GeoCachingEdmonton.com

[Lost Leopards]

Again after our GW8 trip we found that our 15.4 inch Laptop was a rather large addition to our "toy package" that we packed with us. but it was super useful it would have sucked to log 131 caches when we got home!!

Soooooo we are looking into a much smaller edition. Possibly a NETbook a nice little 10 incher!! We know that there are others out there that use these and we would like to know if a netbook has the power to run a couple programs at a time, and do they have decent graphics, easy to read and whatnot?? we are not by any means looking for a gaming computer just something basic to handle our caching needs!

any nudges on which way you guys have found works well would be awesome!! thanks!

[Torran and Tatterhood]

I'd like to see the answers to this too, as we also are looking at getting a netbook for caching
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[Bush Creatures]

I love my little Eee net book. Writing this from a hotel room right now. Specifically got it for the road. No problems with GSAK and connectivity to the GPSr's. Also really like having the ability to download my camera photos while on the road. As this is a dedicated road machine, decided not to spend a buck more on software than I had to so running OpenOffice (free) instead of MSOffice and Picasa which is also free for photos. BTW, good old Clyde made your GSAK purchase good for all the machines you own.


No issues on readability or key board and even has little camera to Skype the family back home. I pack a mouse as I am not big on touch pads but the touch pad is way more friendly than some lap tops I've used.


Happily fits into my carry on luggage and was a constant friend on my caching trip to Phoenix. BTW, BC travel tip number 4 - if you pack your net book as carry on, pack its cables and charger to. On day 1 in the Zona, had my net book and GPSr's in the carry on but had the charger and cables in my checked bag which the airline took on a trip to Vegas for 24 hours. Was getting dicey on the power but happily I had spent the extra $50 for the Eee with super battery so survived before I got my bag.


Love the net book.

[Lost Leopards]

thanks for the input BC! much appreciated!

We hate when the airlines mess with your baggage!!

[Lost Leopards]

So we went out and picked up a nice new netbook, I spent the HOURS (well felt like it) installing the basic programs and what not then deleting the crap stuff that gets packaged with computers, and got down to business.

These little things are great! we picked up a Acer aspire one series. graphics can handle the google earth, speed is good, and the keyboard is workable not so small that you press the wrong buttons all the time!

So very glad we got a netbook the small size makes up for the very minor issues that we find. it also has a built in memory card reader that does the sony memory cards! (good for the psp when on those long car rides so the kidlette can watch movies or play games!)

So for us at least, a netbook is much better! they are cheaper, smaller, and still perform well.

[Bush Creatures]

Funny or mainly sad that I too spent hours deleting the software sample junk that came with mine.


BTW. Just a suggestion. Mine lives on a shelf for months sometimes until I am ready for the road like next week. I have learned that the day before I head out to connect mine at home where I am guaranteed a good connection so it happily deals with all the various automatic software updates rather than having it try to download them on some slow stolen or iffy cheap motel wi-fi connection.

[Lost Leopards]

GOOD POINT BC!!

I learned that the hard way when i used to long haul! when ever I hit a real good connection i would make sure that all updates of software were done then! such a pain in the rear when all your computer wants to do is restart or worse not work right until it gets restarted!!

[geigei-o]

Gotta go with the iPad. Very, very handy. I bought a 32 gb model with 3G and it rocks. Such a small footprint, and very light. Only downside is that the maps don't work so well on geocaching.com.

Log as you go! Woot!

[Lost Leopards]

Big downside to the I pad is no USB. so no uploading caches to the nuvi on the road! we often forget to upload to the nuvi and nothing beats the nuvi on the road, much less distracting glancing at the nuvi than trying to read a computer!!

[Bush Creatures]

Good point on the USB port. My wayyy tech kids who seem to know everything except how to find a cache while I wait in the car (sort of like I have never been able to teach our dogs to sniff plastic in the woods), really like the Microsoft equivs but what do I know? OMG, the Gates generation.


Ran a PQ and updated my Nuvi and wonderful 60CSx and even the stupid Dakota 20 by sitting in a Second Cup in Red Deer the other day. 10 minutes.


OK, I am definitely not Mr. Tech but all these new electronic critters have proper applications and not on the trails. There is a whole new infection of cache pollution of folks setting bad cache coords using their iPhones and BBerries. I can talk to mom and google "lost" while listening to the Dead on my iPhone but give me a calmpewter any day. My little net book has coffee parties with my GPSr's and it was half the price of the i thing.


Sent From My Boring Commodore 64 Keyboard

[Lost Leopards]

AHHHH Comodore 64!!! I used to play video games on my grandmothers back in the day!!!! best games I have ever played!! Thanks for bringing up random memories BC!!

[brslk]

I got you all beat! I am posting this from my Vic 20!
If this one fails I will use my TRS80

[Lost Leopards]

wow had to google both of those! LOL computers have come a LONG LONG way!

[Bush Creatures]

Well, I found my first caches walking barefoot to and from school, uphill both ways and using a compass!


Well, actually, my first cache was found with a Garmin III+. If you wonder why I don't freak out about coords being 10-20 m off on a cache, it only went to two decimal places and so did the GPSr of the guy who hid the cache.


Ahh the good old days, before spruce trees were invented.