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My folks are in their late 70s and are fairly tech-literate, or at least they both were when they were using PCs every day at work when they retired about 10 years ago. We had a computer at home from the first BBC B when I was 5 to a 286 I did most of my GCSE coursework on, to various laptops over the last decade.
Their most recent laptop has died and I'd like some advice on what to look for in a new one for them. They mainly use it for web browsing and Skype, with some light Office stuff and basic things like saving and printing out photos of their grandchildren. They're very used to using Windows and are unlikely to be keen to swap to another OS (my wife uses Macs and I tend to run Ubuntu, both are like another language to my parents!).
They're unlikely to get another laptop for about another 5-10 years, so what would you recommend? Something stable, relatively simple, fairly future-proof - they don't need high performance, they just need hassle-free for as long as possible. But by hassle-free I mean components that tend to be well-supported by drivers and are unlikely to conk out and take the rest of the main board with them.
The budget's not super-important, and to be honest neither is battery life - the laptop spends most of its life plugged in on a desk, and only occasionally will be taken off to the living room or the gardon for showing something off while on Skype!
...any suggestions?
The most hassle free I've had is a MacBook Pro. I know haters gonna hate but both my parents have no trouble in using iOS.
My wife has a MacBook Air, it's lovely. But, aside from my folks having to learn iOS (which wouldn't be impossible), I don't trust Apple to keep supporting it in 5+ years' time - they're like Microsoft used to be in the late 90s, where each pushed update requires more hardware resources, so of course you need to buy better kit every couple of years.
And Apple get to dictate that - I've seen it with my last three iPhones and with my wife's MacBooks. And each OS update introduces "Newer! Better! Look at our clever DESIGN!" features, and deletes old ones that we'd got used to. That's not what I'm after for my parents, they want something that just works, doesn't need constant updates and doesn't force them to adapt to awkward new OS tweaks that are thrust upon them every couple of years.
I know they want to stick with Windows but for what they need/do surely Chromebooks are the way to go here.
Wouldn't usually recommend them either as personally not a fan but seems ideal in this application.
If Windows is a must then decide on a budget and buy which ever Dell our Levono fits that budget.
Hadn't even thought of a Chromebook, thanks for that. But yes, I was wondering about a Dell with a big screen that basically was mid-range and not too bling.
I've got a very early Samsung Chromebook, and it's recently gone out of support, I think it's 6 years old. Still works though, with decent battery life.
The browser it runs is exactly the same as Chrome on the PC, so no worries about learning different OS. Google Docs won't be exactly the same as modern versions of MS office, it's laid out more like 2003 era Word/Excel.
There have been plenty of other threads on here about them.
Skype might be an issue on a Chromebook but it's probably possible to install an Android APK for Skype ( http://www.androidapksfree.com/tutorial/tutorial-how-to-get-skype-on-chromebook-the-easy-way/ ). Google hangouts will work OOTB though so that could be an alternative.
If all that can be overcome then a Chromebook is a great solution. My Mum's had one for years and loves it.
IPad Pro and wireless printer. And I can't stand ipads
That's something else I was wondering - my mum's got an iPad and gets on well with it, and they need a new printer. Maybe just buying a wireless keyboard and turning off automatic updates might keep the iPad running cruft-free for a long time (or at least should make it relatively easy to transfer everything to a new iPad when the inevitable Apple-forced hardware upgrade is required).
Bought my 74 year old dad an ipad mini for the same tasks you describe and he likes it a lot, he has a desktop PC for work still though. I think unless you are rolling around in cash there's absolutely no point in buying them a MacBook of any kind, total waste of money, and I've got one.
For the older generation, Apple all the way. Have been through similar with my own parents. So intuitive compared to muddly old Windows. I get far less questions about how to do this and that and 'what have I done now'. Plus it will make them feel younger and cooler. Same thing goes for mobiles.