Computers

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Doesn't this require a complete rewiring?

Maybe Verizon R&D discovered you can push optical signals through copper with a REALLY bright light.

[Alex_de_Large]

Another airport express review, this one from Ars Technica.

[Atticus Grinch]

Can anyone recommend a PC laptop that best emulates the form factor of a PowerBook G4? I use a G4 as my primary home computer, and I love its style etc., but have two apps that are PC-only that I need to run from home. The only real must-have is integrated wi-fi (802.11g preferred). I would prefer that it be incredibly light as opposed to feature-laden. I can even live with a 12" screen. I don't need a powerhouse of a computer in terms of processor or memory; just something to be a second computer so I can surf for porn while my wife plays solitare on the G4.

We use Dells at work, but I'm not a loyalist. Obviously.

ETA: On second thought, maybe I should reconsider.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
I use a G4 as my primary home computer, and I love its style etc., but have two apps that are PC-only that I need to run from home.

What about virtual PC? Sure, it's an MS product now, but from what I've heard, it works pretty well. A lot cheaper than a new notebook, and you aren't stuck with windows except when you have to be.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Can anyone recommend a PC laptop that best emulates the form factor of a PowerBook G4?

A couple of weeks ago I spent the weekend at the baltcompound with my extended technocratic family, where there were eight (8) laptops in attendence. Since we're kind of thinking of replacing our 4 year old Toshiba, I asked around what people thought.

Toshiba w/W98: ours is old, so hard to tell if they're still the same. Four years old and still kicking, although its a little weak for some of the latest stuff. Crappy form factor. Battery essentially non-existent - will allow you to move from one plug to another, as long as you don't dillydally.

Dell 600 w/XP Home: This is my company-issued computer, and I have to say I like the balance of size, power and form. Not quite as sexy as a Mac, it still has integrated video outs, ethernet, modem, wireless and a very nice screen. XP is actually a halfway decent OS. You can change out the DVD Rom for a floppy drive; I leave the floppy at home. Good battery - lasts about 3 hours, but charges in about an hour.

Dell [bigger than the 600] w/XP Pro: This is one mammoth laptop. 15" screen, about the thickness of a pizza box. Weighs maybe 10 lbs. It is also badass. Integrated DVD burner, huge, beautifl screen, FAST. My cousin's company bought this for him to do sales presentations that include some animations. He wishes it were smaller. No idea what the difference is between XP pro and home.

Gateway [15" screen] w/2000: Nice screen. My dad's had this one for a couple of years, and travels with it a fair amount. So it's built well. Not as thick or as heavy as the Dell above, it's still pretty hefty. Simple black design is reminicent more of IBM thinkpads than a Mac, but still nice looking.

Gateway 12"w/2000: It's like a 3/4 size version of the big Gateway. Again, a couple of years old with a lot of miles under its belt, with no problems. I noticed that my stepmother used my dad's machine almost exclusively, however, probably for the bigger screen.

Sony R505 w/2000: This is a couple of years old, but probably the closest to the Mac in terms of form factor (at least indirectly). I've heard in the past of some reliability issues with the Sony, but this one's been kicking around for a while. Ultra thin, ultra light, but it also has a docking station with a DVD and an extra battery.

Noname w/ Linux: Cousin Ed was sporting a little laptop with no apparent name ( is suspect he built it himself) running SUSE Linux. I'm thinking of converting the Toshiba to linux now, at least after we replace it. Ed said that he had some trouble with compatability with his wireless card with linux, but otherwise the install went smoothly.

Mac G4: Nice machine. Only the Sony and the Dells came anywhere close to being as cool. Beautiful screen. The Dells almost matched it, but not quite.

Unfortunately, the baltcompound does not (yet) have highspeed access, and so no need for a wireless network, so I can't tell you anything about how well the various notebooks worked there (although all of them, including my POS Toshiba, have wireless, although the Toshiba and the Gateways have PC cards.)

[Alex_de_Large]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Can anyone recommend a PC laptop that best emulates the form factor of a PowerBook G4? I use a G4 as my primary home computer, and I love its style etc., but have two apps that are PC-only that I need to run from home. The only real must-have is integrated wi-fi (802.11g preferred). I would prefer that it be incredibly light as opposed to feature-laden. I can even live with a 12" screen. I don't need a powerhouse of a computer in terms of processor or memory; just something to be a second computer so I can surf for porn while my wife plays solitare on the G4.

We use Dells at work, but I'm not a loyalist. Obviously.

ETA: On second thought, maybe I should reconsider.

I have a work-issued Dell D400. It's small and very light, and, with a 12" screen, is quite comparable to the 12" powerbook. one drawback is that it is so thin that it does not have an on-board optical drive.

We just ordered a new 15" powerbook, and I'll do a side-by-side with that state of the art from both Dell and Apple as soon as we get it.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by baltassoc
Noname w/ Linux: Cousin Ed was sporting a little laptop with no apparent name ( is suspect he built it himself) running SUSE Linux. I'm thinking of converting the Toshiba to linux now, at least after we replace it. Ed said that he had some trouble with compatability with his wireless card with linux, but otherwise the install went smoothly.

Wow. The only thing any of my cousins ever built was a bad credit history.

[Alex_de_Large]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Wow. The only thing any of my cousins ever built was a bad credit history.

I was impressed by the geeked-out family gathering. Very cool.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
What about virtual PC? Sure, it's an MS product now, but from what I've heard, it works pretty well. A lot cheaper than a new notebook, and you aren't stuck with windows except when you have to be.

It's a thought, but I was concerned about compatability (one of the PC apps is a little wonky) and about the emulator's ability to use the AirPort. If someone who uses Virtual PC can tell me that the emulator just piggybacks on the Mac's access, then this might be the solution.

(If I can convince the spouse to give up Solitare. Maybe I'll just get her a Pocket PC.)

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
It's a thought, but I was concerned about compatability (one of the PC apps is a little wonky) and about the emulator's ability to use the AirPort. If someone who uses Virtual PC can tell me that the emulator just piggybacks on the Mac's access, then this might be the solution.

(If I can convince the spouse to give up Solitare. Maybe I'll just get her a Pocket PC.)

It should rely on the Mac's connection.

see here
But I have no actual experience myself. Besides, if I did, why would you trust me?

(A colleague at work used VPC for a Cisco VPN connection with no problems, until we jointly cajoled the IT dorks to get us the Mac version of the software, which works even better.)

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
{answer}

Thanks for that. I loved this part:

• However, when the connection is made by using Virtual Switch networking, the Windows machine, rather than your Mac, is connected directly to the Internet. Thus, it is vulnerable to attacks by Windows-based viruses.

At least they're honest about it.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Alex_de_Large
I was impressed by the geeked-out family gathering. Very cool.

We actually have heated arguments about who is hogging the phone line for internet access.

The family members who own the place are talking about getting DSL and a wireless router, and I for one can't wait.

As for cousin Ed, you know all those pages in the back of the PC magazines filled with lines and lines of serial numbers and abbreviations and mysteriously large prices, that make's you wonder "Who buys all this crap?"? My cousin Ed does. We hear he's building himself a robot. A lady robot.

It's the one thing in my life where I start to think this technology thing is actually pretty cool. Both my parents were only able to take limited vacations up until a couple of years ago; now they essentially telecommute and can take six weeks off in the summer. The rest of the laptops belong to people in my generation and we're just paranoid workaholics. And Ed.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by baltassoc
We hear he's building himself a robot. A lady robot.

An Adrienne Barbeau-bot?

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
An Adrienne Barbeau-bot?

I could pretend I get this, but I don't. Sorry.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Thanks for that. I loved this part:

• However, when the connection is made by using Virtual Switch networking, the Windows machine, rather than your Mac, is connected directly to the Internet. Thus, it is vulnerable to attacks by Windows-based viruses.

At least they're honest about it.

Nice. I suppose they could shorten it to the following, which would also describe your situation if you bought a pc notebook:

"when . . . the Windows machine, . . . is connected directly to the Internet. . . . it is vulnerable to attacks by Windows-based viruses."