Recommended Laptop, Accesories and Programs?

[Des Nolan]

On our last big trip, I felt like I had blinders on because I did not have the on-line access that I did at home. It was easier to find local information 2000 miles away than it was parked in the actual town. Time to bite the bullet and get a current laptop. So what say you? What do I need to have happy internet access and electronic entertainment sitting in my trailer? My apologies for the scope of the question, but for most of us in the north, it's too cold to camp anyways...

Um -- er -- ? "time to move into the '90's"? Great, useful info. that I need, but must I learn all this tech stuff and code words before updating to the '00's that we entered, I believe, some 8 years back?

Des

[Greg A]

There seems to be several categories of "users."

Occasional users for access for email, etc. No Internet addiction

Part-timers with a need to have it available at the campsite. Mid to high Internet addiction.

Full-Timers who need services like they had in their landlocked home.

Road Warriors who work on the road.

The level of cost will rise with your need and/or dependency. Fortunately in this world we live in there are options available for all types of users.
The libraries that Pete mentions are an excellent option for casual users and laptop gurus looking for access or wifi hotspot. One problem with the libraries for the "Road Warriors" is that many of them block the ports necessary to VPN or access corporate networks.(sorry Des, more codes)
If you're always boondocking or in very rural settings you will need to look at more expensive options.
Bottom line is you need to determine the type of use you want and then match it to the type of access available.

Myself, I'm a "Road Warrior", and I went with a solid Toshiba laptop with the following setup from Radiolabs thanks to help from our Webmaster.
WaveRV
This setup solved 90% of my access issues in getting wifi services at the campsite. For those odd situations I go into town and find a coffee shop.

[peterh]

There seems to be several categories of "users."

Occasional users for access for email, etc. No Internet addiction

Part-timers with a need to have it available at the campsite. Mid to high Internet addiction.

Full-Timers who need services like they had in their landlocked home.

Road Warriors who work on the road.

Yep, different strokes for different folks. When I worked for The Borg Collective (AKA Microsoft) getting to work was an Internet session away. Like when I was on vacation. In Hawaii. Why let a little thing like going on vacation get in the way of your seven-day work week?

I had to have a fully capable laptop when I worked for Microsoft; these days my needs are a little more modest, but it's not like I'm giving up a whole lot by using my Eee. Granted, the Eee is not a good software development platform, video game, or multimedia editing platform; its processor is too slow and the screen too small. It's also not for people who have a clear preference for specific Mac or Windows-only software (some financial management tools, like Turbo Tax and Microsoft Money come to mind), but these tools are not on my list of travel must-haves. What I do want and need are the common Internet tools (browser & email programs), a word processor and other "Office" tools, and a graphics editor so I can download, sort, organize, delete and edit digital photos. I get all those things with the Eee.

Oh, yea, and it doesn't have a lick of Microsoft software on it.

--Peter

[Bigfoot Mike]

There seems to be several categories of "users."
Occasional users for access for email, etc. No Internet addiction
Part-timers with a need to have it available at the campsite. Mid to high Internet addiction.
Full-Timers who need services like they had in their landlocked home.
Road Warriors who work on the road.

The level of Internet connection goes up from there to Satellite dishes.
[b] Portable Tripod Satellite Internet System Designed for RV

It is NOT as expenxive as it use to be; starting at $59.99 per month and $1,550 one time fee for equiptment.
[b]PortaSat with HughesNet HN7000S Modem

[Cam A]

Um -- er -- ? "time to move into the '90's"? Great, useful info. that I need, but must I learn all this tech stuff and code words before updating to the '00's that we entered, I believe, some 8 years back?

Des

That's exactly the point.

[Bigfoot Mike]

My new laptop isn't for everyone, but it very much fits the bill as a compact, go-anywhere, affordable laptop. I got an Asus Eee PC when they first came out. They're small (smaller than a "For Dummies" book), light (2lbs/0.9kg), power-efficient (20w charger that I can run on my solar panel) and run for 3+ hours on a single charge, come with applications that cover most of your basics (word processor/office suite, web & email programs, etc) and have built-in wi-fi. Downsides are the screen is smaller than most people are used to, it has no hard or CD-ROM drive (it has a solid-state "flash" memory hard drive and you can also use "SD" memory cards, like many people have in their digital cameras, and "thumb" drives, for storage), and it runs the Linux operating system.
--Peter

I find this very interesting. I have been looking at getting Lori a Mac Book Air. Also, runs the Linux system but also a Mac OS gui, and Windows gui. The weight is 3 lbs. and comes with lots of software, full size keyboard & full size screen. You can also add programs like QuickBooks Pro and PhotoShop. The price is much higher though.

So the 9"X12" 3 lb. notebook seems like your Asus Eee PC only on Steroids.

[peterh]

I find this very interesting. I have been looking at getting Lori a Mac Book Air. Also, runs the Linux system but also a Mac OS gui, and Windows gui. The weight is 3 lbs. and comes with lots of software, full size keyboard & full size screen. You can also add programs like QuickBooks Pro and PhotoShop. The price is much higher though.

So the 9"X12" 3 lb. notebook seems like your Asus Eee PC only on Steroids.

Yes, at least superficially. It may be Linux-based, but small differences between Linux distributions, and some innovative souls have actually installed MacOS on the Eee PC, but small differences in Linux variants make it difficult to install software tweaked to install on one "distro" onto another. In other words, you can't take a (Linux) MacOS program and install it on a RedHat (Linux) machine or vice versa. The same applies to exchanging programs designed for RedHat and the much-less-popular Ubuntu (Linux) distribution that runs on the Eee PC. There's a lot of software available for Ubuntu, but sorting out where to find it is not as easy as it should be. If Asus is wise it will expand its online support site library to include a wide range of easy-to-install-on-the-Eee Ubuntu Linux apps. Until that happens, the wide range of easy-to-install apps for Macs is one of the best reasons to go Mac.

One of the big pluses to going Linux, on the other hand, is there is a wide range of free apps that look and feel much like some very expensive commercial alternatives. OpenOffice.org, for example, is a very capable "Office" suite which any Microsoft Office user would have no problems with using. You can even swap files back and forth without blinking. Linux Gimp is, likewise, fairly similar to Photoshop. So, for those on a budget and some Linux tech skills (or access to someone who has tech skills), Linux is very attractive.

--Peter

[Patrick M.]

I will use the linux system on the Eee PC for awhile, but will probably install XP as many other people have done. But who knows, I may get to like this linux thing.

[Bigfoot Mike]

I will use the linux system on the Eee PC for awhile, but will probably install XP as many other people have done. But who knows, I may get to like this linux thing.

I read that Windows is NOT compatible on the Eee.
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4211687

[Patrick M.]

People have both XP and Vista running on it! http://www.modaco.com/content/Asus-Eee-PC-...t-and-it-works/

And then there's this: http://clumpc.com/?p=30

[Bigfoot Mike]

People have both XP and Vista running on it! http://www.modaco.com/content/Asus-Eee-PC-...t-and-it-works/
And then there's this: http://clumpc.com/?p=30

That’s cool. Thanks.

[Dee Hill]

I just today got set up with the WaveRV 11 from Radio Labs.. it is a long range wireless USB adapter and is suppose to pick up wifi from 1 mile away.. we shall see!!!

also hooked up a battery to recharge as i drive from my main battery and added a 400 amp inverter so i can now officially be online as i travel if all goes as planned

i leave on sunday southbound from Oregon to Mexico so should make the drive more enjoyable..

[Bigfoot Mike]

I just today got set up with the WaveRV 11 from Radio Labs.. it is a long range wireless USB adapter and is suppose to pick up wifi from 1 mile away.. we shall see!!!

also hooked up a battery to recharge as i drive from my main battery and added a 400 amp inverter so i can now officially be online as i travel if all goes as planned

i leave on sunday southbound from Oregon to Mexico so should make the drive more enjoyable..

You’re scaring me. Those distances are in optimal situations, ie: across water like lakes. Also, you’re not talking WiFi while driving are you?

[peterh]

I read that Windows is NOT compatible on the Eee.
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4211687

You can get either XP or Vista (with tinkering) to run, but of the two XP takes up less valuable memory and runs faster on the Eee's little 666Mhz processor. Mind you (despite earlier comments), I really don't have an operating system religion or crusade (I have four Windows systems in the house, a Mac, and Linux system, too) , but I don't think running Windows XP/Vista is a great choice on the Eee. It's not that the OS can't run on the Eee, but that almost any Windows-compatible application you buy these days seems to think that RAM, disk space and CPU are unlimited resources, and on the Eee, they just aren't.

This isn't true of every Linux app, but most Linux Open Source groups do tend to put out tighter applications, so you can fit both the operating environment and a tassle of open source applications into the 4GB built-in memory space of the Eee. I find that's kind of nice because that way I can soft link my 8GB SD card in as the "My Documents" folder and store all the text-based files I've ever created/saved plus all the digital photos I've decided to keep on the SD card. Then, when its time to back everything up I just plug it into my Windows laptop and sync the files using FolderMatch. The only thing I don't have space for are my videos and music files.

--Peter

[Bigfoot Mike]

Peter: You make a lot of sense, Thank You.

Is there a Linux Quick Books clone? I'm guessing there isn't. My wife uses that a lot.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Google "linux quick books" and you may be pleasantly surprised!

[Patrick M.]

Not to turn this into a complete Asus Eee PC thread, but I can't stop, here's a review. http://www.tomsguide.com/us/asus-eee...view-1026.html

[ted saxton]

Ok guys enough techie talk , and tell me what I need in layman term to set up a Wifi connection. I just got a new Toshiba Laptop and most the places we camp at in Branson have free WiFI services. Or I can go to StarBucks . This is all new for me.
Vera

[Patrick M.]

Your laptop probably has built-in wifi so you just need to find a hotspot and get your first connection. So first, is your laptop so equipped?

[ted saxton]

Not to turn this into a complete Asus Eee PC thread, but I can't stop, here's a review. http://www.tomsguide.com/us/asus-eee...view-1026.html

I guess it does Patrick. I just got the laptop last weekend and haven't look around to see what it does have. On the front inside said it has Realtek wireless, thats the connection right ?
Vera