Notebook With Good Wireless (i.e. 802.11 G) Recommendations

Looking for a replacement for my old faithful laptop..Travel and need
one with
demonstrated better than usual Wi-Fi connectivity built in. Presently
use some
excellent USB units..but still would like something built in which
will perform well.
Thanks in advance..

On May 31, 7:47 pm, Jake <Gator2...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Looking for a replacement for my old faithful laptop..Travel and need
> one with
> demonstrated better than usual Wi-Fi connectivity built in. Presently
> use some
> excellent USB units..but still would like something built in which
> will perform well.
> Thanks in advance..

Since you are just now upgrading to built-in wifi, I presume you are
like me and don't mind using slightly older tech if it does the job
and saves money. I upgrade just like anybody, but to 3 yr old
machines. Let the previous round of expensive machines depreciate
and then buy the ones with good track records for 1/3 the cost -
that's my philosophy.

I think that the best value in fully functional used notebooks (w/USB
2.0 and built-in wireless) is the IBM Thinkpad R51. Good wifi
performance, great keyboard, decent battery life, sufficiently modern
to do most everything except CAD and gaming. Easily maintained,
parts available everywhere. There are many coming off corporate lease
nowdays and you can get a 14" one for $250- $350 with XP pro and
decent RAM if you look around. You might even find one still under IBM
warranty. They came with 3 years.

http://tinyurl.com/5xk8r8

R52 is comparable and availible certified used here: http://tinyurl.com/3hgyr4

The T4X series is a bit thinner and more beloved, but had more
problems. The R51-2 has the same guts, thicker case.

If you want a UXGA screen with performance graphics and bluetooth, the
R50p (p is important) is my pick at $500

Again, I'm assuming a lot. Maybe cost isn't an issue. If you want
new for cheap...I'd probably suggest an R60-61 for economy. Haven't
used them, but they are said to be good for wireless as well.

http://tinyurl.com/4sjaep
http://tinyurl.com/3hgyr4


Steve

seaweedsl <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> On May 31, 7:47 pm, Jake <Gator2...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Looking for a replacement for my old faithful laptop..Travel and need

> I think that the best value in fully functional used notebooks (w/USB
> 2.0 and built-in wireless) is the IBM Thinkpad R51. Good wifi

I am quite impressed by the WiFi performance of the built in WiFi on my
Lenovo Thinkpad T60p. The service manual shows that there are two internal
bar antennas, one along the top left of the screen, and on along the right
side of the screen, at the top. This laptop gets solid connections at
ranges where my DLink DWL-122 USB won't even find them on a scan, even with
a coffee can reflector.
11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Express Adapter
ar5211.sys (5.3.0.18, ... drive, maybe the chip, from SMC.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/si...cid=MIGR-62722

Earlier Thinkpad models might be similar. There is a video on one of the
Thinkpad pages showing a guy typing on the keyboard wearing scuba gear,
sitting on the bottom of a pool. If that's important to you ... ;-)


--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

On Sun, 1 Jun 2008 18:06:49 +0000 (UTC), (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>Earlier Thinkpad models might be similar. There is a video on one of the
>Thinkpad pages showing a guy typing on the keyboard wearing scuba gear,
>sitting on the bottom of a pool. If that's important to you ... ;-)

This advertisement?
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rg7tKJWk2w>
or this story?
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KXx-Kys-Fk>

No way. Water does a really impressive job of blocking 2.4GHz
transmission. A wet towel will block the signal. Neither video shows
the laptop working underwater. I looked for other videos showing
underwater operation, and couldn't find any.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> On Sun, 1 Jun 2008 18:06:49 +0000 (UTC), (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> >Earlier Thinkpad models might be similar. There is a video on one of the
> >Thinkpad pages showing a guy typing on the keyboard wearing scuba gear,
> >sitting on the bottom of a pool. If that's important to you ... ;-)

> No way. Water does a really impressive job of blocking 2.4GHz
> transmission. A wet towel will block the signal. Neither video shows
> the laptop working underwater. I looked for other videos showing
> underwater operation, and couldn't find any.

Oops, sorry, mixing threads.
I don't know if the underwater operation included WiFi, I'll accept your
postulation that it doesn't.

I could be misremembering... I see "spill resistant X Series".
<
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...pill-resistant
>

Which is the youtube that you cited, and admonition that it is an
exaggeration.

But I recall a swim-suited guy tippy-tapping... The astronaut is a little
over the top ;-) there are some other cute outrageous videos on that
Lenovo page.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

On Sun, 1 Jun 2008 19:08:22 +0000 (UTC), (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>I don't know if the underwater operation included WiFi, I'll accept your
>postulation that it doesn't.

Since I live near a beach and yacht harbor, I get a repair a few
laptops, cell phones, PDA's, boom boxes, and iPods. The best case is
getting a panic cell phone call announcing that some device has just
taken a salt water swim and asking what to do next. Depending on the
degree of immersion, I usually suggest that they *IMMEDIATELY* wash
off the device with clean water. If immersed, they get to hose it off
in the sink, or for some devices, total immersion. If they let the
device somewhat dry out, there will be corrosion damage. I've done
the submarine simulation with several laptops. That sometimes
destroys the keyboard and speakers, but not much else. The bad news
is that it takes about a week to dry out, even after partial
disassembly and accelerated drying with an air hose. I've never tried
to actually operate a laptop under water, but I suspect it's fairly
safe. The only thing I would expect to fail is the CPU fan, which is
made to push air, not water.

Ever wonder what's the difference in circuit design between a device
that craps out under water and one that easily survives? It's the
maximum allowable input impedances of various devices. If the design
is intentionally all low impedance inputs and busses, then the small
leakage resistances caused by water immersion will have no effect.
(Hint: I used to design marine HF and VHF radios for Intech Inc).

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> I've never tried
> to actually operate a laptop under water, but I suspect it's fairly
> safe. The only thing I would expect to fail is the CPU fan, which is
> made to push air, not water.

Reminds me of a Youtube where there ran a desktop immersed in oil

here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-ivO2mQ5GM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtufuXLvOok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9dU1...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8shV...eature=related

On Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:21:25 -0500, DTC <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>here it is
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-ivO2mQ5GM
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtufuXLvOok
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9dU10goanM
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8shVDvMdo4

Cute. That's what the overclockers and gamers do to keep their CPU's
cool. It works, but is a mess to clean up. I prefer circulating
water cooling, although it's somewhat noisier.

I've done the mineral oil imersion trick and experienced a few
suprises that didn't show up in the videos. After about 24 hours of
operation, both the power supply and CPU fans blew up. My guess is
that the drag created by the oil increased their current drain until
the switcher inside blew. The computah ran fine without the fans
anyway.

One of my friends tried the same thing with vegetable oil, peanut oil,
or something similar. Those also worked fine with one big problem.
The heat from the CPU and PS caused the oil to evaporate, which filled
his office with the smell of rancid oil. He also made the mistake of
taking the wreckage to the local e-waste recycling center, which
refused to take it as they had no idea what manner of chemical (oil)
was oozing out of the boards and PS.

Incidentally, my water cooled contraption worked just fine, with only
two disasters. It sprung a leak, which dripped antifreeze all over
the carpet. I also had the heat exchanger fan blowing directly into
the drapes, which became scorched and in danger of catching fire.



--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Jun 1, 12:06 pm, d...@01.usenet.us.com wrote:
.......
> Earlier Thinkpad models might be similar.

I'd say so. One difference between the newer T6X and older T4X is
that the T series had the premium metal construction lids. IBM/Lenovo
discovered that the metal hindered wifi reception somewhat and altered
the construction in the T6x series to reduce/eliminate any shielding
effect.

On the other hand, the R series, being thicker and cheaper came with a
plastic lid. So while the T4x s are known for great reception, the
R5x, R6x and T6X are somewhat better still.


>There is a video on one of the
> Thinkpad pages showing a guy typing on the keyboard wearing scuba gear,
> sitting on the bottom of a pool. If that's important to you ... ;-)
>

Don't believe it. I know that the T6x (and R6x?) series has now been
engineered to drain spills, but I doubt they could handle getting the
MB wet any more than their predecessors. I spilled coffee on my R50p
last month and it took out the motherboard before I got it powered
off. Luckily, they are easy to replace and not too expensive.

Steve