elisha wiesner wrote:A tent for yard camping with my daughter. Doesn't need to be fancy or have any bells and whistles. Not going to be used for any extreme wilderness adventures but I'd like something that isn't going to fall apart in a year.Hey man, for yard camping, go with a pop-up tent. They're fast, they're fun, they're good for all but terrible weather.https://smile.amazon.com/Pop-up-Automatic-Instant-Portable-Cabana/dp/B072PQDJP4/ref=sr\_1\_6?s=outdoor-recreation&ie=UTF8&qid=1503511476&sr=1-6&keywords=pop+up+tent

New budget Laptop.There are a few old threads about this, but I'll just ask here. My 2008 13 Black MacBook is, sadly, showing its age. It has been a great machine. Currently the battery is kaput and all the software is no longer supporting it. I'm keeping it for what it still does but need something new, cheap, and mobile. Not a Chromebook.I have a tiny budget. Prefferably this will be under $300. I know, I know. This is more of a stop gap computer, but needs to do at least what my 9 year old computer could do were it not unsupported by damned near everything. Tasks:-Writing, editing, etc. (this is how I make tiny amounts of money)-Internet browsing.-streaming media (Netflix, YouTube, etc.)-basic decade old standard video and audio editing-maybe play Minecraft with my brother(presumed) Features:-at least 4 gigs of RAM? Maybe upgradable?-at least 500 gig hard drive (conventional drive is fine?) (I will need to take my media library with me)-half way decent keyboard (for writing on the move)-at least one old fashioned USB port (for my gadgets)-iTunes support for my iPhone and iPad management.-Windows 10 probably?-analog headphone out and input (I guess those new hybrid combo jacks are fine if I can get a splitter adapter).-video outBonus Features:-the more connectivity the better.-whatever I'm too ignorant to know I need.-analog video out (vga)-more USB -decent looking screen (preferably not giant)-not stupid ugly-anything a little more physically robust than my wife's Acer from a few years back, but I'm pretty gentle-a DVD/CD burner (can go external if I need to)-I think that's it.Mysteries:-processor? How do they work?-good OS relative freeware whereever possible. -virus protection?? -office software?? -image, audio, and video editing?Thanks for any help. This may not be feasible but when looking a while back I seem to recall a few Dells, Acers, and maybe a Lenovo meeting this criteria in an affordable package.

rappard wrote:I'm partial to Lenovo ThinkPads (T- and X-series) since they're built like brick shithouses. Just checked Amazon, and you can get a very decent X220 (i5, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD, 12.5" screen, Windows 7) for $250 + shipping. If you're going for a ThinkPad, let me know - I've had 4 over the years, so I have loads of peripherals and cables lying around you can have for free.Spending that amount of money on a six year old machine sounds like a really bad idea. The OP is better off spending $150 or so on upgrading the current unit. With more RAM and an SSD to swap out data to when that runs out, it could still be usable. My Thinkpad T61 (the "Macbook killer") is now ten years old with probably a couple of years left. If it hasn't died by now the OP's Mac still has a some years left.

tbone wrote:I still solely get my laptops from the Dell Outlet. A few months back I got a pretty solid machine for like $500. 15" touch screen, 16gb RAM, 512gb SSD, Core i5. You could scale back those things and probably get closer to 3 hundo.Unlikely. A Dell with 8GB/256 SSD/i5 (dual-core, pathetic for video encoding) is about $500 right now. With those specs and prices, the OP is better off spending only a little now and saving to buy something better over the next year or two.

tbone wrote:Dell.com/outlet. Not dell.com.$300-$400 gets you an i3 dual core and a 5400RPM HDD. Paaaaass.

I think you are asking for the impossible. For video editing, you will want at least 8GB of RAM, an i5 quad-core processor, and a decent GPU. I doubt you will find that for $300 or less. I would first consider upgrading the HDD to an SSD. That is pretty easy. Consider upping the RAM. You can go (unofficially) to 6GB. You can then update to El Capitan, which has better memory management than previous iterations. While you have the machine open, clean to dust out and check the thermal paste on the processor. These could help in reducing heat. Any $300 notebook you find will probably not be much better than what you have. These upgrades might hold you over for a year or so.

VaticanShotglass wrote:New budget laptop.[Martin: snip remainder of post.]Given your constraints I'd get a refurbished Dell or Lenovo laptop under warranty.* Software: I've yet to find functionality that's missing from freeware or open-source software. Then again, I don't use Final Cut Pro, InDesign, Photoshop, Pro Tools or similar corporate/professional stuff.* RAM: indeed, make sure it's upgradable to at least 8 GB.* Drive: solid-state is faaaast compared to conventional, so it's more in the "nice-to-have" category* DVD/CD burner: go external. Laptop optical drives are crap.* Processor: Intel i3 or up.

VaticanShotglass wrote:Awesome. Thanks.You're welcome.VaticanShotglass wrote:One question, most solid state drives are pretty small at my price point. Would it be feasible to offload most media archiving onto an external drive? I don't know how that works. Say I keep my gigs of live shows on my external drive, can I just plug that sucker in when I want to load up some fresh jams on my phone or if I want to listen to my extensive library through the computer?Definitely, although you'll need to factor in another $60 or so for an external 1 TB drive. Also, refurbished laptops often come with a traditional drive, in which case you'll need to spend another $90 or so for an SSD replacement (but then you can stick the old drive in an external enclosure).Note that I "translated" Dutch prices to US prices by a 1:1 EUR:USD ratio, so if you shop around you can probably do better than me.I'm partial to Lenovo ThinkPads (T- and X-series) since they're built like brick shithouses. Just checked Amazon, and you can get a very decent X220 (i5, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD, 12.5" screen, Windows 7) for $250 + shipping. If you're going for a ThinkPad, let me know - I've had 4 over the years, so I have loads of peripherals and cables lying around you can have for free.

blackmarket wrote:I think you are asking for the impossible. For video editing, you will want at least 8GB of RAM, an i5 quad-core processor, and a decent GPU.I got the impression (from VaticanShotglass's original post) that his/her video editing needs were fairly basic. I've done DVD authoring on 4 GB - it's indeed slow, but for something I did once in a blue moon I didn't mind.Also, consideringVaticanShotglass wrote:Currently the battery is kaput and all the software is no longer supporting itI would no longer spend any money and/or effort on upgrades. 9 years is a loooong time for a laptop, even for a MacBook.Tidbit I forgot: I'm not familiar with the US refurbished laptop market but if I recall correctly FM tbone is. Why not shoot him a message?

I still solely get my laptops from the Dell Outlet. A few months back I got a pretty solid machine for like $500. 15" touch screen, 16gb RAM, 512gb SSD, Core i5. You could scale back those things and probably get closer to 3 hundo.Do not expect any new laptop to last 9 years. Also they don't usually have DVD drives any more, but you can get an external slim usb guy for next to nothing. Them Shits is old tech by now, so, cheap.