Good laptop for job search

[Horn Dogg 3,868]

So here’s the deal.  I haven’t looked for a job in 20 years, but I’m tired of my current gig and wanting to test the waters.  Obviously it’s not the best idea to use my work computer for writing resumes, cover letters and submitting applications.  I have an old shitty personal laptop, but all the applications are out of date.

 

What I’m looking for is advice on the best setup for doing all the work stuff but on my own computer.  I need a PC that can run basic MS office stuff and crate pdfs.  I have a docking setup for a Lenovo X1 Gen 11 at home, so ideally I could also hook this personal laptop up to that docking station. Should I go all out and buy a similar Lenovo or are there cheaper options that will get the job done?

 

Appreciate any advice on this simple question.  Rest assured, I’m not applying for IT jobs.

[Pato del Muerto 52,484]

You’re gonna want to look at compaq, gateway, or NEC. 

[thunderlounge 7,812]

Ewww

[immamac 42,832]

Go to the closest store and spend whatever your budget under $300 happens to be. 

[Horn Dogg 3,868]

4 minutes ago, immamac said:

Go to the closest store and spend whatever your budget under $300 happens to be. 

So I can run Office reliably on a $300 laptop?  I was thinking I would have to spend a lot more than that for something decent.  Thanks for the advice BTW.

[immamac 42,832]

1 minute ago, Horn Dogg said:

So I can run Office reliably on a $300 laptop?  I was thinking I would have to spend a lot more than that for something decent.  Thanks for the advice BTW.

Computers are so fucking powerful now, unless you are gaming or doing some graphics editing its gonna be totally fine. 

[DalTxHornFan 3,097]

I've bet I've bought a dozen laptops from Discount Electronics over the years and have never broken the $300 barrier except when I added a big ass SSD drive.  I like doing business with them.

[blacklab 11,926]

Also look on Amazon there are Gen 6-10 X1 carbons for $300-$600. I've bought 3 over the last few years and each one has been great. They may or may not work with your docking setup as they are kinda old.

[ITHorn 800]

Chromebook + Office 365 subscription is the answer.

[immamac 42,832]

4 minutes ago, ITHorn said:

Chromebook + Office 365 subscription is the answer.

name checks out.

[Horn Dogg 3,868]

1 hour ago, blacklab said:

Also look on Amazon there are Gen 6-10 X1 carbons for $300-$600. I've bought 3 over the last few years and each one has been great. They may or may not work with your docking setup as they are kinda old.

Looks like the Gen 7 and later work with my docking station.  It’s just that USB C universal version.  Thanks for the recommendation, I think I’m going to go this way.

[bernorange 8,359]

If you don't want to be captured in the Microsoft universe, you can download and use OpenOffice for free.  It's an open source clone of MS Office.

https://www.openoffice.org/download/index.html

[Horn Dogg 3,868]

2 hours ago, bernorange said:

If you don't want to be captured in the Microsoft universe, you can download and use OpenOffice for free.  It's an open source clone of MS Office.

https://www.openoffice.org/download/index.html

I’m way too dumb to figure that out, but thanks for the advice anyways.  

[Pato del Muerto 52,484]

Isn’t all of the MS suite cloud based now?

[tx 3 putt 76,858]

costco sale 

[TwiceHorn 31,429]

15 hours ago, ITHorn said:

Chromebook + Office 365 subscription is the answer.

Does subscribed get many more features on Word than free?  I've been curious about that for a while.

[ITHorn 800]

1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

Does subscribed get many more features on Word than free?  I've been curious about that for a while.

At this point there really isn't anything missing that you can't do because you can just use third party plugins with office online. The main difference is the included cloud storage.  Although I'd argue if you are storing more than 5GB of documents you should probably be looking at a different solution for that need anyway.

[Celery Man 20,928]

I mean go sick buying office and all that, but docs.google.com, file->print, set printer/destination to "Save to PDF". Worked for me.

[Jkwellborn 6,686]

Isn’t all of the MS suite cloud based now?

Seems like it’s subscription based. Assholes working with EA.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,506]

Definitely consider a setup with 2 monitors or at least one large monitor. In guessing your age you don't want to be working on a tiny laptop screen with the built-in keyboard. 

And if you're working from the same spot at home, why not look at a desktop. 

[RPM 26,315]

Find one that works. Find job. Profit.

[Jkwellborn 6,686]

Are we helping op get set up to edit onlyfans videos.

[thunderlounge 7,812]

Not on a $300 laptop, no. 

[Dahobbs 17,521]

4 hours ago, thunderlounge said:

Not on a $300 laptop, no. 

Well, there would be very minimal editing. 

[Bevo 13,557]

On 10/24/2024 at 6:14 PM, Horn Dogg said:

I’m way too dumb to figure that out, but thanks for the advice anyways.  

FedEx and Orangebloods may be hiring.

[elfenix 34,221]

23 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

Are we helping op get set up to edit onlyfans videos.

[Parliament 14,224]

On 10/24/2024 at 2:22 PM, ITHorn said:

Chromebook + Office 365 subscription is the answer.

Why O365 instead of Google Drive?  Just wondering

[ITHorn 800]

Just now, Parliament said:

Why O365 instead of Google Drive?  Just wondering

He mentioned wanting to use office and being averse to change. At $6.99 a month it’s a small convenience fee until he gets a new job. I personally use google drive but understand some people don’t want to experience the relatively small learning curve. 

[Horn Dogg 3,868]

Ok, I got the computer.  Any recommendations for anti virus software?  

[Celery Man 20,928]

Make sure all the regular Microsoft Defender stuff is turned on and don’t download porn.

[immamac 42,832]

50 minutes ago, Horn Dogg said:

Ok, I got the computer.  Any recommendations for anti virus software?  

Yeah, don't download virus and use the installed one on windows. Keep windows up to date. 

[Celery Man 20,928]

1 hour ago, Celery Man said:

Make sure all the regular Microsoft Defender stuff is turned on and don’t download porn.

To be clear - you can stream porn.

[Horn Dogg 3,868]

1 hour ago, Celery Man said:

To be clear - you can stream porn.

I absolutely trust the Surly crowd on this topic.

[elfenix 34,221]

the big porn sites are actually pretty safe from a computer virus standpoint. but if you are this bad at computers you probably don't have a vpn so good luck accessing them without handing over your ID (thanks creepy west texas billionaires)

[F250 28,760]

On 10/25/2024 at 2:55 PM, Jkwellborn said:

Are we helping op get set up to edit onlyfans videos.