Made a silly mistake....

mamazaac

My son has been saving his money for a netbook/laptop which he wanted to use just for general browsing and schoolwork. He thought he'd found the perfect one at Maplins for £79.99 - http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=385448.

Of course we now know this was a silly mistake as Windows CE seems to be pretty useless and the internet explorer is only version 6, which cannot be upgraded as the OS isn't recent enough.

I feel responsible for this mess, but cannot afford to buy him a replacement one of better quality. I realise this is probably a stupid question and highly unlikely, but wondered whether there is any chance that anything can be replaced inside the laptop to upgrade it enough to enable XP to be put on it? My son believes this is all he needs to get it working, whilst not brilliantly, to a satisfactory standard for his needs.

Many thanks in advance for any advice.

McKneff

Is it not possible to take it back to Maplins and explain your problem, they may let you exchange it. Worth giving them a ring.

boliston

Will it run Ubuntu? There are versions of ubuntu like xubuntu (which I'm using at the moment) which will still run on "low spec" hardware.

OneADay

mamazaac, if your son is aged 7 to 14 and if your circumstances match the criteria, you might qualify for a free laptop under the scheme described here http://www.homeaccess.org.uk/

savemoney

If you have had it under 7 days and not used you have the law on your side, under Distance Selling Act you can send it back for get a full refund

To be fair £80 it was never going to be great I remember seeing it posted on mse a while back

-TangleFoot-

mamazaac wrote: »

I realise this is probably a stupid question and highly unlikely, but wondered whether there is any chance that anything can be replaced inside the laptop to upgrade it enough to enable XP to be put on it?

No chance whatsoever; it's got a MIPS chip in it.

asininity

Send it back as either not fit for purpose or as mis sold. Windows CE is an embedded system so not really for the things your son wants it for. Though to be honest the Price tag should have rung a few alarm bells.

ohyeahitssorcy

from maplins website ...

6 Returns
6.1 Unwanted goods - For unwanted goods Maplin offers a 28-day return policy. To return a product under this policy the Customer should:
• Return the product to one of Maplin stores within 28 days or
• Follow the returns instructions on the delivery paperwork or
• Email Maplin at [EMAIL="customercare@maplin.co.uk"]customercare@maplin.co.uk[/EMAIL] or
• Telephone Customer Service on 0844 557 6000 or
• Write to Maplin at the address in Condition 1.1.
A Returns Number will be issued and this must be clearly identified......

http://www.maplin.co.uk/TermsConditions.aspx?

Maplins are pretty good for returning stuff if you just dont want it

patman99

Debian is the closest to having a working MIPS linux distro.

Darksun

Opera Mobile runs under Windows Mobile/Windows CE, and is much better than the mobile version of IE

mamazaac

boliston wrote: »

Will it run Ubuntu? There are versions of ubuntu like xubuntu (which I'm using at the moment) which will still run on "low spec" hardware.

Thank you for your reply. Went to the xubuntu site but it says it's a linux based os - will that run on this considering windows ce is installed (or do we have to uninstall windows ce first?).