Laptop on tour

[psmiffy]

A recurring thread - however seems to be nothing new on here since october 2008

I have decided on my next tour that I will take a small laptop/netbook with me – major use would be keeping my diary and email - having looked around my choice is the Asus 901 eepc with linux – however the whole of the UK seems to be out of stock – does anyone have any experience with the XP version they could share

Battery life on the 901 is supposedly very good does running XP degrade that?

inbuilt memory is very limited - can you run windows programmes from a seperate hard drive - i already have one, it is very light and has survived going to work in the briefcase on my bicycle rack every day for the last two years - it would be nice to be able to run my favorite mapping programmes when I wanted to

If by chance I could get the Linux version does it run windows programes without a lot of faffing about

 

[andym]

I have decided on my next tour that I will take a small laptop/netbook with me – major use would be keeping my diary and email - having looked around my choice is the Asus 901 eepc with linux – however the whole of the UK seems to be out of stock

...newer model on the way?

 

[vernon]

A recurring thread - however seems to be nothing new on here since october 2008

I have decided on my next tour that I will take a small laptop/netbook with me – major use would be keeping my diary and email - having looked around my choice is the Asus 901 eepc with linux – however the whole of the UK seems to be out of stock – does anyone have any experience with the XP version they could share

Battery life on the 901 is supposedly very good does running XP degrade that?

inbuilt memory is very limited - can you run windows programmes from a seperate hard drive - i already have one, it is very light and has survived going to work in the briefcase on my bicycle rack every day for the last two years - it would be nice to be able to run my favorite mapping programmes when I wanted to

If by chance I could get the Linux version does it run windows programes without a lot of faffing about

Running Windows software is possible though not without a lot of faffing at least it was like that when I tired to do so a couple of years ago. You need to install software that mimics the Windows environment and run Windows programs within it. I settled for setting up my laptop as a dual boot system. I'm not sure that you can do this easily with an Asus.

The original Asus was/is being upgraded with a larger screen which might account for the lack of stock.

 

[ASC1951]

does anyone have any experience with the XP version they could share

The reviews I saw suggested that the XP version was quicker and less demanding than the Linux version, which is a blow to my beliefs.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

a good alternative is the Lenovo IdeaPad S10e + a dongle

 

[psmiffy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by psmiffy
does anyone have any experience with the XP version they could share

The reviews I saw suggested that the XP version was quicker and less demanding than the Linux version, which is a blow to my beliefs.

thats interesting - I have not seen that in the reviews I read - by less demanding was it on system or battery? battery life was the main reason for my choice?

 

[Cockney Scot]

I have opted for a Nokia E71 mobile phone, including a couple of memory cards and internet access.

 

[RedBike]

I'm just amazed that you can carry a laptop while touring. I clearly haven't got the hang of packing yet. Lets hope I get loads more practice this year!

I would just settle for a mobile phone with internet access. Although you wont be able to run all your software I suspect you could get some form of mapping software to use on it.

 

[bonj2]

Why do you want to run windows on it?
If it can run the internet, and play mp3s and videos, then you're laughing.

ime, the main problem with linux is getting the bloody thing set up correctly. If this comes with linux already set up, then you've arguably got the best of both worlds.

That said, however, one of the problems with linux is its inability to play mp3s and certain videos due to the codecs being proprietary and not open source software.
I'd be interested to know whether a laptop packaged with linux overcomes these problems out of the box.

 

[just jim]

Sony has a new netbook (but they call it a lifestyle/ lifechoice book or somesuch Sony balls) which looks neat but has terrible battery life and hefty price tag. I like the dimensions of it though. Now all we need is 30hr battery life.

You might want to wait for the new Nvidia Ion netbooks rollin' out later this summer.

Technology - like chasing shadows isn't it?

 

[jay clock]

In my blog here http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/france2009 I used an Acer Aspire One - excellent machine. I did have the smaller 700 version of the Asus ( I broke it!!) but my partner still has one and we find it does not remember the network details which is a pain. My Acer is superb, a decent size (big enough to type with) and weighs 1240g with power supply ( that is with the AC part of the mains cable cut down to six inches and a French plug on it.

The on board email and WP etc are all fine, and I can manage pics etc on there too

 

[HJ]

Personal Computer World magazine has a group review of netbooks in the issue which will be on the news stands next week (as a subscriber I got mine at the weekend), their top three recommendations are the Asus Eee PC 1000HE, HP 2140 Mini-note PC and the Samsung NC10. All of which come with Windows XP (personally I would prefer Linux, but that is easy enough to install you self). If that is any help...

 

[psmiffy]

The only reason that the Linux came out as first choice was that I thought that the operating system would use significantly less resources and help with the battery life:-It would appear that I am mistaken - memory cards and sticks are getting ginormous - if I could run software from them (memory map, auto route etc) that would be brilliant

Battery life to me is paramount - I have a phillips laptop that will manage 3hours on battery but given that I will probably be away from electricity 2 nights out of 3 - I want more

The 901 has a very small footprint and would probably go in a large pocket - Ideally I would like a modern version of the Psion 5 (which I used to carry until it came to a nasty end) mono screen was OK - AA batteries - an excellent usable small keyboard - on all the pda/smartphone thingies the keyboards are too small and bity to do anything on. The open office suite packaged with the 901 linux appeared to be quite attractive (well it was on the 701 I tried in a shop) and streamlined (get that seperately anyway)

I will not be using it for MP3 or videos etc (I am at that age and deafness where continuous flow of noise into ears is not necessary and when on tour there is always something to be doing and seeing) unless I become becalmed I will not use it much for web - the main use will be diary, downloading gps and tagging/captioning photos and checking/sending email

Bigger screen presumably = bigger footprint - not what I want - Rebike I not sure yet with the amount of stuff that I carry that I can handle the packing aspect

 

[HJ]

The Samsung NC10 has a battery life of 6 hours per charge and the Asus Eee PC 1000HE can go for up to 8 hour between charges. All netbooks are pretty small, much smaller than a laptop.

The open office suite is also available for Windows at the same price, just down load it for free, it is a pretty good replacement for MS Office...

 

[TheDoctor]

I use an Asus Eee 901 with XP. Battery life is superb - about 7 hours on a charge. It comes with Open Office and MS Works, and strikes me as perfect for travelling. My main niggle is with the tiny C drive, as a lot of stuff wants to install there rather than to the D drive. If it just had a bigger C drive it's be perfect.