Laptops (again)

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ITH

ITH

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I know laptops were discussed in a previous posting, but Maplins is offering a solid state HD version notebook for £167 - http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=225532&source=1

Would this get over the problems (lack of shock-proofing) on standard PCs used on board? I've just had to pay out for a new disk drive on my existing (Compaq) laptop, which I had been using on board and don't want to risk it again.

I'm no IT techie, and wonder what more informed yotties think?

Main use aboard (in the Med) is for e-mail, and downloading grib files and other weather stuff (using my mobile as a modem when out of wi-fi range). Also use it for passage planning, with Standard Horizon chart plotter and C-Map card reader/software.
 
Looks interesting but note that it uses:

"Easy to use Linux operating system "

which means it cannot directly use most common nav software and I would **guess** it is underpowered to run an emulator (or even a not emulator).
 
Linux is fine but its very hard/almost impossible to download anything from the net, including I Tunes. Not sure you will be able to run/load all the applications you mention

I tried a similar one from PC World and was not impressed. I have now got an Advent 4211 which is tiny but has a 80Gb hard drive and Windows XP - from PC World for £270. The hard drive should not be an issue - my last laptop had no problems. But as this is very small it will be much easier to move and use in and off the boat.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Looks interesting but note that it uses:

"Easy to use Linux operating system " which means it cannot directly use most common nav software

[/ QUOTE ]

With a 7-inch TFT widescreen (eh?) screen of 800 x 480 resolution - it wouldn't run electronic chart programs even with Windows loaded. Looks ok for email and general use though ....
Colin
 
As it is possible to get SDHC cards with very fast transfer (good enough for video) and 16Gb capacity, a completely solid state machine with a few of these would be quite feaasible.
 
Hi yes the Linux software may limit the functioning programs. The Advent 4211 gets a good write up and runs windows XP
Brian
 
You should soon be able to get an external solid state hard drive which will solve all your problems . They are starting to fit them in MAC's now so will not be long. If you use Linux " Easy to use operating system " you will spend most of your time looking for drivers for programs which should run .. You could take the plunge and get a MAC .. No virus software to worry about and works straight out of the box .. Have a look at .. www.custompc.co.uk/news/601479/512gb-solid-state-disks-on-the-way.html .. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif for info on solid state drives
 
This is just a bit of a 'cheeky' suggestion, as I know it is possible, but given the many different standards around I wouldn't be at all suprised if it fails:

However; you can get windows loaded (from the CD in the normal way) but load it onto a memory stick. Set your ordinary laptop to boot from USB and it will run without dependency on the hard drive. Alternatively in the case of this notebook you can maybe get it to boot from the stick and run any windows based stuff on the stick also.

It's just a thought, but good old Microsoft never make things easy.

Cheers

:-)
 
Thanks to all posters for their advice: in view of your comments, plus the fact that I've never used Linux I guess I'll give the Maplins offering a miss. Looks like taking the old Compaq laptop on-board again and saving up for an Asus eee if the Compaq goes belly up again.
 
I don't live on a yacht as a disclaimer but I'm a fairly useful techie, the previously mentioned EEE PC with a 12GB SSD seems like a good option for your uses. This can be bought with windows XP pre-installed, the thing to watch out for is that as its a very small device, it has a very small screen and no CD drive... this might not be ideal for chart plotting or weather packages its worth checking...

The lack of CD drive which you would need to install your mapping software etc. is not a huge problem and could be avoided by buying a very cheap USB external DVD drive... I have become a big fan of EEE PC's partly because of their low price but I recently took one diving with me on the Red sea and diving boats are notorious for breaking stuff, the light weight of the EEE PC makes it quite robust, I do admit to dropping it at least once and it also got sat on at least once and it survived...
 
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