wjlambert4 Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My husband will be in Iraq soon and he has made several comments about wishing he had a laptop. He is embarrassed to ask the guys to use theirs to send us stuff and most times there are lines to use the computers provided. I don't have a true "budget" for one, I would like to get one at a deal, the gottadeal way. It would be nice if he could access wireless internet with it, download music, make movies, I guess that would be a dvd burner, lol. I am not very computer savvy. It is not something that would have to be an immediate purchase, I could wait a little while if someone knows of a sale that usually comes along. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Blessings to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue-Z-Q Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Perhaps I can help. My DH is currently in Iraq. Noting the no budget option, I would say to look at the Dell Inspiron 1520. Make sure that you get the built in web cam, so when you talk on line later you can see him. You wouldn't believe the difference that makes seeing that he's safe! Internet hook up and quarterly is expensive, so he will need to talk to a group of 10-12 guys to go in on it with him. My DH paid $3xx.xx for hook up and three months of service, and just paid $150.00 for another three months of service. and they have about 12 guys splitting it. I don't know your husbands rank of where they will be (Camp Liberty?) My DH is an office and has his own "place" so he "lives" alone and doesn't have to worry about anyone messing with his stuff. However another office doesn't have squat (just a bed in his room( so he is always at my DH's place to use the internet to talk to his wife (and has never offered to kick in a few bucks...not that my DH would accept it, but none the less it would be the right thing to do is offer), watch DVD's and to keep his Monster drinks cold. Now, when my DH is home for his two weeks of rest and recoup, this guy will not have the laptop to talk to his wife, he will have to find another way to talk to her. My DH will give him a key so he can watch movies and stuff. I guess all of the for a little warning that if you DH has his own place, his buddy could become a mooch. If they are going to Kuwait to acclimate, they have the Ceezee. That is where he can buy internet time to do an online chat with you. They charge $5.00 per hour for the use of the computer, that time goes by FAST when having to type everything! Oh, if he will be in the Baghdad area, tell him not to plan on buying or watching movies from the internet, the service is SLOW and can not handle it. I thought about sending my DH a Slingbox, but the internet connection wasn't enough. I send him tons on DVD's. They can also buy bootleg DVD's from the civilians for $2.00 each. Make sure that your DH takes a lot of cash with him going over there, otherwise he will have to take advances out of his direct deposit. We aren't allowed to send any currency to them in the mail (postal rules), but it can be done. I would also recommend sending a digital camera with him, one that takes the SD cards. The Dell that I recommend above has a slot on the side where he could slip the card in, the pictures download to the computer and he can easily email them to you. I know I took you around the world on this, I just thought that these were some points of interest and would help. If you would like more info or want to talk feel free to PM me. Please also tell your DH thank you, we appreciate him and his service to our country for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauras74 Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 My husband will be in Iraq soon and he has made several comments about wishing he had a laptop. He is embarrassed to ask the guys to use theirs to send us stuff and most times there are lines to use the computers provided. I don't have a true "budget" for one, I would like to get one at a deal, the gottadeal way. It would be nice if he could access wireless internet with it, download music, make movies, I guess that would be a dvd burner, lol. I am not very computer savvy. It is not something that would have to be an immediate purchase, I could wait a little while if someone knows of a sale that usually comes along. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Blessings to all.First thank you to your husband and to your family for your sacrifice. I know it isn't easy. While I do not know of any current deals, definitely check military.com for places that offer a military discount. I know Apple does, but I'm unsure of what the discount rate is. We've purchased computers from Sam's before that were very reasonable and were decent machines (emachine brand). Most lappies that are made today are able to use a wireless router. And I second the above comment about sharing internet access. My dh was activated for 2 years (stateside) and shared internet access with several other soldiers to cut down on the cost. Hope you find a fabulous deal! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wjlambert4 Posted January 18, 2008 Author Share Posted January 18, 2008 I really appreciate the info from you guys. I'm tellin ya, we can't get any straight answers about anything when it comes to the access to internet/telephone, some say wireless, some say nothing. But with the military that's the way it is. Our desktop is a Dell and I'm satisfied with that, but I will check out Sams', I don't know why I didn't think of that before, we have a membership. Thanks ladies, and if you think of anything else please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regnilc Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Take a look at Tiger Direct. My husband swears my them or New Egg. They both ship to APO's also if you need to ship him things while he is gone also. My hubby is finishing up a 15 mo tour here in a couple months and we have used both places with no complaints at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirvana4all Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 check the technology section of the forum, we have a lot of these going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzywuzzy86 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Hey I go to liberty University they're actually selling some computers at $35 i inquired about the Laptop that they have for sale and they have to get back to me with a price. However, it does need an operating system which at LU they also sell them for under $15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rae662000 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 My husband will be in Iraq soon and he has made several comments about wishing he had a laptop. He is embarrassed to ask the guys to use theirs to send us stuff and most times there are lines to use the computers provided. I don't have a true "budget" for one, I would like to get one at a deal, the gottadeal way. It would be nice if he could access wireless internet with it, download music, make movies, I guess that would be a dvd burner, lol. I am not very computer savvy. It is not something that would have to be an immediate purchase, I could wait a little while if someone knows of a sale that usually comes along. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Blessings to all.I have no info about computers, but just wanted to say for you and suzy-q and your families sacrifice. We appreciate you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peggbt Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Check with Best Buy, too. When my MIL's unit shipped out, BB gave them all a 10% discount to stock up on their electronic stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandaJo111 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 My DH is in Iraq. Where he is they have wired internet only. And the way it works is that the guys go together and get a service provider. Some of them are out of London some are out of Saudi Arabia. The guys have to chip in to set up the satellite. If I recall there were 20 guys in DH's group and it cost us I think $250 (so each of the 20 guys had to pay $250 for the guy to come and set up the satellite). Then they had to run the wires. Now we pay $60 a month for it. Some guys pay less because they have more people in the group to divide it between, but the more people the less speed they have (and trust me it is nothing fast). Some groups pay a little over $100 a month and have better speed. Okay...I am talking to DH right now. He said that it would be wired internet. They do not use satellite because it is too unsecure especially with so many guys using it. They have tried it before but there is not a solid network. He said that although it is possible there is literally no infrastructure and it would render it virtually useless most of the time. As far as deals on computers I would check the dell outlet. www.dell.com/outlet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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