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Subject: Re: PC recommendations?
From: Dan Allen (danallen@XXX.XXX)
Date: Mon Oct 09 2000 - 23:07:49 EDT
The Dell Latitude has won the torture test 5 years running done by one of
the PC magazines. It is the best made PC laptop, hands down. The Apple
PowerBooks are excellent as well: they were originally designed by the same
guy (John Medica) that now designs Dell Latitudes!
Dell has several different Latitudes. As someone remarked on this mailing
list, there are some that are very small, but the CPi and CPx family of
Latitudes have XGA screens (1024x768, with larger ones coming next month),
fast processors, built-in CD-ROM drives, etc. I have two Dell Latitudes
that I have bought with my own money, and I highly recommend them. I've had
one drop six feet onto concrete out the back of my minivan. I thought I
would see the entire machine shatter into zillions of pieces. Instead one
shift key came off. The display was completely unphased, as was all of the
internals. I picked it up and booted it up, all data intact. Very
impressive.
Dell also makes a family of laptops called Inspiron. They are not made by
Dell directly, but are made elsewhere for them. They are much thicker and
are nowhere near as well made. To find the Latitudes you have to say that
you are a small business customer on their web site, which is poor
salesmanship on their part. Inspirons usually have faster CPUs and bigger
displays available than Latitudes. A friend bought an Inspiron 3800
recently and reports that their build quality has improved, so perhaps they
should be considered.
Until a year ago I worked at Microsoft. Microsoft bought truckloads of
Toshibas for many years, but recent Toshiba Tecra laptops had been very
problematic, so our department switched over to Dell Latitudes, and have had
no problems.
IBM Thinkpads are also excellent - I've never met a disappointed ThinkPad
owner. They love 'em.
Compaq laptops until recently have been made quite poorly, but the latest
generation of business laptops is much improved; one I played on a few
months ago seemed close to the rigidity of a Latitude.
To go along with an industrial-strength laptop, do yourself a favor and use
Windows 2000. It is far more bulletproof than Windows 95/Windows 98/Windows
Me. It has an entirely different OS underneath the same user interface, and
I've had machines up 24 hours a day for months without ever having to
reboot. Windows 2000 is very Dell Latitude friendly: all of the drivers and
power management are built into Windows 2000, so the install is simple and
works well. I've just spent the last several months installing, using, and
building software using TurboLinux, Mac OS X, Yellow Dog Linux, Mac OS 9,
Red Hat Linux, FreeBSD, Plan 9, and several other alternative operating
systems on a variety of machines. No operating system is as good as Windows
2000.
I've used my Dells in the pilothouse of my Nordhavn 46 a lot, and I have
never had any problems in that marine environment. If I was out on a
sprayed-filled deck, things may be different. I think the marine laptops
are a rip-off. They are always years behind the current crop of machines,
for more money.
Dan Allen
-----Original Message-----
From: Navigation Mailing List
[mailto:NAVIGATION-L@XXX.XXX]On Behalf Of Kliment
Sent: Monday, October 09, 2000 10:45 AM
To: NAVIGATION-L@XXX.XXX
Subject: PC recommendations?
As a delivery Captain, I have used my HAM radio to
communicate while sailing to/from the islands.
I recently purchased a tnc to connect to my ICOM radio for
digital messages (Pactor) and weather info.
I'm currently using a borrowed Dell Latitude laptop (at home),
but I plan/need to buy a laptop soon.
What has been the experience with those on this list, in using
laptops on a boat? I'm looking at models in the $2K range.
I see "marine" grade PC's advertised, but wonder how the less expensive
non-marine grade will hold up?
I expect to be in transit with this "system" only about 35 days a year.
Any suggestions regarding brands, such as Sony, HP, Toshiba, Compaq?
You can answer off list if you like.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice.
Capt Joe Kliment W3HZM Middltown, DE kliment@XXX.XXX
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