Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Businesses Chrome Windows Hardware Apple Technology

Ask Slashdot: Which Laptop Should I Buy For My First Employee? 304

Posted by BeauHD from the suggestion-box dept.
vikingpower writes: Until now, yours truly has been running a one-man freelancer show. However, since January 1st the first employee is here, and of course I'm mighty proud of a stellarly clever young person working for me. She works remotely (I'm in one European capital; she is in another) and I need to buy her a laptop. Since she's straight out of college and a non-techie, she basically only knows one OS: Windows, although she could get comfortable with macOS. However, as a long-time (server-side) programmer, I feel Apple hardware is seriously overpriced. Also, my brilliant first employee will mostly do research and hardly needs anything more than a browser, Office or Office-like software (yes, I'm looking at you, Libre Office, and I love you!), and bibliography software. Should I get her a Chromebook or a mid-level laptop running Windows? Any thoughts?
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Ask Slashdot: Which Laptop Should I Buy For My First Employee? More

Ask Slashdot: Which Laptop Should I Buy For My First Employee?

Comments Filter:

  • Let her decide (Score:5, Insightful)

    by CohibaVancouver ( 864662 ) on Monday January 07, 2019 @07:23PM (#57920976)
    Tell her your budget and requirements (e.g. "Windows") and let her go buy what she likes.

    I would automatically say Microsoft Surface, with pen + dock + monitor + keyboard + mouse, but empower her.

    • Re:Let her decide (Score:5, Insightful)

      by bernywork ( 57298 ) <bstapleton&gmail,com> on Monday January 07, 2019 @07:26PM (#57920994) Journal

      Absolutely, it's not like you've got to manage 20,000 of these things. It's just another laptop, ignore the price tag (You still own it) just get her whatever she feels comfortable using.

      In previous experience, whatever it costs for mice or keyboards or whatever else is nothing compared to employee satisfaction and keeping staff (And when they're good, you want to keep them!)

    • I would automatically say Microsoft Surface, with pen + dock + monitor + keyboard + mouse, but empower her.

      I do agree "Tell her your budget and requirements (e.g. "Windows") and let her go buy what she likes."

      Why pay a small form factor surcharge for a surface device?

      I'd look into a 17in laptop, or a smaller laptop with a docking station and a bigger monitor for normal office work.

      And spend some money on "good" anti-virus software.

      You should also think about how/if you're doing file sharing between you, an

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Hadlock ( 143607 )

        The microsoft surface is not user-serviceable, make sure you add a very good repair plan to that purchase. I would go the opposite of 17", and buy a large external monitor instead. Your employee can reasonably carry a 13" laptop with them everywhere (and thus they're always working for you) but a 17" laptop, you might as well purchase them a desktop.

        Also the Surface still, in 2019, does not have USB-C, or Thunderbolt 3, and given the laptop is literally glued together, leaves you with a very short u

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Ambvai ( 1106941 )

        I purchased a Surface 4 Pro a few months after they launched as a secondary device and I'm very happy with mine, but I have specific requirements that don't fit everybody's use:

        Able to run Photoshop, Acrobat, and MS Office (or 100% compatible equivalents, including security validation features) concurrently with spare capability for a number of Windows-only proprietary applications
        Webcam and microphone
        Approximately A4 paper sized and less than 1in thick, including keyboard if removable, when closed
        Reasonabl

    • Re:Let her decide (Score:5, Interesting)

      by pigwin32 ( 614710 ) on Monday January 07, 2019 @08:08PM (#57921304)
      No - she's a "non-techie". Don't just ask her to do it herself - if you've got a budget and there's some hardware you like then suggest that's what you're considering and ask for her feedback/confirmation. As a new employee out of college, you will gain a lot of kudos as an employer by buying her a decent laptop. How would you feel if your new employer bunged you a second-hand laptop or a chromebook? I'd be checking the job boards. When we hired we used to buy refurb Apple laptops until we needed more current hardware so shelled out for new MacBook Pro's. The employee we wanted to keep has been with us now for 8 years and we are stoked.

    • She has no idea how to buy technology and will inevitably waste the money.

      Buy a laptop that can be serviced remotely. A decent lenovo T series or Dell is a reasonable machine. She will be thrilled that she is receiving a new machine and won't be subject to decision fatigue from shopping for technology. Your time is a one time investment in setting up your infrastructure so your second employee will be practically zero setup time and they won't be wasting your time and money shopping for a different lap

    • Re:Let her decide (Score:5, Informative)

      by argStyopa ( 232550 ) on Monday January 07, 2019 @10:22PM (#57921946) Journal

      As a small employer myself (I have 4 employees) I'd ENTIRELY DISAGREE.

      The new employee may know NOTHING about what they need. That just screams "Best Buy Geeksquad Gangbang Underbody-Rustproofing pricing".

      There is a big difference in quality of components between 'home laptop' and 'work laptop'. Some shitty HP Envy is *not* going to be durable enough to run 9+ hours daily week in, week out without issues. I'd recommend the business caliber lines from ASUS, Toshiba (maybe?), Dell.

      I know reviews can be gamed, but I don't disagree with most of the discussion here: https://www.techradar.com/news... [techradar.com]

      It also depends on how much of a road-warrior she's going to be? Is she going to be working from a single place (mostly) with the laptop being a laptop for the "just in case" convenience? (I assume this.) I'd offer other recommendations if she'd be constantly working on the road, from cars, coffee shops, customer sites, etc.

      I'd set a minimum target around $600-$700 for a decent Dell laptop, plus if they're going to be working at a desk, I'd plunk to dock a decent size monitor 24" or so, a decent keyboard and real mouse (etc will cost probably another $250) so all in about $1k. So much less eyestrain. Oh, and a decent CHAIR is going to cost comparable to that.

    • Re:Let her decide (Score:5, Informative)

      by ediron2 ( 246908 ) on Monday January 07, 2019 @10:30PM (#57921980) Journal

      Let the employee advise, but don't let the choice be silly, and **ABSOLUTELY** get something with deep warranty and 3 years on an industry-leading service contract. AppleCare, Microsoft's equivalent plan for Surface Pros, Dell's business support, etc. And if employee tries to be frugal and buy a cheap laptop via a retail channel, redirect them to something business-rated for quality of build. You want her to have a phone number or support counter she takes her laptop to, to have it fixed for free and without your involvement. Otherwise, it's like a wounded guy in a platoon: you're both somewhat incapacitated because you're trying to remotely wrangle support to get her back to work.

      Be willing to pay for accessories like a dock, plenty of memory, plus 1 or 2 additional screens. Eacch boost productivity vastly.

      Funny thing is, it'll cost you about what a mac does. And you'll want to budget for refresh each 3 years, to keep a live service contract.

      Last of all, in my experience, surface pros are flimsy compared to business laptops. I love 'em as a user, but you should expect broken screens and other nuisances. 2-in-1's have similar 'gadgety, not rugged' modes of failures: keys getting knocked off, hinges damaged, I/O elements suffering.

      YMMV internationally, but in the US I budgeted $3k for hardware and software was another thousand for those 3 years.

         

    • let her go buy what she likes.

      Good idea -- if she has a preference. If she doesn't, it may be better for you to tell her (as generally or specifically as seems appropriate) what to buy than to have a salesdroid do the selection.

      Who is going to be her tech support? Husband? Boy/Girl Friend? Roommate? You? Whoever it is, their preferences/capabilities may be worth considering

      Although Unix is a superior OS in almost all ways, I'm not sure Linux is a great choice for a non-techie coworker in a distant city

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Bert64 ( 520050 )

        Letting her decide is not a good idea if she's not a technical employee (and even if she was it's often not a good idea), as she won't have sufficient understanding of the subject to make a qualified decision... Her criteria for what laptop she wants might be "it's pink", or she might end up being scammed by a salesman in a store into buying something overpriced and unsuitable.

        Remember this laptop will be used to conduct YOUR business, and will hold YOUR data. You want to make sure it's secure, and you will

    • "Straight out of college and a non techie".

      Yeah, let here decide :-^

      I'd opt for a refurbished Asus laptop. Price would likely be under $500 US.

  • It's really annoying having to work on a system you don't like.

    The cost of whatever laptop your employee wants (within reason) will be well worth their happiness.

  • Neither Windows or Mac? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by bjwest ( 14070 ) on Monday January 07, 2019 @07:32PM (#57921046)

    Since she's straight out of college and a non-techie...

    For a safer environment, I'd give her something with Linux on it. It's not totally immune, but one hell of a lot more so than Windows and OSX, with the plus side of not reporting back home everything she does (Win10, not OSX as far as I know). If all she needs is email, web access and office (you've already said LibereOffice will suffice), she should have no problems with it, and can open just about any email without infecting the thing.

    • I'd give her something with Linux on it.. with the plus side of not reporting back home everything she does

      Unless it's the ChromeOS variant of Linux.

    • The only way I'd give a BUSINESS employee Linux is if the box had a VM installed and could run both Linux and WIndows. Other than having to copy files into and back out of shared directory to move between OSes, it works fairly well.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by lsllll ( 830002 )

        Why muddy the water with an installation of Windows at all if she's got Linux? You're just asking to double/triple your problems.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by aleck7 ( 4913657 )
      Quite often non-techies struggle with Linux, but if you can make sure it runs smooth -- that's definitely a very good option.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by lsllll ( 830002 )
        See my other post. If my old, retired relatives can use a computer with a similar interface to Windows XP, any non-techie should be fine.

    • Since she's straight out of college and a non-techie...

      For a safer environment, I'd give her something with Linux on it.

      If she actually only needs a browser, plus some sort of office suite... I'd have her use the ChromeOS variant of Linux, with Google Docs. That will make your long-distance asynchronous collaboration smoother as well, since shared cloud-based docs are so much easier than emailing files around. Chromebooks are basically bulletproof from a security perspective (well, nothing is perfect, but ChromeOS is about as close as you can get), and since they sync everything to the cloud, and everything is versioned, you

      • If you're concerned about Google scanning your stuff, you can always buy her a GSuite subscription rather than use a consumer account. It's pretty cheap.

        Which is what you want to do for some other reason, too. Free Google accounts come with absolutely zilch support. If she locks herself out of her account, it will be lost.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by lsllll ( 830002 )

      I totally agree. I've recycled old notebooks with Linux for old family members. They ALL love it, because it doesn't slow down over time and get bogged down like Windows or MacOS, and it does everything they need. The only bad thing about old computers is battery life. So, to answer the OP's question, I would not hesitate to get her a Linux based notebook. You may have to install Linux on it yourself and send it to her, or just choose on that already comes with Linux pre-installed.

      • They can use Linux just fine. No problem. LibreOffice, no problem. But getting them not to call it Excel, never going to happen!

    • and can open just about any email without infecting the thing.

      Why are you letting viruses get all the way to the point where they can be executed? What are you doing wrong? Why isn't your mail scanned in transit? Why isn't your virus scanner picking it up as it enters the inbox? Why isn't your email client preventing the execution of files? Please don't setup your email systems like we did in the 90s.

      As a non-techie she is not likely to go out looking for shady shit to download. The perceived risk / benefits are almost non-existent on a work machine. If anything it's

  • ... is lightweight shit.

    Pick a mid-priced Windows machine and load it with a best-practice safeguard subscription (Malwarebytes) and she'll be good to go.

    Have her read an article or two about clicking on links in email, and navigating to bad sites. That stuff is everywhere.

  • Refurb Thinkpad? (Score:3)

    by Ecuador ( 740021 ) on Monday January 07, 2019 @07:34PM (#57921060) Homepage

    For the last few years, I've been buying refurbished Thinkpads for most of my friends and family. There are refurbishers (even on ebay) that will give you Thinkpad that was £2k - £3k say 3 years ago (top of the line then, with i7, SSD etc) for 1/5th - 1/10th that original price, even at like-new condition. They are the most solidly built laptops (the X220 I have for outdoor telescope usage is fine in frost, under rain etc) and their only disadvantage is the lack for discreet graphic cards, so I recommend them for everyone but gamers.

    • Do you reinstall the OS, or do you trust the refurbers?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Ecuador ( 740021 )

        When I get them for myself, or someone very close, I get them without OS and usually without an HD/SSD as well, but for others I recommend they get it as a grade A, fully installed system.
        When I get them without an OS installed they are usually significantly cheaper, but they are not really tested (you can't see problems easily by booting to BIOS) so I've had to get some replaced in the past - too much of a hassle for the kind of scenario we are discussing.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by lsllll ( 830002 )

      Dude, thank for the heads up on the X220. I've been using a 2013 MacBook Air with Linux on it for the past couple of years, but the keyboard is starting to go bad and I'm considering getting a notebook with real keys. This is a sweet notebook!

  • ask about screen size as some people may want an 15" over an 13" or smaller.

  • I also like ASUS
    I would avoid Lenovo and HP
    I despise Apple
    I have a Chromebox. It works great for youtube videos, but there may come a time when she will need to run Windows only programs
    Whichever one you buy, you will probably need to spend hours removing crapware

  • Easy choice (Score:5, Funny)

    by grumpyman ( 849537 ) on Monday January 07, 2019 @07:41PM (#57921128)
    Of course it is Raspberry Pi with Slackware. This encourages and tests your employee's problem solving skill!

  • Set a budget of $500 and let her buy the laptop she wants.

    Regardless of how she uses it, 4 cores, plenty of memory, and an SSD along with a full OS will ensure that she can install and run whatever software helps her do her job. Whatever you define her job as today is not necessarily what she'll be doing a year from now. Chrome just restricts her and your options.

    And if she stick around for at least a year, let her keep it.

    My first laptop was a used one my client just gave me and it worked well enough to

  • Con: Apple hardware is expensive. Pro: Tech support is comparatively cheap, thanks to the Apple store. Remember that hardware is just a small part of the cost of a computer.
  • I'd recommend looking at the Lenovo business class laptops. We've been pretty happy with them for our small shop. They are very good quality, and decently priced. Most of the Lenovo haters out there are talking about their consumer grade laptops, which aren't even manufactured by the same division of location.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Pascoea ( 968200 )

      . Most of the Lenovo haters out there are talking about their consumer grade laptops, which aren't even manufactured by the same division of location.

      I think you hit the nail on the head here. There is no comparison between enterprise grade vs consumer grade.

  • How much does an employee cost you if their machine is offline?

    My IT team had a big number written on the wall of their office which was the revenue per hour that would be lost if the system went down. It was a huge eye opener for a lot of them.

    So, what does it cost you if she is offline? Lenovo or Dell business solution with a next business day replacement isn't cheap, but could be a LOT cheaper than losing her for a week.

  • That's just about a no-brainer. Unless she is an expert and knows what she wants and how to handle it and/or she needs to run special software that requires a certain OS, Chromebook is the way to go. Dirt-cheap, fast, zero-fuss and you won't lose any data.

  • Cost of a laptop (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Monday January 07, 2019 @07:59PM (#57921256)
    As someone who runs a business, I've always hated it when employers skimped on employee equipment costs. The cost of a business laptop isn't just the purchase price. It's the purchase price + training costs + software cost (which you're trying to make zero) + setup costs + maintenance costs ( - sale price if you manage to sell it at the end). In most cases, these other costs far exceed the purchase price.

    On top of that, the cost isn't really a one-time expense. It's the cost divided by the number of months you'll use the equipment. So even a $2000 laptop with $3000 in other costs used for 3 years ends up costing your business just $139/mo. If you're paying your employee $3000/mo, this is a mere 4.6% increase. Less if you manage to sell the laptop at the end. You're already paying your employee a (relatively) huge amount of money. It's counterproductive to skimp on weak equipment which lowers their productivity. Unless the Chromebook will do everything and anything your employee needs, don't skimp. Spend a little more to get a nice system that will maximize her productivity. (And no I'm not trying to justify the cost of the Macs, which I think are overpriced unless you're in an art/photo/video/music/print business. There's a reason the just-as-expensive Thinkpads are so popular among businesses. Two-day turnaround for warranty repairs via overnight delivery is a huge plus if you're trying to minimize downtime.)

    Don't forget to budget for a file sync and backup system. If you don't have one yet, you'll need some sort of file server at your end, which her laptop connects to daily via a VPN to backup her work to your server. And that file server will need a backup system (preferably at least 2).

    Also, technically this should be a company laptop, not the employee's laptop. Unless you plan to make it a gift or part of her compensation package, it should stay with the company after she moves on or moves up. Avoids the awkward situation where the employee quits after 3 months and takes the laptop with them.

    • Unless the Chromebook will do everything and anything your employee needs, don't skimp.

      I don't disagree, but I want to point out that the primary value of a Chromebook isn't the cheaper hardware -- indeed, high-end Chromebooks aren't particularly cheap -- it's the fact that the costs of training, setup, maintenance and backup are all basically zero. Well, you might want to spend $5 per month on a GSuite Basic account.

      Of course if the employee needs to do something that can't be done in a web browser, then a Chromebook may not work.

  • You have literally two people to worry about in your company and the question you ask is about hardware? The hardware should not dictate your business you tight git! Just buy a decent machine that fits your future direction with regard to software... eg Skype, docx format, SQL... even OneDrive or the Google equivalent as it sounds like cashflow is limited. If all they need is a dumb terminal feel free to spend $200 on a Chromebook.

  • At lot of Businesses use Lenovo Thinkpads. They tend to be good reliable laptops. The main difference between the T series and the Yoga is that the Yoga series is lighter, has one less USB port, and comes with a built-in capacitive stylus (no batteries). The Yoga also turns into a tablet.

    For a dock I would either go with a Lenovo USB dock or a Targus Dual Video 4K p60 Docking Station. Both support dual monitor setups using a USB 3.0 connection and can be used with practically any laptop, doesn't have to

  • Seriously? (Score:3)

    by nuckfuts ( 690967 ) on Monday January 07, 2019 @08:25PM (#57921394)
    Holy Christ man! If you are going to be stymied over a decision as minor as this, you are going to have trouble being a successful entrepreneur. What is the difference in cost between the options you're weighing? A couple of hundred dollars? Make a decision and move on.

  • If she's used to Windows it's stupid to retrain to a Chromebook when she could be making MONEY for both of you.

    Buy a business class notebook with onsite warranty. Only ask people who personally maintain fleets of such machines because individual anecdotes are shit. Visit established notebook forums. Slashdot hasn't been News for Nerds since it became Dicedot.

  • If you're going to cut costs, do so wisely. Get the employee something that won't break when she looks at it wrong, which will be performant enough to not get in her way, and which can be repaired quickly and easily. Any of the major business-notebook brands will offer that, but I tend to like buying from Dell's outlet. You can get good-as-new machines at Chromebook prices with - and this makes all the difference - same-as-new warranties with next-day on-site service. Get a decent Latitude with a 1080p disp
  • I rather like my Lenovo Yoga, but I've had multiple Toshiba laptops fail, one within about a month of purchasing it (and BestBuy wasn't very cooperative in getting it replaced). My only complaint about my Yoga 710 is it's Lenovo-proprietary power connector, which most Lenovo's don't use.

  • * Must be "off the shelf" HW, nothing special (since you seem not to have an IT department available, and support is easier for standard HW)

    * should be possible to use windows

    * Ideally in a managed environment (-> Amazon Workspaces)

    How about an access to Amazon Workspaces (-> backup etc should be easy, especially if you wantto set up your own small network) + a low-end business laptop with windows pro preinspalled on it + a decent keyboard + monitor, since she probably uses the laptop (research) mainl

  • Do not let her decide!!! good laptop with VMs (Score:4, Interesting)

    by williamyf ( 227051 ) on Monday January 07, 2019 @09:00PM (#57921588)

    She is a Non-Techie. And she is in another country. That says it all.

    She is a non-techie, she will not be able to choose the best laptop. And she is a non-techie, she will not be able to administer and mantain the laptop (whanna bet on the "toolbars upon toolbars in the browser" Scenario?). And she is another country, so going to you (the boss) for help with the machine is out of the question.

    Buy her a nice looking laptop, good build quality, decent specs. Which supports *virtualization*.

    Put on the bare metal whatever Windows or Linux you feel confortable administering and lock it down as hell. Set up remote access. Choose a VM solution with good 3D acceleration. Then set up two windows VMs.

    One is her "WorkVM" with the web browser, WhatevurOffice, and any other program/app/whatevur she needs for work purposes. Lock it down as hell. Set this machine up to save all work related stuff to a folder shared with the host OS. Set up a decent backup solution for this guest.

    The other VM will be her "do whatever you like with it" "personal" VM. Do not lock it down that much.

    Keep two golden masters (one for each machine) if push comes to shove.

    Enjoy.

    Unlike dual-booting, this solution eases your administrative burden, trust me.

  • You have an employee that you're spending tens of thousands of dollars on, and you're concerned about the cost of a single laptop, and you're considering using LibreOffice?

    You might save a hundred or two through this, but if they spend just a few hours out of the year having to deal with bullshit, it's not worth it. Get a Chromebook or a Macbook for the employee (and don't fucking worry if it costs an extra $200) because Windows is shit and will give the employee paid downtime. Get MS Office instead of Li

  • Classify her as an independent contractor and tell her to buy her own goddam computer.

  • You might be better served with a Chromebook. It does boil down to the applications you expect your employee to need for her job.

    Apple hardware with the warranty can be a good deal for a small business.

  • If she'll be submitting papers she'll almost certainly need full blown office to get the formatting right. Otherwise, screen real estate, weight, battery life will all be important for working remotely. If she doesn't have a dedicated work colocation spot, make sure to get a good laptop travel bag and maybe one of those nice small wireless mice. Don't scrimp on quality , even if it's just cosmetic, it will make a difference on whether she feels valued.
  • What software and such is she going to need to work with? Are you using Google's GSuite? Microsoft Office? Office 365? What's your email setup? Cloud storage for standard files? Also, where will she be working? Office? Home office? Coffeeshops? Coworking space?

    If you're all-in on Google's ecosystem, then a Chromebook might not be a terrible option - in a lot of ways it's kind of a disposable terminal with everything online, but connectivity with it may be more important than with Windows or Mac options. Is
  • Dell Precision, pre-load with Ubuntu. Reformat the Ubuntu that comes with it off it the moment it arrives and install... more Ubuntu. Probably. Or Xbuntu. Replace wayland with X11.org.

    Specs, I7 or I9, 16 or 32 GB of RAM (You can do 64, but that's probably overkill,) maybe bump up the video card and spring for the 4K screen. With a young'un's eyesight, you could fit a dozen terminal sessions side by side. You can put up to a 2TB SSD in that if you're so inclined. The machine kind off puts the Fischer Price

  • Consider a Chromebook (Score:3)

    by steveha ( 103154 ) on Tuesday January 08, 2019 @01:27AM (#57922574) Homepage

    The company I work for is all in on Google apps. The standard for email is GMail, we use Google Calendar, we use Google Drive to share files, we use Google apps for collaborating on spreadsheets or word processor documents, and most people use Google Slides for presenting. For remote meetings we use Google Hangouts. We also use web-based software such as Slack and an issue tracker.

    Because of all this, a Chromebook is an excellent solution for many people in our company.

    The best thing about a Chromebook is that it Just Works. It's locked-down nature means you really don't need to worry about malware, and it automatically downloads security updates. (Unlike Windows 10, ChromeOS never forces you to take an update while you are in the middle of a meeting or presentation.)

    Also, if you are using "cloud" storage apps like the Google apps, then if anything happens to the Chromebook, the data will all be backed up. Your employee would be able to just get a new Chromebook and could get sorted out and back to work very quickly.

    Because your business is too small to have a dedicated IT department, using all Google apps would have significant advantages. And those apps are IMHO about as easy to use as Microsoft apps or MacOS apps.

    As a bonus, if you standardize on Google apps, then your employee has the option of installing some of the apps on her phone (maybe just GMail). I have everything installed on my phone, including Google Hangouts, and I can deal with a lot of possible emergencies with just my phone. I like that.

    The one question mark I have is whether bibliography software is available for a Chromebook. A Chromebook does have Linux app support now, plus Android app support, and there are web-based bibliography systems, so... maybe?

    Also, some people strongly disapprove of Google, feeling that Google track too much about what you do with their software. If you have a philosophical objection to Google you may not want a Chromebook solution.

    I agree with all the people saying not to skimp but to get something nice. If you do this, I'd recommend one of Google's own branded products... the top of the line would be a Google Pixelbook [google.com] which gets very [cnet.com] favorable [reviewed.com] reviews [techradar.com].

    P.S. I personally own a Samsung Chromebook Plus [samsung.com] with a non-Intel CPU (a hexa-core OP1 running ARM instructions). I've been happy with it... IMHO it looks a lot like an Apple product but it has a much better keyboard. It's half the cost of a Pixelbook but not as fancy. Like the Pixelbook it's just a touch over 1 kg and has long battery life. It does come with a stylus and it has a storage silo for the stylus.

  • *sigh* (Score:3)

    by zkiwi34 ( 974563 ) on Tuesday January 08, 2019 @01:32AM (#57922586)

    Write down a list of the outcomes you expect your employee to produce. Drawings? Photo-Editing? Spreadsheets? Documents? Database creation/management?

    That tells you what they are doing for you. Then you can work out what software is required to do said tasks.

    Given the software being determined, then you can look up the best spec's for the computer system they need - Processor, RAM, Drive space, GPU, Printer etc.

    That tells you the type - Windows, Mac, Linux, whatever.

    Then you can determine the budget, and ask them to choose.

  • Use only a browser. Let her use whatever she wants.

  • Calculate that you will buy her a new laptop every 3-4 years. Then consider that you probably are paying her at least &#226;&#8218;&#172;50,000 (we hope) but even so, her time is costing you money. A slow computer is costing you.

    Then consider that a &#226;&#8218;&#172;100 a month investment in hardware and &#226;&#8218;&#172;100 a month investment in software will probably yield near-optimal result.

    This means you should calculate &#226;&#8218;&#172;1200/year f

  • You will pay tens of thousands of dollars in your employee's salary and benefits, a couple of thousand for a laptop that will make her a little more productive is pocket change. Have her visit Apple or Microsoft store and try different hardware for herself.

  • Should I get her a Chromebook or a mid-level laptop running Windows? Any thoughts?

    Nothing says "I really appreciate how brilliant you are as an employee" like buying them a craptacular mid-level laptop.

    Put the money in and buy your brilliant employee a high-end laptop. Something that shows that you value your employees, and something that shows off how well you treat your employees.

    There is nothing more demoralizing in a tech company being given a crappy mid-range computer. It's actually one of the things I look for when I walk into a tech company -- what sorts of machines do they prov

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Do you want to setup some sort of standardisation at this point?

    If so, just pick a major laptop manufacturer and go with their products (Dell, HP, etc).
    Their products are quite good, and their support is quite good.

    If not, give her a budget and tell he to go buy one. Give her some minimum specs to help her on her way (You need an i7 CPU and 16GB RAM and 250GB SSD HD, stuff like that).

Slashdot Top Deals

Crazee Edeee, his prices are INSANE!!!

Close