Fushigi said:
This sounds like an incredibly good idea to me. I'm actually looking at a PocketPC with CF 802.11 support and RDP.
That way I can admin servers from the coffee shop.
Thread revisited: Laptop recommendations
- Thread starter EdwardK
- Start date
This sounds like an incredibly good idea to me. I'm actually looking at a PocketPC with CF 802.11 support and RDP.
That way I can admin servers from the coffee shop.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
RDP is a royal pain in the ass on a wince handheld. 
EdwardK
0
What exactly do you need to view while mobile? Since you mention removable media, would a PDA (with SD card, for instance) suffice?[/quote]
Unfortunately, it is more complicated than that. The hospitals and labs I will visit do not have standardised computers (Apple Macs and IBM/PCs with a few Unix boxes) and OS (our hospital network admins just retired the last x486 with NT 3.11 last week!). A case example is a lab I visited 2 weeks ago:
They want me to view/trouble-shoot a file/problem stored on a CD. The software to operate this file is loaded on a Win2K PC 2 floors up connected to a diagnostic equipment. We "climbed" 2 floors up (no elevators in this lab :evil: )and found that the machine is in the middle of a diagnostic test and won't end until 2 hours later. I had my colleague's laptop with me but he did not have that specialised software installed (he does not require it). So we installed the software from floppies. View the problem (which I could not solve immediately). Did a lot of screen captures. Then uninstall the software (due to licensing issues - specialised medical/scientific software cost in excess of AUS$15,000 per copy). So I have to take the CD back to my desk to try and solve the problem. My colleague was not impressed because I probably had left behind registries that might corrupt his laptop
BTW: they can not email the file because it is more than 10Mb in size. FTP and web download is not possible because the government has set up very strict IT policies for patients records security (such as hardware firewalls and very limited port numbers opened)
I have put off owning a laptop for a long time (don't really need it at that time) but now I find a laptop will save me time and effort. Time for me to go and "test-drive" some laptops today
Thanks again for all your help and advise.
Cheers,
Edward
Unfortunately, it is more complicated than that. The hospitals and labs I will visit do not have standardised computers (Apple Macs and IBM/PCs with a few Unix boxes) and OS (our hospital network admins just retired the last x486 with NT 3.11 last week!). A case example is a lab I visited 2 weeks ago:
They want me to view/trouble-shoot a file/problem stored on a CD. The software to operate this file is loaded on a Win2K PC 2 floors up connected to a diagnostic equipment. We "climbed" 2 floors up (no elevators in this lab :evil: )and found that the machine is in the middle of a diagnostic test and won't end until 2 hours later. I had my colleague's laptop with me but he did not have that specialised software installed (he does not require it). So we installed the software from floppies. View the problem (which I could not solve immediately). Did a lot of screen captures. Then uninstall the software (due to licensing issues - specialised medical/scientific software cost in excess of AUS$15,000 per copy). So I have to take the CD back to my desk to try and solve the problem. My colleague was not impressed because I probably had left behind registries that might corrupt his laptop
BTW: they can not email the file because it is more than 10Mb in size. FTP and web download is not possible because the government has set up very strict IT policies for patients records security (such as hardware firewalls and very limited port numbers opened)I have put off owning a laptop for a long time (don't really need it at that time) but now I find a laptop will save me time and effort. Time for me to go and "test-drive" some laptops today
Thanks again for all your help and advise.
Cheers,
Edward
EdwardK
0
After "test-driving" several laptop brands (Toshiba, Fujitsu, IBM, Sony, Acer), I finally broke down and bought an IBM ThinkPad T41. I was deciding between the R51 and the T41 and in the end, chose the T41 because it is less heavy.
Doing a side by side comparision with my T41 and my colleague's Pentium 4 mobile laptop, my Pentium M T41 definitely has much longer battery life
Merc, a question for you because you have a T40:
Do you activate the "Active Protection System" on your T40? The reason I ask is that I activate it on my T41 and I find it to be very sensitive. For example, even the slightest jolt like carrying the laptop from one desk to another triggers the Active Protection System.
Thank you again to everyone for your advise and help.
Cheers,
Edward
Doing a side by side comparision with my T41 and my colleague's Pentium 4 mobile laptop, my Pentium M T41 definitely has much longer battery life
Merc, a question for you because you have a T40:
Do you activate the "Active Protection System" on your T40? The reason I ask is that I activate it on my T41 and I find it to be very sensitive. For example, even the slightest jolt like carrying the laptop from one desk to another triggers the Active Protection System.
Thank you again to everyone for your advise and help.
Cheers,
Edward
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I didn't like it either. I think I turned it off about 15 minutes after I got the laptop. I more or less use it on my lap in my living room, or on a desk while at a client site. I don't carry it around much while it's on, so I just decided the drive protection thing was a gimmick that I didn't need.