Moving to DR-- Laptop Sugestions

boca chica dave

New member
Sep 25, 2004
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Would like some info on what type is easily connected, secure, etc. I will only be using it maybe 2 hours a day for internet and banking. Any suggestions as to battery life, name brands that work well or model #'s for good basic service Thanks.
 

J D Sauser

Silver
Nov 20, 2004
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www.hispanosuizainvest.com
Would like some info on what type is easily connected, secure, etc. I will only be using it maybe 2 hours a day for internet and banking. Any suggestions as to battery life, name brands that work well or model #'s for good basic service Thanks.

If you are not here already, buy your laptop in your home country. It will be cheaper and of a more recent technology.
Safety? Depends not so much on the hardware, but your fire wall, anti virus and spy blocker software as well as your routine.
When doing any online banking only do it when plugged into a dedicated private modem, don't bank on an un-secured wifi service of some bar, for two reasons; line privacy and your laptop may get stolen quicker than you may be able to mumble "ooops".
Keep your passwords safe.

... J-D.
 

mike l

Silver
Sep 4, 2007
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Great advice,

If you have a laptop, consider it gone at some point. Mine lasted 3 years before it was stolen. I know many people that live in tropics with similar experiences. The electrical surges will also fry it. leave the Vios at home and by a cheepee.
 
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Ricardo900

Silver
Jul 12, 2004
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Acer Aspire laptops are pretty good, you can get one on sale at circuit city for about $500+. Of course you can find nicer laptops with more bells & whistles, but you will pay more. You don't want to invest too much on a laptop if you are just going to websurf, plus don't forget to buy an external harddrive.
 

Castellamonte

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Mar 3, 2005
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www.villa-castellamonte.com
Great advice,

If you have a laptop, consider it gone at some point. Mine lasted 3 years before it was stolen. I know many people that live in tropics with similar experiences. The electrical surges will also fry it. leave the Vios at home and by a cheepee.

I also had a laptop stolen but it was recovered because I had Lo-Jack for Laptops on it (Computrace LoJack for Laptops). The National Police didn't know too much about it so I went to Santo Domingo and worked with the Central Investigative Unit. I got them in contact with Lo-Jack and Lo-Jack was able to trace the computer through the Internet.

We downloaded software onto the computer which secretly copied a lot of information and sent it to us. Much of the information were photographs the thieves were putting on the computer from their cameras. Thank you very much! It helped identify them and the gang they were with.

Ultimately the National Police were able to arrest people in Rio San Juan, Cabarete, Sosua and Puerto Plata as they used my stolen computer to trace the gang. I took great pleasure when the (then) General of the National Police Central Investigative Department personally handed me back my fully functional computer.

I still have it today!

Get Lo Jack for your computer. Work with the National Police and they can get the folks who took it from you. It really worked for me!
 
D

drlaptop

Guest
Laptop Repair

From my personal experience i would suggest to go for Dell Laptops. They are very robust in terms of hardware.
 
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cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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I also had a laptop stolen but it was recovered because I had Lo-Jack for Laptops on it (Computrace LoJack for Laptops). The National Police didn't know too much about it so I went to Santo Domingo and worked with the Central Investigative Unit. I got them in contact with Lo-Jack and Lo-Jack was able to trace the computer through the Internet.

We downloaded software onto the computer which secretly copied a lot of information and sent it to us. Much of the information were photographs the thieves were putting on the computer from their cameras. Thank you very much! It helped identify them and the gang they were with.

Ultimately the National Police were able to arrest people in Rio San Juan, Cabarete, Sosua and Puerto Plata as they used my stolen computer to trace the gang. I took great pleasure when the (then) General of the National Police Central Investigative Department personally handed me back my fully functional computer.

I still have it today!

Get Lo Jack for your computer. Work with the National Police and they can get the folks who took it from you. It really worked for me!
Very cool story!
 

belgiank

Silver
Jun 13, 2009
3,251
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can't vouch for it being true, but they told me to get a laptop with a 12V input power supply as they are easy to find here, whereas the 19V ones aren't...

and it is the power supply which will probably go first
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
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Type of Laptop

Hi:

Any major brand, such as, Dell, Acer, Apple will do. Make sure you have a 24/7 security program scanning your info. I bought Norton 360 last year before being in the DR for 6 months. I did banking, internet shopping and e-mails over a Wi-Fi system and had no virisus or problems with my programs. If possible set up your payments for bills back in the states on an auto pay through your checking account or debit card. This will eliminate many transactions that you will have to perform over the internet. If you don't have access to Wi-Fi you will need to contact a local carrier, such as, Claro to hook you up to a internet connection.

S
 

LIZ87

New member
Sep 7, 2010
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Hello,

I would suggest a MAC by Apple. If I was you I would buy it in the US and then bring along with you to DR. A MAC is a great computer depending on your use for it but I would greatly suggest it.

I brought my MAC to santo Domingo last month and it worked great for me.
 

peep2

Bronze
Oct 24, 2004
581
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I divide my time between the D.R. and U.S. In Santo domingo I keep an inexpensive little Acer Netbook (no CD/DVD drive) in my underwear drawer and plug into my step daughters DSL line when ever I need to access the web. I also bought a nice little printer at Plaza Lama for around $40 and that takes care of all my needs. If you are moving here you might want to consider buying a desk top with a larger monitor once you get here.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
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i have a refurbished dell that was maybe 700 dollars. works well in a capacity i use it for and is quite boring - do not buy anything pretty looking as it may get noticed. i do not use surge protector and my laptop has more than two years of fine work. well, that is after i kicked out darn vista and put in windows 7.