| Author |
Message |
joe (Joe_Littlewind) (12.14.225.37)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 23, 2001 - 10:49 pm: | |
I want to install a PC at the co-pilot seat area. I have an extra but older desk top (no usb ports). Should I spring for a lap top? Or what’s a good installation for a desk top? Also I will need to pick up a printer. Thought I would get a small $100 color. Joe 4106-2119 |
Scott Whitney (63.151.64.84)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2001 - 1:44 am: | |
I plan on using a full tower system at the co-pilot area for: DVD, MP3 music, GPS navigation and general computing.
The only relevant consideration I can think of btwn a desktop and laptop is the hard drive. While a laptop drive is designed to be used while mobile, a desktop drive is not. A heavy bump in the road could possibly knock the platter of your hard drive and ruin it. This could possibly lead to complete HD failure and data loss. I think the newer drives are being built to be shock resistant better than older ones, however, they are still designed to be used while not in motion. When they are off (like when the PC is shut down or asleep) they are 'parked' and safe to be transported. (sort of like an old record player when you lock the needle arm in the cradle) My thought is to give it a try with an older PC which has no valuable data on it. If I crash the drive, no big deal. If it works - so be it. One could also consider buying a brand new hard drive (like a Maxtor) that has known shock resistant technology. To be totally safe, spring for a laptop or only use the desktop PC when the coach is stopped. Or just back up all data, don't experiment with all your mission-critical files and give it a try! I don't know how a GMC of that vintage rides. . . I think a desktop HD might work in my air suspension Flx. . . Probably would not work in a spring suspension skoolie or other hard riding bus.
I suppose one could rig an elaborate shock absorbing suspension system for the whole PC, but that might be a project and a half. . . Or disassemble the PC remove the internal HD and rig a special shock absorbing cradle on the outside etc. . . |
joe (Joe_Littlewind) (12.14.225.40)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2001 - 1:37 pm: | |
Scott Whitney; Your pionts are well taken, how ever all I would need to do is install 2 hard drives and they're cheep. I think I will use an external backup HD. I thought about DVD writeable but they're too much $$ yet. I think will get a new unit with an external DVD/CD-R. Can you tell me more about MP3 music? Is there much to it? Joe |
Scott Whitney (63.151.64.84)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2001 - 4:04 pm: | |
Sure, multiple HDs is a quick way to do it. Your right, they are cheap.
MP3 music is great. You can 'rip' your entire CD collection and save it to your hard drive. (search for MP3 ripping software i.e. Musicmatch etc.) Then leave all the bulky CDs at home in boxes. You can then make up a 'playlist' of your favorite songs and, assuming you have enough songs, can listen to commercial free music all day long with no repeats. Sort it into genres or moods and create multiple play lists. Possibilities are endless. You could set your playlist and drive all day until your next fuel/rest stop without ever futzing around with changing CDs or stations while driving etc. . .
Of course, you can also download new MP3 music over the Internet, but that brings up a whole other discussion on copyright violations. (i.e. Napster.com and Limewire.com etc. . . )
Scott |
Bus Jock (198.81.16.57)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 10:42 am: | |
Joe,
We ran a desktop for almost a year. We found that putting it on a 4 inch piece of foam and tieing it to a foam pad with bungies stopped the crashing. It must have been crashing because of lost data from the hard drive. We changed to a laptop for 2 reasons.
1. Crt took up too much valuable space.
2. Could not cary it to RV park office to get our email.
We are happy with our laptop, small printer, and scanner. We run Street atlas when on the road, Map'n go in canada, and Topo USA when in the back country. We take the laptop and gps in the geep when we go on back country trails.
We have been very happy with the laptop. We put on a ZIP drive for backup and to hold the extra stuff.
Jock Fugitt |
Scott Whitney (63.151.64.84)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 - 2:49 pm: | |
Sounds like a nice set-up Jock!
Another product that is brand new that I am considering is called a Keydrive by IBM. It is solid state, about the size of a stick of gum and can hang on your key ring. It is an 8MB drive that plugs directly into any USB port. The beauty is that it requires no drivers to be installed to work - which means you can plug it into any PC at a park office, Kinkos, a friend's house etc. The PC just sees it as a small hard drive with no rebooting the machine or anything. You can download your e-mail to it and take it back to your rig to read and write replies to. Then slip it in your pocket at take it back to a Net connection for sending your e-mail out again. Just another option to consider. Cost is about $50 and it is available now. Granted 8MB is pretty small but should be adequate for most e-mail and even some pictures or small files. |
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