buying advice please, my sister is in Edmonton

[paugie]

Hello,
My sister accepted a job offer in a hotel in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She's been there since the 6th of March. Quite a few of our countrymen have been recruited by this same establishment and they all stay in a "staffhouse".

They are thinking to pool their money to buy a PC which they will use to email, chat, webcam with their families back here in the Philippines.

I know this sounds like any old, reliable, (slow), PC. If it were here, I'd know exactly what to put together. But that's there.

Wondering if you could give some on-site advice. You know, places they could go to and not be ripped off, get something which would suffice for their needs at a very reasonable cost and can provide good after sales service if ever that would be needed.

Also what kind of cheap internet connection is available in that part of the world.

 

[Mercutio]

Canada, as I understand it, mandates availability of inexpensive (compared to the US) broadband services. I may be off base on that but I've talked to folks on Slashdot who run ISP services in the Yukon territories, where I wouldn't think population density would support an internet service. DSL or Cable service should be available near any major city.

FWIW, if it becomes an issue, I have a nice stack of AthlonXP/2000s with 512MB RAM. They are complete systems. I'd send one out for cost of shipping. They'd still need to buy a monitor.
Obviously they'd be better off with new parts than some old junk I have sitting around especially since support would be such an issue, but it's something I could arrange.

 

[paugie]

Thank you, Merc. That is a very nice offer. I shall tell her about it so they can take into consideration - check out the cost of shipping, etc.

Still, they might opt for new...

Just a thought, would new systems be loaded with Vista already? Gah, that might mean a fast computer operating more slowly than a slower one on XP.

 

[Mercutio]

Anything that comes from a "Big Box" store at this point will have Vista on it. Screwdriver shops and little indy guys like me are mostly sticking with XP.

 

[CougTek]

...little indy guys like me...

You're not little and unless you took a bleach bath in your childhood, you're not from India either.


Paugie,

Your sister can order parts online from DirectCanada.com and/or NCIX.com and then build herself a damn nice computer, with WinXP is she wants too.

 

[CougTek]

Why no Canadians have replied to this thread yet?

 

[paugie]

Thank you, too, Coug. I will definitely check those sites out.

I have emailed her on Merc's offer and will be waiting for her reply.

It seems she has Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. Gets to use a PC for free for 1 hour at the Edmonton Public Library. Apart from that, she is still averse to going out, the difference between the temperatures there and here being 30 degrees C.

The only ice we have here is what we can put in a pitcher of drinking liquid. There, ice is to step on and she's not very good doing that. She slipped once and has a sore hip and a sprained wrist to show for it.

Anyway, she is not hardware savvy. But we may have a friend on-site who can put a PC together from parts. So this is an option.

 

[Stereodude]

Why no Canadians have replied to this thread yet?

Because Paugie didn't post a picture of his sister, list her marital status, and english proficiency yet?

 

[paugie]

Because Paugie didn't post a picture of his sister, list her marital status, and english proficiency yet?

hahahaha!
if it were worthwhile doing that, I would certainly have.
yeah, why only one canadian? yet?

 

[Mercutio]

I wouldn't go off calling Coug a Canadian. That is probably bad for your health.

 

[paugie]

I wouldn't go off calling Coug a Canadian. That is probably bad for your health.

Yeah, I overlooked that. Will never happen again.

The news is, they found something on sale for $Can299. I don't have details but she says it will fit their meager needs.

Maraming (many) Salamat (thanks) to Merc and Coug for their helpful offers and hints.

The job was something she could have done without. She is, after all, only a year younger than I. And has a glass/aluminum shop doing well enough here. But the job was offered and she thought, why not, if only for a year, widen horizons and maybe look up some prospects for migration in a booming town coz she has a 15 year old son to think about.

If our country were run better by those in power, she probably would not have taken the leap.

Again, thanks.

 

[Howell]

Paugie,
Can I just saw its good to know you?

-Howell

 

[CougTek]

Paugie,
Can I just saw its good to know you?

That's just as bad as my :

with WinXP is she wants too.

The Blair disease is contagious.

 

[mubs]

You're not little and unless you took a bleach bath in your childhood, you're not from India either.

Not all Indians are brown/dark. Some are extremely fair and have light eyes as well.

 

[CougTek]

That's a use of the word "fair" I've never read before. So "fair" can mean pale, right?

Let me guess : Albinosdian?

Also, speaking of India, when will they rename New Delhi to New Dellhi?

 

[Mercutio]

In English, fair means very light skin and light complexion, probably best exemplified by the pale folk of the British isles.

Of course, it's possible to be fair-skinned and non-European, which is what mubs said.

 

[sechs]

Well... generally, not in India. But look at the Ainu and Uygurs.

 

[mubs]

Well... generally, not in India. But look at the Ainu and Uygurs.

Elucidate.