can you suggest a good computer for travel? | Squat the Planet

can you suggest a good computer for travel?

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I'm trying to find a good travel computer something with some decent power behind it but also small sized and easy to pack, not easy to break and durable holds good battery life has multiple ways to charge it, and a sim card slot for 3g access.
 

Matt Derrick

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gotta work on your thread titles, bro. edited it to be a little more clear.

i would suggest the hp pavilion dm1, i just sold one to tude, it's pretty awesome. power of a laptop in a netbook size. you'd probably have to use a usb 3g dongle though. since tablets came out, they don't make that many laptops with 3/4g built in.
 

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I'd suggest getting a Bluetooth keyboard and connecting it to a Note 3 smartphone or any other smartphone (note 3 just has a big ass screen). It's lightweight and I've found even the smallest computers and tablets just take up more room and are unnecessary in your pack since everyone already carries a phone. Just my two sense. I had a tablet before for my travels and got rid of it for that reason.
 
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Matt Derrick

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yeah, it really depends on what you want to do on your computer. if you just want the internet, get a tablet and maybe a keyboard. if you wanna do some actual work, you'll want an actual laptop.
 
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Yeah Matt, you're right.

My advice would be ... whatever your budget is ... Apple or Lenovo.

Apple only if you like the OS. If you're fine with Windows ::meh:: or Linux :cool: go for Lenovo.
When it's Lenovo, look for the business lines. T series, X series, whatever. Get it used if you can't afford new ones. Used are plenty and cheap.

Just my two cents ...
 
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Tude

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gotta work on your thread titles, bro. edited it to be a little more clear.

i would suggest the hp pavilion dm1, i just sold one to tude, it's pretty awesome. power of a laptop in a netbook size. you'd probably have to use a usb 3g dongle though. since tablets came out, they don't make that many laptops with 3/4g built in.

Yup - fit perfect in my camelbak (traveled ultralight this weekend) - kept my sane for my 6 hr layover at Atlanta - did buy an external dvd for it.
 

Matt Derrick

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anything apple is overpriced as fuck, so fuck apple. just my .02
 
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Dameon

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I actually do some of my programming on my phone with a bluetooth keyboard. You can do some actual work on em...

But yeah, for most of my work, I use my laptop. Still wouldn't hitch or hop with one; they're too breakable/stealable.
 

Anagor

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I actually do some of my programming on my phone with a bluetooth keyboard. You can do some actual work on em...
Yeah, but that's no fun, is it?
But yeah, for most of my work, I use my laptop. Still wouldn't hitch or hop with one; they're too breakable/stealable.
I disagree. Get a used X60/X61 IBM/Lenovo one.It should be far less then $100 now. If you don't trust the T/X series for stability, get a used Panasonic Toughbook. It's made for outdoor usage.
When it comes to stealing, just make it as unattractive to thieves as possible. Lots of stickers, scratches on the surface and so on. I guess most potential thieves would like to sell it and not use it by themselves. So, make it so un-sellable as possible while maintaining it's functionality ... ;)
Edit: and encrypt your harddrive. If it falls into wrong hands and is booted up there is the question for the passphrase even before the OS is started. So you don't have to worry about some stranger snooping in your email or alike ...
 
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Cirno9

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The X61 and T60s have actually gone in price due to neckbears buying them up when they used to be around 50 dollars ugh but I got myself a nice T420i for 100 dollars and gave my mac to a friend (was given to me in the first place). OP you can def get a computer for about 80-100 dollars that is acceptable but thinkpad T series are bulky and the X series are not as tough. Whatever you are comfortable carrying I guess, a cheap tablet is also a good option (one of them chinese ones for like 50-80 dollars cheap). a Dell 830/620 is also a solid and cheapish computer but also bulky. Just search around on ebay or craigslist im sure you will find something you like.
 

Matt Derrick

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jesus, how old are those computers? are you running on 128mb of ram or what? :p
 

Cirno9

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For my 100 dollar T420i, no, an i3 and 4 gigs of ram. CL got deals man. Those other computers all have core2duos and 2-4gigs of ram tho inside of them which is more than enough for fucking around on. :)
 
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Matt Derrick

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that's cool, i didn't know they were getting that cheap :)
 

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anything apple is overpriced as fuck, so fuck apple. just my .02
I guess the whole overpricing of apple is contributed the the massive amount of time and effort that went into the system in the time of it's creation, Again i said i guess.

For my 100 dollar T420i, no, an i3 and 4 gigs of ram. CL got deals man. Those other computers all have core2duos and 2-4gigs of ram tho inside of them which is more than enough for fucking around on. :)
thats some good pricing on some high powered machinery, Cloud computing has made it really easy to run advanced software on outdated hardware, i saw a version of my inspiron 1100 256 mb ram running faster than a brand spankin new macbook, it's all in the grams man
 

Rhubarb Dwyer

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I've had a lot of luck travelling with a netbook. They're easily found cheaply on Craigslist ($30-$60), are compact, lightweight, and somewhat durable.
Generally, they will support no more than 2 Gigs. However, with a optimized Linux install, you can get a lot of shit done.
On my last trip, I brought a slightly used Aspire One, a spare battery, and a portable phone charger. That was plenty to keep everything charged up.
Some other models (Gateway LT20??) have a 3G sim slot, but I haven't had one.

Also, since open Wifi networks are rare these days, once I landed in a new spot I would check for nearest networks. If I was lucky enough to catch a bar/restaurant, I would just go in and order whatever I could afford, ask for the password, and continue to use it from my sleeping bag for however long.
 

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I'd say get a friggin ipad or whatever the android version is.
I traveled for about a year on foot with an average sized laptop in my backpack and I really started noticing the back pains 5 months into it. I'm a big fellow too, that weight starts getting more noticable when you have been hiking with it month after month.
You can play WoW from a tablet now using the team viewer app!
 

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What do you use laptops for? Coding or working on or something? Photos?

I just get everything on my phone, even movies or TV on vodlocker you can even download them to watch later if you've got a good connection just long press on the movie. I mostly listen to audiobooks now though. Once you root it you can put adblock and everything but if you were tryinto work I guess it'd be tedious. For entertainment its perfect.

I'd for sure break a laptop, or get it stolen out my car. I treat my pack like shit. Smashed a glass bottle of wine in it I'd padded with clothes the other day forgot it was there till it started dripping out the overflow hole :(

I'd like a kindle or something easy to read on like that, but apparently they're pretty useless without a laptop for pirated stuff.
 

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