On Sat, Sep 03, 2011 at 03:12:01PM -1000, david wrote: > Ken Restivo wrote: >> On Fri, Sep 02, 2011 at 04:21:07PM +0200, rosea grammostola wrote: >>> On 09/02/2011 02:23 PM, Jeremy Jongepier wrote: >>>> On 08/31/2011 08:47 AM, Atte André Jensen wrote: >>>>> Hi >>>>> >>>>> My laptop was dropped, and if it's beyond repair, I need a new >>>>> one quickly. I would appreciate a few (preferrably hands-on >>>>> experiences or) advices to this end, here are a few thoughts: >>>>> >>>>> 1) It should of course work as flawless with linux as possible >>>>> (I run arch) >>>>> >>>>> 2) I have an edirol fa66 firewire soundcard that I'm quite >>>>> happy with. Problem is, it seems laptops with firewire are hard >>>>> to find. I could get an usb soundcard, but I have the feeling >>>>> that it's not gonna perform as well (low latency, stability) as >>>>> firewire, it that correct? Plus it's annoying to throw away (or >>>>> sell) a perfectly good, stable soundcard that suits my needs, >>>>> just because of the port type... >>>>> >>>>> 3) I would prefer a small (<= 13") light-weight, >>>>> long-battery-life laptop. >>>>> >>>>> 4) I actually don't really need that much cpu power. I have a >>>>> 2Ghz dual-core intel (T7250, whatever that means) now, that's >>>>> more than enough. It's the first dual core I owned, and I had >>>>> the feeling the two cores provides a snappier feeling, would >>>>> others agree? Besides that I don't need the speed I have now. >>>>> >>>>> Options (I can think of): >>>>> >>>>> I saw a secondhand ThinkPad X61s (dual-core 1.6Ghz, 3Gb ram, >>>>> 12" display) from a well known online shop I trust and used >>>>> many times (bought my current laptop there). There's 6 months >>>>> warrenty, and my general impression with ThinkPads is that they >>>>> have good build quality, it's the only laptop I would consider >>>>> buying used. It has firewire so... >>>>> >>>>> Go the netbook route. I'm at a loss here, all these new >>>>> processors, both the i-series and the atom (N-series), I have >>>>> no idea how well they perform. I tried a few from friends, and >>>>> they seem fast enough. Anyone here making music on a netbook? >>>>> This would most certainly mean I would have to get a usb >>>>> soundcard, hmmm :-( >>>>> >>>>> Any inputs would be greatly appreciated :-) >>>>> >>>> My 2¢ if you'd buy 2nd hand: Dell D430. Bit old but it does have >>>> a dual-core CPU and onboard FireWire (Ricoh, but it does work >>>> afaict). Build like a tank and relatively cheap, you can get them >>>> for ?300,- with warranty. >>> Good experiences with Lenovo T61 here and Dell latitude (didn't >>> test this thing extensively with proaudio/firewire). >>> >>> Also the Lenovo X series might be interesting for you. >> >> I have owned a few ThinkPads in my day, and they do run well with >> linux, but the ergonomics of the keyboards on them irritate me so >> much, I'll never use another one. >> >> The escape key is waaay off out of reach, above the F1 key, so, when >> I start hitting escape all the time (as in when editing system and >> config files in vi), it keeps popping up stupid Gnome help screens! > > I suppose it all depends on what laptop keyboard layout you're used to. > I like the Toshiba layouts (Escape key is beside the F1 key), can't > stand the Dell layouts. But I've used mostly Toshibas for years now, and > Dells only rarely. ;-) > > My wife is so used to her Toshiba laptop keyboard layout she hates > regular desktop keyboards (types incredibly slowly on them, but > adequately fast on the laptop keyboard). > >> Also, I absolutely cannot stand that damn nurple. Frustrating, >> difficult to control, and hurts my finger after even a short time >> using it. I prefer a trackpad or trackball anytime, even a regular >> old mouse. > > The "nurple" is actually called the TrackPoint. I first met it when I > had to borrow a Thinkpad to take notes in a meeting. I used it for 45 > minutes. After I returned it and went back to my regular desktop > keyboard (sans Trackpoint) I found myself automatically reaching for the > (non-existent) TrackPoint. Found it very easy to control, but I have a > rather light touch. A heavy touch would make it hard to use. > > I consider them one of the most ergonomic and best pointing control > devices anyone's made. Although my person favorite pointing device is > still a Wacom graphics tablet. > Those are very cool indeed. > I can use a touchpad, but I don't really like them. A friend of mine has > been using touchpads for years and years, loves them, etc. It's all a > matter of learning the techniques of rolling the fingertip instead of > moving the finger around. > > My wife, on the other hand, dislikes touchpads. She takes a mini-travel > mouse with her when she takes her laptop somewhere. But since she got > her netbook from System76, she's been leaving the travel mouse at home. > Maybe she likes the textured, edgeless touchpad on the Starling better > than the smooth touchpads you usually see on laptops. > >> So sadly, no vote of confidence for ThinkPads from me, sorry. > > Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel! ;-) > Yep, getting cranky in my old age, I am. Hey you kids, get offa my lawn! -ken _______________________________________________ Linux-audio-user mailing list Linux-audio-user@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.linuxaudio.org/listinfo/linux-audio-user
