Best lap top to take to take on our adventures?

Smokecreek1

Smokecreek1

Smokecreek1
Joined
Mar 15, 2008
Messages
2,796
Location
NE Calif/NW Nev
Okay Guys, not sure if this is the right forum to ask this, but here goes :oops: . I'm computer challenged :oops: and I have been putting off for a long time getting a lap top to replace my old Dell, one that I can use both at home and in the FWC. I can find my way around the back country with a map and compass and survive, maybe even fix my truck if it breaks down, or probably get it "Unstuck" in i find the wrong mud hole, but I'm not sure what type of LT I should get or what I really need. I know this is not a simple question and involves sat. dishes and other technology that I'm not to up on, but with my Windows XP (SP3) being replaced by Windows 8(?), an now no Windows support anymore, so this might be that time to make the move to that duel purpose LT. I'm on Mozella- which keeps crashing allot of late, maybe it time for a change there too!

So here is the question, what is my next step :eek: ? I want to be able to do all the usual internet stuff both at home and out when I'm "Wandering the West" an d have all my usual photo shop and mapping programs. Not much knowledge of smart phones and the such,and my cell phone is AT&T. I have a potable direct TV sat dish now that I use to watch my 49ers with and can use that to get internet if i need to. It seems my Dell is to old to change to the new system (not even real sure about that-but it keeps bumping down to go buy a new pc) , and when I check out what to do it sends me a lot of nice pictures of cheap-to not cheap LTs and PCs to get, and they are really cheap compared to when I bought my present one, so I guess that would be a good place to start, will a nice $300.00or so, Lap top do what I need it to do? Any help would be appreciated!

Smoke
 
I bet that for your needs a budget model would be fine. And it is amazing how cheap they are now...thanks to all those Chinese kids working in assembly plants. ;)
If you like I'll do a little checking on my favorite sites and suggest a couple of models.
 
Any help would be wonderful-got to keep those kids out of the streets :D ! I figure once I get the right LT I can build from there-boy they sure are cheap, but they do so many things, just plug this in and wire this :p and you can be in the middle of nowhere, see no one and talk to the world! Thanks!

Smoke
 
Smoke do you want a LT to use "in the middle of nowhere"? If so you will need to use your AT&T system for maybe a I-pad.
There I said it go apple,IMO. They aren't cheep but if you don't need a big LP the pad may be the way to go.
Yes there are PC pads out there. And they might be the right one for you. Prices are a bit less than Mac I think.
We take our Mac LP and a Mini I-Pad along on trips.The pad has a wireless connection to Verizon and it works great in most places.
It has helped us check weather for the road ahead and has really helped a number of times.
I am not the most computer savvy but I know enough to feel my way around enough to get the info I need.
I think there are many more people on the site who can and will help you,but I just thought I would add a comment here.
Good luck with the project.
Frank
 
You'll get a pretty basic laptop for $300, but even a basic laptop is good for surfing the web, email, posting on WWW, etc. The new ultrabook's are a lot more $$$, but the battery life is amazing. Work just sent me a Dell 7420 and the battery life is amazing. I flew cross country and still had hours of juice.

Another option is a tablet. Typing can be a pain, but you can pick up an inexpensive bluetooth keyboard. There are a lot of reasonably priced tablets out there. I have an Android tablet that is great for internet use, and there are tons of fun and useful apps. It was under $200. I think the tablet with optional keyboard is the future of personal computing for the next few years.

Let us know what you decide.
 
I went with a $400 Acer 17" laptop. 17" so if I feel like playing a moving its acceptable. Tried a movie on a tablet and it was less than perfect. Battery life isn't an issue in the camper, we have plenty of power.

P.S. Mine came with windows 8. I ditched it for windows 7 however, the latest edition of win8 is supposed to be better.
 
Others here know about this than I do but I can say what we use- a Mac Powerbook with MacGPS Pro for mapping. It uses the old USGS and USFS 24k and 100k quads which work for me. You can also load any map into it that can be geo-indexed, such as county road maps, which is a nice feature. We have a little puck-type gps receiver that works great and plugs into the usb port.

As for internet access, I used a hot spot on my phone but internet access in the back country can be spotty. If you have satellite access, that should be much better.

I like the new tablets like the ipad but haven't tried them in the truck yet.
 
I don't have a specific recommendation (yet), but just want to endorse Smoke's original leaning and Craig's suggestion:
If you're only gonna have one device for all situations I'd recommend it be a laptop PC. (If you were already on a Mac, then might as well stay in that world -- but you're not). Definitely your best bang-for-the-buck in terms of versatile-computer-power/$
(actually, a desktop PC is your best bargain, but it's not portable)

If you get a real PC (instead of a mobile-OS tablet) you can still use all of the programs you're using now and are familiar with. And file/folder management is just like what you're used to. I have a tablet, too, and like it...but I wouldn't want to have only a tablet for all my computer needs -- it wouldn't work.

Windows 8.1 works just like Windows 7 (once you add on a free Start-button-replacement app), but it has under-the-hood improvements as well as a few visible improvements over W7.
What about that touch-screen big-tile stuff that people complain about? You can avoid that completely if you want to -- never have to use it or even see it.
I made the switch from W7 last month, and I'm not sorry.

Of course, this is all just my opinion, :) mostly based on what works best for me, but also based on helping friends with their needs..
 
Thanks again took it all in, pushed the magic buttons and I went back to Dell and got a Dell Inspiration 15 Laptop (no touch- has to have a mouse or I'm really lost ) with all the bells and whistles-even has a Blue tooth-and Wi-fy attachments -what ever they are! And I beat the Windows guideline-me-thinks a scam! Sooo, I'll be asking soon how to use all my new play things-after all you only live once-right? New toys, what next?

Thanks again!

Smoke
 
I'm with you Smoke. I use the touchpad if I have to but I carry a mouse if I'm going spend any real time on it.
 
Sounds great Smoke.It shouldn't be too hard to use the Dell.We have an 8year 15" LP like the one you just ordered. We used it a bunch at out place in Dorrington because it had dial up and that was the only connection we could get. How it just sits home gathering dust. The Mac is our go to machine.
Enjoy the fun of it. It's nice to have one along and use to watch DVDs while out in the boonies.

Frank
 
This sounds like a new adventure :p --hope i'm smart enough to figure out how to use all this stuff :eek: ! this is along way from using a a handyman :oops: -so you guys make sure i enjoy my new toys! :D

Smoke
 
Starbucks are one of our sought-out places to stop on trips. My wife is addicted to their coffee (sigh) and I use their free wifi to check emails etc from the cab of the truck. I guess we all have our addictions....
 
I know this topic is closed, however, in case anyone comes along with similar question I would like to suggest a:

Chromebook. For 200 bucks (sometimes less, sometimes a little more) you get a fast, capable machine that will do 98 percent of what the average user uses a computer for. Chrome (the browser) is becoming an Operating system unto itself, photo editing (pixlr editor is an extremely competent photo editor for average users), movie watching, document editing etc. No worry about viruses or malware, no worry that Microsoft (or CrApple) will decide to abandon your machine in two years.

Yes, web access is almost mandatory with a Chromebook, however, there are a ton of apps (most of them free) that work offline as well. Like, most of the things you would do with a computer offline.

I don't own a Chromebook because I use Linux. I was a twenty year plus dyed in the wool Machead, but Steve is gone, and so is what Apple was. At a certain point as a computer user you want CONTROL over your machine, control that Microsoft and Apple simply won't give you. Linux is the only way out of the walled gardens of Cupertino and Redmond. My main machine is a 8 year old dual core Dell Laptop running Linux Mint that does everything I use a computer for, and Linux Mint 13 has guaranteed support till April of 2017. Also, I only paid 122 bucks for it, and that was four years ago. When April of 2017 rolls around I can either: put a lighter weight version of Linux (Puppy, Lubuntu, LXLE, Debian, the list is endless) on it, or, get another eight year old computer for about 100 bucks and use that for another eight years. Try doing that with any Mac OS X or Windows based machine. I can run some Windows software if I want (like Office and Photoshop) in WINE, but there are free Linux versions of everything that I need, and I use those instead. These include Google Earth, Gimp, LibreOffice, Firefox and Chrome, Skype and Dropbox, and XBMC. Oh yeah, forgot to mention Linux is free. As in, no money.
 
A new tablet that's recently come out is Samsung's Tab Pro line. I got the 12.2" version and it has a large screen, a terrific, full, onscreen keyboard, and, will soon be available in a cellular version. I got the wi-fi only version though.

Great graphics, strong battery, and much better wi-fi reception than their earlier Tab 3 series. Also has GPS. Amazing google maps views.
 
CSG said:
A new tablet that's recently come out is Samsung's Tab Pro line. I got the 12.2" version and it has a large screen, a terrific, full, onscreen keyboard, and, will soon be available in a cellular version. I got the wi-fi only version though.

Great graphics, strong battery, and much better wi-fi reception than their earlier Tab 3 series. Also has GPS. Amazing google maps views.
Click to expand...
Android or Windows?
 
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