laptop / netbook

[davidmolliesmum]

i am debating on wether to buy a laptop or netbook(preferably netbook) here or when we get to Florida? any thoughts??
also, how do you connect when in resort rooms (ASSprts) i know you can get access to wifi for something like $10 is this per day or for a total of 24 hours over the trip??
also.... .... can you connect using a (british) USB modem (dongle) without the need for wifi??

any help / advice / and recommendations greatly appreciated!!

 

[orangetiggs]

the internet in the room will be wired, there is normally a ehternet cable hanging near the safe and its $9.95 per 24 hours and its continuous

we always take ours with us but have never tried a dongle

 

[2Tiggies]

This thread has loads of info on it.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2427181

After the vocano story earlier this year I won't go without a laptop now. If you are buying something with the express intention of having it for going abroad with it, consider between a laptop and a netbook which you will get more use out of the rest of the year. I toyed with the idea of a netbook and decided against it for various reasons, not least of which were that I am very unlikely to be using a netbook at home for the remaining 11 1/2 months of the year.

 

[sehandiph]

we have just bought an i-pod touch and we will use it for our internet access via wifi when we next go to WDW.

For us and the amount of web browsing we will be using it for - a small screen will be fine - and much much less on the luggage.

Depends if you are using it for watching dvd's or just a quick email to keep in touch.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

If you are buying something with the express intention of having it for going abroad with it, consider between a laptop and a netbook which you will get more use out of the rest of the year. I toyed with the idea of a netbook and decided against it for various reasons, not least of which were that I am very unlikely to be using a netbook at home for the remaining 11 1/2 months of the year.

Actually not my experience. I've got a 17 and 15 inch laptop, one of myself and a work one. No way I would even consider considering dragging those big heavy things around for a trip. Way too much hassle. So after a lot of deciding, I finally caved and bought myself a netbook. Lo and behold; the netbook gets here and I find I it to death!

With the 15 and 17inch and 24/7 internet on my cell phone it still has a serious added benefit for me. The netbook is small and light enough to 'drag around', where as the bigger ones are rather workstations for me. The cellphone is nice for every now and then but not for hours internet, let alone doing any computer stuff. I do spend way too much of the day on bed and it is perfect for that. Light enough and small enough to use it in bed without needing all kinds of supports or whatever. Same goes for usage in the garden etc. I was really very "yeah, sure" when I'ld here others proclaiming there love for such a "weird too little for a laptop and too large compared to cellphone internet" thing, but am a convert now.


DMM; you'll want to look into prices and specifics before flying down. Homework is easier done at home, not having to spend priceless vacation time on it. Depending on what you want and find important it might be cheaper to buy a netbook at the US or not. I'm not totally into the loop about UK prices (did compare some, but not attractive enough for me), but I found the $-price of a certain netbook could be about the same as the € (and thus cheaper in the $ because of the exchange rate), where another type netbook would be cheaper in € than $ etc. It can really depend a lot on what you want and even the extra offers a store has got going on. I ended up buying a 'used' netbook from somebody that got one as a present but doesn't like netbook size. Less than a month old, used twice and in perfect condition, all the guarantee on it, for about 2/3rd of what I would pay for it when buying it at bottom price in €. In $ this type was a lot more expensive. I set myself a max. budget for the specs I was looking for and this way very much stayed below that where both € and $ market showed it to be a tight budget.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Oh internet, forgot!

Learned right here on the DIS that AT&T offers a 100MB for $19,99. I did a bit of comparing of how much I could get out of that 100MB and realised it was more than enough for our 3 week stay. As we were planning on using AT&T prepaid SIMcards anyway, this made it a very easy decision for me. No skyhigh Disney rates, no need to lug myself over to the free wifi spots (Luke posted a few he ran into around WDW), done.

I plan to use my cellphone for the bit of serving we'll be doing. Basically just checking mail (account spec. set up for holiday so only important messages), keeping an eye on our flights and perhaps if something big hits; check the news once or twice. Those can be done quite easily enough on my cell. And if not enough; I'll simply use my cellphone as a modem through the wireless connection with the notebook.


(notebook is mostly coming along to serve as a way to back up pictures, movies, have copies of papers on them, watching movies etc. )

 

[2Tiggies]

I did a bit of comparing of how much I could get out of that 100MB and realised it was more than enough for our 3 week stay.

You are more economical than me I easily use 100MB in a day

It all comes down to what you do with your laptop when you are there. I can see why there are numerous reasons for not wanting to take a large laptop with. I don't pack much in my hand luggage at all so this year it is a laptop backpack and aside from the laptop, there are only a few small items going in there. I am also a creature of habit and like to have the familiarity of all the things at my fingertips.

I totally agree with you though about lugging a big laptop around to a wifi hotspot - no way am I going to do that. Very individual decision. Of course I may well come back and say next time is a netbook or nothing.

 

[wayneg]

Actually not my experience. I've got a 17 and 15 inch laptop, one of myself and a work one. No way I would even consider considering dragging those big heavy things around for a trip. Way too much hassle. So after a lot of deciding, I finally caved and bought myself a netbook. Lo and behold; the netbook gets here and I find I it to death!

Just returned, we took 2 x 17" laptops & 1 x 10" Netbook.
1st time using a netbook, yes they are lighter but not easy to use for me, I am used to working on a 19" flat panal with full size keyboard. With my big fingers I was constantly rewriting words, took longer to upload pics and post on here, and not as easy to read(only by using larger text then messing with scroll)
I guess for the odd email or reading a few pages then they are OK but I use mine about 2-3 hours every evening, I managed but prefer a 17" laptop, just not taking 3 with us, 2 + 1 netbook is my limit.

 

[2Tiggies]

J
1st time using a netbook, yes they are lighter but not easy to use for me

I guess for the odd email or reading a few pages then they are OK but I use mine about 2-3 hours every evening

This was the deciding factor for me. I do a LOT of typing on a full sized keyboard and think the initial frustration would outweight any benefits. I thought of letting DD use the netbook afterwards, but TBH I think it would be to her advantage to learn to touch type - and you can't do that on a netbook and then revert to full size. Again, it depends what you are used to, how much you use it and what you will use it for.

 

[luke]

I'm an oddity in that I have trouble typing from netbooks but love typing from my 'iTouchscreen' devices

 

[DISWolves]

The winner for me with netbooks is battery life
I tend to clear and organise my many email accounts during the flight over.
I also have PDF copies of travel documents and manuals (cameras, video, netbook etc) for any electronic items that I take, just in case
This year I used my netbook beside the pool to update by trippie (and also hook up to a little free wifi )

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Just returned, we took 2 x 17" laptops & 1 x 10" Netbook.
1st time using a netbook, yes they are lighter but not easy to use for me, I am used to working on a 19" flat panal with full size keyboard. With my big fingers I was constantly rewriting words,

Just my experience, but I found a lot of differences between different netbooks on this subject. I've tried some and had a lot of problems adjusting to the keyboard. Tried the MSI of my brother, no problem. They use a larger space between each key, so less risk of accidently typing in the neighbouring letter. That was enough for me also to get an MSI. I change from the 17" to the netbook to the cellphone and vice versa every day, depending on where I'm using the I-net. Never a problem to adjust after perhaps a minute or 2.

took longer to upload pics and post on here,

Can also vary a lot per netbook and laptop. I've found specs can be a huge difference of, but also the operating system and progs etc. on the netbook (and laptop). I've got very little on my netbook itself, invested in a higher processing speed etc. There still is somewhat of a difference, but no way near enough for me to justify having to lug around a huge thing I can not navigate easily myself in daily life, let alone when travelling.

and not as easy to read(only by using larger text then messing with scroll)

For me it depends on settings etc. I set the netbook to a certain setting and read just as comfy on the netbook as the laptop since. Did take some playing around, but it also did with the laptop to get to my personal likings.

I guess for the odd email or reading a few pages then they are OK but I use mine about 2-3 hours every evening, I managed but prefer a 17" laptop, just not taking 3 with us, 2 + 1 netbook is my limit.

Each individual is different. If the laptop suits your needs better; good for you!

I regularly use my netbook for hours on end, including too much time spend on the DIS reading up on reports. Do textwork on it, mail, basically anything I also do on my laptop except downloading stuff like movies, managing my ebook library etc. Have no problem with it as said. I love my laptops for what they can also offer, but for me they are not an option when travelling. The cons outweigh the pros. Unlike the netbook.



2Tiggies; I plan to do the most I-netting with the cellphone. That'll safe over using the netbook or laptop allready. But way more important; I am on vacation. Internet is not a part of that when I'm at WDW. Normally never log online at all and do not miss it one bit. This is the first time getting I-net, which mostly is because of the fact we'll be spread out in 2 different countries (staying in touch through I-net is cheaper than calling, with one at home calling is cheaper).

We want a way to be contacted by our "housesitters" that would cost them nothing but also not put us up with unneeded costs (textmessages can easily do that, for both). This way they can contact us if something is up, that doesn't require immediate contact. Also it's a kinda insurance. My health is not that great at the moment, so it is nice to easily get in touch with my docs at home, make arrangements to head back earlier if need be through I-net etc. With daily mailing, perhaps some arranging things, very very perhaps checking out the news once, that 100MB will be more than enough. Also the cheapest option. Well, kinda. I know I'll be too lazy to drag myself to for instance EOS for some free wifi.

 

[Marks281172]

We have a ridiculous amount of ways of getting on the internet in our house including

2 Desktop PCs
2 Laptop PCs
1 netbook
1 iphone
1 android phone
1 ipod touch
1 xbox 360
1 nintendo wii
1 nintendo DS
1 Sony PSP



... and i have to say the one that gets the most use for quickly checking something online is the netbook.

I think you really have to get a proper netbook tho.. the sad thing is as they have become more popular, manufacturers had added stuff to them and bloated them out.

A proper netbook should have only 1 gig of ram, a decent sized SSD (20gb is fine) a 7inch ish screen and be running a Unix based operation system. These netbooks where theyve added 200gb hard drives, 3gb of ram and windows 7 are just defeating the idea of the netbook being a simple device to access the web/email quickly and cheaply and have a long battery life so be an ultra light portable device you can carry around easily.


Nerd rant over

 

[davidmolliesmum]

thank you everyone... very helpfull comments...
still swaying towards the netbook (more so now!)
.... off to have a "window shop"...... TBC.....

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

We have a ridiculous amount of ways of getting on the internet in our house including

2 Desktop PCs
2 Laptop PCs
1 netbook
1 iphone
1 android phone
1 ipod touch
1 xbox 360
1 nintendo wii
1 nintendo DS
1 Sony PSP



... and i have to say the one that gets the most use for quickly checking something online is the netbook.

I think you really have to get a proper netbook tho.. the sad thing is as they have become more popular, manufacturers had added stuff to them and bloated them out.

A proper netbook should have only 1 gig of ram, a decent sized SSD (20gb is fine) a 7inch ish screen and be running a Unix based operation system. These netbooks where theyve added 200gb hard drives, 3gb of ram and windows 7 are just defeating the idea of the netbook being a simple device to access the web/email quickly and cheaply and have a long battery life so be an ultra light portable device you can carry around easily.


Nerd rant over

Kinda like nerd rants now and again.

For me 7 inch is too small. Too little difference from my cell phone. So 10" it is. I agree anything above that is too big, too little difference with a 15" laptop.

Have got W7 at it for the moment so mom can use it during the trip if she wants to (very scared to learn something new, knows only windows, so let's make it easy on her), but have to say it isn't that bad. As long as the netbook version is on it. Also like Ubuntu running on it.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

thank you everyone... very helpfull comments...
still swaying towards the netbook (more so now!)
.... off to have a "window shop"...... TBC.....

Does anybody in your family, friends, neighbours, whomever got a netbook? The more the better; ask if you can try it. If even just for half an hour at their home, it'll soon give you an idea of what might work for you or irritates you like nothing else. If you get the option; do the same at some shops. Even if you end up buying somewhere else, trying before buying.

For instance the keyboard thing Wayne mentioned can be such a huge for a fair amount of people. Me incl. allthough I do great with an MSI with extra space between each key. Would be a shame if you bought a netbook and find that one doesn't work for you.

 

[originalkk]

As someone travelling with, or sat in front of, a 15 inch laptop all day for work, for me the sweet spot is an 11.6 inch laptop with a CULV processor (Core I3 is nice but seems to hit battery life).

At that you get a proper laptop able to run almost all programs (not 3d games though unless you spend £££s on an Alienware M11x), a full size keyboard, compact size and low weight, and good battery life. Just a shame there aren't many to choose from.

Just waiting to see if the rumours about an 11 inch Macbook Air are true...

 

[davidmolliesmum]

...ok have now decided to wait till we're out there and have a look while we're out & about... 4days to go!!!!!!!!!!

 

[crabbie1]

Right I am a techno idiot Have an iphone 3g (just had) can I use this in the US and if so how do I access free wifi? I will only need this to access bank account over there and send an email or 2.Thing is dont know if i can access bank account on it yet could never do it on blackberry.Wasnt going to take it as dont think there are any internet cafes in the resorts im staying(RPR,SSR AND AKLV) although stayin club at RPR.
I am def not using for phone calls due to high call rates so bought a PAYG sim for old blackberry to text and will get a $10 phone card from walmart to call home.
I had a disgo net book and the dam thing was useless.Couldnt access anything on it. Can anyone tell me a decent netbook to get thats not too expensive as would consider buying one for travel purposes and for DD to use at home to play her internet games on. Got a good laptop and dont want to take abraod as dont want it damaged/lost etc for the lttle I will need to use it.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Right I am a techno idiot Have an iphone 3g (just had) can I use this in the US and if so how do I access free wifi?

The phone will need a sim in it. If you keep your UK one in, be aware of the risk of receiving textmessages, calls etc. while having it turned on (texts will be safed and delivered asap you turn the phone back on). Not into the loop when it comes to UK providers, but it will be considerably more expensive, you pay for each received call and text abroad.

You can also use a US simcard, providing your phone isn't simlocked. (or you get somebody to crack that lock, BAD BAD GLLS) No risk of somebody driving up your costs if you don't want to and can be called at local charges for those also with you in Florida. You can get them cheap through all kinds of ways for instance ebay. Got us 2 for $10,- including shipping to the Netherlands.

Free wifi; turn on your wifi on the phone. If there is a free coverage, it'll ask you if you want to use it; YES! Be carefull to be sure you turn the contant internet OFF. You do not want to run into huge bills because your phone kept roaming. So; manually turn the wifi on and off when using wifi and KEEP the roaming and internet connection turned off. I don't do iPhone, so again no help as to their settings. However a manual should help you out.

I will only need this to access bank account over there and send an email or 2.Thing is dont know if i can access bank account on it yet could never do it on blackberry.Wasnt going to take it as dont think there are any internet cafes in the resorts im staying(RPR,SSR AND AKLV) although stayin club at RPR.

No free i-net at the resorts unless you're DVC-member staying at a DVCresort on points. Luke did recently mention he got free wifi coverage at EOS, though. That's not a bad track from OKW. Regarding the bank; give them a call. If there are apps, the callcenter should be aware of them. Blackberry and iPhone sometimes have to use different apps than the 'regular' ones, or at least for us when it comes to online banking.

Besides apps, we've also got the option of doing online banking as we do it through our home computer. Simply log onto the website of the bank through the phone and use all like we're used to over the regular internet. Again; not upto date what options your UK bank will offer you, but it's very very easy to check if you can use the regular bank online on your phone by typing in the URL and trying.

I am def not using for phone calls due to high call rates so bought a PAYG sim for old blackberry to text and will get a $10 phone card from walmart to call home.

Ah, should're read further. You're going for the SIM. Remember to keep your roaming and internet turned off, or you might just find your refill gone, used up by internet you haven't used but the phone still was connected to. You might want to look into different rates if you haven't already. We found it's cheaper for us to have an actual pay-as-you-go phoneplan, allowing us to make unlimited calls to eachother for a lot cheaper than sending eachothers not even a handfull of texts a day. We mostly use the SIM's for calling eachother at Florida and being reachable for those at home, yet unfindable for those 'just calling for fun'-calls on our regular cells.

Couldnt access anything on it.

I'm a know-nothing on these things but first thing I would ask myself is; WHY can't I access anything with it? Most of the times it's something simple that can be fixed and if not; at least I'll know what to be on the look out for next time and not go for the same problem twice.