Computers for ma' kids.. Whudda-U buy?

Several years ago I purchased 2 cheap-o laptops for the kids. A typical black friday special. I found them to be practically un-usable due to the amount of crapware and malware installed by the factory. All that + the fact that the general windows settings were set to the most cautious, annoying, nagging and intrusive settings possible.

Nary a day has gone by where you'd boot the system and become overwhelmed with trialware, nagware, anti-virus, internet security suites, firewall, backup, system cleanup, registry optimization, mfg. service center alerts, printer updates, security subscriptions, automatic updates. You name it - it was on there!

This time, 2 years later, the wife wants to get something a little more toned down. The "specs" she set forth were seemingly simple enough.

Turn it on, be presented with a clean work area. No nagging, no updating, no intrusions. When done, turn it off. And off means off. No please wait installing 1 of 49 updates please wait crap. It is her idea to have me once every few months do manual updates and maintenance. That way the kids' attention spans (short as they are) aren't distracted with all this nonsense.

And my question to you is what store bought or mail order systems would fit this criteria? Or am I "resigned" to reformatting straight out of the box and conducting my own installation of the OS?

We're not opposed to getting a business-class laptop for them either. Comments and discussions please!

 

How i look at it: why would you "resign" to store bought or mail order systems, when you have the knowledge to reformatting straight out of the box and conducting your own installation of the OS?

 

I didn't feel like messing around that's all, tracking down drivers and whatnot. If I have to I will.

 

Hello,

I'm not sure what the current practice is, but one of the selling points of "Microsoft Signature" systems sold through the Microsoft Store was that they had no third-party software pre-loaded on them.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

 

Ahh yes thanks for reminding me about the Signature Systems! That's a possibility. And maybe the Vostro lineup from Dell, if they're still doing them. I don't have a firm timeframe within which we're going to purchase these. Maybe before 02/2014 sounds reasonable.

And there's also System76, Intel Ultrabooks with Linux.. But with Linux' driver problems, and other technical difficulties that won't do for kids. Especially because no kids in the school district have Linux systems to begin with. They're all Apple and PC as far as I can tell.

 

Apple Macs will introduce your kids to less of a bother than Windows PCs and are more intuitive to use - which is a better way to design and build systems for users. I would spend my time researching them for the kids simply to introduce them to a better designed (if costly) system, in the hope of helping them to be more productive in their lives with better technology.

And yes, I do happen to prefer the System76, Intel Ultrabooks with Linux, esp. the Galago UltraPro! I do not happen to have ever yet purchased a laptop for myself, mainly because of my special interests in multicore (multiprocessing) programming and the requirements of VT-x and VT-d capable Intel processors suitable for hardware support for VM of the Secure Research OS Qubes. Then again, I have worked professionally with Unix systems since the early 1980's - so, Linux is a snap for me.

With regard to Linux, it might be useful to read the following thread in the all things Unix subforum at Linux Mint 16 Petra - P-p-p-perfect!.

-- Tom

 

If they usually surf the web then get a Chromebook, you can set filters and parental controls if im not mistaken.

 

I recommend building your own computer. No crapware or bloatware then. If you must buy a notebook or a factory made computer, PC Decrapifier does a decent of helping you clean out the resource hogging unwanted junk.

Reinstalling the OS on a notebook can be a problem because they tend to be very proprietary so it is sometime essential to have all the necessary drivers on hand before starting. With PCs (which conform to ATX Form Factor standards) Windows typically has the necessary generic drivers to get you started and connected to the Internet so you can install the proper drivers.