My new toy
#1
Boost Pope
Thread Starter
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,027
Total Cats: 6,592
My new toy
So one of the requirements of law school is that you have to have a laptop computer. Don't ask me why, I don't know. You just do.
For the past eight years I've been lugging around various company-provided laptops. All of them have been Dell Latitude C and D series machines. Very nice computers, but a trifle on the large and heavy side. I use them as my primary machines (docked) when in the office for running AutoCAD, drawing schematics, etc. So things like fast processors, loads of RAM, and dual-monitor support are worth the tradeoff. Not so much a problem for stowing in an airplane overhead bin, but I could see it being tiresome to lug something like that around in a backpack all day, while riding a bicycle across campus, etc.
The EeePc had me really excited when it came out. SSD, uber-small, etc. But I got a chance to actually use one recently, and it's just too much (too little?) of a good thing. The 800x480 screen is just too damn small, and the keyboard was not meant for my hands. I still think it'd make the ultimate in-car PC (and if my Fujitsu tablet ever dies, I'll be buying one) but it didn't feel like a good general-purpose PC.
Much research on the interwebz turned up the Sony Vaio TX / TZ series. Truth be told, I never thought I'd ever consider buying a Sony. To me, those machines are right up there with Macbooks- overpriced and very pretty PCs designed for people who wear fashionable shoes, listen to Sergio Mendes and code in Java. You know what I'm talking about. But prejudices aside, this thing is perfect:
It's a TXN15P. An older model, scored on eBay for about $900. Pricey for a used laptop, though the current model (the TZ) sells for $1,600 to $3,000+ new. (Remember what I said about overpriced?)
I know, it looks like a regular ole' laptop. Nothing special about that, right? Except this sucker weighs 2.8 lbs (with battery) and is less than 11" wide and 8" deep. And it's even got a built-in DVD writer, SD card slot, bluetooth, wifi and firewire. Behold:
This sucker is small, and yet it's actually usable! The screen is 11" (1366x768) and yet is the clearest, brightest LCD I've ever seen. Perfectly readable from normal viewing distance. And the keyboard, while a tad smaller than normal, works like a dream.
Seriously, anyone who is looking for an ultra-portable computer for general-purpose use, you gotta check this machine out. Much happiness.
For the past eight years I've been lugging around various company-provided laptops. All of them have been Dell Latitude C and D series machines. Very nice computers, but a trifle on the large and heavy side. I use them as my primary machines (docked) when in the office for running AutoCAD, drawing schematics, etc. So things like fast processors, loads of RAM, and dual-monitor support are worth the tradeoff. Not so much a problem for stowing in an airplane overhead bin, but I could see it being tiresome to lug something like that around in a backpack all day, while riding a bicycle across campus, etc.
The EeePc had me really excited when it came out. SSD, uber-small, etc. But I got a chance to actually use one recently, and it's just too much (too little?) of a good thing. The 800x480 screen is just too damn small, and the keyboard was not meant for my hands. I still think it'd make the ultimate in-car PC (and if my Fujitsu tablet ever dies, I'll be buying one) but it didn't feel like a good general-purpose PC.
Much research on the interwebz turned up the Sony Vaio TX / TZ series. Truth be told, I never thought I'd ever consider buying a Sony. To me, those machines are right up there with Macbooks- overpriced and very pretty PCs designed for people who wear fashionable shoes, listen to Sergio Mendes and code in Java. You know what I'm talking about. But prejudices aside, this thing is perfect:
It's a TXN15P. An older model, scored on eBay for about $900. Pricey for a used laptop, though the current model (the TZ) sells for $1,600 to $3,000+ new. (Remember what I said about overpriced?)
I know, it looks like a regular ole' laptop. Nothing special about that, right? Except this sucker weighs 2.8 lbs (with battery) and is less than 11" wide and 8" deep. And it's even got a built-in DVD writer, SD card slot, bluetooth, wifi and firewire. Behold:
This sucker is small, and yet it's actually usable! The screen is 11" (1366x768) and yet is the clearest, brightest LCD I've ever seen. Perfectly readable from normal viewing distance. And the keyboard, while a tad smaller than normal, works like a dream.
Seriously, anyone who is looking for an ultra-portable computer for general-purpose use, you gotta check this machine out. Much happiness.
#4
Boost Pope
Thread Starter
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,027
Total Cats: 6,592
RS-232, what is that, some ancient standard for transferring data slowly between a teletype and a mainframe?
No, it has no RS-232 port. Nor a parallel port, nor PS/2 mouse or keyboard ports. The port complement is as follows:
1x HD-15 VGA
1x RJ-45 Ethernet
1x POTS modem (why?)
2x USB2
1x Firewire
1x PCMCIA
1x SD card
1x MemoryStick
1x headphone
1x microphone (again, why?)
The newer model, the TZ, is largely identical to the TX except that the keyboard isn't as nice (it's like the MacBook Air) and it gives up the PCMCIA slot for an ExpressCard34 slot. That's kinda cool because you can get SSDs (Solid-State hard drives) pretty cheaply in the ExpressCard form factor. And since these machines use a 1.8" IDE hard drive with a very odd "ZIF" connector, there are no SSDs currently available that fit. (Yes, I know Samsung has announced one. I said available.)
However, as if there wasn't enough happiness in my life, I just got a package from the UK this afternoon. As an aside, The Royal Mail is a much cooler-sounding name than The Postal Service. Anyway, it's an adapter to replace the hard drive in an iPod with a CF card. Remember the funky hard drive connector I mentioned? Turns out it's the same one on most of the iPod hard drives. So I'm gonna try to use this to replace the internal 80gig hard drive with an 8 or 16 gig CF card.
No, it has no RS-232 port. Nor a parallel port, nor PS/2 mouse or keyboard ports. The port complement is as follows:
1x HD-15 VGA
1x RJ-45 Ethernet
1x POTS modem (why?)
2x USB2
1x Firewire
1x PCMCIA
1x SD card
1x MemoryStick
1x headphone
1x microphone (again, why?)
The newer model, the TZ, is largely identical to the TX except that the keyboard isn't as nice (it's like the MacBook Air) and it gives up the PCMCIA slot for an ExpressCard34 slot. That's kinda cool because you can get SSDs (Solid-State hard drives) pretty cheaply in the ExpressCard form factor. And since these machines use a 1.8" IDE hard drive with a very odd "ZIF" connector, there are no SSDs currently available that fit. (Yes, I know Samsung has announced one. I said available.)
However, as if there wasn't enough happiness in my life, I just got a package from the UK this afternoon. As an aside, The Royal Mail is a much cooler-sounding name than The Postal Service. Anyway, it's an adapter to replace the hard drive in an iPod with a CF card. Remember the funky hard drive connector I mentioned? Turns out it's the same one on most of the iPod hard drives. So I'm gonna try to use this to replace the internal 80gig hard drive with an 8 or 16 gig CF card.
#6
That looks like a real nice machine, I'm all for lightweight laptops. My IBM X40 weighs in at 2.7lb, though it doesn't have an optical drive.
I had bought a Lenovo C300, and it was a behemoth, I hated the damn thing. Sold it to cashforlaptops.com for $295, a mere $50 or so less than I bought it from Buy.com for, and I'm glad to be rid of it.
C
I had bought a Lenovo C300, and it was a behemoth, I hated the damn thing. Sold it to cashforlaptops.com for $295, a mere $50 or so less than I bought it from Buy.com for, and I'm glad to be rid of it.
C
#7
Boost Pope
Thread Starter
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,027
Total Cats: 6,592
And I hear 'ya. Until I really started looking about a month ago, I never even realized that there was this whole category of ultrasmall laptops that were still full-featured PCs, rather than CE-based "appliance" machines. I'm with you- when I leave my Latitude D620 behind later this year, it'll probably be the last time I use a laptop bigger than the TX. Hell, even the MacBook air, although slightly thinner, is heavier and looks like a pig next to the T-series machines. And that's without an optical drive and with a tiny, non user-replaceable battery.
#8
Boost Pope
Thread Starter
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,027
Total Cats: 6,592
If that changes in the next few months, and they're reasonably priced (say, <$300 for 16 gig) then I'll get one. And I do understand the pitfalls of solid-state storage, we've been using SSD in the embedded WinCE based controllers of our consoles for the past 6 years- originally DIP-based modules on our AMD-platform system, and now we've migrated to CF on our new ARM9 board. Realistically, modern CF cards use the same fundamental technology as SSDs- they're NAND-based, they have automatic wear-leveling, etc.
#9
I was deciding btw a TZ series laptop and a ASUS U6 when I was laptop shopping a month ago. Turns out we had an open box U6 on display at BBy just before I was leaving for the new job. They hate it when open box **** sits on the shelf. SO I said I wanted it and threw out a price I was willing to pay. I got the U6, a universal power supply, and a 2yr accidental service plan for $1000 on a $1800 laptop. Pretty much a steal.
After some googling, I found this for you http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/Cat...8+inch+ZIF+SSD
call and see if they are in stock or able to order.
After some googling, I found this for you http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/Cat...8+inch+ZIF+SSD
call and see if they are in stock or able to order.
#10
2 Props,3 Dildos,& 1 Cat
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Fake Virginia
Posts: 19,338
Total Cats: 573
nice buy. I still love my fujitsu T4210 tablet with two batteries. light and lasts forever on a charge.
incidentally there are reasons RS232 is still alive. interrupts make it hard to get realtime data to flow properly on USB. I don't know the low level details but it shows up in realtime motion tracking systems for our VR displays which is why many are still RS232 based. and as we all know, it rears its head in usb-serial converters when we do datalogs.
incidentally there are reasons RS232 is still alive. interrupts make it hard to get realtime data to flow properly on USB. I don't know the low level details but it shows up in realtime motion tracking systems for our VR displays which is why many are still RS232 based. and as we all know, it rears its head in usb-serial converters when we do datalogs.
#13
Boost Pope
Thread Starter
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,027
Total Cats: 6,592
After some googling, I found this for you http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/Cat...8+inch+ZIF+SSD
Originally Posted by y8s
incidentally there are reasons RS232 is still alive.
Originally Posted by thebeerbaron
hey! i'm a macbook-using java programmer!
Originally Posted by thebeerbaron
i feel the same way about windows as you do about the Dells - too clunky and painful to use.
To me, it's gotten to the point where Windows and OS-X are pretty much the same thing. Big, fluffy, very pretty, and annoyingly coddling. But the thing that bugs me about Apple isn't the OS, it's the proprietary hardware. I don't mean PPC vs. x86 or NuBus vs. ISA/PCI, or even the dozens of different and incompatible I/O ports that have come and gone over the years. I mean the simple stuff. Power supplies, CDRom drives, CRTs (in the case of the iMac), etc. You can't buy spare parts from Apple and keep 'em opn the shelf. If something goes wrong, you gotta physically bring your machine into a service center and have them do it. That is majorly the suck when the machines are being used as editing workstations in a broadcast station. For everything else you've got a supply of spare parts in case something goes down. For the Apples, you gotta keep whole spare computers on the shelf.
#14
Did Dell eventually step away from the proprietary hardware? The last Dell we owned (probably a decade ago) had a proprietary power supply and motherboard. I think the last Dell server that went ****-up on us at work had a proprietary mobo too.
I've given up caring about the hardware issues. By the time stuff starts failing, it's time to get a new one anyhow. Ain't that a great attitude?
Seriously, I just prefer a UNIX-based OS to a DOS based one (yes yes, it's no longer technically DOS based, but you get my drift). I never did learn DOS. I :heart: the UNIX though
I've given up caring about the hardware issues. By the time stuff starts failing, it's time to get a new one anyhow. Ain't that a great attitude?
Seriously, I just prefer a UNIX-based OS to a DOS based one (yes yes, it's no longer technically DOS based, but you get my drift). I never did learn DOS. I :heart: the UNIX though
#16
Boost Pope
Thread Starter
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,027
Total Cats: 6,592
Dell. Psssht.
I've not historically bought name-brand hardware (Dell, IBM, HP, etc), preferring (for the reason of serviceability) to either build my own machines or buy machines that are known to be 100% off-the-shelf in nature. So I never bought an IBM PS/2, for example. This of course goes back to my radio station days, when we did not have loads of money for things like service contracts. It's different in a big corporate environment.
But that's the thing about the Wintel platform that I like- you're not locked into a single hardware platform, you can run it on pretty much anybody's machines you like.
But yeah. I was a real hardcore MS-DOS junkie in the 80s, and I got pretty good with System V in the 90's. I never really achieved guru status with Workbench / CLI, but I think that's probably my favorite OS in terms of capability relative to the hardware it was running on. We're talking true GUI multitasking on an 8Mhz 68000 w/ 512k. I never really became a Linux zealot however, since I honestly think that OS is too fragmented to ever go mainstream.
I've not historically bought name-brand hardware (Dell, IBM, HP, etc), preferring (for the reason of serviceability) to either build my own machines or buy machines that are known to be 100% off-the-shelf in nature. So I never bought an IBM PS/2, for example. This of course goes back to my radio station days, when we did not have loads of money for things like service contracts. It's different in a big corporate environment.
But that's the thing about the Wintel platform that I like- you're not locked into a single hardware platform, you can run it on pretty much anybody's machines you like.
But yeah. I was a real hardcore MS-DOS junkie in the 80s, and I got pretty good with System V in the 90's. I never really achieved guru status with Workbench / CLI, but I think that's probably my favorite OS in terms of capability relative to the hardware it was running on. We're talking true GUI multitasking on an 8Mhz 68000 w/ 512k. I never really became a Linux zealot however, since I honestly think that OS is too fragmented to ever go mainstream.
#17
This is the Libretto sitting on my dash:
#18
I was really surprised they gave me that much for the Lenovo, especially when you factor in their overhead. I mean they had to ship me an empty box, plus shipping back to them, and whatever time their tech's spend 'refurbishing' / certifying the unit. I was more than happy to get rid of it.
C
C
#20
2 Props,3 Dildos,& 1 Cat
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Fake Virginia
Posts: 19,338
Total Cats: 573
hustler, I have one you can have REAL cheap. it's very ******* but 99% functional and will run MS and has a serial port. It's a Dell latitude CPi. One of the hinges is busted. So it kinda needs a prop-up. That's the 1%. Sometimes the video goes screwy because of the hinge but a quick slap and it's fine.