Sorry, my reply got inserted at bottom, so here we try again, reply at
top. :)
Won't argue the exact naming term of the units, as I see docking and
port-replicators
being used interchangeably on both kind of units. True, you cannot
charge your computer
through the Targus units, but if all you have to do when coming home
after school
or work, is to plug in your charger, and one USB cable, this will
greatly reduce
the hazzle. And, if you want, you could have one unit at work, one at
home, and simply
just plug/unplug two cables, when moving your laptop between the two
places. You
may even have one in each room, letting you quickly connecting to
several periphals
each place. Whatever they are called officially, it is a great low-cost
way to make
your moving around with the laptop, more hazzle-free.
As for the high-speed ports, if you want to spend more like a hundred
dollars on
the unit, the newest models from Targus can be run even on a USB3
connection. Far
as I remember, USB3 is something like ten times faster than USB2, and
will out-range
many other connections. Of course, it will demand your computer has a
USB3 connector,
but think most new computers nowadays do. Exactly what high-speed ports
did you have
in mind?
--
David
On 5/21/2014 11:50 AM, David wrote:
On 5/21/2014 2:55 AM, Chip Orange wrote:
Thanks David for mentioning these.I believe these however are more
precisely called "port replicators", as they can't do some of the
things (especially charging the laptop, and some of the high-speed
transfer ports) that a docking station can do. Still, as you say if a
docking station isn't available, then a port replicator is a lot
better than nothing.
Chip
*From:*David [mailto:[email protected]]
*Sent:* Monday, May 19, 2014 2:55 PM
*To:* Chip Orange; 'RickUSA'; [email protected]
*Subject:* Re: New Dell Going Back
Just a friendly reminder to all of you. There is available on the
market, low-cost docking stations, that does not need any specially
designed port on the computer. The most known manufacturer is Targus,
and searching places like EBay for "Targus docking", will reveal to
you a pretty good selection. Many of them, can be had for less than a
hundred dollars. They simply plug into your USB port, and you get
several ports available - like serial, paralel, microphone,
headphone/speakers and monitor. Read the ads thoroughly, specially if
you are running 64-bit OS, since only some models support that
platform. The benefit of these units are, they are quite small, plug
into any computer with a USB, and are low-cost. They actually are
that tiny, you will have little trouble in bringing them along, even
on your next trip. And, as I stated, you are not bound to buying a
specially designed unit for your actual model of laptop. Several
low-end laptops, does not even come with a connector for a docking.
Yet, with the Targus docking, even those computers can be docked.
Regards,
On 5/18/2014 12:43 AM, Chip Orange wrote:
Hi Rick,
I have been very happy with my Dell business class laptop E6530
running 32-bit Windows 7.I have seen a lot of complaints re
consumer grade Windows 8.1 laptops (which are always 64 bit
Windows), but I don't know which component is the big hassle; I
suspect Windows 8.However, to get Windows 7 you usually have to
go through the business class division of the computer
company.This has another benefit as well: they don't throw on all
the shovelware onto a business class system.Pretty much you get
straight Windows plus some Dell utilities.
Dell also makes a nice, not expensive, docking station for this
line of laptops, which I also have been very happy with.It
includes a nice USB port replicator to plug in all those
accessories (not all laptop lines have this, and it's something
worth considering when you make your decision).
It turns out, independently, this is exactly the same laptop pc
our hardware purchasing group has selected for all of our
business purchases where I work.We've been using these at work
for several years as well, and they've been very happy they said.
Hth,
Chip
*From:*RickUSA [mailto:[email protected]]
*Sent:* Friday, May 16, 2014 2:09 PM
*To:* [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject:* New Dell Going Back
Hi WEErs: New xps 8700ac kept locking up.
After 14 hours on phone with support? I decided on last day of
return policy to send
this puppy back.
We never nailed down what caused the lockups. Could have been
audio drivers not playing
well with Screen Readers, tried jaws, windoweyes and even
narrator so not a WE problem as far as I could tell.
Dell removed some junkware, replaced the video driver they said
was causing the problem,
removed some of dells software for digital downloads and eventthe
backup and recovery
software, nothing helpped.
They ran many tests saying the hardware was all good.
There were many errors in the event loggs and the final nail was
that internet explorer
11 had to restart and then a lockup and in the event log there
was a problem with
a dll related to internet explorer.
The Reps also said they were getting intermittant breaks in the
connection when trying
to remote so who knows?
Could be anything but I cant pay a grand for a new boat anchor so
back it went.
Now I have to start the new computer search all over again.
This time I am going with a business system, better components
and hopefully more
stable software. Perhaps I will go w7 Pro instead of 8.1 Consumer
version.
I just dont know anymore what will work with a screen reader
without worrying about
potential conflicts or even if that had anything at all to do
with all the errors
and lockups - neither did the dell techs and there were many,
many of them over the
14 hours plus of phone calls.
If you run a recent machine, desktop with WE, and it has worked
well for you what are you
running?
Are there errors in the event loggs?
HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus or others?
And which OS do you find most stable with WE - that is W7 Pro or
even W 8.1 (Pro?)
Rick USA
--
David
Won't argue the exact naming term of the units, as I see docking and
port-replicators being used interchangeably on both kind of units.
True, you cannot charge your computer through the Targus units, but if
all you have to do when coming home after school or work, is to plug
in your charger, and one USB cable, this will greatly reduce the
hazzle. And, if you want, you could have one unit at work, one at
home, and simply just plug/unplug two cables, when moving your laptop
between the two places. You may even have one in each room, letting
you quickly connecting to several periphals each place. Whatever they
are called officially, it is a great low-cost way to make your moving
around with the laptop, more hazzle-free.
As for the high-speed ports, if you want to spend more like a hundred
dollars on the unit, the newest models from Targus can be run even on
a USB3 connection. Far as I remember, USB3 is something like ten times
faster than USB2, and will out-range many other connections. Of
course, it will demand your computer has a USB3 connector, but think
most new computers nowadays do. Exactly what high-speed ports did you
have in mind?
--
David
--
David
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