At Permalink #201 you were considering $1200 laptops. Now you're back to $300 price point?
Being between gigs, all I need is to find a [local] source for a $100 all-in-one to amuse myself to death. If you rely on it as a work machine, can you afford the downtime you are experiencing? I've had the same router running 24/7 for two decades (approx.).
Is the software you need for work free and open source? Okay, is it Windows specific?
Apple: "It just works"