Which Laptop ..........

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honeybee

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Which laptop are people using on their boats just now ? I am looking for something small but with a decent HD... can anyone help ?

Chris
 
More thinking along the lines of what are people using to browse & general use while on their vessel not so much the navigation.
 
I'm also using a (Lenovo) ThinkPad. Works well, big enough display to watch an occational dvd in the front cabin.

Haven't really used other than ThinkPads so can't really compare. They have been sturdy and realiable, though (as much as a you can rely on a pc, that is)...
 
I'll second or third the IBM (Lenovo) Thinkpad. I'm on my second now (X60) and it's been faultless just like the first one despite being hauled around the world in a carry on bag and bouncing around on my boat. They're not pretty and they're not cheap but they're reliable. I've been so impressed that I equipped everyone else in my company with Thinkpads as well
 
My Dell Inspiron 8600 has done thousands of miles aboard (inc a couple of transats) and is still perfect. Using it for this post actually.

Our previous Dell, another Inspiron but lesser spec. is still taken with on our trips as a back-up, and that's done far more offshore/ocean miles. They may be relatively cheap and cheerful, but they do seem sturdy enough for marine work.

We have a full set of charts stored and a Haicom USB GPS mouse, but seldom use it for navigation as we prefer paper charts.
 
I bought a second hand Toughbook on ebay which is good enough for browsing and email...has DVD player too.

Waterproof, shockproof etc and can be powered from 12v.

At work I have been very happy with IBMs, Toshibas and Dells but would avoid any of the slim laptops as I have found them a bit delicate if knocked about a bit.
 
We use an Asus eeePC on board for general web surfing, IM etc. It plugs into the telly for a decent size display. It's Linux, so none of the nav softwrae will run onit, but I wouldn't use it for that anyway. Also cheap as chips.
 
We run several thousand IBM T41's at work and they take a beating but generally just keep on running, we're now looking at replacing them with Lenovo T61's I've been trialing one and have to say its great /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Also run a Macbook which we use on the boat for internet/watching films on board, again its great although can't comment on durability as only had it 6 months, no problems in that time though!
 
Never used a laptop on my boat yet but my experience with them is as follows.
Work provide me with an IBM T43 which is very reliable, never had any issues with it.
Privately I have always used Toshiba Laptops, one once completely locked up, had to disconnect mains power and take out battery whilst still on. Re-inserted battery and it fired up again no probs.

A friend and ex colleague (ex Toshiba fan also) has recently moved over to Dell for his business laptops, he highly recommends them, they are also very good value when you buy from the Dell websites. I might go that way myself for my next Laptop.
 
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Oh. In that case Ayser? with 3G connection.

[/ QUOTE ]
Someone on this forum a few months back reported that his office had a load of Acer laptops and were experiencing disconnection problems especially when they were picked up with one hand from the corner.....doesn't sound good for a boat application
 
on the asus EeePC run:

sudo apt-get install wine

It will now run most windows software .exe's - I use SeaClear using this method
 
The screen has just packed up on my 3year old acer, i am taking it in tomorrow might be cheaper to buy new /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
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