[ArGee]

I'm even here. That's what you wanted to know by day's end, right?



OK, seriously. I never by the extra service things but I have started recommending them to my daughter. She had a camera knocked out of her hand and ruined when she'd had it for a week. It wasn't worth the price of fixing. So she needs them. I, OTOH, don't even often take nice elecrtonics places, and when I do I don't tend to drop them. After the manufacturer's warranty it's highly unlikely that a laptop you use as a desktop will have a problem with it before you're done with it. That is, except for the one HP I had that is the source of HP being off my list. I will say this about Dell. Since their founding they have put a service tag # on your machine that is unique to you. When you need support, if you give them that number they don't have to ask you any questions about your machine. And their response used to be top-notch when you had to contact them. But I haven't experienced that need in years so they could have improved or slid since then. This Asus tablet has been working fine for me - I haven't needed support so I can't rate it. If I had the $20, I'd go Dell, but I haven't done a head-to-head. BTW: For the entire time I worked at PC World Magazine Dell OWNED the top-10 list.

[ArGee]

A few things I've learned working a few doors down from a Dunkin Donuts.

1. Don't go to the donut shop to scope hot bods
2. Don't rob a donut shop
3. Don't go into a donut shop and ask for earl grey (I actually saw someone try this. The Pakistani behind the counter said, "What is that?" I offered that it was a blend of tea. The guy behind the counter said, "We have black.")
4. Have your order ready when it's your turn. People waiting for their baked delicacies and their morning joe do not like to be delayed.
5. Along those lines, if you want some Europeanfru-fru half-calf with special milk and sweateners thingie in a cup, go to Starbucks. They're used to waiting while your order takes longer to say than it takes to make
6. DO NOT ask if they have diet or low-fat ANYTHING. That's just ridiculous
7. Along those lines, don't even mention your diet

Presented as a public service. No warranty is either expressed or implied. Your mileage may vary.

[Monkey Face]

Thanks for the response! Some if it (service contract) I knew about, having worked in a camera shop, and I am VERY careful with all of my electronics.

Dell was first on my list because of the things it offered.

Description

•15.6" diagonal LED display with HD (720p) resolution

•Windows 8.1 operating system

•1.8GHz AMD A6-6310 processor with 2MB cache

•500GB SATA hard drive

•4GB DDR3L system memory; expandable to 8GB

•DVD/CD burner/player

•AMD Radeon R4 graphics

•Media card reader (card not included)

•Equipped with webcam and speakers

•Has Wi-Fi, Fast Ethernet, Bluetooth, 3 USB ports, HDMI

output and headphone/microphone jack

•Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery

•Includes AC adapter/power cord

•Approx. 15"W x 10-1/2"D x 1"H (when closed); weighs 5.2 lbs.

Specifications

Brand: Dell
Model #: I35412001BLK
Manufacturer Color Name: Black
3D Type: --
Energy Star Compliant: No
Audio: Yes
Backlit Keyboard: No
Battery Life (hours): Up to 6.5 Hours
Bluetooth-Enabled: Yes
Blu-Ray Player: No
Built-In Webcam: Yes
Cache Memory: 2MB
Color Family: Black
Color(s): ,Black
DVI Port: No
Graphics: AMD R4 Graphics
Hard Drive Size: 500GB
Hard Drive Type: SATA
HDMI Outputs: Yes
Headphone Microphone Jacks: Yes
IEEE 1394 Ports: No
MFR Included Warranty Type: Limited - Does not cover some parts.
Media Card Reader: Yes
Modem: No
Ethernet Technology: Fast Ethernet
Notebook Battery Type: Lithium Ion
Notebook Computer Type: Notebook
Notebook Screen Size (in.): 15.6
Optical Drive: DVD-Writer/DVD±R/±RW
Processor Brand: AMD
Processor Speed: 1.80GHz
Processor Type: A6-6310
Product Depth (in.): 10.50
Product Height (in.): 1.00
Product Weight (lb.): 5.26
Product Width (in.): 15.00
Resolution (maximum): 1366x768
Screen Type: LED
Speakers: Yes
System Memory (RAM): 4GB
System Memory RAM Expandable To: 8GB
System Memory Type (RAM): DDR3L
Touchscreen: No
USB Ports (#): 3
VGA Port: No
Video Memory: Shared
Wireless Network: 802.11BGN

[Monkey Face]

Now that the specs are out of the way...while I didn’t understand some of what it has, I figured it was probably because up to now, I haven’t needed it, meaning I most likely will not need it in the future.

Anyway, I wish now that I had kept my subscription to PC World. A lot of it was over my head when it first came out, but I think I could learn a lot from it, now. So thanks again for the input. I will order it today and get rid of this POS next week.