Buy in UK or Oz - Laptops

[cluster13]

Hi, As we are getting closer to leaving (19 weeks and counting) I'm starting to go through some of the smaller details of our stay. Were going over on a 457 so have decided not to sell the house yet and will probably ship a few boxes (but not a container).

 

I'm thinking that our PC is pretty bulky and i should swap this for a laptop.

I've tried looking at the specs of systems in OZ but as anticipated can't find apples for apples comparisons. baring in mind the shocking exchange rates at the moment, would you purchase in the UK and take over or purchase in OZ?

 

Thanks

Steve

[sgperry]

Hi, As we are getting closer to leaving (19 weeks and counting) I'm starting to go through some of the smaller details of our stay. Were going over on a 457 so have decided not to sell the house yet and will probably ship a few boxes (but not a container).

 

I'm thinking that our PC is pretty bulky and i should swap this for a laptop.

I've tried looking at the specs of systems in OZ but as anticipated can't find apples for apples comparisons. baring in mind the shocking exchange rates at the moment, would you purchase in the UK and take over or purchase in OZ?

 

Thanks

Steve

 

hi Steve,

 

I think you'd get better value buying one in the UK and taking it with you. They sell the same brands in Oz (e.g. Sony, Dell, HP) but they definitely aren't cheaper, and I suspect are actually more expensive - before you even factor in the exchange rate.

 

The current range of Dells at around £399 look pretty good.

 

You can buy a power cable for use in Oz for most brands, or just use a power adapter. I've taken my UK laptop there many times and it works fine, including with connecting to the internet.

 

cheers sg

[Guest Guest31881]

I think you biggest problem would be if it broke down and you tried to get it repaired in Australia, you could have a problem getting the guarantee honoured.

[Mongrel]

I think you biggest problem would be if it broke down and you tried to get it repaired in Australia, you could have a problem getting the guarantee honoured.

 

 

This is correct in my own experience and buy asurge board amust for all your electrics ,washer kaput after 2 years :mad:

[Guest Guest31881]

This is correct in my own experience and buy asurge board amust for all your electrics ,washer kaput after 2 years :mad:

 

True, all my valuable electrics are protected with anti surge board, and it did cut everything off a few weeks ago in one off our thunder storms.

[Graemsay]

I've just done a quick comparison on the Apple store and they're almost the same price. (There's about a 25 quid difference.)

 

Dells are cheaper in the UK, but the Australian model that I compared with had a slightly different (better) spec. However the difference was 10 - 15%.

 

I'd be inclined to buy locally because it's one less thing to move, it eliminates the risk of damage in transit, and gives you a local guarantee.

 

Bear in mind that a visitor can claim back GST when you leave the country, though I'm not sure how this would be affected by being on a 457.

[Mongrel]

I've just done a quick comparison on the Apple store and they're almost the same price. (There's about a 25 quid difference.)

 

Dells are cheaper in the UK, but the Australian model that I compared with had a slightly different (better) spec. However the difference was 10 - 15%.

 

I'd be inclined to buy locally because it's one less thing to move, it eliminates the risk of damage in transit, and gives you a local guarantee.

 

Bear in mind that a visitor can claim back GST when you leave the country, though I'm not sure how this would be affected by being on a 457.

 

Cant on a 457 but can claim your superranuation if under 2 years , lookin at computers here the uk is cheaper but you run the risk of warranty but you can get a global one

[Bobbsy]

There's no obvious answer to this.

 

With the exchange rate, laptops are probably slightly cheaper in the UK. Two other advantages would be:

 

-if you buy in the UK, you can transfer things off your desktop to take to Australia with you.

 

-you have a computer for use on the trip and immediately upon arrival. We found having a computer useful for researching the myriad of things you have to do upon arrival and also for Skype calls home etc.

 

On the downside though, the small print in the warranty almost always limits cover to the country where you bought it.

 

We carried our laptops with us...but they were already a couple of years old when we moved. Your decision is less straight forward.

 

Bob

[LYNMACMD]

Re Anti surge board are we talking about an adaptor for each appliance or can you get one for the consumer unit and any idea of costs over there? Or do we buy over here?

[Afro Developer]

Hi, As we are getting closer to leaving (19 weeks and counting) I'm starting to go through some of the smaller details of our stay. Were going over on a 457 so have decided not to sell the house yet and will probably ship a few boxes (but not a container).

 

I'm thinking that our PC is pretty bulky and i should swap this for a laptop.

I've tried looking at the specs of systems in OZ but as anticipated can't find apples for apples comparisons. baring in mind the shocking exchange rates at the moment, would you purchase in the UK and take over or purchase in OZ?

 

Thanks

Steve

 

Depending on where you fly from you can buy the laptop from duty free. Dixons have there own duty free web-site at Dixons Tax Free. You can place the order before you fly so it's in store waiting I believe. With regards to warranty I'd be inclined to suspect most brands would have a world wide warranty. Of course you can check this with the main manufacturers before you buy. I saved about £200 on a Mac Pro doing this. Although you may have to consider if Ozzy immigration would charge import tax upon your arrival.

[Guest Guest31881]

Re Anti surge board are we talking about an adaptor for each appliance or can you get one for the consumer unit and any idea of costs over there? Or do we buy over here?

 

Mine is an extension lead that takes 6 appliances, have TV, Computer, set top box, printer, radio, it also has conections for TV ariel and telephone to protect them.

[Happy Lass]

I'd get an external hard-drive in the UK and buy your laptop when you get here if I were you. If anything goes wrong with your laptop it is likely to be tricky to get it repaired or replaced once you get here. An external hard-drive will be useful for backing up your data on both sides of the planet.

[fish.01]

I work in I.T. and it drove me crazy having a UK style keyboard on my laptop at home and an Australian (US) style keyboard at work. It's only a few keys but was still annoying switching.

 

I was relieved when someone stole the laptop :biggrin:

[Graemsay]

You could always use an online backup system to share files.

 

I've been playing with Dropbox, which gives 2 GB free, 50 GB for $99 (US) per year or 100 GB for $199 (US). It adds a folder to your computer that copies its contents to an external server, which I believe is part of the Amazon EC2 web services, so not some fly-by-night operation.

 

If you want to take a look, please use the below link. It means that we'll both get an extra 0.5 GB capacity for free. :biggrin:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTQ5MzMwNzc5

 

There are a couple of similar alternatives. Someone I'm working with copies stuff up to Amazon's EC2 servers, but I don't know the details.

 

Backblaze is another online backup system, but it seems to be more for preserving files in the event of a loss of your computer than moving files between machines.

 

Online Backup from Backblaze

 

Pricing is $5 / month (US).

 

How much data do you want to transfer?

 

I'd be inclined to give Dropbox a look first (after all, the free account is free), and see how much space you need.

 

The other, more traditional option would be to burn the data onto a stack of DVDs, and install it on the new machine when you arrive.

[Bobbsy]

I must admit that I went the external hard drive route when I moved--back then I got a 320 Gig USB drive for about £75 (nowadays you should get around a terrabyte for the same money). This let me transfer all my music files, photos, documents and videos off the drive in my ageing desktop. The external drive travelled with me on the plane and is still doing sterling service to this day.

 

For the money, you get a lot more storage and far higher transfer rates than a typical internet traffic jam.

 

Bob

[cluster13]

You could always use an online backup system to share files.

 

I've been playing with Dropbox, which gives 2 GB free, 50 GB for $99 (US) per year or 100 GB for $199 (US). It adds a folder to your computer that copies its contents to an external server, which I believe is part of the Amazon EC2 web services, so not some fly-by-night operation.

 

If you want to take a look, please use the below link. It means that we'll both get an extra 0.5 GB capacity for free. :biggrin:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTQ5MzMwNzc5

 

There are a couple of similar alternatives. Someone I'm working with copies stuff up to Amazon's EC2 servers, but I don't know the details.

 

Backblaze is another online backup system, but it seems to be more for preserving files in the event of a loss of your computer than moving files between machines.

 

Online Backup from Backblaze

 

Pricing is $5 / month (US).

 

How much data do you want to transfer?

 

I'd be inclined to give Dropbox a look first (after all, the free account is free), and see how much space you need.

 

The other, more traditional option would be to burn the data onto a stack of DVDs, and install it on the new machine when you arrive.

this isn't realy an issue for us, i have an external 500gb drive i can back up too (though will have to clear out some of my older films and recorded tv as i'm currently at 1tb on my data drive :biglaugh:

steve

[fish.01]

You could always use an online backup system to share files.

 

I've been playing with Dropbox, which gives 2 GB free, 50 GB for $99 (US) per year or 100 GB for $199 (US). It adds a folder to your computer that copies its contents to an external server, which I believe is part of the Amazon EC2 web services, so not some fly-by-night operation.

 

If you want to take a look, please use the below link. It means that we'll both get an extra 0.5 GB capacity for free. :biggrin:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTQ5MzMwNzc5

 

There are a couple of similar alternatives. Someone I'm working with copies stuff up to Amazon's EC2 servers, but I don't know the details.

 

Backblaze is another online backup system, but it seems to be more for preserving files in the event of a loss of your computer than moving files between machines.

 

Online Backup from Backblaze

 

Pricing is $5 / month (US).

 

How much data do you want to transfer?

 

I'd be inclined to give Dropbox a look first (after all, the free account is free), and see how much space you need.

 

The other, more traditional option would be to burn the data onto a stack of DVDs, and install it on the new machine when you arrive.

 

Agreed. I use microsoft's Mesh. You add a folder on your computer to the mesh and it backs up for free at microsoft. If you want more than 5GB you just use another hotmail/live account.

 

If you add another computer to the mesh it can sync the folder between your computers as well as backing up online....great for my OneNote GTD list I edit at work and then at home.

 

You can also give access to your aunty overseas to view and/or edit the files.

[Happy Lass]

For the money, you get a lot more storage and far higher transfer rates than a typical internet traffic jam.

 

Bob

That's what I reckoned too, Bob. I felt much happier in the knowledge that I had my data in my own hands. Not to mention the prospect of just how I would get to my data if my Internet access was down. :swoon:

[LYNMACMD]

Cheers for the confirmation SRP, could you tell me roughly the price of a 6 gang anti surge over there and where from?? Am going to try and compare to UK ones on Ebay etc to see if best to order some now over here before we ship everything next month.

 

Many thanks in advance

 

Barry

[Guest Guest31881]

Cheers for the confirmation SRP, could you tell me roughly the price of a 6 gang anti surge over there and where from?? Am going to try and compare to UK ones on Ebay etc to see if best to order some now over here before we ship everything next month.

 

Many thanks in advance

 

Barry

 

They are available practically everywhere here, from woolworths to your specialised computer shops. prices vary from basic protection for about $20 too good protection that also cover phone and ariel protection with a guarentee to replace items if surge protection fails for around $40.

 

Hope that gives you an idea of what you will be looking for :biggrin:

[fish.01]

Thing I hate about external drives is you often leaved them plugged into, or in the same room as, the computer. If a robber comes to your house there goes your photo's on the computer and your backups on the external drive. With online backup/sync you can have a copy online and/or all of your computers. If the internet is down you still have your local copy. Plus you can be anywhere in the world and look at your photos online or sync them to the local PC.