New Laptop

[sunflower]

My laptop is very old and uses windows 10. I know there won't be any support for windows 10 after October so I know I must upgrade.  I only use a laptop for a few things, Family History, online shopping and emails so I don't want anything too confusing and expensive. 

Any recommendations for a basic laptop, ideally for a techno phobic.

Thanks

[Zaphod99]

Today's Independent,

https://www.independent.co.uk/deals/best-laptop-deals-b2689969.html

One other thing I will add, is that just because Windows is no longer going to be supported by Microsoft does not mean it will not work. There may be potential security problems, but as long as you have a current and maintained backup of your data, preferably on removable media, you should be able to carry on using Windows 10. I am a retired IT consultant and that's what I will be doing for the foreseeable future.  At the very worst you could reinstall Windows 10 and restore your data backup.

If there's nothing on your computer that you're worried about losing, then you don't have a problem in that respect.  It is highly unlikely that you will fall victim to some sort of weakness subsequently discovered in an operating system like Windows 10 that has been around for a long time, although you should be aware that it is still possible. 

Also there are many articles (including quite a few recent ones here) telling you how you can upgrade to Windows 11, even if Microsoft tell you that it isn't possible with your hardware.

Zaph

[sunflower]

Thanks for the information.  Very interesting. 

Caro

[Biggles50]

Forget a Windows laptop, they are full of unwanted apps, (bloatware), it will want you to sign up to Office 365 it will try to store everything to the storage system from hell namely One Drive.

Buy an iPad, 13” Air £799, 11” Air £599, basic iPad 11” £329.

They will do everything and last for ten plus years.

All the Apps you will likely need are free.

All my Genealogy research is done on my iPad, our Ancestry trees are backed up to my desktop PC which has Roots Magic and Family Tree Maker installed.

Apple products just work!

[sunflower]

Thanks, I'll look into it

Carol

[Chris Doran]

According to some YouTube videos I've seen recently (sorry, no details to hand) it will be possible to sign up to receive security updates to Windows 10 *free* for a further year. This should be adequate for people with minimal requirements such as described by the OP. Some people will already have invites at Start/Settings/Update & Security, others may receive them shortly or may have to tweak their registry to receive them.

[sunflower]

Thanks very much, I'll look into that.

Carol

[PrawnCocktail]

I had to get a new laptop after the touchpad on my previous one died, and no-one would replace it.

Not wanting to transfer to Apple, I got a (another) basic Dell Inspiron, with Windows 11. Yes, I had to have Windows 365, but no, I don't use OneDrive (there are other ways to back up your stuff). I was a bit worried my Family History programme (PAF 4) wouldn't run on Win11, but it does.

I have to say the Win11 versions of Outlook, Paint and Photos are a definite step backwards, and I have downloaded Classic Outlook and Photos Legacy.

But I have hundreds of Word and Excel files, some very ancient, from 30 years of local history research. Transferring over to Apple, where my PAF programme wouldn't have run, would have been a nightmare.

I did run my Windows Vista laptop long past the date Microsoft stopped updating it, but while that kept going, sooner or later other programmes wouldn't run on my machine, and websites stopped loading properly. Eventually I was forced to purchase a new machine.

[KGarrad]

Forget a Windows laptop, they are full of unwanted apps, (bloatware), it will want you to sign up to Office 365 it will try to store everything to the storage system from hell namely One Drive.

Buy an iPad, 13” Air £799, 11” Air £599, basic iPad 11” £329.

They will do everything and last for ten plus years.

All the Apps you will likely need are free.

All my Genealogy research is done on my iPad, our Ancestry trees are backed up to my desktop PC which has Roots Magic and Family Tree Maker installed.

Apple products just work!

Personally, I wouldn't touch any Apple product with a barge-pole!
I don't agree with putting all my eggs in 1 basket - or software apps all from 1 supplier.