Dell Computers Review

I have a 4 yr. old autistic daughter who is OBSESSED with computers, video screens, etc.  Now that she's in school, she's been using the Starfall.com website quite a bit, and she would literally steal my laptop out from under me (while I was using it!!) and try to play.  I got sick of fighting for my own laptop, so I decided that I'd look for an inexpensive laptop that could hold up to her somewhat rough style of use.

Since it was around Thanksgiving time, I decided to watch the bfads.net website to see who might have a bargain laptop available on Black Friday.  Instead, they posted an amazing deal: a Dell business laptop Vostro 1000 with an AMD Athlon 64 chip, 1G of RAM, 120G hard drive, 8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+R write capability, a 15.4" screen, an internal wireless network card, and Windows XP (my choice between XP and Vista).  Total price?  Only $399!!  I snapped that bad boy up, upgraded the battery for $30, and eagerly awaited its arrival.

When we opened the box to configure it for my daughter, we were delighted at how quickly it booted up (as compared to our current Dell laptops loaded with trial software, etc.).  The Vostro has a nice black chassis, and a no-muss no-fuss appearance.  The keyboard has nice responsiveness, and the touch pad and buttons work well.  The screen resolution is just fair, but perfectly fine for my 4 yr. old (and for a business person who isn't gaming)!!

Because the computer comes with NO pre-installed software other than XP and a version of Microsoft Works that doesn't include Word, we immediately loaded AOL onto the computer so we could download their free security suite from McAfee.  Fortunately, the computer STILL runs very quickly despite adding AOL to the mix.

Given that my daughter doesn't know how to treat computers very well (shuts down with the power button, tends to plunk them down a bit roughly, etc., durability was very important to me.  Since she ALSO tends to make everything too loud, I was delighted to discover that there are no external volume controls (you have to use the function and Page Up/Down buttons to alter the volume level).  This prevents her from turning the volume way up as she hasn't figured out how to do it yet.

All in all, I'm very pleased with the Vostro 1000.  I would definitely buy another one for my other daughter's school work if the price were the same.  This was a fantastic bargain in my opinion.  I got a lot for my money!