buying a laptop - here or there?

Hey there!!  I am panning on moving to Scotland next month, and CANNOT wait!!

I would like to buy a laptop to use over there since my computer now is a desktop that is about six years old!  i had originally planned on buying it when i got over, but recently have started wondering if maybe that's just something i should get in the US before i go.

i'm finding that american laptops are cheaper, though that might be that i just don't know where to find the good deals in scotland.  i've basically only been looking at pc world.  i also don't know how long i'm going to be over there, so i would like something that i can take back to america eventually and still use.

on the other hand, i don't know how hard it would be to convert everything on an american lap top (and printer, etc) to british voltage... is it worth it just to buy one in the uk??  i'm so lost!  help!

thanks!!!

You won't need a converter for an American laptop. Only an adapter for the plug. If it's going to be cheaper to buy one in the US then I'd certainly go for it. You may want to invest in an international warranty though. I brought a Dell over and it quit working while it was still under warranty. I had to ship it to my dad in the US for him to ship to Dell, then they sent it back to him and he sent it back to me. It was a pain as Dell UK refused to honor the warranty. You might be alright if you stay away from Dells though.

Bear in mind that any laptop you buy in the UK will have an English keyboard with a "stupid tetris shaped enter key" as my boyfriend calls it

You shouldn't have power issues, laptops are designed to take all over the world, you'd just need a plug convertor which are cheap

Bear in mind that any laptop you buy in the UK will have an English keyboard with a "stupid tetris shaped enter key" as my boyfriend calls it

And no £ sign and the @ is in a different place!  That always drives me nuts even though I can insert the symbol  

Don't forget that the backslash key on a U.K. keyboard is also in the original IBM PC location, between the left Shift key and Z, which many people (myself included) find extremely annoying.   

To make way for £ over the 3, the # symbol also generally moves to a separate key over on the right, which is very odd when you've always been used to its "normal" location (and that rearrangement is what leads to the different shape return key).   

They're all little aspects of the keyboard layout which you may or may not find important, although laptop keyboards are pretty awful anyway, so you may not consider it that big a deal.

thanks all!!  yeah i thought about all those little things too.  i really appreciate all your imput.  i think i'm going to buy one here before i leave... just about a month now for me!!

As everyone has said buying one in the US is going to be cheaper.  If you're looking for a cheap place to buy decent / good laptops in the UK you may want to have a look at ebuyer.   

thanks all!!  yeah i thought about all those little things too.  i really appreciate all your imput.  i think i'm going to buy one here before i leave... just about a month now for me!!

That is your best bet. And Scotland is great fun 
I brought my macbook with me, very happy I did.  I also brought a dell desktop. Both only require a power plug adaptor, not a transformer.

Don't forget that the backslash key on a U.K. keyboard is also in the original IBM PC location, between the left Shift key and Z, which many people (myself included) find extremely annoying.   

Me too!!! I use some programs that need lots of the less-common symbols, including many , many backslashes, and it's driving me MAD. And hurting my left pinky. (I touch-type.)

We just got a laptop today on the dell outlet for a good price...

Can you believe that my husband bought it so we can sit together in the lounge on different laptops..

We just got a laptop today on the dell outlet for a good price...

Can you believe that my husband bought it so we can sit together in the lounge on different laptops..

Modern love!

Me too!!! I use some programs that need lots of the less-common symbols, including many , many backslashes, and it's driving me MAD. And hurting my left pinky. (I touch-type.)

If you work with DOS and/or Unix you use backslashes a lot.  But it's not just the odd location of the key when you are deliberately aiming for it.  It's also the number of times you go for the left shift key and end up hitting the backslash key by mistake, or hitting both and inserting a vertical bar.

This is one feature of the original IBM PC keyboard which came in for much criticism in the early 1980s, resulting in the key being relocated to the more sensible position for the American versions of the PC/AT keyboard.  Why IBM decided that it should stay put between shift and Z on British keyboards is a mystery.