Get a dell D400 or D410 with xp pro for under $400 off ebay...D series latitudes still come with the rs232 serial port for com1

D400/410/420/430 are 12 inch laptops

 

if it doesn't have XP I would say buy a mac... Vista is RIDICULOUS to work with

 

I'm more interested in getting a new computer vs. an old/used one...

 

For logging this is my priority list.

- Small (able to fit on your lap easily and be stored under the seat)
- Battery life (The longer the better, I hate trying to log and not having power, I bought an extended battery and now I get 6 hours of logging)
- Windows XP (I don't want to deal with the compatibility issues of vista. You are using simple logging programs so there is no need for vista. I also wouldn't use a mac running windows as they seem to have some problems running EcuFlash)
- SSD Hard Drive (This would be a nice feature, but it seems to come on only the really tiny computers which might be to small to use comfortably)
- Keyboard (If it can be illuminated from the bottom that is great. I comfortable layout is also important, if the keyboard is not illuminated you will need to know where they keys are without seeing them. You also use = and - and + a lot with tunning, so make sure you get a keyboard where you don’t have to hit some kind of function key to use those buttons)
- Screen (the bigger the better, as long as the laptop still fits on your lap and under the seat)

I don’t have my laptop with me but if I remember it’s a dell 6500M, or something like that, maybe m6500, I can’t really remember. It has a 12.1” screen which I think is perfect and a decent size keyboard. Stock battery lasts for about 2.5 hours but the extended one will get you 5-6 hours. It doesn’t have SSD or a light up keyboard but other than those two things its perfect.

 

dudical26 thanks for the list, I printed it out and will use it as a reference when shopping.

 

glad I could help.

Let us know what you choose.

 

my boss just showed me his Toshiba Libretto... damn that thing is small.

I think I'm going to go with the Dell Mini when they are available. it doesn't have an illumintated keypad but I like the SSHD and other features, besides everyone I've talked to highly recommends Dell.

 

LIttleBlueMnM, I just looked up the Eee PC, looks like a nice unit. I might get that one now instead of the dell since its already available. would 8gig be enough space for all of XP and all the associated logging programs? (ecuflash, datalog labs, evoscan, ect...)

 

Alwaysinboost, I would use Nlite to create a small XP install. This should give you enough room. Then buy a small flash card for your data.

 

You can use WINE to run windows apps on linux. Getting it to recognize the cable is a whole other issue.

 

At work I am currently tasked with porting our windows code to linux. Wine was our first choice for porting/supporting our windows source code on linux.

WINE is a half-*** partially implemented layer. If you want to run that old windows98 version of warcraft on linux, then wine is for you. If you expect to use anything productive, forget it. The Wine support for anything that is not a game, or requires any of the XP specific code, or in this case, access specific hardware, just plain sucks....

My expereince with Wine so far has fallen far short of the lofty goals they proclaim. But that's typical for every open source project I have experience with.

getting back on topic,

the dell mini is definately worth looking at. The presure on ASUS has been enough for them to lower the prices on the EEPC 901, you can now find them for around the same price as the mini.

other ultra mobile laptops to consider are the MSI Wind.

 

AlwaysinBoost, 8gb is pretty restrictive giving the fact that you're going to run windows xp unless you do what fixem2 is suggesting, which is using a software called nlite to reduced the install size of windows xp (you just stripping down xp with stuff you dont need like multi language support). But you will also need another computer, or laptop to do that job for you. Most EEE PC I've seen running windows xp from the store or stockpile will barely give you any space, around 2gb. Again, you can do what fixe2 suggest, purchase a small flash card (most of these mini laptops/netbooks all support SDHC cards, which is a secure digital high capacity card which has bigger storage and runs at a higher data rate transfer) and use it as a secondary storage. One thing I did notice though, Evoscan will not write to another drive other than the one it was installed on, guys correct me if I'm wrong. So, if you install evoscan on the main drive (c:\), evoscan will not give you the option to datalog to your flash card that you are using as secondary. What you can do is let evoscan datalog on C: and then transfer it over to the flash card. Most of the datalogs aren't that big anyways. I have logged every thing possible for like 30 minutes once and it was only like 5mb xml file.

So, in my opinion, if you want a ssd drive, 8gb is prolly the minimum I would get if you're just datalogging and tuning with this laptop/netbook, prolly something upwards of 16gb would be on the safe side. You know, the cool thing about these eee pc, there are mods for them, including adding a touchscreen!

Just keep shopping/comparing and you will end up with something you love as long as you don't rush into buying one. ChrisW is right, the pressure is on ASUS to reduce their prices on their EEE PC line because of such companies as Acer, MSI, Dell, and even Lenovo (with a IBM discount, the lenovo prices drop down to the acer models, which is pretty good considering the reputation lenovo has for security and durability). Any questions, don't hesitate to ask, most of us are glad to help. Let us know what you decide!

 

I think 8GB should be fine for data logging. Especially if you strip down the install with nliteXP. You can cut at least a couple hundred MB from the install size.

The only programs you need are Evoscan, EcuFlash, DataLogLab, and maybe excel.

You could probably make it work with 4gb, but that would be cutting it close, 8gb should be fine.

 

A little off topic but I just wanted to throw my .02 in..... They are pretty pricey but the dell ATG laptops are great for a tuning computer.... I have one at work I use to service machines... and I want to buy one for tuning cars....... It has an ultra bright screen designed for viewing in complete sunlight; it has red leds built in for top lighting the keyboard at night, an auto sense for screen brightness. You can get the 9 cell battery, which I have, and for me it lasted about 8 hours of basically continuous use in the field. It is rugged designed for harsh environments etc.

Downsides - only has usb ports for comm, Is standard screen size, pretty high priced.

 

Dell laptops generally suck IMHO. I have used an Eee PC 700 personally and they are very robust little units! I'm going to be getting a 900 w/ the 9" screen and 16gb of memory, 1gb of ram. $370, pretty hard to beat that!