color management system

[poopnoodle]

so, a rather unpleasant eventuality has come up, i edit my photos and such on my laptop and all the skin tones and colors are fine but when i look at them on my home computer, everything looks orange. so, that means one, or both, are off on their color representation.

i was wondering what experience you guys have with this problem, I've seen some options like:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/484457-REG/Xrite_EODLT_Eye_One_Display_LT_Color.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/525541-REG/Datacolor_S3EL100_Spyder3Elite_Display_Calibration _System.html

but at $249/$149 it is a bit steep. have any of you used this system(or other equivalent), and is the price difference worth it in terms of ease-of-use/accuracy/service/etc.

also is there a calibration method that does not require a piece of hardware that is acceptable for professional use, because if there is a noticeable shift I'd like to fix it, and i'd be willing to put forth the money, but if there is a less financially draining way to address it. and if i could ask a favor if you should look at my photo profile (flickr link below), and you have a well calibrated monitor, could you comment here if you see a shift.

thanks,
-brad

[Jim2000]

If you want to have professionally calibrated monitors, you have to have a hardware calibrator.

I use the eye-one display 2 by xrite. It's considered one of the best calibrators out there, better than the spyder. If you're serious about photography and photo editing, a proper color management system is essential.