Laptops, tablets and low voltage alternative?

[Konaexpress]

Just wondering what most dwellers are using for Internet and daily computing and why. I would imagine it's mostly laptops and iPads. Anyone using low voltage alternatives like the Raspberry PI or the Intel Compute Stick?

Just wondering....
John

 

[Willy]

Venue 11pro tablet PC and a Lenovo X220t convertible. I have an Asus T100TA tablet, but not happy with the performance. 2 GB RAM and the EMMC really slows it down; gets wicked battery life tho. Still, I'm gettin rid of it. ..Willy.

 

[minimotos95]

At the moment, oneplus one(large phone running cyanogenmod android) is my main device with the 1st Gen i5 lenovo G560 getting fired up for more intensive jobs and my gaming desktop is now retired to the storage box until I get more solar and more free time to burn.
I had the original ipad and the tablet form factor never grew on me, it was a bit too much screen for me, to be honest the oneplus is too.
I just kicked grid power a few weeks ago and am still waiting to upgrade my house batteries so I have been trying to actively avoid using my laptop until then. I have learned that with the use of an OTG cable and enough patience, my phone really can do 90% of what I do on my laptop.

 

[blars]

I've got an Intel NUC that uses a laptop chipset but hooks to my TV via HDMI as a monitor. (24" 1080P display) It uses 11-19v, so can be wired directly to the battery, (rather than the 12v 3A wall wart) my project to do so is underway. I wish they used standard 2.54mm connectors on the internal USB ports or had more of them outside so I didn't have to use a USB hub.

 

[SternWake]

My older Dell laptop is by far my biggest consumer of battery power on average doubling what my 12v compressor Fridge consumes to hold 33.5f in 80F ambient

It is certainly wise to seek devices computing devices with much lesser current draws, and anythng that is charged with a USB plug can use a 12v to 5vdc converter much much more efficiently than using the 120 to 5v voltage transformer that came with the product, plugged into an inverter.

Seeing as how even the highest demand USB devices are still under 35 watts, the type of USB source which plugs into a 12v powerport/ciggy receptacle is OK, but a dedicated USB source is better.

This is my favorite USb source in my Van:
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Syst...&qid=1455401294&sr=8-1&keywords=blue+seas+usb

There are many hundreds of similar products like this for insertion into a 12v power port/ciggy plug, Shop around:
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Syst...&qid=1455401333&sr=8-2&keywords=blue+seas+usb

Make sure the unit you buy can output at least 2.1 amps, many cheapos are limited to 0.5amps or 500 mA.

Blue seas has a new just released version of the top product linked which can handle outputting higher wattage.

https://www.bluesea.com/products/1045/Fast_Charge_-_Dual_USB_Charger_Socket_Mount

Don't yet see an Amazon listing for it.

My BS USB holds over 5.1 volts under a 1 amp load( my maximum draw with devices I own, Android) but my other USb sources drop to as low as 4.8 volts, and this slows charging of the device and I do not use them when I only have so long before needing to unplug. This BS source and a short 12" micro usb cable significantly outperform the Samsung provided cord and 120Vac to 5vDC transformer in the time to recharge category.

 

[Konaexpress]

I will have to get my hands on a few of those! Nice!

John

 

[RVTravel]

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-usb-car-charger/

 

[debit.servus]

When I go full-time, I plan to have the same desktop setup as I do in my parents house. Two 15.6" laptops and a AMD desktop, plus two 6" studio monitors, 10" studio monitor subwoofer, audio interface, MIDI controller/keyboard, hard drive safe that fits all 12 external HDDs I own. That and their related accessories & required components. A UPS for the desktop box and LCD monitor to protect them from dirty power and outages.

Little screens include a KINDLE FIRE HD, iPod touch 4th gen, SAMSUNG GALAXY Light T1399 "smart" phone, PS Vita, NDS Lite, plus a SD cheap chinese digital projector (why HD projectors haven't came down in price like TVs have is beyond me).

For TV entertainment an XBOX 360 and it's games & plug and play TV games

On a side note. Electronics are the worst store of value I can think of, losing at least 30% of their market price within a year. It pays to be a late adopter and not picky with how it looks. Remember that electronics ALWAYS go down in price!

Typing this on a laptop right now, which has a 5 hour battery life.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Macbook Pro connected via HDMI to 12V TV as monitor, Anker bluetooth keyboard, Logitec wireless mouse.  Internet connection via SmartTalk AT&T jetpack or iPhone 5S on Verizon with boost from a WeBoost 4G-M or Alfa WIFI amplifier.

All powered by 208 AH battery system: Monitor and booster directly plugged into battery system with Anderson PowerPole plugs, MacBook charger through small inverter into a Blue Sea ciggy plug receptacle, mouse is button battery powered, everything else is powered (or charged) by the afore mentioned Blue Sea USB ports.

I am usually on the internet for 1 to 2 hours a day.  Stormy days longer.  Don't watch TV, movies or video's.

Why?  got a MacBook 'cuz friends love their Mac's, laptop gives me portability, hotspots on AT&T and Verizon give me more chance for signal, boosters give me signal in (almost) any place I camp.  It all runs off house batteries, easily resupplied daily by 200 W solar.

-- Spiff

 

[SternWake]

I found this possibly useful pic in my photo album which shows some documentation/ packaging Specs on the older Blueseas Dedicated USB outlet I linked to above( amazon):

Note the parasitic draw of 15mA. 500Ma is half an amp. I do not stress it, but with the types of USB sources which plug into 12v powerport/ ciggy receptacles, one can just back them 1CM out of the receptacle and have zero parasitic draw and just push it home when required for charging.

Do note the newer Dedicated USB blue seas outlet linked above and now below again has Only a 1mA parasitic draw compared to my older unit's 15 mA, and can output 4.8 amps total, compared to my 2.1amps.

https://www.bluesea.com/products/1045/Fast_Charge_-_Dual_USB_Charger_Socket_Mount


I cannot find any online listings on the newest Blueseas USB source released this month..

Those who have a West marine store nearby can likely pick up the older unit I Own for an OK price, or a Marinco which appears, visually, to be extremely similar to Blueseas products:

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/marinco--sealink-deluxe-dual-usb-charger-and-12v-receptacle--15982036

 

[jimindenver]

We got a pair of RCA 2 in 1 Windows 10 tablets to replace our aging netbooks. I haven't done any photo processing but for general internet they have been fine.

 

[Willy]

I've found that, while the new Atoms found in many tablets/netbooks are rather anemic, they're still wayyyy better than the 'old' in-order Atoms. I think that, given more RAM and faster storage (either a 'true' SSD or considerably faster EMMC), they'd be plenty speedy. ..Willy.

 

[Konaexpress]

I've found that, while the new Atoms found in many tablets/netbooks are rather anemic, they're still wayyyy better than the 'old' in-order Atoms. I think that, given more RAM and faster storage (either a 'true' SSD or considerably faster EMMC), they'd be plenty speedy. ..Willy.

I found with the old Atom netbooks, if you dug in deep enough, you could make them faster. Installing Linux was even better! Wow!

The new atom netbooks? Good luck finding one with a decent size hard drive. The form factor on them is fantastic though. If I had one, I'd be ripping it open for sure...

John

 

[Willy]

Faster, tho not fast enough. Linux does help, but often has a problem with new units, especially tablets. Part of the problem with the old Atom netbooks was the limited RAM with sluggish HDD's. Constantly having to access the pagefile really slowed things down. I liked the AMD C-60 Acers a lot more. Could shove in up to 4 GB RAM and undervolt with Brazostweaker for a relatively snappy (for the times) little unit. A proper SSD could be used too. Still, that's all 'old hat' and the new CPU's are just soooo much better. Hell, even the full blown Core i's (Skylake, for instance) have a smaller power envelop and vastly greater performance, tho pricey. ..Willy.

 

[Konaexpress]

Linux and a tablet? Forget about it.

The new atom chips are a lot faster than the old ones. That is why I'm wondering about the low voltage Intel computer stick that can plug into a cheap tv. A keyboard, mouse and a cheap USB hard rive and your in business. You could do all your email, web browsing and turn it into a game/video/music jukebox.

John

 

[minimotos95]

Ubuntu has pretty good touch screen support but isn't exactly a fast or lightweight distro. Finally watching Netflix is easy on Linux, no work around, you don't even have to type in the terminal, just install Chrome and go to Netflix.

I did finally get myself an SSD last year, not a fast SSD only being on par with the old Kingston 100, definitely an over hyped upgrade in my book, now I know you're screaming at me right now "get with the times, SSDs are the future" spending the same in total I would much rather get a 2.5" WD black with more storage and a better CPU/GPU. Of course I care more about render times and frame rates than I do boot and load times. The silence of the SSD was the main selling point for me.

 

[Willy]

With the SSD, AFAIK, there's also less power draw and no worries about sudden bumps/drops crashing the HDD. I agree abt the better CPU/GPU and I'm looking at a couple of used HP 11" tablets on Ebqy right now. They're Bay Trail Atoms, but 4 GB RAM and an honest 2 gawd SSD. It's the N3610/3520 variant, so over 7W draw, but I'm thinking that they might be supported by Intel XTU for undervolting. ..Willy.

 

[Konaexpress]

Yea, I'm not sold on SSD yet. I'd rather have space than speed.

John

 

[Willy]

I have a number of 2.5" 'archive' HDD's in enclosures that I use for storing stuff. I also keep my backup OS images on them. ..Willy.