OT I'm looking for a new laptop

[rta53]

Sherine,

Yea I have tried to do a little tweaking with the settings in System Properties but have not done anything with the registry yet. My Dell came with a floppy drive that I can use externally or in the media bay.

Randy

 

[twbtxnca]

I got a dell Inspiron 600 last Nov. I run Rs5,500 and Direct soft on it.has Xp with SP2 on it and have had no probs. it has the celron with a wireless card and works up to around 200 feet.
Everytime I think it might be running a little slow I just drag out my IBM lunch box with a 386 16mhz with micro chanel.And then lo and behold I think I have a Cray in my laptop.
We all complane but think back to what we used to use. A 20 meg hard drive that had the weight of a small boat anchor.
But I am pleased with the Dell so far.Well except when you try to call them LOL.Thought I would'nt have to talk to anyone from India after I stopped working in the middle east.
Regards,
Tom

 

[ArikBY]

I still keep my first notbook which is Compaq DX25 monochrome model 1992 it was one of the trieing to made tablet PC 10.4' screen 2M bit hard drive very unique PC.
insted of mouse they made pan the keypad can be remove from the screen.
I will take a pic of that and post it sometime.

 

[PhilipW]

What kind of laptop you will be happy with is determined by the scope of the work you do. If all you ever do is load RSLinx/Logix5/500/5000 and do ladder then a 1GHz/256MB machine will do.

However the moment you start loading HMI software, SQL stuff, RSNetworx, a drawing package, MSOffice (or OpenOffice which I prefer), browsers, an email client, anti-virus, spyware and a firewall plus a few dozen or more WinXP updates, then after about a six months after you purchased it, your nice new fast laptop will run like an old dog. (I have been there and done this.)

Realistically you want about 2-3 years use out of laptop you have purchased. If after just six months it is already bogged down and sluggish, then at the end of it's life you will truly be cursing the thing. There is nothing worse in any job than having your productivity and mental equilibrium undermined by an unsatisfactory tool.

The fact is that once you buy your PC you have locked in your PC hardware resource for the next 3 years. But in that time the software load on the thing will just keep on growing. Either you buy low cost now and suffer decreasing performance with time, or you buy high price now and loose a lot of depreciation when you do upgrade, (which will still be in about three years time.)

I got my first laptop in 1990, and I am on my seventh one since. This time I got smart and RENTED the sucker. I went out and got the biggest meanest gruntiest Toshiba the shop had.

What I looked for was:

A: 1 GB Ram, 2.4Ghz Processor, 7200 rpm Hard Disk.

B: Built in Wireless, and a Wide Screen.

I twisted on the serial port issue for a while, but I flagged it and I haven't missed it for an instant. I've found with a bit of planning and checking ahead the USB port convertors work just fine. What I do love about this PC is how fast it re-boots, and face it guys we do the "Three Finger Salute" often enough don't we? Yes the 2.4Gig CPU is an overkill for just running RSLogix, but the speed is most valued when I am booting, loading up apps and big files, virus scanning, de-fragging etc.

But the point is this...renting the sucker is costing me a about the same as buying the thing on credit, BUT at the end of 12 months I get to hand it back in and get a nice NEW one with all the latest bells. And the whole thing is tax deductable. The total hit on my bottom line is about the same as buying, but I get to upgrade every 12 months, not every 36 or so.

 

[DonsDaMan]

Re Sherine's post:

http://[url="http://www.theeldergeek.com"]www.theeldergeek.com[/url] has all standard win XP services and what they do, beyond what Microsoft tells you, as well as a recommendation concerning whether to turn them off or not.

"start | run | services.msc" will get you directly to the window for modifying services.

Caution!!! If you aren't good around computers, I wouldn't recommend going into this as you can really mess up your system (luckily, though, you can undo anything you've done in services).

Also note: ONLY For WinXP (home or pro)

 

[jstolaruk]

Like Phillipw, I seem to go through laptops quickly, about every two years on average. Not because of any fault of mine, I'm usually handing them down to new employees or employees that can't keep their antiques running anymore. So I get to choose the new ones. I've tried several different brands and I keep coming back to Toshibas.

Driver issues is typically the things that gum it up. I had the perfect IBM a few years back. Ran everything great except for Solidworks. The soft OPENGL drivers just refused to work.

I'm starting a new job Monday and my boss asked what to buy and I spec'd out a Tecra with hardware OpenGL, lots of resolution, and a very wide screen; as we know, its best for ladder programming.

The serial port issue seems to be a thing of the past with the USB/RS232 converters working well so I don't pay it any mind now.

$0.02.

 

[Rick Densing]

Upgrading has it's other costs, also. I figure it will take me about 2 days to fully migrate all my stuff.

I currently have a 6 year PII 366MHz toshiba. It is set up to dual boot '98 and 2000. It has served me well until RSViewME. Now I am seeing a slowdown. It does take a couple of years to boot, also.

 

[Eric Nelson]

Try to get HP nc8000 or nw8000 it great PC with all what you need(My son have one also our frum member Eric Nelson)

Yup, I've had this NC8000 for a few months now, and am thoroughly satisfied (and I'm not one that's easily impressed)... :nodi:



-Eric

(T-18)

 

[darrenj]

my last lap top was a Eurocom 60gb hard drive 17" svga monitor with radeon 9000 graphics card Dolby 5.1 surrond sound with subwoofer windows xp pro with P4 2.66Mhz, DVD rom, CD/RW, Floppy drive, 3 USB ports, 1 serial port, 2 firewire ports, 10/100 ethernet card, Built in wireless port, Built in Infared, 2 high speed pcmcia ports, Dual monitor compatable

Its a tad bit heavier than my old one but it sure is sweet with the 17" screen!! (It was offered as a no charge upgrade at the time).. got this for just under $2,800 canadian...

 

[jolio ST]

Don

Way cool webbie! I like the idea suggested there to change how windows runs. Makes my PC look even more personal. I got a program kitten to run around the screen when I'm working, but a pity I can't do more to the company's PC/laptop.
I'm heading to the IT fair to pick some bargain junkies..maybe I'll be able to get a cool LCD for my computer!

regards
Sherine T.

 

[BobB]

My poor old HP XE3 just died. Big footed electrician caught the cable with his foot, the XE3 hit the floor, the sparky lost his balance and trod on it with work boots.

Went looking for a HP again. Got one at a dood price with a "free" HP PSC2355 - defunct model. Turned out to be a Compaq NX5000. Great screen (15").

Quite a bit lighter in construction than the old one but OK. Has a real serial port too. 512 RAM, 1.6 Centrino - runs at about the same speed as a 2.4 P4. Shared video memory as usual, unless one spends a fair bit of money on a laptop. Bluetooth, infra red, the works.

Runs very well. I do a lot less programming than I did before so could not justify spending $4000 AU on a laptop. This one is really very good for $2100 AU. Excellent battery life with the Centrino.

To those who have not had problems with USB/232 converters - good luck to you. many of us have had problems with one or two PLC programs and have gone back to real serial ports.

The laptop came with XP Pro SP2 installed. I have not had to change a thing except I turned the firewall off. I have only used it with Omron CX Suite software at this stage and have not had a problem with SP2. Will have to wait and see what happens when I start to use Hitachi, Mitsubishi, GE-Fanuc and AB software.

My only real disappointment so far is that the wonderful HP "button" has not migrated to the Compaq line yet - a button in front of the touch pad to turn the touch pad off or on. Stops one typing in the middle of nowhere. My biggest complaint with touch pads. However, the Compaq touch pad is set deeper into the front of the case. It is also one of those new fangled curved shape types.

Made in China by the way. (What isn't.)