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From: Paul Kinsler on 29 Apr 2010 06:15 For the past five years I've been using a lightweight Fujitsu-Siemens P7010 laptop -- important stats (for me) are 10.6in display @ 1280x768 and weight ~ 1.3kg, processor at 1.1GHz or so. Mostly what I do is text/latex editing and web stuff, although sometimes a bit of number crunching. I need a VGA-style output to drive video projectors. But now the hinge for the screen/lid is getting increasingly nearer to failure, and it need to be replaced. I need something that will also run linux (I currently run Slackware on the p7010, which I installed and tweaked myself -- it only came with Windows). So my question is: should I downsize to a netbook (and end up feeling rather cramped), or try to find a comparable laptop-style machine (which these days all seem to be bigger and heavier than my p7010)? I'm not that worried about cost -- it'll be a work computer and buying the right machine is well worth the expense, especially since I will probably use it right up to the moment it dies of old age. -- #Paul
From: Martin Gregorie on 29 Apr 2010 07:24 On Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:15:22 +0100, Paul Kinsler wrote: ..../snippage/.... > So my question is: should I downsize to a netbook (and end up feeling > rather cramped), or try to find a comparable laptop-style machine (which > these days all seem to be bigger and heavier than my p7010)? > > I'm not that worried about cost -- it'll be a work computer and buying > the right machine is well worth the expense, especially since I will > probably use it right up to the moment it dies of old age. > There are quite a number of lightweight laptops around including some Lenovos, which generally seem to have decent Linux compatibility - up to a couple of years ago anyway. If you don't normally read The Register (www.theregister.co.uk), go there and take a look at their reviews. They're pretty thorough and seem to be fairly unbiased. Where they've reviewed kit I owned or subsequently bought I've generally agreed with their comments. -- martin@ | Martin Gregorie gregorie. | Essex, UK org |
From: chris on 29 Apr 2010 08:28 On Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:15:22 +0100, Paul Kinsler <kinslerp(a)qols.ph.ic.ac.uk> wrote: > > For the past five years I've been using a lightweight Fujitsu-Siemens > P7010 laptop -- important stats (for me) are 10.6in display @ 1280x768 > and weight ~ 1.3kg, processor at 1.1GHz or so. Mostly what I do is > text/latex editing and web stuff, although sometimes a bit of number > crunching. I need a VGA-style output to drive video projectors. > > But now the hinge for the screen/lid is getting increasingly nearer > to failure, and it need to be replaced. I need something that will also > run linux (I currently run Slackware on the p7010, which I installed > and tweaked myself -- it only came with Windows). > > So my question is: should I downsize to a netbook (and end up feeling > rather cramped), or try to find a comparable laptop-style machine (which > these days all seem to be bigger and heavier than my p7010)? > > I'm not that worried about cost -- it'll be a work computer and buying > the > right machine is well worth the expense, especially since I will probably > use it right up to the moment it dies of old age. If cost isn't an issue and longevity is, I'd go for an ultraportable rather than a netbook. They aren't cheap, but will be properly made and have decent specs (.e. battery life). Lenovos tend to get a good reputation and usually work well with linux.
From: Tony Houghton on 29 Apr 2010 09:44 In <qq2oa7-4o9.ln1(a)ph-kinsle.qols.ph.ic.ac.uk>, Paul Kinsler <kinslerp(a)qols.ph.ic.ac.uk> wrote: > For the past five years I've been using a lightweight Fujitsu-Siemens > P7010 laptop -- important stats (for me) are 10.6in display @ 1280x768 > and weight ~ 1.3kg, processor at 1.1GHz or so. Mostly what I do is > text/latex editing and web stuff, although sometimes a bit of number > crunching. I need a VGA-style output to drive video projectors. > > But now the hinge for the screen/lid is getting increasingly nearer > to failure, and it need to be replaced. I need something that will also > run linux (I currently run Slackware on the p7010, which I installed > and tweaked myself -- it only came with Windows). > > So my question is: should I downsize to a netbook (and end up feeling > rather cramped), or try to find a comparable laptop-style machine (which > these days all seem to be bigger and heavier than my p7010)? That screen size is comparable to many netbooks anyway, so I wouldn't have thought you'd feel cramped by a netbook's keyboard in comparison, unless your machine has a large bezel. There are some 12" netbooks with 1366x768 screens. My Compaq Mini 311c boasts a 90% sized keyboard and I don't find it a problem (other than not liking having to use Fn for PgUp/Dn I posted about earlier), but I do have rather dainty hands. -- TH * http://www.realh.co.uk
From: Martin Thompson on 29 Apr 2010 10:40
kinslerp(a)qols.ph.ic.ac.uk (Paul Kinsler) writes: > For the past five years I've been using a lightweight Fujitsu-Siemens > P7010 laptop -- important stats (for me) are 10.6in display @ 1280x768 > and weight ~ 1.3kg, processor at 1.1GHz or so. Mostly what I do is > text/latex editing and web stuff, although sometimes a bit of number > crunching. I need a VGA-style output to drive video projectors. If you're thinking netbook, I've just got an HP mini 5102 - 10" screen, 13??x768 (if you order the right one!), pretty rugged (made of metal) - claims 8hrs battery life out of the box with 6 cells, (two weeks later, it's now saying more like 5.5hrs, but that's OK for me...). It doesn't feel too cramped to me (although the '1' key is weirdly small). Cheers, Martin |