Am a techno-phobe. MP4, laptop, wireless......

fletch3163

I've hijacked a few threads on here but I think I'm in need of real help.

It's coming up to time for me to make those Christmas purchases for my 11 year old son BUT I'm very ill-prepared for it all.

Laptop - he wants some sort of gaming laptop. From what I've been told here I should get one with an external graphics card? Also no less than 3gb RAM and........ oh that's a question, what is the difference between RAM and hard drive memory? Which one is more important I should have a lot of?

MP4 - my son's a bit addicted to Youtube, etc and I toyed with an iPod Nano but someone said that was a MP3 and not MP4 (which if my techie knowledge serves me well MP4 plays videos too) Now, I wouldn't get the ipod IF we were only allowed to download from iTunes and nowhere else.

I'd very much welcome any advice and/or testimonials/recommendations.

Marty_J

Think of RAM like the top of your desk at work. The programs and files you're using are stored there. The hard drive is like your filing cabinets; you store things there until you're going to be using them. The more hard drive space he has, the more programs and games he'll be able to store on his computer. The more RAM he has, the faster they'll run when he's using them. It's always nice to have as much hard drive space as possible, but for a gaming laptop, the amount of RAM will be more important, as it'll directly affect the performance of the games.

iPods are mp4 players. They will play mp4 files (music and video) and mp3 files as well. Using this method, he can download files directly from YouTube and put them on his iPod. You don't have to download music from the iTunes Store, as long as the music you're downloading doesn't contain any DRM copy protection. Play.com sell mp3s which are DRM free, compatible with iPods, and are generally cheaper than iTunes.

fletch3163

Thanks for this, it's amazing how easy it is when someone explains to you in a language you understand . I appreciate it.

The bit about youtube freaks me slightly but I'll persevere. So, you really believe he can download from there to an iPod? Wouldn't want to fork out £100 only to find it's the gift that keeps wanting

Marty_J

Yep, I just tried it to make sure and it works fine.

fletch3163

Now, can anyone offer me guidance on this link:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/catalogId/1500001151/partNumber/5136539.htm

I'm hanging by a thread gadget-wise but I always thought MP3 was the music one and MP4 was the music and video one (the type I want). Then I saw this? It's MP3 with video!! My husband has a bigger Zen and he loves it so it wouldn't be too hard to deal with.

Marty_J

fletch3163 wrote: »

Now, can anyone offer me guidance on this link:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/catalogId/1500001151/partNumber/5136539.htm

I'm hanging by a thread gadget-wise but I always thought MP3 was the music one and MP4 was the music and video one (the type I want). Then I saw this? It's MP3 with video!! My husband has a bigger Zen and he loves it so it wouldn't be too hard to deal with.

mp3s are audio files. An mp4 file can be an audio or video file. The iPod Shuffle is an mp4 player, but it has no screen, so it can't play video. "mp4" just tells you what files it is compatible with, not whether or not it can play video. There are many other video formats such as Windows Media Video (wmv), and an mp3 player could play wmv and not mp4 and still be a video player.

I hope I haven't confused you more!

fletch3163

Marty_J wrote: »

mp3s are audio files. An mp4 file can be an audio or video file. The iPod Shuffle is an mp4 player, but it has no screen, so it can't play video. "mp4" just tells you what files it is compatible with, not whether or not it can play video. There are many other video formats such as Windows Media Video (wmv), and an mp3 player could play wmv and not mp4 and still be a video player.

I hope I haven't confused you more!

Confused me MORE?? As if!!

It's one of those weeks for me. Primary 7 algebra, MP4 players, XBox Live, what to ask for in a Gaming Laptop, what else? Oh yes, what's a decent mobile phone, em........... I hope I'm not setting up a MENU for robbers here :rotfl:

I'm actually quite thrilled at how giving you all are on this forum. If I knew this much stuff I'd be lording it over all of you

zenjamie

If you are considering the Creative Zen (I've got one and I love it!) then you can get the larger 8Gb version from Amazon for £5 less than the 4Gb at Argos.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-ZEN-8GB-MP3-Player/dp/B000V9IAYS


or the 4Gb for under £50:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-ZEN-4GB-MP3-Player/dp/B000V9IAYI

Jamie

robredz

You could try these I have an 8Gb version & it seems good, it plays divX Xvid and you can drag & drop downloaded you tube vids onto it and it plays them without conversion.

http://www.sonix7.co.uk/index.php

Their customer service I found to be good

fletch3163

Thanks for this. What about a Zen 16gb for £99 at Argos?

The problem I have with Zen is DH says he has trouble with downloading from Real Player to it?

Right, to the link on Sonix7 now

[Deleted User]

If you're interested in a very good MP4 (and mp3) player, you might want to look at this one; http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/6707783/Sony-NWZ-S639F-16GB-S-Series-Premium-Video-MP3-Player/Product.html

The reason i'd recommend it is that he can use it to watch BBC Iplayer downloads (free, legal downloads of full BBC TV shows from bbc.co.uk/iplayer)

Also, for the money (87 quid), it's got twice the storage capacity of the Creative. This will not play divX, but videos can be converted to use it.