Job Discussion Forums

[Time4me]

I live in Kuwait, but am having a week in January in Dubai. I need a new laptop and have been told that Dubai is the better place to purchase. Any suggestions on reputable, competitive places to look?

[yaramaz]

I ended up getting my new Mac in Dubai, at the Mac Shop (so if you want a pc that won't help much). However, in my searches, I went to quite a few places to comparison shop, mainly in Bur Dubai, near where i was staying. There was a Jumbo (I think) a few blocks behind the Bur Juman shopping centre on that main drag with all the travel agencies, as well as a mini version and other electronics places that were helpful on the top floor of the bur Juman. I checked out other shopping centres too, and they were comparable in price. My boyfriend told me the best thing to do is to go to one of these places and quiz them to get all the info you need, then head to one of the smaller, non-mall-based computer stores which will be cheaper and more willing to haggle.

For me, even though I couldn't haggle much because I got mine in an official Mac Store (only 2 in UAE so not much competition), it was still about 25% cheaper than in Turkey.

[caliph]

I'd wait a couple of months until the new Micro Soft VISTA windows is available on the local market. Althought there are a few glitches in in it to be worked out, it's supposed to head and shoulders above Windows XP.

If you must one now , the big department store Carrefour has very competitive prices.

[veiledsentiments]

Personally I bought this year just to avoid the new program. My previous computer was the first release of XP and it was constant headaches and once you loaded the endless corrections, patches, and updates, one's computer became a real dog and other programs didn't work well with it. Unless Microsoft wants to pay me to be their guinea pig I will NEVER purchase another early program. And who is the 'they' that says it is so much better? Microsoft? who just gave us that dog of an IE7???

My new computer came with the fully upgraded XP and I have had almost no problems at all.

VS

[caliph]

The "they" are computer magazines (which I know are not always unbiased as they depend on companies for advertiseing). The Wall Street Jounal and the New York Times both had positive articles about Vista, but did caution about waiting a few months for it to be debugged.

XP, even with service pack 2 still has problems, it's the nature of the beast.

As far as IE7, at first I didn't like it as it was unfamiliar, but once I got the hang of it and figured it out, I like it a lot.

I'll probably wait a year or so to get a Vista model, my 3 year old does everything I need for now.

[grand fromage]

I'd go check out the Al Ain Computer Plaza in Bur Dubai. The biggest advantage is that you have tens of stores under one roof. This helps find the best price without driving around town.

Carrefour or Geant are also places where prices are low, but the selection is not as good as in the Al Ain Plaza.

As for Vista, some brands already offer free updates when the software is released.

[confuzed]

Just make sure you keep your receipt.