New Guy, need some advice....

I never had a laptop and thought I might get a used one to play with. A guy has this for sale priced at $300. It is a few years old and is in EX condition. Comes with a leather bag.



Gateway Solo 9500

Processor: One Intel?Pentium III?CPU running at 1.0GHz

Bus speed: 100 MHz front side bus

Graphics: ATI Mobility M4

Video memory: 16 MB SGRAM

System Memory: 256Mb

Hard Drive: 30Gb

LCD display panel: 15.7-inch active matrix (TFT) LCD color display

Maximum panel resolution: 1280 ?1024 (SXGA, 15.7-inch display)

Maximum color depth: 16.7 million colors

External video: Supports dual display

Supports simultaneous LCD/external monitor

TV out jack: Supports NTSC/PAL connection to standard TV monitors with RCA jack

Audio chipset: ESS ES 1988

Sound support: Multi-stream DirectSound and DirectSound 3D acceleration

Sensaura CRL Position 3D

S/PDIF output

Digital DVD audio: Provides full 5.1 channel Dolby Digital output (AC-3) from DVD decoder through Toslink optical S/PDIF jack on notebook, and through RCA S/PDIF jack on docking station and port replicator.

Volume control: Volume control buttons on bezel above keyboard

Software control provided through Windows

Internal microphone: Omni-directional, low-impedance

Internal speakers: Stereo speakers built into front of notebook 0.5 W maximum output

Audio jacks : Toslink S/PDIF digital audio output on notebook

S/PDIF jack on port replicator and docking station

Stereo headphone output

Stereo line input

Monophonic microphone input

Modem features: Integrated V.90 56 K data/fax modem

Uses the RJ-11 jack in the port options area on the left side of notebook

10/100Mbps Ethernet interface: Integrated IEEE 802.3 (10/100 BASE-TX) Ethernet interface

Uses the RJ-45 connector in the port options area on the left side of notebook

Keyboard: Full-sized 87-key keyboard (US/Asia)

Pointing device: Gateway EZ-Pad?touchpad

Input/Output (I/O) ports: 2 USB (4-pin)

High-speed serial

Parallel (bi-directional, EPP, ECP)

V.90 56K Modem (optional, RJ-11)

10/100 Ethernet (optional, RJ-45)

IEEE 1394 (optional, 4-pin)

PS/2 keyboard or mouse

DC input

Docking port

PC Card sockets (2 Type I or II, or 1 Type III or Zoom Video)

External monitor (VGA)

TV out (NTSC/PAL composite video)

Toslink S/PDIF digital audio out

Stereo headphone output

Stereo line input

Monophonic microphone input

Operating system: Microsoft?Windows?2000 Professional



Does this deal sound OK, or should I pass? What else would I need? If this is no good, what could I look to buy for under(well under) $500? I really am just using it to play around, do some web surfing outside via wireless, etc.

If it's only for basic tasks like internet browsing, then it should be ok. Remember it's only a P3 and not only that, but only 1Ghz. Battery life should be at the minutes. I'd try to low ball him even more, since it's considered a large paper wieght to many. But yes, it'll work... for now.

Battery life at the minutes? Will the battery not last a few hours on a charge?



Also, he says there is no software or discs included and that no discs are needed. Said something about a "software key" being on the computer. Will I need any software to run this from scratch like the Windows 2K disc? He said the Windows is pre-installed and I am wondering about what happens in the event of a crash?



Can I install my Office 2000 or my Works Suite? WS came with my home XP Pro, is it useable on Win 2K?



Does $250 sound like a better deal?

Yes, $250 sounds better, of course. As for the battery, it's an old system and battery charge usually lessen through time from wear and tear. Also, if you have the software key, you can still reinstall the OS with another Win2K CD. As for installing programs, sure, you can use Office 2000 and Works suite on your system.