Hirom, 6 months ago If they don’t know what they’re going to use it for, I’d focus on practical things most non-technical people use laptop for: Fair battery life to carry it around. Operating system that does auto-updates, needs little to no administration. SSD so the thing feels fast, and starts quickly. May not need a large storage capacity. Built-in webcam for video calls with relatives, etc. The rest can be done on the software side: To browse safely, install security tools (antivirus, browser extensions like privacy badger) and verify auto-udate is on. Install an office suite (et Libre Office). Even if they don’t write documents, they’ll probably need to read them. If using Windows, tweaks settings to disable abnoxious things like ads, telemetry. Backup software. Ideally with automatic remote backups. Window’s built-in backup sucks.
If they don’t know what they’re going to use it for, I’d focus on practical things most non-technical people use laptop for:
The rest can be done on the software side: