If I were looking for a really cheap laptop to have in my house, go on-line and perhaps use word and excel occasionally, would this do? Could I possibly find one cheaper?

Sophia, as I recall you work for a University. If so, make sure that you check on your school's deals with manufacturers. Often cheaper.

Inside an FBI Computer Forensics Lab

The experts at the FBI's newly accredited Regional Computer Forensics Lab in San Diego have already helped solve murders, child porn cases and robberies. They're among the best in the nation at pulling evidence from hard drives, cellphones and memory cards.

There are now 14 such labs in the United States, with two more coming online this year. Last year, the FBI labs collectively performed more than 13,000 forensics examinations. The San Diego lab alone handled more than 1,000 requests from 40 law enforcement agencies in 2007, including 171 child pornography cases and 160 murder investigations.

...

Cellphones can be a treasure-trove of forensic evidence. In one case, a man was robbing a store when his cellphone rang. Captured by a security camera, and studied by the lab, the robber's unique ringtone eventually led to his conviction.

Heh. Also, duh.

Thanks Rick. It looks like we get a substantial discount on Apple (which is what I want, but still Too Much Money), and a 12% discount on Dell, which actually doesn't help much-- although I could get a pink laptop!

I need to retrieve it from San Diego but I still have a C/PM computer with an 8" floppy drive that is in a plywood case. It was still working last time I checked but that was quite a few years ago.

Ah, yes, the good old days.

Charles Babbage and I used to discuss number theory and chicks while filing the teeth on the gears of his Difference Engine. It was I that directed him towards the efficacy of steam as a motivator for his calculatory Devices, though he thought me mad. I finally convinced him after a particularly long discussion in a pub resulting in fisticuffs and my directing him to a chirurgeon for a cure for syphilis.

Little known fact about Babbage: SLUT!

It was this, rather than his much advertised Personality Difficulties (e.g. his propensity for accosting organ-grinders and beating them about the groin with a stout walking stick) that, I think, led to his failure to complete his Difference and Analytical Engines. The man, while indubitably a genius, could not Keep It In His Pants and would chase down and bugger anything with an appropriate orifice. This was kept out of the Papers, of course, in deference to his status as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. Also, he had dirt on every publisher in London.

But I digress.

Heh.

With memorial day coming up you might want to check Best Buy and/or Circuit City ads. They may have a pretty good sale going for the holiday.

I have a cheap Toshiba laptop with 1GB of ram and it does fine for basic stuff like surfing and office apps. I had intended to upgrade to 2GB right away since memory doesn't cost much, but I just didn't need to. It has Vista home premium.

I didn't own a computer until I was 25, but when I was in junior high I programmed in Basic, in yellow tape on a computer without a monitor. Just the yellow tape.

My first computer was a Atari 400, 16KB and a cassette drive. Awful keyboard, but a good computer.

Speaking of retro: Last Night We Exchanged Letters With Mom, Then Had A Party For Eleven People In Nine Different States And Only Had To Wash One Glass… (ad from 1983)

That’s CompuServe, The Personal Communications Network For Every Computer Owner

And it doesn’t matter what kind of computer you own. You’ll use CompuServe’s Electronic Mail system (we call it Email™) to compose, edit and send letters to friends or business associates. The system delivers any number of messages to other users anywhere in North America.

CompuServe’s multi-channel CB simulator brings distant friends together and gets new friendships started. You can even use a scrambler if you have a secret you don’t want to share. Special interest groups meet regularly to trade information on hardware, software and hobbies from photography to cooking and you can sell, swap and post personal notices on the bulletin board.

Compuserve abandoned the trademark on the term "email" in 1984....

"we call it Email™" I love it! It's darling!