linuxaudio.org

On Sat, Sep 03, 2011 at 03:12:01PM -1000, david wrote:

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> 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

quoted text
> 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

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