DIYEFI.org Forum

I've been using a laptop from work for months, years... Bought on government funds, so no one wanted to use it since it is going back eventually. Well, it's going back, and now I'll have no tuning box, and no idea what I want. I was thinking a carputer, but I use the laptop so much, I want something for myself.

Any sugggestions for something super light/small for use in the car, and yet bristeling with serial ports (USB if I can't get that), and I dunno, generally "good"? Oh, and it should cost close to nothing.

Well, for a start, the serial ports found on laptops are usually poor (way worse than usb/serial) so don't worry about that. Secondly, pcmcia serial seems to be somewhat kick arse for accuracy if you choose wisely. I can find some models if you want. Thirdly, the IBM thinkpads are quite good for tuning as they have a keyboard light (screens are low res though). Fourthly, consider going the extra on a active screen or whatever it is called so you can see it in daylight. Fifthly, make sure the screen hinge is fairly stiff as mine flopped down over bumps...

15" with 1280x800 or greater is your best bet. More cells in the battery = longer life. If you find something that is very happy with Linux, let me know as I will need a new one at some stage.

Good luck.

Fred.

(turns on keyboard light) yes, that's a nice feature - one I often forget to use. The low resolution on this T60 is my biggest complaint, followed by the not-the-world's-best batery life. It's otherwise a good all around compramise, except the "Fn" key that takes over where Ctl should be, making it very hard to copy-paste.

still, I might just end up with another lenovo. Not terribly cheap, but not super pricey either.

I've seen some cool solid-state mini toshibas, I think, but I'm not sure if I could run a dual boot on there and get the most out of it.

If your funds are free flowing Sony Vaio laptops are more robust than they look, have probably the best quality screens and are possibly the best engineered around. battery life and portability are great too. i would not buy anything else now!

Toshiba are very reliable, the newer ones seem to be a bit flimsy and heavy. battery life is quite good.

HP laptops are cheap these days very average screens and cheap feeling, battery life is questionable.

Novatech have their own brand of laptop and quite frankly take some beating, they are reliable, good performance per £ and batteries are quite reasonable. not too pleasing to the eye though!