Okay. You guys are great. Clearly the collective wisdom is not to throw money at the problem - but figure the problem out. Owbist - in my thread on not connecting my husband's vista laptop to our network, I tried quietly, methodically to troubleshoot the issues - to no avail. I found lots of similar frustrations on google - but no solutions that worked - and I think I tried them all - at least to the best of my ability. thanks for those great, easy-to-follow instructions to transfer to an external hard drive. He'll want to do that anyway - even if he keeps this computer. This computer guy is pricey - but where I am in DC they seem to fall in the $125-140/hour range - and they can usually fix a problem. Others that charge $40-75 - that the uninformed think are good - but their know-how is less than what I find here. I tried a few of those locally recommended guys - and they accomplished the simple tasks but also made mistakes I had to hire the more expensive guy to fix. My main complaint with him is that he's wedded to his biases - he hates Vista - so his recommendation is usually to avoid or ditch it. Our struggles with Vista seem to often be how often we're blocked from things or performing simple tasks have all sort of obstacles - for "safety's" sake. Thanks to everyone for pointing out that Windows 7 is just a revamped Vista. I got my first issue of Smart Computing and they were tauting it and described some features I thought I'd love. DA - if W8 is in process, is there any indication of what it will be like? Probably worth waiting for - or at least waiting to hear more about how Windows 7 is panning out. So I'll keep plugging away on my other thread to get him connected. If I don't succeed by Tuesday, the computer guy will come and fix it. I guess we'll stop there. Thanks. Lynn.

Thanks. My laptop is 9 years old and it is slowly coming to the end of its life. Since I don't have internet at home I have to use the mobile hotspot off of my phone but I can never get a signal. I have Firefox and Edge on my laptop but it's almost impossible to get either one to work at this point. The IT department at my work said one of the issues is the fact that it is so old which is why I'm considering getting a new one. If I do or when I do Chrome will be the first thing I install on to it. Thanks so much for the info.

My first Apple product was an iPad that I won. I immediately gave my Kindle to my DD. After that I bought an iPhone and an iMac. I have no difficulties switching between the iPad and the Macbook Pro or switching between the touch screen and the keyboard and touchpad mouse. My laptop is 16' which is a great size if I want to watch a video on the screen yet it's easy enough to bring with me whenever we head to our vacation house. I have a rolling laptop table in the family room and that's where I use my Macbook when I'm watching TV. If I'm doing a lot of paperwork I put it on my desk in the office. I prefer the larger screen on the laptop when I'm browsing web sites or editing photos. It also helps that the screen and keyboard is elevated since the laptop is on a desk. if I use my iPad I tend to look down and it aggravates my neck. My laptop desk look like this one. https://www.levenger.com/products/adjustable-wood-reading-table?utm_source=cordial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=120422_Email_Reading_Table_Carousel_HGGD2_04Dec2022&variant=42380506038421

Of the two I mentioned, the Tucano Tugo weighs 1.5 lbs. The Noamtic comes in at 4 lbs. When I travel, I’m all about weight, which is why I carry the Tucano and DD carries the Nomatic. Check the airlines you will be flying on your trip. Some have weight limits for carry-ons. Below is a chart that is neither exhaustive nor necessarily accurate, but will give you some idea of the limitations some airlines impose. I would check the website of the airline I’m flying for the most current and accurate information. Source