I've been monitoring craigslist for a few days looking for a very cheap (read: $200 and under) laptop and I've come across a few

MY ONLY REQUIREMENT is that I be able to access the internet through a wireless connection. I just got Yahoo High speed internet and a router at home. My wife has a nice laptop but she's gone a lot (i.e. can't use it) so I'd like one I can use just to browse the message board. I'm not trying to play online games, run 10 applications at once, store my entire music collection- you get the drift. I don't need it for that.

That said, are there any suggestions? If I buy an older one will I likely be able to add a wireless card? If I buy an old piece of shit and it has a slow processor, is that going to matter much if I"m just surfing the web? Am I trying to go too cheap- should I just bite the bullet and spend a little more and get something decent even if that's the only thing I need it for?

Mainly looking for advice, but if for some reason someone has something they're looking to get rid of, I'm certainly open....

As long as you have a USB port you can buy a network plug in for the USB. I did this for my mother's computer. It works good enough and ran like 40 bucks.

Slow processor will bit you in the ass if you start to try and do more than just browse the internet. If you try and do a word document and something else, you might get deathly slow, but for general internet usage, you should be fine.

Steal one.
I know someone who has a PC with a pirated version of Windows on it, if you want that. Can get you a deal.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

So wait- you're going to steal it for me?

You think he'd notice?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

http://cgi.ebay.com/WIRELESS-DELL-LAPTOP-LATITUDE-LAPTOPS-COMPUTER-WIFI-NR_W0QQitemZ290195274789QQihZ019QQcategoryZ140080QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

29 minutes! Woo-hoo! LOL

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

Maybe that explains why my 400Mhz PII is barely able to handle posting on this board and checking for e-mail in the background at the same time...

You could throw more memory in it. It might help some and memory is relatively cheap these days.

Thanks for the help, all

I ended up getting a Compaq Evo with Office 2007, wireless card, everything for $200. Runs pretty good. My post count could potentially triple now that I can post from home

One warning I've seen on a Compaq I used to own. The place where you put the adapter is sodered (sp?) directly to the motherboard and if you don't place the cord in nicely everytime, you run the risk of it breaking and having to replace the whole motherboard. I have a compaq downstairs that had this issue happen 3 times in a 2 year span. The last time I didn't bother having it repaired and bought a Dell. I could always buy a dock for it, but not worth the trouble.

How much memory?

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry