What Extras Should I Buy When Buying a Laptop?

HarleyPig asks: "I'm using my tax return to buy a laptop. I don't want to know which laptop to get (that's a religious discussion I'd like to avoid). What peripherals do you find yourself wishing you'd bought, or have ended up buying? I know I'll need a mouse, extra cabling, extra batteries and some kind of case to hold and carry around the laptop. What else should I consider putting in my list of stuff to buy with a laptop?"

Comments

Obviously

[El]

802.11b card (if not built in), so you can use it whilst in the bathroom.

Re:External Mouse

[PiranhaEx]

In addition, G is backwards-compatible with B, so a G card is really the way to go.

My suggestion: AC adapter, security cable

[GORDOOM]

I'd get an extra AC adapter - not as a spare, but so that you can have one live at your desk and one live in your notebook case. It makes it a lot quicker to just grab the computer and go.

Also, for the love of everything sacred, get a security cable!!!!!!

Stuff you can leave at home.

[rueger]

When we retired our old Toshiba, I wound up buying a used Dell Latitude LS. what I love about it is what's not built in - CD, floppy, some of the usual ports like the serial port.

The result is a laptop that really small, really light and really easy to toss into a briefcase and carry along.

When I look at some of the current laptops they seem so big and heavy that I doubt I would want to lug them around.

So think in terms of some of the models that lets you leave the less used stuff like CD drives at home and just carry the essentials.

Although Powerbooks... mmmmmm.

Two Things

[tiny69]

Purchase an extra battery. Batteries will only last for so long. They are also expensive to replace if your manufacturer no longer makes laptops that use that battery. I've also seen some laptops that will not work if the battery is bad.

Pay extra for the extended warranty. Since laptops are proprietary, the only place you can go to for replacement parts is from the manufacturer that made it. And the parts for laptops are not cheap. I recent tried to fix a laptop that had a broken screen (someone obviously sat on it). The only problem was the warranty had just expired. The cost of the replacement screen was over $900. Whether the manufacturer even offers an extended warranty is an indication of the quality of the laptop. I wouldn't purchase one from anyone that would only offers a 1 year warranty. For this reason, I will also pay extra for name brand laptops. Yes, you can get a no name one for next to nothing, but who are you going to turn to for repair parts when the company is no longer around.