Laptops
 

How many guys are carrying laptops on the road with them these days?

I do... I had a nice 12.1" 3.5 pound laptop that was awesome, but i spilled soup in it.... Was without one for a while, but it got to boring on the long overnights without one....

Definately. Apple.

I carry one. It's a Sony VAIO I bought from wal-mart. Picked it up for about $997 I think. Came with DVD dual layer re-writable, 512mb memory, 60gb HD, 15.4" crystal clear bright screen. Integrated wireless. I went to newegg.com and upgraded it to 2gb of memory for about $150.

Works great and has taken one hella beating. The outside is scared all over the place but she runs great. Go to wal-mart and get you one if you need one just get a name brand and you can't go wrong.

I'll have one with me next month while I work on renewing my Flight Instructor ticket, but I generally find it's not worth the hassle.

oh i have one... was just wondering what percentage of guys carry one while on the road.

I have a Toshiba Satellite A75 (15.4") notebook. It is pretty big, but I bring it with me while on the road, especially on a 4 day:D

I have the exact same laptop. I find it too big to take with me.

Yeah, it barely fits in my bag. I'll probably get a smaller notebook around Christmas. Apple this time!

I'll be getting the smallest, lightest one I can find next time.

Also a hawking long-range PCI wireless adapter comes in handy when your hotel doesn't have wireless...but the one down the block does. ;)

Fujitsu Lifebook P1610.

Touch sensitive tablet with full keyboard, 2.2 lbs, 8.9" screen that's perfect for portability. We have two onboard that we use as EFBs.

If I could buy another personal laptop for the road warrior, this would be it.

I would die without my laptop. DIE.

Yep, I carry one. Just about every guy I fly with does too.

I carry a company-supplied Dell X300 Latitude. It's the perfect size and I hardly notice it in my briefcase. It's several years old and hasn't given me much trouble. I did have a hard-drive failure about halfway through it's life, but I.T. was able to easily recover all my info and replace it in just a couple days.

It's basically my office on the road. Not sure what I'd do without it. Things would take days longer to accomplish without it.

This place would get pretty quiet if so many pilots didn't carry laptops:D

PS
Mine is a Dell Inspiron with the 15.4" screen. A little bulkier than I would like but I didn't think about life on the road when I bought it. Its held up well to a year and a half of abuse. I have the Purdy Neat bag with the laptop pouch (the 15.4" barely fits in the pouch) which makes it slightly less of a hassle but you still gotta take it out going through security in the US and Canada (not Mexico though:D)

Get a blackberry along with a laptop. On trips that are not conducive to laptops (short layovers) then just use your blackberry for email. When you have long layovers - take the laptop. It gives you tremendous flexibility when you just don't feel like lugging around that computer. Besides, most hotels have some sort of business center anyway. You can still get your email if you want.

I have an DELL Inspiron 600m - smaller computer but if you commute a lot in the back of the plane - the seat in front of you can crunch your screen. Thus, you'll need to either "deal with it" or get a computer with a smaller screen.

I recommend going very light on your computer but durable. I've been very happy with DELL products. Windows on the other hand...we can talk about in another thread. ;)

Duplicate Post Oooops ;-)

I'd say most FO's fly with one...the older Captains generally don't.

Personally, I would never leave for a trip without mine. It's fantastic to keep yourself occupied on long boring overnights, AND it actually counter-balances the weight of your flight kit very well.

I just got a macbook so I can take it with me on trips once I hit the line. It's small, light, great resolution, and best of all it's not Windows!

:eek: Haha...

The MacBook is a very awesome system...and might be perfect if it did have Windows ;)

About the only thing Windows is good for is Microsoft Office. I bought Parallels for my mac and you can essentially "drag" your hard drive from the PC over to the mac and run your PC inside the mac OS. Great program!

You're not running Office for OSX? Microsoft ain't dumb.. they jumped into the race. Seamless integration with windows-office documents.

J

I carry a luggage works roll aboard with a laptop sleeve built in that my VAIO lives in nicely and I dont even know its there . Nice bag for a decent size laptop check it out at stop over store.

Nope. From what I have heard it is a piece of garbage, after all Microsoft did make it ;). It was less expensive to buy parallels. Plus on my old PC I had a couple of other Windows programs that I wanted to keep, like Jepp FliteStar.

I would simply fall apart without mine. I use it non-stop even on the road. Take a look at the new Toughbook. I think it's the Y4 I'm not sure. Slim as can be yet tougher than most. The IBM X61 is a great book. My sister has that one I take sometimes. 8+hr battery life, no kidding, and very thin. Great machines.

yum, thinkpads. I have the T60. Great machines. I take mine everywhere.

I would probably die with out mine on the road as well. As a commuter I don't know how I could get along without it. Always looking for flights and flight loads to get back and forth from work. Every hotel we stay at has some sort of internet connection but not all of them have "Free" computers for use. It can be a pain always lugging the thing around but it is nice to be able to watch movies riding from ORD to LAX every week.

I'm a strong endorser of the little HP laptops -- great deal if you can find them on sale... there's a good price on a dv2416us right now at Office Depot... also the tx1000 series tablets are affordable and they seem reliable for a tablet. However, last night I found a 300$ coupon online for a Dell and I got some insano configuration that I couldn't resist... 14.1" T7500 processor (BEAST), 2GB ram, 128MB dedicated 8400gs vid card, 160GB HDD, anti glare (old school matte) screen, bluetooth, intel wireless (not the crappy cheap proprietary card), webcam, 9 cell battery, cd/dvd burner... came out to $1098 after taxes... try the same config elsewhere and it comes out to 15-16ish.

One thing... almost all retail store laptops in the US are made in china... even the Sonys now... (I've got one of the last mainstream Japanese made ones) the only ones that are made in Japan now are the very very high end Sonys that you'll pay an arm and a leg for... custom-building online with certain companies (dell, hp, gateway) will get you something at least put together in north america. Apple's also good but I'm not supporting an evil empire that profits off keeping everything proprietary and that's run by a dopehead that snaps every other year. Also, Apple's stuff... almost all China. The failure rate of Chinese laptops, from what I've seen, is much higher than ones that are made fresh for you... many things to attribute to this including spotty quality control when they're mass produced, shipping, and the handling at the stores/distribution centers... wow -- you wouldn't believe what it goes through to get to you. Take it from someone that's been selling this stuff since 04.

Oh and the new IBM computers... chinese... their whole computer division was bought out by a company called Lenovo... every purchase puts an American out of a job ;) I'm not talking just Chinese manufacturing... their HQ is in China and it's all Chinese based. So go support countries that are forcefully keeping their currency devalued to keep their products cheap so they can put your family on the street... after all, their military needs more ammo.

Better yet if it had Kubutu or Ubuntu.. ;)

Okay, now that we have the info that many are carrying their laptops on the road.... HOW are you doing that. Putting it in your flight bag... or carrying and extra ( that makes three ) bag just for your laptop?

I carry a 3rd bag for 15" MacBook Pro. Messenger type bag with shoulder strap. Its cumbersome and looks pretty busy I think. Plus it always swings infront of my waist so I'm always readjusting it to go around the terminal.

It sucks, but im too scared to put it in the hands of rampers when i comute (by putting it in my overnight bag). I've though about putting the computer inside my overnight bag, like in the center- surrounded by clothes. But going through security wouldnt be fun, so the 3rd bag works for me. Just basic black leather.

Anybody figured out a way to put it in their flight bag?

3rd bag for me.

if youre daring enough to throw your laptop in anything other than a dedicated bag for it, i hope you have the accident warranty coverage for your laptop. ive broken 2 laptops so far, one time the bag fell down the stairs, and another time i dropped the laptop and the screen busted. but that HP accidental damage warranty rocks!


btw the Sony VGN ultra portable handheld computers are awesome. its taking every bit of my will power not to buy one of these. only problem is cd/dvd drive is sold separately and is an attachment. this WILL fit in your flight bag easily


http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VGN-UX380...416139&sr=8-10

Laptop & Luggage
 

The Purdy Neat 106NG has a dedicated pocket in the front for a laptop. Very thick padding, the zipper runs along the seam of the front pockets. Easy to get in & out @TSA line & the jetway. No need to carry a laptop bag. For macs you can get the Speck Product case as an added measure of protection. Reduces the chance of busting the screen when you drop it. I have a translucent one on my 13" Macbook. Snaps on & off in seconds.

www.peripatetictravel.com

free monogrammed handle & shipping!

Look at the Dell XPS M1210 its 12.1 in screen and powerful and you can customize it. I got one last month and so far its been great. Nice and small and fast for about 1000-1500$.

How large is the compartment for the laptop? I have a 17" screen and am looking for something that would accommodate it.