My wife wants an in-car/portable DVD player to keep the kids amused. I started thinking that perhaps a notebook could do double duty. Has anybody investigated this? What I would need is a light laptop that could fold the screen flat (180 degrees) and had good battery life 3 hrs +. Ideally, i'd like a sling to go over the seat so the laptop screen could be falt against the back of the seat. But if it was hideously expensive, then that would not be viable either as I could buy a cheaper laptop and a portable DVD player. Is it possible? Any suggestions?
Notebook question
- Thread starter LiamC
- Start date
timwhit
0
One thing to keep in mind is that you can get an adapter to plug into your cigarette lighter to power the laptop, so battery life becomes somewhat inconsequential.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Cheapy Toshiba/Compaq/HP notebooks can be found for $400 if you manage to hit Walmart or Best Buy on Sunday morning just as they open. They don't get very good battery life and they're very heavy (7lbs or so, basically triple what the portables weigh), which in my mind means they barely qualify as portable... but they have bigger screens than those little DVD players and better speakers as well. For that matter, they probably have better DVD drive mechanisms (and, I might add, you can replace the drive if it goes bad) as well.
From observation of people I know who have had portable DVD players I can say that they're horrifically unreliable and most have lifespans of somewhere around one year and possibly less.
Truly light laptops - sub-five-pounds - are much more expensive, and notebooks in roughly the same weight class as the portable DVD players probably don't have DVD drives.
I will say, however, that the current Thinkpad X60 is godly for $1500. I've heard four hours real battery life while running the DVD and 802.11. They weigh under 4lbs., have a 12.1" screen and a dual core CPU.
From observation of people I know who have had portable DVD players I can say that they're horrifically unreliable and most have lifespans of somewhere around one year and possibly less.
Truly light laptops - sub-five-pounds - are much more expensive, and notebooks in roughly the same weight class as the portable DVD players probably don't have DVD drives.
I will say, however, that the current Thinkpad X60 is godly for $1500. I've heard four hours real battery life while running the DVD and 802.11. They weigh under 4lbs., have a 12.1" screen and a dual core CPU.
Pradeep
0
Perhaps something like this?
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Pola...23498/catOid/-13364/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
Folds flat against itself, after rotating the screen. And it comes with a car bag (to hang off the back of the front seats I presume).
Liam ain't going to find any Wallyworlds or BustBuys in Canberra. Or CicuitCity for that matter
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Pola...23498/catOid/-13364/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
Folds flat against itself, after rotating the screen. And it comes with a car bag (to hang off the back of the front seats I presume).
Liam ain't going to find any Wallyworlds or BustBuys in Canberra. Or CicuitCity for that matter
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I seem to have gotten Liam confused with Will Rickards. 
We have too damned many people named Bill around here. I'm going to start calling everyone else "Bruce" instead.
We have too damned many people named Bill around here. I'm going to start calling everyone else "Bruce" instead.
Pradeep
0
Something more local:
http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1218&ovmkt=LD62GM76KA4CUVE8TGLCKURUD4
AUS$179. No batteries, has to be plugged into the car power.
http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1218&ovmkt=LD62GM76KA4CUVE8TGLCKURUD4
AUS$179. No batteries, has to be plugged into the car power.
<offtopic>
Yes it is a problem for me as well.
Let me explain. My full name is William Stanley Rickards III, my son is the IV. We just call him Liam. My dad is Bill and my grandfather is called Stan. That is just in my immediate family. And anybody who knows me from before college calls me Bill or Billy, so my wife calls me Bill.
At work, there is currently one Bill in the office where I work.
At home, my son Liam's best friend from 3 doors up is named Billy and his father is Bill as well. There are 3 other neighbors on the block named Bill that we have contact with. So one of the female neighbors who is close friends with my wife has resorted to calling me billbob. I'm still not sure why.
Bill or William is one of the most used baby names.
</offtopic>
Mercutio said:I seem to have gotten Liam confused with Will Rickards.
We have too damned many people named Bill around here. I'm going to start calling everyone else "Bruce" instead.
Yes it is a problem for me as well.
Let me explain. My full name is William Stanley Rickards III, my son is the IV. We just call him Liam. My dad is Bill and my grandfather is called Stan. That is just in my immediate family. And anybody who knows me from before college calls me Bill or Billy, so my wife calls me Bill.
At work, there is currently one Bill in the office where I work.
At home, my son Liam's best friend from 3 doors up is named Billy and his father is Bill as well. There are 3 other neighbors on the block named Bill that we have contact with. So one of the female neighbors who is close friends with my wife has resorted to calling me billbob. I'm still not sure why.
Bill or William is one of the most used baby names.
</offtopic>
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
<threadjack>
Sam is THE name in my family. I have four male cousins named Sam, two female cousins named Samantha, two uncles Sam, a nephew Sam and any number of more distant relations. We refer to each other by number. Sam isn't a particularly common name, but I almost can't escape it. There was even another Sam here in my office... and the place I work for only has six employees.
</threadjack>
Sam is THE name in my family. I have four male cousins named Sam, two female cousins named Samantha, two uncles Sam, a nephew Sam and any number of more distant relations. We refer to each other by number. Sam isn't a particularly common name, but I almost can't escape it. There was even another Sam here in my office... and the place I work for only has six employees.
</threadjack>
mubs
0
What is the matter with you people? Lack a fertile imagination? Maybe a book of baby names should be mandatory at all weddings and baby showers.
I am especially confused by the Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV etc. business.
I am especially confused by the Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV etc. business.
timwhit
0
There are not too many Tims around.
I plan on naming my first born something kickass, like: Panthro.
I plan on naming my first born something kickass, like: Panthro.
Buck
0
timwhit said:
. . . or Buckley.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
mubs said:
Well if I wasn't the 3rd I'd would probably not have named my son after me. But I guess once it gets past the Jr stage you feel a compulsion to keep the trend going. Plus it is probably an ego thing. What better name for your child than your own? Plus a lazy thing.
But it is really annoying for mail and credit and stuff. Two people with the same name in the same house. When you move the mailmain can't figure out which mail to forward.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
You newborn is already receiving mail? Wow, he is really in advance for his age. Or maybe the UK goverment starts taxing its citizens earlier than our does.
timwhit
0
I think Will lives in the good 'ol US of A. Not in the UK.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
ah shit, I always think he is from Uk.
freeborn
0
I hear you. My name is Robert. I go by Bob. My father was Robert Bennet, I'm Robert Dean. My father went by Ben. Growing up I was given all junk mail addressed to Bob and always handed the phone to talk to the nice solicitors asking for Bob. I'm happy to report they usually hung up first.
At work I have 4 Bobs within about a 10 cube radius of me and many many more within the building. A particular manager out here loves to see 2 or 3 of us conversing. He'll great with a loud happy, "Bob!" as he walks by and laugh uproariously when we all turn.
At work I have 4 Bobs within about a 10 cube radius of me and many many more within the building. A particular manager out here loves to see 2 or 3 of us conversing. He'll great with a loud happy, "Bob!" as he walks by and laugh uproariously when we all turn.
I hear you as well. I William Stephen Campbell, same as my father, who was named after his fathers brother, also a William Stephen Campbell. Couldn't vote for ten years because the Electoral office thought it was dodgy—my and my fathers birthday are separated by 3 days, lived at the same address, exact same name...
Called my son Gabriel.
And William
Called my son Gabriel.
And William
mubs
0
What's the highest rev-level known? Offhand there's Loius the XVI and Pope sumtin the 23rd, methinks.
sechs
0
Since we're no longer on topic, why don't women name their daughters after themselves?
Bozo
0
Women do. My wife's grandmother and her daughter (my wife's aunt) have the same name.
Bozo :mrgrn:
Bozo :mrgrn:
Sol
0
Bucking the trend and going on topic for a minute another option would be something like this.
Admitedly you'd have to buy a screen and some speakers (Headphones?) to go with it but the advantage of being able to just rip some DVDs to a hard drive would seem worth having. Reduced possibility of skiping and majorly reduced possibility of wrecking a whole lot of DVDs.
I can imagine the naming confusion although didn't experience it too badly myself... My name is Sean, my father is John and I still ended up getting the first half of a lot of his phone conversations before being able to explain that yes I did sound a lot like my father but no my name was S-E-A-N.
We had more of a problem with mail and initials really. It's kind of an unspoken tradition in my family that instead of your initials being the first letter of each of three names you just use your first name and the first two of our surname (O'Loughlin) Hence Sean Timothy O'Loughlin becomes SOL instead of STO. Of course this is a bit of an issue when my parents names both start with J because JOL or J O'Loughlin was a little ambiguous. It was pretty handy if I ever needed a signature for school and had forgotten to get a parent to sign, just stick a JOL on it in some scragly writting and I was bound to be close enough to one or the other...
Admitedly you'd have to buy a screen and some speakers (Headphones?) to go with it but the advantage of being able to just rip some DVDs to a hard drive would seem worth having. Reduced possibility of skiping and majorly reduced possibility of wrecking a whole lot of DVDs.
I can imagine the naming confusion although didn't experience it too badly myself... My name is Sean, my father is John and I still ended up getting the first half of a lot of his phone conversations before being able to explain that yes I did sound a lot like my father but no my name was S-E-A-N.
We had more of a problem with mail and initials really. It's kind of an unspoken tradition in my family that instead of your initials being the first letter of each of three names you just use your first name and the first two of our surname (O'Loughlin) Hence Sean Timothy O'Loughlin becomes SOL instead of STO. Of course this is a bit of an issue when my parents names both start with J because JOL or J O'Loughlin was a little ambiguous. It was pretty handy if I ever needed a signature for school and had forgotten to get a parent to sign, just stick a JOL on it in some scragly writting and I was bound to be close enough to one or the other...
sechs said:
I've most often seen this as a middle name thing rather than first name.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Most of the portable DVD players I've seen use a laptop-type DVD mechanism; they're basically the same thing on that count. On the other hand, the laptop will be heavier and therefore harder to move.