Laptop advice please?

[ianwright]

Time for a new computer, I like to buy a new one every ten tears or so.
So,,,,,,,, laptops are really very cheap at the moment, under £500 and if I can find one that I can use at home for the Internet and take on the boat to type up my log plus use as a chart plotter (!) perhaps I'll get one.
No music downloads, no cd 'burner' what ever that is, but good battery life, mains power and 12volt ship supply capable.
What should I get? Or what features should I look for?
It's for use on a wooden boat and to talk about wooden boats so, well, you know, I thought I'd ask. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Be gentle with me,,,,,, I still know nothing about modern times and my education finished after sliderules and before calculators. Please, use english,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,


IanW

 

[Santana379]

Hi Ian

Obviously you need a wooden laptop!

I believe strongly in "buy cheap now, pay later" with laptops, and prefer to buy Toshiba or Compaq (now Hewlett Packard).

CD Burners are pretty much standard (they cost very little more than a CD reader anyway, which you need to load software), and are incredibly useful e.g. for back-up, for storing photos should you get into the world of digital photography, etc. Back up will be particularly important if the laptop is going near the water.

If the CD will also play DVDs, then you can watch your favourite films aboard (- personally my laptop never goes near the boat).

Lots of people think Dell are great value, but my own experience hasn't
been fantastic - they seemed to use quite cheap components, e.g. a lower quality screen.

I'm not placed to give you a steer to a precise spec, particularly as I have never used a laptop afloat, but I'm sure someone will!

 

[LittleShip]

Have a look at these, they are very strong and great for sailing

http://www.sterlingxs.co.uk/scpages/panasonictoughbooklaptopcf27.html

Tom

 

[Santana379]

Hi Ian

I see you broadcast on BBC2 and ITV simultaneously. A kind of each way bet?

Anyway, looking at your twin thread on ITV, I notice some-one recommended Acer. In addition to Toshiba and HP I would have to endorse that - they seem to be very robust indeed. Still can't be much help to you on spec however.

FF

 

[fireball]

Ian,
The vast majority of sub £500 laptops are CELERON processors - don't confuse these with CENTRINO processors or AMD processors - these are they heart of the machine and (along with RAM) will define the responsiveness of the machine.

CELERON = CELERY - yuk!!
CENTRINO & PENTIUM = good - but more expensive
AMD/ATHLON = good, cheaper than one above but runs hotter.

What I currently have:
an Old Toshiba Satellite 4010CDS - Pentium II processor, 160Mb RAM, 6Gb Hard disk with 12" screen. It does have a serial port.
On this we can run:
WIFI internet access via a USB(1.1) adapter
Offshore Navigator Lite - Chartplotting - connected via serial port to GPS.

Also - it will run word processing and other "office apps"

The negative point about it is that the screen refresh is slow and although it works, chart planning and fast scrolling across electronic charts is out.

The major positives are that it cost sub £100 and it is easy to swap out the Hard Disk when it fails (again), oh - and it plugs in directly to 12v (internal battery is shot)

What I think you need to consider :-
Is it going to be a primary navigation method - so need high reliability
Is it going to be used a lot - so need low power consumption
Screen size? is 12" enough or would you be better with 15" - for chart display - the larger the better.
Location? Where are you going to put it - can it be secured and saved from shock (bouncing up and down!)
Replacement? When it does jump off the nav station and clatters to the floor just as the wave breaks over the stern and disappears down the companion way - is it suitably insured or is it worth so little (financially) that you won't be worried (before the rest of you shout - I TRUST that an alternative nav method is available.)

FWIW - I could do with a larger screen capable of faster refresh (combination of graphics card and screen technology) AND an external display - I'm sailing to sail, not to sit at a nav table watching a computer screen!

Oh - and finally, we've decided to try and fix the laptop to the nav table using a strap around the table with a length of velcro sewn in - the corresponding section is glued to the bottom of the laptop ... also on the table is a selection of non-slip rubber mat - should allow for quick removal of the computer and (hopefully) secure fixing - so it doesn't fall on the floor - again!!

 

[trouville]

Second hand laptops are two expensive. and to buy from ebay a casino!If you really are looking to save the last penny then try fujitsu simons they are very inexpensive but run AMD or celeronM processors

For almost (£20+) the same price Acer do have a very good range of 15 inch laptops and as the fashion is for wide screen, the square screen is better priced than ever.

An acer with a 1.8 centrio 512 and 60gig +wi-fi and DVD dual layer burner costs just under £500!

 

[Woodenboatrescue]

I vote for the Panasonic Toughbook. In my real life, I run an Expedition Company. I have had a Toughbook for 7 years now and I combine it with a small Garmin GPS and Navatech or Nobletech or... software. I have dropped the laptop many times and once in a river in Iceland! I have a picture on my business web site of me crossing a river in Iceland in a Land Rover, the laptop was at least 8 inches under water by my feet at the time! (you can see the pictures at www.overlandexperts.com this is not a business plug just fun---more pix on the photo galley pages /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif ) Other laptops will NOT take the salt air at all and they will die just as you were most needing them (of course the laptop is a back up to navigation only). The toughbook is more expensive, but you will buy five others for every one Toughbook (you get new ones for memory and power, not for problems with them).

I have just updated my Toughbook 71 to a newer one. I use the laptop stored down below and connected to my GPS, sounder, weather station, radar, etc. The laptop is in a Pelican case and communicates though a wireless connection to a touch-screen tablet that I have on deck or up to 300 feet away from the main unit. The touch-screen monitor is splash proof and very bright--better than Garmin, etc. GPS displays.

I think it is a good idea to have a small hand GPS unit connected to the laptop for navigation. If you have to jump ship, you can download all you info to the hand unit and leave. Also get extra batteries and of course wire the laptop to you main power in the boat or to a solar panel---saves big headaches.

Look here http://www.panasonic.com/computer/toughbook/learn_more_tb07.asp

Hope this helps. If they are too expensive, then Toshiba is a good cheap one. Keep in mind you do not need much memory or bells and whistles for what you will do, so a used laptop might do you well enough.

Cheers, Bruce

 

[apindrans]

It's horses for courses really. I work in the IT industry and have used a number of different brands of laptop, but the one I always respect is the IBM laptops. They are expensive, but depending on the model, they tend to be quite rugged, and dependable. If you are planning overseas trips make sure the model you buy has an international warranty (which IBM does).

I haven't used a laptop in a marine environment yet, but on a smallish yacht I would be making sure that the laptop was well protected from the elements, and shocks. Bruce's Toughbook looks like a good bit of equipment though. Forget the bells and whistles, and concentrate on the casing, and build quality. Let's face it, on a yacht you are a not exactly going to carry your laptop around much!

Andy