in multiples of. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-please-steer-me-to-a-laptop-for-word-processing/528797/42 "2010-02-16T14:54:38Z")
> [@sweetie pea](#): > > Also a computer tech once helpfully wiped out our entire documents section (I don’t remember what he was SUPPOSED to be doing, but that’s what he managed to accomplish) so after that I was nervous about keeping things there. > (…) > As for the possibility of extra USB ports…shhh. There’ll be no talk of making the old desktop more amendable to my needs. 🙂 OK, if you say so, but as others noted, your ways of document management are somewhat unique. You might take to working from the (new) computer and making a backup of everything you worked on once a week, or once a day if it’s very important. You can make the backup on USB, CD/DVD, or by emailing to yourself. Keeping documents on two floppies but not on the hard drive is pointless. Your mistrust may have been misplaced, because if the hard drive had been faulty you would have asked a different question (such as “Computer won’t start without incomprehensible errors. Help!”). And if a fool wipes your documents again, even if he’s emptied the recycle bin (presuming you use windows) there’s always recovery tools that will allow you tu get lost items back. > [@needscoffee](#): > > Saving it on your computer is important, but computers will crash. If you email it to yourself, you can be sure you have a copy you will always be able to access anywhere, anytime (with an internet connection). It’s also a way to get it over to your new computer, which will in all likelihood not have a floppy drive. And, even if you make several copies, if your house burns down, or something else happens that seriously affects your home, they will all be destroyed. But the email will still be there. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-please-steer-me-to-a-laptop-for-word-processing/528797/43 "2010-02-16T15:23:47Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I’m recommending emailing the file as a backup because if the OP is still using floppies and printouts as backups, I seriously doubt whether **dropzone** or cloud computing is going to be a realistic option. As long as she doesn’t email them to me. 😉 > [@](#): > > Emailing is low-tech enough that there is no learning curve. And with web-based mail, like Yahoo, you have a large, permanent storage site. And if you use Yahoo to mail it to your Yahoo account you even have an automatic second backup. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-please-steer-me-to-a-laptop-for-word-processing/528797/44 "2010-02-16T20:59:34Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > 150 items? That’s nothing. Are you familiar with the concept of folders? You know you can create new ones within My Documents and subdivide your Docs into categories to make browsing simpler? This isn’t intended to sound patronizing, but storing everything on floppies _only_ because your My Documents folder gets too busy seems pretty bizarre. Floppies are a horrible medium and are about 100 times less reliable than anything stored locally, idiotic tech guys included. > > Even when you find a new laptop, I think a lesson in efficient file management and backup concepts will be very helpful. You current method is quite flawed. Oh my gosh, I thought they already were separate folders within My Documents! [Blushes] I kind of pieced together my own methods of storage, based upon what I remembered from old computer classes, which weren’t so long ago…back when our computer was still new. I will be taking your advice on learning more about file management and backing up documents. Please don’t worry that I took your statements as patronizing; I knew I needed advice, and I appreciate you taking time to comment. Thanks also to those who suggested I email the documents to my new computer. I knew there had to be a way to get them over there, but hadn’t yet gotten to how I was going to do it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-please-steer-me-to-a-laptop-for-word-processing/528797/45 "2010-02-18T08:48:27Z")
So how old is the current computer actually? What system does it run? Are we talking DOS or windows 95? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-please-steer-me-to-a-laptop-for-word-processing/528797/46 "2010-02-18T09:35:01Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > You raise the laptop on a stand and use the new keyboard right in front. This puts the monitor in a much better viewing position. Or else you use one of those computer desks with a slide-out keyboard shelf. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-please-steer-me-to-a-laptop-for-word-processing/528797/47 "2010-02-18T17:49:39Z")
I’d highly recommend making an appointment with an IT dude, e.g. the Geek Squad, or even a friend who’s well versed in IT to discuss what your needs are. He can steer you in the right direction. Once you decide on a computer, he can help move files to your new computer, install your printer to print wirelessly, set up a network, etc., install your new mailbox (which should come with whatever method of internet access you choose to you), not to mention show you very easy and reliable methods of backing up your data (e.g. flash drives) that will prove to be worth far more than you’ll pay him. There’s no reason to be wandering around blind anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-please-steer-me-to-a-laptop-for-word-processing/528797/48 "2010-02-19T22:30:42Z")
> [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](#): > > So how old is the current computer actually? What system does it run? Are we talking DOS or windows 95? Sorry it took me so long to answer, but I seem to have the flu. It’s Windows Me. I want to thank everyone for their help. I’m in an economically depressed rural area, and while I wouldn’t say laptops are rare here, most people who have computers have desktops, often without the latest technology. The thinking tends to be that as long as it works, why replace it? I don’t have many options in terms of asking for advice, and I wanted to be sure those I asked first didn’t have an interest in actually selling me a computer. Aw, shit, I keep having coughing fits, so I’m going to sign off. Thank you again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/writers-please-steer-me-to-a-laptop-for-word-processing/528797.md?page=2)