Laptop Brand

[Chazm]

It's probably not a popular opinion here because of the average age of the insurance agent, but iMac is the way to go.
I switched over 4 years ago and ill never go back to windows.

 

[PrivClientSG]

Im going to pitch a different thought process.

You need a solid backup laptop.

That fixes the warranty turn around time.... but it fixes a much more important issue imo.

What happens if the device is not repairable?
Then you are stuck having to make an emergency purchase for a new work computer. Not an ideal situation.

Imo, a backup laptop is an essential part of running a practice such as ours.

You can find some really nice used laptops out there. Or maybe repair the current Dell and keep as backup.

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Regarding brands. I've owned multiple Dells in the past. I owned Asus after that and loved it.

Now I have a Surface Tablet ..... at times I wish I opted for the Surface Laptop... but I do love my Surface Tablet.

I highly recommend the Surface line.

Im currently exercising the Warranty for my keyboard. Space key seems to have some kind of debris under it causing it to not depress fully on one side. I called tech support for help with removing the key and cleaning it. They told me to just use the Warranty and get a whole new keyboard. So Im on a bluetooth keyboard for a few days. The send an overnight label and then ship it back overnight.

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If you want next day repairs, I'd suggest hiring a dedicated tech support specialist who is local to you. None of the brands do that anymore as far as Im aware of.

Absolutely. I have a back up laptop. I sync it and back up with my primary, ongoing, live, throughout the day. It works. I am protected that way. However, I just view my primary laptop as my primary car. I have another just in case, but I want my primary fixed, and done so ASAP.

I replace my primary every three years, no more than four. I have in-house and outside tech support, for everything. Everything works great. I would hope so as I spend a fortunate on tech, LOL. However, when I have a hardware problem, I simply don't want to ship the laptop. For 30 years Dell has been offering next-day, onsite repair, parts and labor covered -- and I am simply wondering if other manufacturers are offering the same. Thanks!

 

[PrivClientSG]

Many of the retailers have warranty type services that include remote diagnostic and "repair" which works well for software installs but obviously nothing when it comes to replacing memory, batteries, motherboards, etc.

Except in rare cases, by the time your PC/Mac needs a hardware replacement or upgrade it is probably time to replace the computer. Most of the hardware is durable and rarely needs replacing in the first 5 years. After that you should consider a newer (faster) computer with the capability of maximizing utility from your software.

I agree. I've had the odd case where -- a keyboard, a screen, and a speaker broke, and I've had a battery, daughter-board, and two motherboards go too. They shouldn't, but, for whatever reason, they do. Dell seems to be the best warranty, support, repair, etc. -- but you pay for it. My current tech support with them is great, and as I said, so is the next day on site repair. No matter how good the machine is, I would not buy a laptop without the top of the line offering. Thanks.

 

[PrivClientSG]

You can use a gig service like HelloTech to meet/test local technicians. When you find one that is reliable, you can hire them off platform (direct).

I don't know of a national company that does what you're asking outside of Geek Squad.

Thanks. That's how I found my outside tech support company. Like I said, Dell seems to be the only player offering the next day onsite repair.

 

[PrivClientSG]

External 2TB drives available for $60 or so . . . 5TB for $120 or so.

I used to backup to an external drive but it is faster, more reliable for cloud backup if you have a fast internet.

I actually do both!!! Live, on the fly, and then scheduled as well (daily). The "imaging" I do is live. Everything I do on my laptop is immediately imaged to the cloud, and then part of the regular back up to both the cloud and my hard drives. When it came to back ups and images I spared no expense!

 

[scagnt83]

Agree, but . . . you also need cloud backup. A backup laptop/tablet + cloud backup is a necessary combo.

I just assumed that was standard best practices this day and age!

My work folders on my laptop are synced to my cloud storage.

My cloud storage is synced to a backup cloud storage.

A few times a year I backup everything on a hard drive.

 

[WinoBlues]

Who is everyone using for cloud storage?

 

[PrivClientSG]

Who is everyone using for cloud storage?

I am using two -- OneDrive and Acronis. The former is active, running live, as my laptop is running. Everything I do, open, close, save, etc., goes through OneDrive. The latter is for live, continuous back ups of data, hard drive, entire laptop, and imaging. I am very OCD about back ups and imaging, LOL.

 

[Tahoe Ray]

Who is everyone using for cloud storage?

Dropbox for basic stuff/mirroring and then Sharefile for sensitive documents/client uploads/etc.

 

[WinoBlues]

Sharefile for sensitive documents/client uploads/etc.

Why sharefile?