Mini Laptop Recommendations [Archive] - RIDGID Plumbing Forum, Woodworking Forum, Power Tool Forum

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JCsPlumbing

01-29-2009, 10:24 AM

ToUtahNow

01-29-2009, 10:35 AM

Any "Mini Laptop Recommendations"?

Need it to be Wireless G compatible built internally. Wireless N unnecessary.

Never needed tons of RAM or Memory. Don't anticipate needing it.

Need SD card, USB, CD Burner.

Good battery is a plus.

Weight doesn't mean anything at all to me.

Good deals & few problems are always a plus.

Thanks for all opinions.

J.C.

The CD burner knocks you out of the mini stuff. What are you hoping to use the laptop for? I have been really happy with my Dell mini but realize it will not do what my full-size lap tops will do. I just ordered Brenda a new Dell mini last week and it only cost me $250.00.

Mark

PLUMBER RICK

01-29-2009, 10:54 AM

as mark mentioned the cd/dvd drive is out.

you could buy an external drive and then plug it into the usb when necessary.

joey loves her acer aspire 8.9''.

160 h.d with 6 cell battery and it comes in pink:D

mine is blue;)

what color is your's plumbskool:confused:

great little machine and i've loaded the invoice program. soon to take it out in the field;)

rick.

smorris

01-29-2009, 11:18 AM

soon to take it out in the field;)

rick.

http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/bgas/profiles/NE-White_seismic.jpg

ToUtahNow

01-29-2009, 11:52 AM

cpw

01-29-2009, 12:18 PM

If weight doesn't mean anything why do you want a mini?

JCsPlumbing

01-29-2009, 01:33 PM

If weight doesn't mean anything why do you want a mini?

Lunchtime! Forum Time! :)

I listed that in the criteria because I figured that some would have recommendations with weight factoring in. The smaller size cpu is what I like as space is always an issue for me.

Mini's have been cheaper from what I've heard. No need for me to have extra features, extra weight, or spend an extra $100.00. Wrong?

Now that I think about it, I really don't need a CD burner. But don't you need CD-ROM of some sort to load programs from disks? I made the assumption that if they would put in a CD-ROM then they would just put in a burner. :rolleyes:

Thanks. Acer is on the list.

J.C.

Josh

01-29-2009, 01:47 PM

you can load software off thumbdrive. most software has the option of installing off the web to.

cpw

01-29-2009, 03:06 PM

Mini's have been cheaper from what I've heard. No need for me to have extra features, extra weight, or spend an extra $100.00. Wrong?
Nope. I just wanted to see the logic behind it. I don't know if minis will be cheaper or not; at least in the past, small sizes have come at a premium.

Now that I think about it, I really don't need a CD burner. But don't you need CD-ROM of some sort to load programs from disks? I made the assumption that if they would put in a CD-ROM then they would just put in a burner. :rolleyes:
A burner could be useful if you wanted to put the video inspections that you do on a disk for the customer.

VASandy

01-29-2009, 03:44 PM

The little mini-laps or Netbooks are some pretty nifty little things. Amazingly, they are much cheaper than laptops or even full-size computers. Most of them come with software pre-loaded (some Linux, some XP), and have no CD. They do have hard drives, usually not very big but big enough. They have USB ports so you can plug in a thumb drive. Due to the fact they don't have to spin up a huge drive or a CD, the batteries are smaller. The displays aren't as nice as a full lappy, but what do you want? They're functional and portable. As long as all you want is web, email, and maybe a custom app or 2 they're fine. For the See-Snake users, you could download the video to thumb drive and burn a CD for the customer later. The small footprint of the tiny netbook gets it in tighter spaces and makes them better suited for a See-Snake application, IMO. I wouldn't want to get goo in the CD drive of my expensive lappy anyway! You could get an inverter for your truck and have an external USB CD burner for the videos. Dump the See-Snake onto the Thumb drive, take the netbook to the truck w/the thumb drive and burn the CD there.

Netbook CPU's are typically those found in small devices like Palm PDA's and some phones. They're not tremendously fast. If you don't need a lot of horsepower for the apps you do, then a Netbook for the road is a good idea.

plumberscrack

01-29-2009, 04:31 PM

It's no mini but I'm happy with my lappy :p

Itronix GoBook III made by General Dynamics
(also sold as an HP Fully Rugged NR3610)

Touch Screen, Wireless G, Bluetooth, GPS, DVD-RW

Spilled tomatoe sauce from my meatball sub all over the keyboard. Took it outside and hosed it off

The best feature is that it hangs over the steering wheel for easy viewing

Bought it used off eBay for under 5 bills

5525

MoJourneyman

01-30-2009, 11:11 PM

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB881LL/A?mco=MzE2NjMyOA

it's small and sexy, and they're great about their warranties, which could be a plus carrying it in a work vehicle.

darius

01-31-2009, 05:16 PM

Acer has a couple mini models. One I tinkered with had 160GB HDD, 1 GB Ram, 1.6 GHz processor, 8.9" screen.

Dell has some to choose from. Their 8.9" ones come with Solid State Drives, up to 64 GB. They also have 12.1" and 13.3" lappies. Those have optical drive built in.

For the newer machines without optical media you can get external DVD burner for well under $100.

SatPro

02-10-2009, 11:17 AM

Your mini laptops will not likely have a cd drom drive. You will need a portable drive to load your software.

Just be careful about purchasing one from Buycables or Cables4PC over the internet.

I ordered an external cd rom from this vendor in the name of Cables4PC.. com in November for my eeePC. They are also on eBay as "Cables4PC" and "Buycables."

The vendor tahes more than two weeks and sends me a Floppy Drive. When I contacted them by email, they claimed that they do not make such mistakes.

The package was sent to me "Return Postage Guaranteed." On that account, I sealed it back, took it to the Post Office and sent it back to them.

They claimed they did not received it, and failed to issue a refund. Since they have the record of their shipping, they claimed they never received the return.

Credit card company can't help, since they chose only to report that I received the package.
This vendor uses the system to scam buyers out of their money.

It appeared to be a good deal at less that $20 delivered. But, it was really $20 gone.

LuciKnows

02-13-2009, 08:04 PM

I would suggest looking at the models Acer has to offer. They are lean, dependable and priced right. They have deal aplenty online right now. Check 'em out.

egecko

02-15-2009, 08:47 PM

Netbook CPU's are typically those found in small devices like Palm PDA's and some phones. They're not tremendously fast. If you don't need a lot of horsepower for the apps you do, then a Netbook for the road is a good idea.
Not true about being the same processors in PDA and some phones. The processors in the netbooks are Intel Atom Processors. They are the newest processors for UMD, MID, netbooks, nettop applications thatare low powered using 1-2.5W and performance scaling range from 800MHz-1.86GHz and are also known as codename Silverthorne. The processors used in many of the cellphones and PDAs are usually ARM processors. If you want to know more about each one, I would suggest researching the processors that are in the device you are considering to purchase. Also make sure if you are going to get a netbook, get a 6-cell battery version instead of the 3-cell for longer play time.

PLUMBER RICK

02-15-2009, 08:54 PM

Also make sure if you are going to get a netbook, get a 6-cell battery version instead of the 3-cell for longer play time.

very true as our acer aspire 1 has the 6 cell and we get a good 5-6 hours each. that's at full time screen brightness.

rick.