Netbook choice.

[Zagato]

Everybody seems to be re-inventing the wheel.

Let us know what you get Allan and how you set it up. I'd pay £100 for someone to sort it all out, load it all up etc. There is a market surely for such a service... Not the £70 per hour plus petrol my local rip of geek company charge Pasty spotty little gits

 

[V1701]

I have a Samsung N210, do all my internet on it, watch a bit of TV on it, has Open CPN & world charts, battery life is good, have a charger to charge from boat batts. HDDs about £75 ebay. Had mine a year or so & it's been faultless...

 

[greenalien]

You may find that you are better served with a dedicated small PC, (Mini-ITX, SSD, Atom dual-core processor, Windows 7 if you like, Ubuntu otherwise) stowed somewhere ventilated but dry, with a decent-sized screen and a bluetooth-linked keyboard with trackball. Many people find that text on a netbook is just too small, and it can get very annoying trying to scroll around a website that won't fit comfortably on a 10" screen. Having a larger screen can be a real bonus, and even a 24" device can be had for just over £100 these days.
Power? run off an inverter!
(Ipads - in my book, a portable device with a relatively short battery life that doesn't have an easily swappable battery is a bad design, no matter how pretty the case, or how slick the advertising. I think many owners subconsciously realise this, hence the reason they get evangelistic about their purchase...) (The exception that proves this rule is the Kindle, at least that runs for a month between recharges!)

 

[lustyd]

relatively short battery life

Relative to what? My iPad outlasts every laptop I've ever used or owned and is actually closer to my old Nokia phone for longevity. I can browse the web on 3G for at least 3-4 days normal (for me, which is quite heavy) usage without recharging. I can also use it for 2 days at work with constant note taking, browsing and email. Yes, relative to a power station it has a shorter life, but relative to almost any other tech device it is superb.

 

[jimi]

I use a Samsung NC110 hooked into the boat battery with usb gps and ais with OpenCPN, works well.

 

[Pete7]

Best of both worlds?

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/1280509/asus-eeepc-1015pe/

I have an Asus 1015PE netbook which has travelled back and forth with me for a couple of years. Even when I'm on the boat in Spain I have to do a couple of hours work a day which enables me to spend a lot of time on the boat! I put an extra gb of ram in the Asus and it does everything I ask of it, like a proper computer with pots and everything.

We take one on the boat too, briliant little device that is small and light enough we take it ashore in the evenings to pick up e mails and weather etc. Works well with the Alfa external antenna to substantially increase range.

Pete

 

[DaveRo]

... and you can't put "software for running software" on the AppStore.

Python for iOS

 

[Neil]

Nobody seems to have mentioned a Macbook Air: Proper keyboard, thin and light, robust, flash hard drive, boots up in 15 s, shuts down in 4s, excellent battery life, excellent screen and above all, it's a mac.

I once bought a Dell netbook; SO SLOW! seemed to take minutes just to redraw a window. And of course, it was Windows. Ughhh..........

 

[Spyro]

Nobody seems to have mentioned a Macbook Air:
......

Maybe because they cost a small fortune

 

[Spyro]

Tried to watch the live feed of the Vendeeglobe this morn on the Ipad.
Guess what? it wouldn't play

 

[oldvarnish]

Are there any other things I need to know?
Allan

The only thing missing is what you want to use it for. Rather important.

 

[Neil]

Maybe because they cost a small fortune

As a mac user for decades and surrounded by Windowers, I get this all the time. However, contrary to the impression given by the original purchase price, over its lifetime, the mac will often work out cheaper.

When I bought my iMac desktop, I did a comparison with a Dell PC. When I'd added all the upgrades to the PC to make it equivalent to the iMAc, there was little price differential and even with equal functionality, you still had the far superior design and build-quality of the mac. Just hold a mouse or keyboard from each manufacturer in each hand to see the difference, and this translates to longevity. I've just passed my 7 year-old macbook pro to my 8 year-old daughter, not because it no longer worked for me, but only because I had the opportunity to upgrade at work. It's still going as strong and as fast (tell that to a Windows user) as it was when I bought it. What are those virus things again? You have to do WHAT in Windows???

 

[charles_reed]

As you want to buy a netbook you clearly do not have an iPad.

If you do not have an iPad why don't you buy an iPad instead of a stupid netbook?

Where is the USB connection on an iPad?

If you'd followed the thread you'd (perhaps) realise it's essential for the proposed use.

 

[charles_reed]

As a mac user for decades and surrounded by Windowers, I get this all the time. However, contrary to the impression given by the original purchase price, over its lifetime, the mac will often work out cheaper.

When I bought my iMac desktop, I did a comparison with a Dell PC. When I'd added all the upgrades to the PC to make it equivalent to the iMAc, there was little price differential and even with equal functionality, you still had the far superior design and build-quality of the mac. Just hold a mouse or keyboard from each manufacturer in each hand to see the difference, and this translates to longevity. I've just passed my 7 year-old macbook pro to my 8 year-old daughter, not because it no longer worked for me, but only because I had the opportunity to upgrade at work. It's still going as strong and as fast (tell that to a Windows user) as it was when I bought it. What are those virus things again? You have to do WHAT in Windows???

Mac -excellent build quality, vastly superior to MS Win OS, but unfortunately even the AirBook misses one of the primary needs, low power need.

 

[charles_reed]

The only thing missing is what you want to use it for. Rather important.

Look at the beginning of the thread.

 

[charles_reed]

You may find that you are better served with a dedicated small PC, (Mini-ITX, SSD, Atom dual-core processor, Windows 7 if you like, Ubuntu otherwise) stowed somewhere ventilated but dry, with a decent-sized screen and a bluetooth-linked keyboard with trackball. Many people find that text on a netbook is just too small, and it can get very annoying trying to scroll around a website that won't fit comfortably on a 10" screen. Having a larger screen can be a real bonus, and even a 24" device can be had for just over £100 these days.
Power? run off an inverter!
(Ipads - in my book, a portable device with a relatively short battery life that doesn't have an easily swappable battery is a bad design, no matter how pretty the case, or how slick the advertising. I think many owners subconsciously realise this, hence the reason they get evangelistic about their purchase...) (The exception that proves this rule is the Kindle, at least that runs for a month between recharges!)

My sentiments - a 10.1" low quality screen is a bugger to try and use at sea with OpenCPN and the redraw times are unbelievable. Put in a better video card and your consumption jumps.
But even the best of the CULV chips + integral video use about 10% more than the Atom.

 

[oldvarnish]

Look at the beginning of the thread.

I just have, sir. It doesn't say what he wants to use it for. It would help the netbook/ipad/imac choice, that's all. Only trying to be helpful.

 

[bluerm166]

computer station for atlantic crossing

The requirements are loosely stated in the earlier thread.So he is looking for something beyond the needs of a sailor snugly at anchor or in port.
So something beyond a typical netbook.
He's particularly after robustness,which sounds like an SSD drive,and low power consumption.
Somebody who's actually done this on the ocean can probably provide good advice.
I can only point out that not all netbooks are designed to accept additional ram and that buying a unit with an SSD drive from scratch is a better bet.

 

[Conachair]

I just have, sir. It doesn't say what he wants to use it for. It would help the netbook/ipad/imac choice, that's all. Only trying to be helpful.

Maybe not immediately obvious but it was in the other thread
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=336565

I would think wfax reception would rule out a tablet.

 

[oldvarnish]

Somebody who's actually done this on the ocean can probably provide good advice.

Ah, in that case.... but I can only relate my own experience.
I have a Macbook Air which I interface with a Motorola Iridium phone. This I use to download GRIB files (from the excellent Mailasail) while out on the wet stuff.
I have an inReach for two-way messaging and tracking - v good and I highly recommend it.

When in harbour I use the Macboook Air, but usually via wifi. The same Macbook Air is light enough to take ashore if a wifi cafe is called for - I usually find an excuse. I also carry a plug-in CD drive so that lengthy passages can be relieved with a feature film now and again, or perhaps a sitcom - although I usually watch these on an iPad.
I don't run the laptop as a plotter, because I've got a plotter.
As far as charging is concerned, an hour with a palm-sized inverter seems to be enough.
I'm trying to think of anything Else you could use a laptop for, other than eat your dinner off.
As far as the iPad goes (said this before, sorry) I have the Navionics app which is great, and the Imray app which I suspect is also very good but is so over-featured that it gives me headache.

The secret of being happy with an onboard computer is... don't get yourself into a position where you depend on it. That applies to anything else which depends on the orderly movement of electrons. In fact, it probably applies to everything, even down to the kettle.