I am going to look for a cheap laptop on ebay to do my programming with and be portable. What are the minimum requirements for such a laptop, so I can get as cheap a unit as possible.
Thanks
Cheap laptop for Programming
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Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
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USB, serial, and parallel are all nice to have built in, parallel is tricky to find though. An infrared port accessible to easily read from and interface with is nice. 512 or higher RAM, 20gb or higher hard drive. NOT Vista, XP will do nicely. Screen size of around 15".
If you can't find those features, here are some cheap upgrade options:
http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-to-RS232-Serial ... dZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-to-RS-232-DB-9- ... dZViewItem
When searching for features like parallel, serial, infrared, most sellers don't put that in the title, so it may be easier to "Search in title and description".
Just my two cents.
If you can't find those features, here are some cheap upgrade options:
http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-to-RS232-Serial ... dZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-to-RS-232-DB-9- ... dZViewItem
When searching for features like parallel, serial, infrared, most sellers don't put that in the title, so it may be easier to "Search in title and description".
Just my two cents.
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asus eee pc. $399.
under 2 lbs. fits in a large pocket. carried it to the laundromat the other day tucked into the wasteband of my pants.
512 mb. 4gb solid state "harddrive." 7 inch, 800x600, display. 3 usb 2.0, rgb out, 802.11g, 10/100 ethernet, sdhc, webcam, xandros linux.
i installed avr-gcc from a debian etch repository. unzipped arduino. diddled the arduino preferences file to make things fit. installed gcc and other devlopment tools from debian etch repository so i could build avr-dude 5.5 for my tinyusb.
with my project in a cigarbox my whole lab fits in a map case i got at the surplus store with room left over for a can of coke and the latest issue of make.
under 2 lbs. fits in a large pocket. carried it to the laundromat the other day tucked into the wasteband of my pants.
512 mb. 4gb solid state "harddrive." 7 inch, 800x600, display. 3 usb 2.0, rgb out, 802.11g, 10/100 ethernet, sdhc, webcam, xandros linux.
i installed avr-gcc from a debian etch repository. unzipped arduino. diddled the arduino preferences file to make things fit. installed gcc and other devlopment tools from debian etch repository so i could build avr-dude 5.5 for my tinyusb.
with my project in a cigarbox my whole lab fits in a map case i got at the surplus store with room left over for a can of coke and the latest issue of make.
Last edited by mtbf0 on Sun Feb 17, 2008 8:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
- opossum
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used Thinkpad
If you get an older used Thinkpad (like my T30) you get serial and parallel ports - handy for programming.
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I bought a refurb Dell C610 on eBay a couple of years ago for about $200, just because it had a serial port. (At that time, I was using serial for my PIC work, and was tired of arguing with USB-serial converters.)
It came with XP and Office 2003 installed. Only a 10 GB HDD, though.
It's still cranking right along. Best $200 I ever spent. I use it for PIC, Picaxe, and Arduino programming, as well as darned near everything else I do on the 'hobby' side of the house.
Tom
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http://www.mindspring.com/~tom2000/Proj ... emote.html
It came with XP and Office 2003 installed. Only a 10 GB HDD, though.
It's still cranking right along. Best $200 I ever spent. I use it for PIC, Picaxe, and Arduino programming, as well as darned near everything else I do on the 'hobby' side of the house.
Tom
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http://www.mindspring.com/~tom2000/Proj ... emote.html
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.