Laptop -vs- tons of storage media

(Pazooter) · Jun 19, 2003

Hi all. Needing to invest in extra media storage, I am seriously considering purchasing a Dell Inspiron 1100 (about 1g including ins and some extras) instead of another 128 SM card or an IBM 1-gig microdrive. This will not only give me 20(less o/s, etc) gigs of storage but the ability to fully view and edit (and delete).

I've come to respect this forum's opinions to make major decisions without inquiring here first. What are your experiences/opinions?

Thanx,
Pazooter

Craig Gillette · Jun 19, 2003

(Pazooter) said:
Hi all. Needing to invest in extra media storage, I am seriously
considering purchasing a Dell Inspiron 1100 (about 1g including ins
and some extras) instead of another 128 SM card or an IBM 1-gig
microdrive. This will not only give me 20(less o/s, etc) gigs of
storage but the ability to fully view and edit (and delete).

I've come to respect this forum's opinions to make major decisions
without inquiring here first. What are your experiences/opinions?

Thanx,
Pazooter

Besides transferring files and burning them to a CD, when traveling it's available for family game playing and DVDs. And it's also handy for all those other computer things we do. I don't think I'd want to do a lot of post processing with it because of screen angle and visibility issues but it's certainly a multi-function device!

Of course I had a photoquality printer before i got a scanner, a scanner before the laptop, and the laptop before the digicam - because all have uses outside photography, especially if you have anyone involved in academics.

Timothy Dunnigan · Jun 19, 2003

Hi Pazooter,

I think it's a great idea, especially if it comes with a writeable CD-ROM. Then you could also archive your photos for security.

I use a PCCard adaptor to transfer images from my Microdrive to the laptop and find it very convenient and reasonably fast.

I've owned laptops for a number of years - Compaq, Toshiba, Gateway & Dell (2). I've had terrific support from Dell with the laptops. I rely on them daily for professional needs and drag them to and from work daily. They get a lot of wear and tear. The longest I've been without one (Dell) is three days, when it needed to be repaired in-house. Other times, parts were sent to me for replacement (once a complete chassis) or a service person was sent to my office.

Timothy Dunnigan
http://www.helpforfamilies.com/photos/index.htm
http://www.pbase.com/tdunnigan/

(Pazooter) said:
Hi all. Needing to invest in extra media storage, I am seriously
considering purchasing a Dell Inspiron 1100 (about 1g including ins
and some extras) instead of another 128 SM card or an IBM 1-gig
microdrive. This will not only give me 20(less o/s, etc) gigs of
storage but the ability to fully view and edit (and delete).

I've come to respect this forum's opinions to make major decisions
without inquiring here first. What are your experiences/opinions?

Thanx,
Pazooter

morris · Jun 19, 2003

This is what I do when I travel.

Morris

(Pazooter) said:
Hi all. Needing to invest in extra media storage, I am seriously
considering purchasing a Dell Inspiron 1100 (about 1g including ins
and some extras) instead of another 128 SM card or an IBM 1-gig
microdrive. This will not only give me 20(less o/s, etc) gigs of
storage but the ability to fully view and edit (and delete).

I've come to respect this forum's opinions to make major decisions
without inquiring here first. What are your experiences/opinions?

Thanx,
Pazooter

janus75060 · Jun 19, 2003

Hi, there.
That would be an expensive accessory for your camera. =p

But, if you so choose to do so, may I recommend buying it under the Small business section instead of the home section as the prices will be a little bit better.

14" screen (15" better), 256mb of RAM minimum (512 better, don't settle for 128 believe me). Opt for CDR/W drive for backup. Don't get the DVD burner, if you have desktop, DVD burner for it will be better and cheaper. Well, that's all for now. And oh, check for techbargains.com everyday as lots of DELL deals are posted there.

(Pazooter) said:
Hi all. Needing to invest in extra media storage, I am seriously
considering purchasing a Dell Inspiron 1100 (about 1g including ins
and some extras) instead of another 128 SM card or an IBM 1-gig
microdrive. This will not only give me 20(less o/s, etc) gigs of
storage but the ability to fully view and edit (and delete).

I've come to respect this forum's opinions to make major decisions
without inquiring here first. What are your experiences/opinions?

Thanx,
Pazooter

--
FP 2600, S602.
http://www.pbase.com/janus75060
Visit the unofficial S602 FAQ site: http://www.marius.org/fuji602faq.php

Mattp6200 · Jun 19, 2003

(Pazooter) said:
Hi all. Needing to invest in extra media storage, I am seriously
considering purchasing a Dell Inspiron 1100 (about 1g including ins
and some extras) instead of another 128 SM card or an IBM 1-gig
microdrive. This will not only give me 20(less o/s, etc) gigs of
storage but the ability to fully view and edit (and delete).

I've come to respect this forum's opinions to make major decisions
without inquiring here first. What are your experiences/opinions?

Thanx,
Pazooter

Hello Pazooter,

My vote is for the labtop... I have one and use it for many many things including photo displaying. I use mine for work and play. I'm sure you could get the memory for much less, but it's just memory...it does nothing else but store info...

Matt

morepix · Jun 19, 2003

Well, if you need another PC anyway, and if you don't mind lugging around a fairly large, heavy object like that when you travel, it's a good solution. If you'd prefer a lighter-weight solution. you can buy a small, stand-alone hard drive like the Nixvue Digital Album. It weighs about 10 ozs, is about the size of a small paperback book, and comes in capacities from 20-60 GB, enough to hold all the photos you'd take on most any trip. The more expensive models have a small LCD screen for peeking at your images, the less expensive ones don't. It's FAR cheaper per unit of capacity than flash cards or microdrives, and it's far smaller and lighter than a laptop PC.

You use your flash memory card during the day, then in the evening put the card in a holder in the Nixvue thing and download the photos to it. Or, if you're really prolific and fill up your card in less than a day, just carry the Nixvue around with you and download images to it at lunchtime (or whenever). I have one, and I wouldn't consider any other solution.

Look at http://www.nixvue.com for more info, and at B&H PhotoVideo for prices.

(Pazooter) said:
Hi all. Needing to invest in extra media storage, I am seriously
considering purchasing a Dell Inspiron 1100 (about 1g including ins
and some extras) instead of another 128 SM card or an IBM 1-gig
microdrive. This will not only give me 20(less o/s, etc) gigs of
storage but the ability to fully view and edit (and delete).

jkirk@oz · Jun 19, 2003

I'm in agreement here. I've dragged a laptop all over US once and NEVER again. There are several new, very small very light, mass storage devices available now. And if you need to edit / view, there's plenty of cafe's around. I don't like the idea of the CD burner type either. Again, you end up with 30+ scratchable CD's to worry about. The only "laptop" I've seriously considered is those "ultra mini" ones, but they're too expensive right now.
JKirk

morepix said:
morepix wrote:

Well, if you need another PC anyway, and if you don't mind lugging around a fairly large, heavy object like that when you travel, it's a good solution. If you'd prefer a lighter-weight solution. you can buy a small, stand-alone hard drive like the Nixvue Digital Album. It weighs about 10 ozs, is about the size of a small paperback book, and comes in capacities from 20-60 GB, enough to hold all the photos you'd take on most any trip. The more expensive models have a small LCD screen for peeking at your images, the less expensive ones don't. It's FAR cheaper per unit of capacity than flash cards or microdrives, and it's far smaller and lighter than a laptop PC.

You use your flash memory card during the day, then in the evening put the card in a holder in the Nixvue thing and download the photos to it. Or, if you're really prolific and fill up your card in less than a day, just carry the Nixvue around with you and download images to it at lunchtime (or whenever). I have one, and I wouldn't consider any other solution.

janus75060 · Jun 19, 2003

Depends.
Either media has its + and -.

Having a laptop with burning capabilities gives backup protection. One can put the CDs in a well made case and put it in a different bag than where the laptop is, so there will be two copies at one time. But with the extra weight.
Having a smaller storage tank is lighter but you only have one copy...

So, it's all depends with one's traveling habit/preferrence and his/her tolerance for backup.

jkirk@oz said:
jkirk@oz said:

morepix wrote:

Well, if you need another PC anyway, and if you don't mind lugging around a fairly large, heavy object like that when you travel, it's a good solution. If you'd prefer a lighter-weight solution. you can buy a small, stand-alone hard drive like the Nixvue Digital Album. It weighs about 10 ozs, is about the size of a small paperback book, and comes in capacities from 20-60 GB, enough to hold all the photos you'd take on most any trip. The more expensive models have a small LCD screen for peeking at your images, the less expensive ones don't. It's FAR cheaper per unit of capacity than flash cards or microdrives, and it's far smaller and lighter than a laptop PC.

You use your flash memory card during the day, then in the evening put the card in a holder in the Nixvue thing and download the photos to it. Or, if you're really prolific and fill up your card in less than a day, just carry the Nixvue around with you and download images to it at lunchtime (or whenever). I have one, and I wouldn't consider any other solution.

Click to expand...

--
FP 2600, S602.
http://www.pbase.com/janus75060
Visit the unofficial S602 FAQ site: http://www.marius.org/fuji602faq.php

v steffel · Jun 19, 2003

jkirk@oz said:
jkirk@oz said:

morepix wrote:

Well, if you need another PC anyway, and if you don't mind lugging around a fairly large, heavy object like that when you travel, it's a good solution. If you'd prefer a lighter-weight solution. you can buy a small, stand-alone hard drive like the Nixvue Digital Album. It weighs about 10 ozs, is about the size of a small paperback book, and comes in capacities from 20-60 GB, enough to hold all the photos you'd take on most any trip. The more expensive models have a small LCD screen for peeking at your images, the less expensive ones don't. It's FAR cheaper per unit of capacity than flash cards or microdrives, and it's far smaller and lighter than a laptop PC.

You use your flash memory card during the day, then in the evening put the card in a holder in the Nixvue thing and download the photos to it. Or, if you're really prolific and fill up your card in less than a day, just carry the Nixvue around with you and download images to it at lunchtime (or whenever). I have one, and I wouldn't consider any other solution.

Click to expand...

----------

Then consider lugging a portable overseas with all the power issues. Moreover, you're not guaranteed internet connections even when the connectors are in your hotel room. If you are required to carry it for business and the company pays for the computer--great!!

Finally, with enhanced security checks it has become a super pain.

I know, I've done it.
--
vsteffel

janus75060 · Jun 19, 2003

I know, I've done it too, 1 month trip to SE Asia.

As far as power issues, I had the plug adaptor and small surge protector (it's very small, 3 by 1 inc). My laptop is heavy but it worth the additional weight. It's not like I have to lug it around all day everyday, I left it at the hotel room and copied photos at night. I wouldn't be able to take the amount of photos I took were it now for the laptop.

Hotels in big cities have internet connection, whether inside the room or in their business office. As far as airport checks, in US, they just want the laptop placed in the tray for X-ray and while I was overseas, no hassle at all.

v steffel said:
Then consider lugging a portable overseas with all the power
issues. Moreover, you're not guaranteed internet connections even
when the connectors are in your hotel room. If you are required to
carry it for business and the company pays for the computer--great!!

Finally, with enhanced security checks it has become a super pain.

I know, I've done it.
--
vsteffel

--
FP 2600, S602.
http://www.pbase.com/janus75060
Visit the unofficial S602 FAQ site: http://www.marius.org/fuji602faq.php

John-D · Jun 19, 2003

(Pazooter) said:
Hi all. Needing to invest in extra media storage, I am seriously
considering purchasing a Dell Inspiron 1100 (about 1g including ins
and some extras) instead of another 128 SM card or an IBM 1-gig
microdrive. This will not only give me 20(less o/s, etc) gigs of
storage but the ability to fully view and edit (and delete).

I've come to respect this forum's opinions to make major decisions
without inquiring here first. What are your experiences/opinions?

Thanx,
Pazooter

--
Hi, Pazooter

I've been lugging a laptop around with me for a long time - developed the habit long before I discovered digital photography - and you're entirely correct on the advantages. Right now I've got the Inspirion 8500 ... with it and other laptops I've used, care must be exercised during post-processing due to the LCD screen, particulary with sharpening/USM and levels adjustments. Anyway, you can't beat the security/backup advantage!
JohnD
F6900z F601z
http://www.earth-lights.net

Fotonut · Jun 20, 2003

It may be just me, but i would'nt trust anything to a harddisk type device be it a nixview or a laptop.

In my 20 years of pc as a hobby, and reparing them when they act up, i've come to learn that if you have a harddisk, be it in a new machine or older one, YOU ARE waiting for a HD crash. It's a fact of life. Portable machine's (laptop or nixview ) even more so.

Just my opinion of course.

Fotonut.

John-D said:
(Pazooter) said:

Hi all. Needing to invest in extra media storage, I am seriously
considering purchasing a Dell Inspiron 1100 (about 1g including ins
and some extras) instead of another 128 SM card or an IBM 1-gig
microdrive. This will not only give me 20(less o/s, etc) gigs of
storage but the ability to fully view and edit (and delete).

I've come to respect this forum's opinions to make major decisions
without inquiring here first. What are your experiences/opinions?

Thanx,
Pazooter

Click to expand...

--
Hi, Pazooter
I've been lugging a laptop around with me for a long time -
developed the habit long before I discovered digital photography -
and you're entirely correct on the advantages. Right now I've got
the Inspirion 8500 ... with it and other laptops I've used, care
must be exercised during post-processing due to the LCD screen,
particulary with sharpening/USM and levels adjustments. Anyway,
you can't beat the security/backup advantage!
JohnD
F6900z F601z
http://www.earth-lights.net

--
Going, going, gone is the moment.

John-D · Jun 20, 2003

Fotonut. said:
It may be just me, but i would'nt trust anything to a harddisk type
device be it a nixview or a laptop.

In my 20 years of pc as a hobby, and reparing them when they act
up, i've come to learn that if you have a harddisk, be it in a new
machine or older one, YOU ARE waiting for a HD crash. It's a fact
of life. Portable machine's (laptop or nixview ) even more so.

Just my opinion of course.

Fotonut.

--
Hi Fotonut,

I agree 100% with you on the harddisk risk ... once I download the image files to the laptop, I burn them to CD for additional back-up coverage. Also pack the CDs separate from the laptop just in case of theft.
JohnD
F6900z F601z
http://www.earth-lights.net

morepix · Jun 20, 2003

So how do you belt-and-suspender guys protect your images at home: Archive them to CD? DVD? External hard drive? Put optical disks in a bank valut? What??? And if you take such measures with your digital images, what did you do to protect your slides/negatives before you went digital?

Despite the irony, I'm seriously interested, too.

John-D said:
I agree 100% with you on the harddisk risk ... once I download the
image files to the laptop, I burn them to CD for additional back-up
coverage. Also pack the CDs separate from the laptop just in case
of theft.

Fotonut · Jun 20, 2003

morepix said:
So how do you belt-and-suspender guys protect your images at home:
Archive them to CD? DVD? External hard drive? Put optical disks in
a bank valut? What??? And if you take such measures with your
digital images, what did you do to protect your slides/negatives
before you went digital?

Despite the irony, I'm seriously interested, too.

Well, personaly. I wait for 100 or so pics. Write them to CD\RW. Keeping an eye on the space needed. Then when i have a cd full i copy back to harddisk and burn a normal write once cd. When that cd checks out, ie test it with paintshop pro, all thumbnails have to show, i delete the rw and start again.

Those are the originals as they came out of the cam except for renaming.

With copy's of those i create a flipalbum when i have enough pics to fill a cd. I now have 2 basic copy's of my pics. The originals and the processed ones. The flipalbum displays on any pc running w95 or better without installing anything. Flipabum can i think also do svcd for your plain old dvd player.

As for your slides/negatives question. They used to end up in a box or drawer. Its why i went digital. I scanned every paper photo i could find and identify. Some 900 scans. A sh*tty job but had to be done.

Now you can go to the extreme (just in case of fire or some other dissaster) and leave one of those cd's (or a copy) with family or friends but i dont.

That's my workflow as far as archiving is concerned.

Fotonut.

morepix said:
John-D said:

I agree 100% with you on the harddisk risk ... once I download the
image files to the laptop, I burn them to CD for additional back-up
coverage. Also pack the CDs separate from the laptop just in case
of theft.

Click to expand...

--
Going, going, gone is the moment.

morepix · Jun 20, 2003

Fotonut ... Thanks for your response. It seems a well thought-out workflow, though more trouble than I'm willing to take. I have to assume that you like your photos more than I like mine.

I use an automatic backup program to an external 120 GB hard drive -- Satan's work once more, I know. But I figure the likelihood of two hard drives collaborating and taking a nosedive at the same time is pretty low.

Fotonut. said:
Well, personaly. I wait for 100 or so pics. Write them to CD\RW.
Keeping an eye on the space needed. Then when i have a cd full i
copy back to harddisk and burn a normal write once cd. When that cd
checks out, ie test it with paintshop pro, all thumbnails have to
show, i delete the rw and start again.

Now you can go to the extreme (just in case of fire or some other
dissaster) and leave one of those cd's (or a copy) with family or
friends but i dont.

Boo · Jun 20, 2003

morepix said:
I use an automatic backup program to an external 120 GB hard drive
-- Satan's work once more, I know. But I figure the likelihood of
two hard drives collaborating and taking a nosedive at the same
time is pretty low.

Statistically low perhaps, but it happened to me a couple of months ago. I have all my internal PC drives backed onto a larger drive in a removeable caddy. My main data drive failed in a spectacularly noisy fashion - heads I suspect. Because I was then working from back up files for the duration of the repair/replacement - I sat up half that first night backing the back up onto CD - just as well I did as at some time in the installation process of the replacement drive, I lost part of the back up and to this day, we don't know where it went or what happened. That few pounds worth (probably not even that) of CDs and a few lost hours sleep saved my business.

Sounds far-fetched but absolutely true. From the day I got a CD burner, I copy all my working files and digital photos onto CD every few days as well as HDD back up.

--
Fuji S602Z and 2800Z
http://www.peekaboo.me.uk - general portfolio
http://www.boo-photos.co.uk - live music photos
http://www.boo-photos.co.uk/lowlight.html - live music photography tutorial

cgripp · Jun 20, 2003

check the refurb section of the DELL site.

I run my entire company off of DELL systems and have purchased around 75% of the systems from the REFURB site. You save quite a bit and they are fully warrantied. In the last year I have only received 1 item that needed to be replaced and it was a monitor. ALL the systems (several dozen) have worked impecably and been in mint condition. Most of the systems come back because of a disconnected cable or bad card. They fix the minor "problem" but can't sell it as new after that. So it goes in to REFURB section.

Chris

John-D · Jun 20, 2003

morepix said:
So how do you belt-and-suspender guys protect your images at home:
Archive them to CD? DVD? External hard drive? Put optical disks in
a bank valut? What??? And if you take such measures with your
digital images, what did you do to protect your slides/negatives
before you went digital?

Despite the irony, I'm seriously interested, too.

I archive (originals & processed) both on CD and external USB hard drive. Still got a couple of years of scanning to look forward to in terms of archiving 20+ years of film ...
--
JohnD
F6900z F601z
http://www.earth-lights.net

Laptop -vs- tons of storage media

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