Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 7 Sep 2008, at 19:24, Dilwyn Jones wrote: I have a conventional Windows laptop of reasonable spec already, but fancied a small and light notebook to carry around with me when all I need is a tiny QL (possibly with wireless and/or web access) to carry around. If work-related, I'd use the laptop. It seems that cost-wise, there isn't much in it when you can buy a new laptop of reasonable spec for 250-350 pounds, or a reasonable second-user machine for half that. Car comparisons are dated, but: You can buy a Mercedes A-class for £14,000. You can also buy a large Korean car like the Kia Magentis which is a class above, 15ft long instead of 10ft, etc. What's happening is not that laptops are getting significantly cheaper, but that cutting edge "small" devices are getting cheaper and more popular. So, it's a bit like the A-class coming down to the price of Kia's small car (what is that these days? Rio?). You can still get the cheap, cheerful full size product, but there's now an option for a cheap compact one too wheras previously, you'd pay a huge premium for the small form factor (see Flybook etc.). Also a point to note, all the prices I'm quoting and likely anyone else is here are inclusive of tax. US prices rarely include sales taxes which can vary dramatically. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
Paul Holmgren wrote: Right now in the states there is a retail chain selling a Compaq laptop, Intel dual core, 2 giggles ram, 160giggles HD, 15.4" screen, Wireless and Vista, US $ is $430, thats about 245 of your pounds. This is being mentioned for comparison purposes This is exactly the kind of comparison I was hinting at. I have a conventional Windows laptop of reasonable spec already, but fancied a small and light notebook to carry around with me when all I need is a tiny QL (possibly with wireless and/or web access) to carry around. If work-related, I'd use the laptop. It seems that cost-wise, there isn't much in it when you can buy a new laptop of reasonable spec for 250-350 pounds, or a reasonable second-user machine for half that. These new notebooks are useful, but it looks to me like the small savings you can make for a decent machine are not really worth the bother, unless your requirement is dictated specifically by size and weight of the machine, and no moving parts (hard disk). I think ideally I'd need to try one out before I decided, as it seems to be hard to find a machine which is right for the job at this level. -- Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
Right now in the states there is a retail chain selling a Compaq laptop, Intel dual core, 2 giggles ram, 160giggles HD, 15.4" screen, Wireless and Vista, US $ is $430, thats about 245 of your pounds. This is being mentioned for comparison purposes -- Paul Holmgren Mine: 2 57 300-C's in Indy Hers: 05 PT GT R/T HO Hoosier Corps L#6 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
On 7 Sep 2008, at 17:24, Malcolm Cadman wrote: Does anyone know the specification of the Intel 1.66Ghz Atom ? Is it a RISC based chip, from the collaboration with the Cambridge based RISC company ? Also, the "Atom" name, was once used for a British made computer called the Acorn Atom - back in 1980's . the era of the first QL machines too. Hi Malcolm, The Intel Atom is essentially an x86 architecture machine with 512K cache and 45nm fab; it consumes 2.5W and supports hyperthreading; dual core designs are possible. My Acer isn't the HD model, and it's not noisy in operation. The Eee 701 used the fan more often. Some Acer models were flashed with a buggy BIOS that caused the fan to remain on when not required, this may have affected some reviews. The Acorn Atom predated the QL by 3 years and was one of the last computers marketed to the mainstream as a kit. Nice bit of hardware, too, for the era. Richard ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] sub-£100 notebook
In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Richard Kilpatrick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes Hi, I think that Richard has put his finger on it here ... where is the value ? The price point of a mini-laptop has to much lower than a standard laptop, the latter are now offering good value at the lower end of the price range circa £300 to £400. It is though going to be interesting what will get produced in the coming one or two years as this sector of the market expands further. At present, the Acer at around £229 seems the best value and be very useable as a portable, dual platform, etc. Reports say that it is a bit noisy in operation, and has an odd arrangement of the touchpad control. Hence, the other rivals of the Eee PC new top end models, and the MSI Wind; are a bit more slick, yet more costly. You get wireless networking, bluetooth and ethernet with many of these models too. Therefore rivalling the specification of a standard laptop. Does anyone know the specification of the Intel 1.66Ghz Atom ? Is it a RISC based chip, from the collaboration with the Cambridge based RISC company ? Also, the "Atom" name, was once used for a British made computer called the Acorn Atom - back in 1980's . the era of the first QL machines too. On 6 Sep 2008, at 19:47, Dilwyn Jones wrote: From what you've said, it seems that the cheaper systems aren't much good for regular use. What about someone like me who has an occasional need for a portable QL away from home, where weight and small size might be important? Or would I be better off (even for occasional light use) to save my pennies and wait until I can afford a more expensive machine? Or would you go as far as to say that I'd be better off with a traditional laptop PC? The Acer is £199 with 8GB and £229 with 120GB. It's 1024 x 600, 1.6GHz and fully capable of running Windows XP or various flavours of Linux. What I'm saying is that for the saving for the very cheapest machines - £169 for the Maplin, or the Eee 701 - the Acer represents the genuinely lowest price point you will get something useful at. The 800 x 480 screen on the 701 is limiting for modern web browsing (though I reckon it would be fine for an emulated QL environment; it looked fantastic running Atari 800 emulators), the Maplin's insanely limited CPU (not just performance, but third-party support) - for the sake of a £40 saving? Not worth it. Likewise, if you wanted to add a memory card, the Acer has an SD card slot to expand the built in storage AND a memory card reader; and buying SD cards for the Maplin to go from 2GB to 8GB would eat up a reasonable amount of the cost saving too. The instant you cross into the £300 needed for the MSI Wind or upmarket Eee models, then you can get a dual core 13" laptop from Currys or elsewhere for £280ish. Unless you REALLY want the tiny form factor, it's not worth the effort. I certainly don't think you should save your pennies if all you want is occasional light use and are already interested in this class of machine; I just think you should not spend more than £200 (I count the extra £29 for the 120GB version of the Acer as "a very cheap extra memory card I'd have bought anyway" - it's less than I paid for the no- name brand 16GB SDHC card I use) and should get the absolute best specification you can for that money. The Elonex One - the mooted £100 laptop - is more interesting as the One+ with 256MB RAM and 2GB SSD, but it's still 800 x 480, 300MHz weird 'barely supported' CPU, and in that form costs £119. Another few quid for a decent capacity SD card, and you're into 1.6GHz Atom territory. Commodore "brand" have just announced one, too. It's £325, which is already insane given the current marketplace, and uses of all things the VIA C7-M CPU, which is basically a Cyrix. Anyone who remembers Cyrix back in the Pentium days will already have shudders running down their spines, but the truth is, the C7-M is chosen for battery life; Intel have leapfrogged them AND don't need to cripple the CPU's performance to do it. Richard -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
