Redbrick Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 We're considering a Dell Insprion as a travelling companion and wondered if a 1525 (15-1/4" display) will fit in side cases easily or do we need a 1420 (14-1/16")?....I cut a piece of shelving the approximate size and tried it but still not sure....Never had a laptop and rarely have used one so thought I'd ask for input on size preference for touring first...Other input appreciated, i.e., recommended cases, etc.....My bike is a 12RT with a small top case and Kathy has an 1150RT........ Thanks....... Link to comment
Marek Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Phil my .02 - for travel the smaller the lighter the better - when you get home you can connect it to the remote monitor and keyboard. Mark Link to comment
HappyMan Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I travel with a MacBook 13.5". Light, powerful and a real sweet computer. Next trip I've got to take a larger and much heavier IBM for some work related stuff and I'll really miss my Mac. Link to comment
Damean Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 If you don't need a whole lot of horsepower, you might consider this: http://sector29.com/PRODUCT_PAGES/249/249-M88448-NP-Q1U-000.html Has a full blown XP OS, built in keyboard, usb, as well as bluetooth and other sundries. I think RAM even makes a mount for it:grin: Well, they do make a mount for it: http://www.ram-mount.com/mount/ram_samsung_mount.htm Link to comment
SageRider Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I travel with a Fujitsu U810 . The 5.6" screen is just about perfect. Unfortunately, the system is slow running Vista with only 1GB of RAM. Link to comment
azkaisr Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 ng My little ASUS 550 Mini rocks. It has all the software I need for processing email, surfing the web, and doing the occasional work project. Along with some flash memory or in my case the 80Gb Wolverine Harddrive, it does everything the Dell Latitude did while I was on the bike. Kaisr Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Those little Asus units rock. I have been checking them out for a few months now and they really look like a perfect fit for a compact travel companion. Link to comment
TyTass Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Yeah, I got one of the Asus Eee PCs about a month ago. Been so busy I've hardly gotten to it. I'm reinstalling my operating system (from Linux to Windows so I can run Mapsource like OverMyHead). Once I'm finally get to that, it will become my new constant travel companion. The screen is very, very small - but then the unit is very, very small. A great trade off IMO for riding. Like Azkaisr said: Email, Wifi surfing, and some doc work. And, as I mentioned above ... I'm putting Mapsource on mine. Link to comment
eddd Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I'm with the others who are saying go small. I found an old Dell C400 that works perfectly for on the road use. It has the footprint of a magazine and is only about an inch and a half high. While this is old technology, it was the size I was after. I carried my bigger home laptop with me at first, but found it just too large. You don't need all the bells and whistles if you just want to use it to keep in touch. Tom's little computer was high on my list, but they were not readily available when I purchased mine. Link to comment
Redbrick Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Thanks for the responses....I hear the message that the smallest practicable one is the best...And a small footprint is a primary requirement.....I'll check out Tom's small one too but I'm not really very computer literate and that's why I picked Dell....Their customer service is rated fairly high and I might need help with things you guys could do in your sleep .............. Link to comment
azkaisr Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Phil: The Linux operating system is super friendly to use. I was up and running it in about 2 minutes. And remember we are just a PM away too. Kaisr Link to comment
eddd Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Some people say that a unit without a hard drive, like Tome's, is a much better travel unit. The thought here is that the vibration and bouncing around you get on a bike could be hard on the hard drive. I don't know that I've read anything that proves this theory out, but a flashdrive memory would seem to be a very durable option. I know that the numerous flashdrives I use at work and for personal use have been 100% reliable. Link to comment
Twisties Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Sharon uses a Lenovo T61. With a cover it fits in her side case nicely. My work Dell fits in the large topcase, but not the sidecase. I don't think you need to go tiny. Tiny is nice if space and weight are at a premium, but with his and her bikes I would think you could fit a moderately sized full featured system without issue. Jan Link to comment
ShovelStrokeEd Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I carry a 15.5" Toshiba laptop in a Brenthaven soft briefcase with me. I need an approximation of a full sized keyboard as I use it a bunch on the road. Work related stuff like filling out forms and logging activities while at a customer site. Development of minor software stuff via either Python of VB. Way too much surfing of this site and a few others. No issues with packing or reliability but, I have a pair of Givi 360's and a 460 top box. Plenty of room for all my stuff and, by packing the laptop in between layers of clothing, it is pretty will isolated from vibration. Same fitted within the BMW side cases on my various other bikes, just took up a higher percentage of the bag. Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 As long as they are turned off hard drives won't be bothered by the vibration, I've carried a series of laptops on my bikes, well over 100,000 miles, without any problems. On the RT I carry it in the BMW top box with a towel underneath it and no other special precautions. Link to comment
Redbrick Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Sharon uses a Lenovo T61. With a cover it fits in her side case nicely. My work Dell fits in the large topcase, but not the sidecase. I don't think you need to go tiny. Tiny is nice if space and weight are at a premium, but with his and her bikes I would think you could fit a moderately sized full featured system without issue. Jan Jan........What model Dell do you have and what's the screen size on the T61? Thanks...... Link to comment
Ron_B Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Another plug for the Asus Eee PC. I had been using a 15" Powerbook G4 for about the last 2 years. Too big and too expensive. Tom's Asus so impressed me at Torrey that I bought one from Amazon. Love it. Even more so when I found out how to enable the advanced version of the Linux Xandros OS. It came with Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice, so importing my bookmarks and address book was easy. I carry a small igloo cooler in my bag for my cpap machine, and the Asus fits right on top. Just got back from the Unrally, a total of 6,600 miles. Did everything I wanted to do, and if I do something stupid and trash it, well, it didn't cost much. Link to comment
Selden Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 I took an iBook 12 to Alaska and back, including a 120 pile pounding on the Denali highway, and having a beer spilled on the keyboard at a bar in Haines Junction. It never hiccuped. I never turned it off, except to save power or reclaim memory (FireFox 2.0 is a memory pig). I never found a wired or wireless access point that I couldn't connect to -- unlike another Alaska traveler last year, who found that about half the places he stayed at would not connect to his brand new laptop running Vista. If I were looking for a new machine, specifically for a trip, the ASUS Eee PC 900 20G (8.9 Inch Display, 900 MHz Intel Mobile CPU, 1 GB RAM, 20 GB Solid State Drive, Linux, 4 Cell Battery) would probably be at the top of my list. Link to comment
Twisties Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Phil, I'm pretty sure Sharon's laptop is the 14.1" version. She bought a foamy sort of soft bag for it, and it goes into the side case with the clothes, in a Cee Baily Case Liner. My work Dell is at work. I think it's about a 15". Jan Link to comment
Redbrick Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 Phil, I'm pretty sure Sharon's laptop is the 14.1" version. She bought a foamy sort of soft bag for it, and it goes into the side case with the clothes, in a Cee Baily Case Liner. My work Dell is at work. I think it's about a 15". Jan Thanks Jan......I think the 14.1 size is about right for travelling and some home use..... Appreciate the responses .... Link to comment
Bullett Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I have a IBM/Lenovo T61 14". It will fit into the side case, but with the neoprene sleeve is a tight fit. I take out the battery to keep it smaller for on the bike. I like the computer, but probably would go with something even smaller if I had a do-over. Advantages: dual core pentium m chip, large hard drive and enough RAM to run Jan's software to process raw photo files . . . has shock resistant hard drive and drain holes for the keyboard, too. Link to comment
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