laptop......what do I need?

[r. gallagher]

I am going to replace my PC with a new laptop. Also, we are planning on cruising full time in two years or less. I would like to buy once and not have to get something else later when we decide to cast off lines.
I am not a techie but do have some knowledge.
What do you recommend to handle what I may be facing as far as needs. I do not want to buy and not have enough memory, capacity, to be functional.I do not want to start a PC vs Mac argument. I am not a Mac user currently. I just don,t want to buy short!

 

[Sailbaum]

I can recommend the Lenovo Yoga. It has windows 8, which has some critics, but overall I think the laptop is well suited for boat life -- It has a touch screen and folds so that the keyboard is behind, like a tablet. This makes it convenient in small spaces, or to have in your hand to navigate etc. while still having a full keyboard when necessary.
It has a solid state drive (no spinning hard drive) so it is less susceptible to shock damage. Very good battery life, so you can charge it while running the motor and then use it all (or most) of the day. Very small form factor fits easily into the chart table. The hard drive is somewhat small by today's standards 125gb, so if you want to store movies or games, you might want an external drive.
One caution - the hard drive is partitioned strangely (several small partitions) so before you use it, use the utility (provided by Lenovo) to repartition the drive into a larger single partition.
Overall its a great unit.

 

[Stu Jackson]

W8 sucks. Big time, if you'rew used to a "normal" computer. Get W7 (Dell still has it, ask). I run all navigation stuff with a Celeron processor, which is all you need for that stuff. Spend the $$ on the memory. And hard drive size.

Folks will recommend a "bullet proof" laptop. What you really need to do is keep it dry.

Try www.cruisersforum.com and check their nav and computer sections, too.

Good luck, happy cruising.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

I've used a Toshiba Netbook aboard for 4 years. Has the chart programs, has a nine hour battery and is quite small.

It's what I'm keying on now.

That said, what ever you buy now will be very old, computer wise, in 2 years or so, edging towards out dated.

 

[kenn]

PC selection depends pretty much on what you want to do with it. So for the best advice , list out the apps you use.

I like big (and/or dual) monitors so I still use a big desk PC at home for most stuff. For portability I like netbooks because they're small and light... and cheap.

For a boat computer, I would look for a good middle of the road laptop from a reputable maker. I personally like ASUS, DELL, Lenovo, Toshiba. I would go for 4GB or more of RAM and 250GB or more hard drive. Solid-state drives are fast and robust, but honestly, today's hard-drives are pretty dependable. I highly recommend getting a backup drive and learning to do weekly backups, so you're covered if the laptop dies or is stolen.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Kenn - I have a 24 inch flat screen monitor plugged into this Toshiba. You CAN use a laptop and still have a big monitor. Figured this out when my desk top computer died.

 

[FourPoints]

W8 sucks. Big time, if you'rew used to a "normal" computer..

Stu, Stop promoting ignorance.

Windows 8 takes about 15 - 20 minutes to get used to if your device has a touch screen. (Stu almost certainly went cheap and got a non touch screen device, he already stated he went with a Celeron processor, and in that case he is going to have a poor experience.)

W8 is an extremely secure and stable OS, well suited to mobile / tablet style devices, and very simple to use once you have someone spend a few minutes and quickly walk you through the touch interface once. The only downside is that it is designed with touch in mind first, and mouse second, so without touch, you are less efficient in using all the new features.

 

[Steve Dion]

I would also stay away from ANY windows hardware.

Do you need computer power or would a tablet do the job?

Check out a #Samsung tablet 10.2 or a Cheap laptop. The lowend laptops are heavy but you should not care if it is left aboard.

 

[RECESS]

Another vote for W8 sucks. It really is every other OS offering with MS is just not well put together. I will hold onto W7. I suffered through Vista, I do not feel like going down that road again. I have a tablet and a smart phone, I do not need an OS on a laptop that is trying to mimic them.

 

[Doc_holiday]

Actually there is an app that puts the start button back in place which makes w8 manageable.

 

[zeehag]

i use the cheapest thing i can find--acer works great. in 4 yrs you will be replacing it anyway, so....
in 4 yrs technology will be different, so you will want a new one, even if the terminals arent corroded....so why not get one you dont have to worry about. just dont get it wet.
and carry a hermetically sealed spare.

 

[cb32863]

As when folks ask what boat they should buy, the same goes for any computer hardware.... what are you going to do with it? As some have said, you may be able to get by with a nice tablet or you may need a full laptop. All depends on what you are going to be using it for. And as far as Win 8 is concerned.... you don't need an app to get to the "regular" desktop, its a setting in the control panel.... It is a very "touch based" OS though so if you don't need that, don't go that route. Anyway, do an assessment of what you are actually going to use the thing for and then you can start weeding out what options really work for you.

My personal preference would be to go with a decent tablet as you probably aren't going to be playing Diablo III on it or WoW or doing any "power user" (still no idea what that means, even after 20 years in the IT industry) type stuff.

If a laptop, RAM RAM & more RAM and as big a hard drive as you can find. Tablets, all depends on if you are an Apple fanatic or an Android type. Is your phone Android based? Something to consider if you go tablet.....

As I said, figure out what you are going to use it for and then go from there.

 

[zeehag]

gods made netbooks for those who donot like tablets and vice versa......ilike netbooks..small and able to close em up and no having to poke on a screen. has real keyboard, but a lil smaller....

and netbooks fit into a 1 gallon ziplock baggie, with ability to seal it. lol..not bad for under 200 usd....

 

[Brian D]

The laptop I use is an old Dell D600 running XP. I only have charting software on my machine. The operating system really doesn't matter as long as you are use the PC for charting. If you plan on doing other things then I would say any OS is fine. I personally have found Win8 to be as easy as Win7. Just have to get past the fact that Win8 was designed for a tablet. But I have managed to get my Win8 to work like Win7.

I highly recommend used from eBay or one of the better retailers like Tiger Direct. Any laptop on my boat is treated as a throw away because of the environment. That is, unless you get a ToughBook type laptop.

Good luck in your research and selection.

 

[kloudie1]

Using a 15" Gateway, I-5 processor, Win 7 .300G hard drive. SeaClear .. Active Captain.. I sometimes have to run a WiFi amplifier with it .. I like keyboards for participating in forums and e-mail.. My only complaint is the battery life is only about an hour-and-a-half .. It is three years old and is just before the newer, long running time ones.. I do have a 12V plug in that I can run it from. I don't really use it for navigation since I have the GArmin at the helm.. but I do use it for trip planning

 

[tkanzler]

The laptop I use is an old Dell D600 running XP. I only have charting software on my machine.

Same here, except it's an Inspiron 8100 running XP, and about 12 years old. Slow as molasses but perfectly adequate (still) for running Maptech's Offshore Navigator. I replaced the original battery, and added a second where the floppy drive goes, and it'll run all day, especially if I let it go to sleep on long stretches (and let the screen shut down after 1 minute of non-use).

I didn't use it for autohelm, so it only really needed to wake up once in a while to verify my progress. Certainly useful in the dark (on night mode) for picking my way through unfamiliar areas, as I don't have a chart plotter. A cheap USB GPS antenna, and it's good to go. It charges just fine on a cheap inverter, too.

Point being, almost any cheap, disposable old laptop will work for just running nav software, and if it died, I wouldn't care as it's well beyond it's use-by date. It does fine with the internet, too (with an external wireless card), but the content of even a simple web page these days gives it fits, so it's kinda slow.

I don't use it since I got this boat, as I only day sail/motor with it in areas I'm familiar with, but I will if/when I trailer to new destinations, like the Thousand Islands, just because I have it already. If buying new, I'd probably look into a tablet or something similar, as long as it runs my software, which I'm used to and prefer to stay with.

 

[zeehag]

i have to keep my info in an external hard drive so i dont lose it--i have lost puters but not my info.
except with my first one...learned fast!
keep external hard drive in double plastic ziplock freezer bags with desicant so you dont lose the connections....
dont ask me how i know or when i learned it...LOL
ps...rice works....

 

[kenn]

Kenn - I have a 24 inch flat screen monitor plugged into this Toshiba. You CAN use a laptop and still have a big monitor. Figured this out when my desk top computer died.

Sure, but you still have that smaller keyboard etc. For a main home computer, you still get a bigger bang for the buck with a tower.

When/If I cut the rope to shore, yes I'll go for a laptop.

 

[Sailbaum]

I use a USB dock for my Lenovo - one usb connection gives me a 24" monitor, 19" vertical monitor, keyboard, mouse and network connection. For those who don't like the new w8 interface (which is pretty bad), just set it to use w7 desktop - in all material respects the same. Except, that you can unplug it and use it like a tablet if and when you need to - and you still have a full size keyboard when you are on the go but need to type. Also, w8 boots WAY faster than w7 - almost as fast as restoring from sleep mode - really. Off to working in 10 seconds or so. Can't do that in w7.

w8 is not great, but it is no worse than w7 and does have some beneficial features.

If you don't need the power of a full computer, a tablet is a good idea. There are many good navigation and weather apps available.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Lemme see if I understand this.

An OS that doesn't use a keyboard, for starters.

Doesn't anyone type anymore?

Oh, shoot, I missed it: thumbs.

At the end of EVERY document I create for business, I always included a "path/filemane." What did Microsoft do between WORD 2000 and later versions? They made it almost impossible to find!!! It took going to the Microsoft website to find ways that folks, who found the same "shortcoming" to figure out how to do it.

OK, OK, I'm slow, but why oh why do they continue to do this stuff???

A touch screen is fine for many, many users, but it ain't the way to run navigation software, gloves or not, but really, folks, makes little sense to me.

But, IF you can "fool" W8" to work like W7, go for it.