In an effort to be more efficient about my homework I attempted to move to my desk and use my desktop rather than my laptop, which has a lot of distractions built into it. I realized how little my desktop gets used when I picked up the keyboard off the floor and the keys were all stuck. My boy poured part of a can of Cranberry Splash soda out on my desk and the surrounding area a couple months ago, and until now I hadn't realized how much of it had gone into the keyboard. Really all the desktop is used for these days is to serve as a network hub so my laptop can access the portable hard drive that's plugged into the desktop. I think my wife's desktop serves a similar purpose; the network and the printers all run through it but that's about it. I think I would probably be more productive at my homework if I were seated at my desk instead of lounging about wherever my laptop happens to be. It's something to think about.
Unfortunately my laptop is so convenient to use and it happens to be a little faster at things than my older machine. The only real downside to the laptop is that the lid creaks a lot and it will be a little too cumbersome to go along with me when I go on the "potential" deployment that "may" be coming up. That means I have to search for a netbook or something that can serve as a computer and a portable movie player. There are so many devices I would like to have, like a GPS unit with Iraq/Afghanistan maps on it.
Unfortunately my laptop is so convenient to use and it happens to be a little faster at things than my older machine. The only real downside to the laptop is that the lid creaks a lot and it will be a little too cumbersome to go along with me when I go on the "potential" deployment that "may" be coming up. That means I have to search for a netbook or something that can serve as a computer and a portable movie player. There are so many devices I would like to have, like a GPS unit with Iraq/Afghanistan maps on it.
Most Netbooks don't have a DVD-rom or similar media drive requiring you acquire an external one if your movies are on disk. There are some laptops with 13" screens that play DVDs, but that's as small as you probably want to go.
ReplyDelete(Shameless Plug: I love my Macbook Pro)
These guys claim to have the maps you need for the Garmin Device. I actually have one, next time we get together we could try uploading the maps and see how it works.
http://www.foxgraph.com/garmin_maps.htm
I haven't really started looking in earnest for a deployment machine. I've put most of my movies on an external hard drive, so I will wind up having to hook up a peripheral device to the computer anyway.
ReplyDeleteOn the last trip all of my DVDs collected dust and sand and became unusable over time, so I will probably try to avoid carrying around a bunch of discs. You pretty much have to count on your gear being covered in dust most of the time.
I really haven't done much research into GPS units either. The military issues their units, but it helps to have a backup. And it's a good excuse to get another gadget.