NETBOOK FLOP

[Mary Jo Cochran]

I so wanted to write to a laptop.  I picked out a small netbook.  It was a flop.  The ten times i wrote to it, it crashed two or three times.  The first time, I figured it was me.  The second time, it changed screens.  Yesterday, the software just stopped writing (and I don't think it was the software).

This was a good lesson.  When I buy a replacement for the netbook, I will be looking at the computer's specs.

 

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Yikes.  That's so stressful when your laptop doesn't work.  I've been there!!  I bought an ASUS that weighs about three pounds about six months ago and love it.  Another reporter that I know had one and I loved the size.  I actually bought it used on eBay for half price, about 500.   

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-Zenbook-UX32A-DB31-13-3-1-4GHz-Intel-C...

[Janiece Young]

Mary Jo, if it does not have the right operating system, it will not support your CAT software.

[Mary Jo Cochran]

That was good info. 

The little netbook is the Gateway cheepie - $180 (yeah, $180).  I'll put it in the car for when I need to stop at McDonalds and use their Internet.

All this time, I kept thinking it was me.

[Marge Teilhaber (TILE hobber)]

What are the specs of this apparently subpar netbook?

[Carol A.]

Hi Kelly, I have been using a very small Asus, too.  I love it.  I only use it on jobs because it's small and lightweight to carry with me.  Like you said, about two to three pounds.  Then I dump the job on a flash drive and put it on my bigger Toshiba at home to do the work.  Weekly I will copy my personal dictionary and finished jobs and put them onto my Asus so I'm constantly updating the one I bring with me to work.  The other day an attorney said to me, "That's the smallest computer I've ever seen a reporter use!"  I love it!

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Yeah, it's a great computer.  I'm really happy with it.  Lots and lots of power.  I do the same thing with the thumb drive too.  Way to go!!

[Kellie Zollars]

Don't give up yet.  Call your software technical support to get you up and running.  It's probably just a setting on the computer you need to change.  If you don't have support, look up on your reporting software's website what the minimum requirements are for a computer to run that software.   I know Stenograph has it and Eclipse must too.  I've only used a netbook for attorneys to use as a viewer for realtime.  If that doesn't work, you can get a refurbished lightweight laptop and use the netbook to realtime to attorneys.   

[Glen Warner]

Hi, Mary Jo.

Bummer about your laptop!

 I'm guessing you're still running digitalCAT these days ...? If so, I think the hardware requirements for DC are among the lowest of them all these days ... so if the laptop you've chosen can't meet or beat though requirements, that's probably not a good laptop.

That said, while looking for the hardware requirements for Eclipse the other day, I found this interesting bit:

"Some inexpensive notebook computers have low-quality ports, which may create problems with printing, audio recording and playback, communications, and/or software protection devices.  We recommend business-class notebook computers."

This is probably what you ran into with your laptop!