OT: what is a good Mini laptop with Linux

[Brian K. White]

Fairlight wrote:
> With neither thought nor caution, Tyler blurted:
>   
>> It's only $299 +tax +shipping - a great deal!  The only change I would make
>> to the basic config would be to bump up the celeron processor a level for an
>> intel dual core ($35).  
>>     
>
> That all depends on whether battery life matters to you.  
>
> Jumping from a Celeron to a Core 2 Duo should be a pretty significant
> jump in power consumption.  If we were talking desktops/servers or even
> full laptops, I'd agree.  I'm assuming the "mini" implies that the
> ultra-portability (and implied lack of A/C power) is a factor.  That would
> be enough to make me -not- upgrade to a Core 2 Duo for that particular use.
>
> That's like upgrading from earbud earphones to 40w speakers w/subwoofer on
> your iPod--it's probably gonna kill the expected battery life.  :)
>
> mark->
>   


Eh not necessarily. My Vaio TZ has a core 2 duo at 1.2 ghz and runs 
about 4 hours on the standard battery. 5 if you set the power settings 
as aggressive as possible, but that cuts into overall convenience. And 8 
on the extended (which is odd since the extended is only 50% larger not 
double. (small/standard/extended batts are  3/6/9 cells)

Battery life and power consumption was a major concern for me. Having to 
always carry the power pack is not portable. And when you do carry it, 
the larger and heavier it is, the less portable. The power pack is only 
slightly larger/heavier than the one for the eeepc.

Tangenting off to the eeepc, the power pack for the eeepc is TINY. 
something like 1.5 to 2 x 1 to 1.25  x .75 inch, and the cord for it is 
very thin, 1/8inch so it packs up small and light. So, carrying it is 
really not much of a hardship. Having the option of AC power all the 
time becomes it's own portability enhancement really. It depends if you 
take the time to figure out a good carry case and a good way to pack it 
so that you can have the things always handy without having a large 
heavy package to carry. I stuff the power pack right in to the neoprene 
sleeve that is only supposed to hold the bare eeepc itself. One side of 
the eeepc is thick with the battery, and the other side tapers down to 
thinner. I put the power pack on that side and it makes a lump, which 
just becomes a handy handle to grab.

As for the Vaio TZ. lately, since the extended battery lasts so long, I 
just leave the bag in the car and carry the TZ bare. The extended 
battery, by sticking out a little from the bottom, actually forms a 
secure handle making carrying easier and less likely to drop it. And it 
elevates the rear when sitting on a table improving the airflow to cool 
the cpu. The batt increases the weight of the tz a little, but not 
carrying anything but the bare notebook reduces the weight and increases 
the convenience quite a bit more so it's a win all around.
I keep a power pack in the laptop bag and one at home near the couch 
always plugged in and one at the office always plugged in.
So, at home & work it's getting charged conveniently, the cords are 
already there without me packing & unpacking.
The rest of the time, a charger is available in the car but I never even 
need to grab it.
As for the bag itself, it's not exactly a burden carrying the full bag 
even because this device is just the perfect amount smaller than a 
macbook 13, that I use a bag meant for a macbook 13 and the TZ, an extra 
battery, and an AC power pack all fit in the main cavity and fill it up 
just right so things don't flop around at all. The entire kit is still 
small & thin.

Back to the core 2 duo vs celeron, the eeepc and several other netbooks 
all have atom cpu's and I have a Vaio P which has a  slightly better 
hyperthreaded atom, and the performance difference is pretty big. Even 
though I paid $900 (not counting accessories) for the P and it's hands 
down the smallest thing anytwhere thats still remotely useful (smaller 
pc's exist, with screens you can't see and keyboards that are no better 
than qwerty phones) I actually never use it. Basically a waste. I use 
the TZ all day every day as my main pc, not merely my "when I need super 
portability" pc.

I aplogoize for having so much to say about this, but it's only the 
result of a lot of thought, experiment, and plain buying and discarding 
stuff until I found good schemes.

-- 
bkw