what is the cheapest kind of laptop that will serve my minimal needs?

i basically need to run microsoft office and that's it.

dell inspiron? i think they start at about $500.

you might be able to find a cheaper refurbished laptop

http://www.refurbdepot.com/category.cfm?PageID=205

I need one to write film reviews, websurf, listen to WFMU (RealAudio streaming or mp3s, whatever).

Take a look at Dell's Vostro range.

http://interstatial.com/newlylostedge/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/villalobos_2_large.jpg

What is the cheapest kind of laptop that will serve my minimal needs?

can you not run openoffice instead?

these are $330

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115489&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Notebooks-_-Acer+America-_-34115489

matt dc, making the corny joke i was going to make so i dont have to

i cannot run open office, unfortunately. my schoolwork requires plug-ins only available on office xp for windows (it would not install on my mac)

i will look into a dell tho!

never buy a laptop on 9/11

i kind of don't want to get a dell because they have that realllllllllly annoying commercial "i am ORANGE today" ugh with the hipster girl putting on her lipstick on the bus

but i guess i can get over it

ha s1ocki

is it wise to buy refurbed macs? ive been looking at these guys http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/scrumpymacs

also, never buy dell, the company is going down the pan and the quality of their products with it. the dell laptop i bought a year ago has been a non-stop nightmare - check any forums, they're full of angry customers, plus dell's customer care service is appalling.

only good experiences with ebay macs (inc a perfectly working ibook) :D

wait, cant you run parallels or whatever the hell its called?

on an intel mac, yeah

I needed a cheap ($200-$300), relatively indestructible Windows laptop that I could use out in the field for configuring weirdo embedded-system hardware. Found a seller on eBay that rehabs Panasonic Toughbooks - $300 + shipping for a CF-53 with 16GB/512GB SSD/DVD/i5-2520 which is a surprisingly useful machine that I can just chuck in the car with my other work stuff.