Hi

We are 4wd across asia next year and would like to take a laptop.
I dont know alot about laptops and have a budget of £300. We would like to word process and down load our photos then burn them to cd or dvd. There are so many out there and the chose is baffling. So recomendations on make model and specification would be smashing

Thanks
Tim

I just bought a Dell Inspiron 2200 from the Dell website. It was £399 and seems pretty good. It is not the fastest machine in the world but fast enough to run Photoshop Elements and fiddle with pix. Its got 40GB of memory on the hard drive and 256MB of RAM. It's also got a CD burner and a DVD drive (but it doesn't write DVDs). Dell's have a good reputation so I'm hopeful it will survive bouncing up and down in a pannier for a year. As it was £400 it won't be a total disaster if it goes toes up/gets nicked. (I just had a MAC worth £800 die after just over a years use, here's a tip: don't buy a MAC, expensive trendy sh*t, all hard wired so expensive and difficult to fix and and APPLE customer service really couldn't have cared less) I must say I didn't see any new laptops available for £300 but you might get something second hand which will fit the bill.
Matt

[This message has been edited by Matt Cartney (edited 17 November 2005).]

__________________
http://adventure-writing.blogspot.com

http://scotlandnepal.blogspot.com/

*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

This is not entirely true. If you purchase Apple Care together with your laptop you will receive worldwide service for three years. Worldwide really meaning worldwide, whereever there's Apple they have to fix it.

That said, the new Apple laptops really aren't that great. Sure they look neat but in terms of reliability, they're crap. When travelling, I prefer either a notebook and pen, or, if there's some space left, my old PowerBook G3 - it's a big and heavy chunk old, outdated equipment, but it's reliable, fast enough and never attracts attention - too old and looks very used - aka not interesting. And in case it breaks I can either fix it myself (all you need is two torx screwdrivers) or get a new 'used' one for 100 bucks. And last but not least, the PowerBook G3 Wallstreet is one of the last PowerBooks that doesn't require a harddrive to boot but can boot from a Compact Flash card with the proper PCMCIA adapter.

__________________
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!"

I’m a real technophile and love gadgets!
When I started researching laptops for my trips I came to the conclusion that it will probably break down or get stolen somewhere down the line.

As much as I hate to admit it – buying second hand would be the better option. That amazing Sony or Toshiba with all the bells and whistles will only cost money that could have been better applied elsewhere.

IBM machines are not terribly attractive but they are reasonably tough. Make sure you have plenty Hard drive space 40Gb minimum (for all the pictures) and a cd/dvd burner (mail the discs home whenever you can).
Weight is obviously not an issue for you but ask around for a laptop that won’t get too hot (they become unstable when they do) and good battery life (3hours is not good enough!)

Cyril

__________________
BMW R1200GS
Suzuki TL1000S
Suzuki GSX750R
Honda MBX50

Buy a brand that has service centres in all the countries you plan on visiting. Our Averatec broke in Sweden, but there are only service centres in Germany, France and GB. Exit laptop...

Desktop PCs can be repaired anywhere with standard parts. Laptops don't use standard parts, apart from memory, HD and CPU.

__________________
Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10

IBM Thinkpad.

I had a really old 600E and bounced it all over South America, would still have been working today if I had'nt got pissed and left it outside the tent one night. It rained.

I've now got an IBM T23, another old & cheap one. Does everything that I need, has all the things you mention and its a rugged little beast.

------------------
Last seen in S.America, missing presumed fed.
http://www.smellybiker.com

__________________
Missing, presumed fed.
https://youtube.com/@ChileBob

thanksfor the help chaps i reckon ill go for the ibm sounds favourite
Any more commentsin the mean time would be great

tim

I would not touch a Dell as my one has been nothing but problematic, had 2 hard disks, I have rebuilt it more times than I can remember, the support is beyond a joke and read your warranty very carefully to ensure that you have worldwide cover.

cheers

Julio

I've been bounching my IBM T40 around for nearly 18 months without any hassles. It takes the beating and just keeps chugging on. Amazing stuff...

__________________
HansP
All you wanted to know
about riding in Norway

IBM thinkpads with the centrino chipset are ugly, but as tough as they come, and with a nice battery capacity. Their harddrives also have a technology which gives protection to the drive if you should happen to drop it (sensors recognise the drop and stops the drive from spinning). Further, the think pads are thoroughly tested before released. And, they don't use the latest of the latest of the top of the notch hardware, meaning that most teething problems will not be an issue.

One thing you must take into concideration when buying second hand is that if the laptop is much more than a year or two old, chances are that your battery is either shot or on the brink of dying. Batteries are expensive and difficult to come by (unless you make your own). The only reason to buy second hand is a limited budget, like yours. Hence, battery capacity should not be a requirement. Remember that in general, most of the cheapest brand new PC's will outperform most used ones in the same price range (as well as many of the more expensive used ones). A used pc should therefore cost much less than the cheapest brand new one you can find, lets say half the price. A rule of thumb for PC's are that they loose 30% of their value each year, being close to obsolete its fourth year (unless your requirements are very limited).

For your needs, if you choose to go for a new one, I'd go for the most inexpensive one, if not, I'd look for a thinkpad (preferably with a centrino chip set). Remember, virtually any PC with a CD burner will cover your needs, making reliability and price the only issue.

Another option is to do like me, build your own. I wanted top of the notch everything but didn't want to get broke getting one, so I bought a barebone laptop, all the parts, and built it myself.

I also have a brand new think pad (a pretty good one), a two year old Fujitsu Siemens (Reliable, inexpensive and strong - but noicy and a poor battery), and a Dell (Hell). The previous two were Toshiba and Compac (both fairly unreliable). I've owned lots of others, and worked with even more. My personal experience is as follows:

Highest quality, excellent performance and highest reliability: IBM Think Pad

Most value for money: Fujitsu Siemens

Highest performance/money trade off: Self built


Good Luck... and don't worry too much

[This message has been edited by Wheelie (edited 21 November 2005).]

__________________
Blog: www.bamakobyvespa.no
My Youtube Channel

Hi All

Just an update on my Dell laptop, power supply unit has just blown!!

I'll be looking at the IBM laptops next

Julio

Then this is the moment to get one of those universal PSU, like the Kingston. Plugs into 12V DC and 100-240V AC.

__________________
Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10

Dont take a notebook - too heavy and you will just worry about it.

I took a v small fujistu lifebook with me on a years tour - only for the GPS maps.

For the next trip I'm just taking a 2nd hand palm, a collapsable keyboard and a memory stick that takes the palm memory to a pc.

small, light and cheap - seriously do reconsider taking a pc with you.

Cheers,

Brian

------------------
http://colesyboy.tripod.com

__________________
http://www.trailsunexpected.com

Brian, are you coming at HUBB meeting next week? I was thinking for my trip to do same than you : get a palm including GPS and add a folded keyboard and memo stick. I really don't see thepoint of carrying big laptop! As I am not too techy I would like to see what you got (models etc...) and how you connect keyboard to palm? Is that what is called "bluetooth"?
Cheers - Maria

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Someone mentioned the Panasonic CF-27 on another thread a few days ago. It's a rugged device meant for site use and looks perfect for rough travel. They are old technology so only available s/h or reconditioned as far as I can see and probably would struggle to run XP, but OK with Windows 98 or 2000. They've got USB ports, PCMCIA slots so I'd use one in conjunction with a portable hard drive. Should be ideal for GPS use, word processing and storing photos. Google for CF-27 Panasonic they are around £200 reconditioned. I've just bought one myself after hearing about them last week.

__________________
If you think you are too small to make a difference you have never spent the night with a mosquito.