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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: caymanreview on July 28, 2003, 04:35:44 PM
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im in the market for a laptop, im selling my other gear and gonna go mod ua5 > laptop
been looking around at picturebooks and such, im looking for something that small, and to my knowledge they are the only ones that small right?
i could care less about the smaller keyboard/screen really
anyone have any suggestions on what other laptops i should check out?
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the fujitsu makes a lifebook that is quite small, and there are some other sony models, particularly the japanese models, that are also in that category of subnotebook.
but a picturebook should do the trick, just beware of running a soundcard through usb on it...i could not get my usbpre to run 24bit on it no matter what, only 16 bit would work reliably. i have also heard of problems with the mini-me and picturebook, which may or may not have been solved with the use of a pcmcia usb card.
pcmcia devices on the other hand appear to be pretty stable, ie. vx pocket, multiset, etc.
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i got an ibm x24 and it is small and light. 12" screen, so better for an all purpose laptop.
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have any ideas as to the used value of one of those?
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I have had no problem running a MiniMe into the Sony C1VN Picturebook via the on-board USB. I've heard plenty of people complain about it, but I can assure you it works fine if setup correctly. Some people just don't know what they are doing.
Rusty
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I would highly recommend staying away from usb. You can use a m-audio firewire 410 and a pcmcia firewire card and then you be fully 24/96 capable. something you won't ever get with usb.
http://www.midiman.net/products/m-audio/fw410.php
just my .02
As far as the computer, i personally believe the picturebook can't be beat. its the only computer I know that will last a full show under its own battery power. If you get into the bigger laptops you're also going to have to get external batteries which mean more weight and more $$$. I wouldn't trade my 667 mhz p-book for a brand new $3000 4ghz pentium 4 dell. You really don't need all that processing power and having it uses up too much power in the field. again my .02
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I would highly recommend staying away from usb. You can use a m-audio firewire 410 and a pcmcia firewire card and then you be fully 24/96 capable. something you won't ever get with usb.
http://www.midiman.net/products/m-audio/fw410.php
just my .02
As far as the computer, i personally believe the picturebook can't be beat. its the only computer I know that will last a full show under its own battery power. If you get into the bigger laptops you're also going to have to get external batteries which mean more weight and more $$$. I wouldn't trade my 667 mhz p-book for a brand new $3000 4ghz pentium 4 dell. You really don't need all that processing power and having it uses up too much power in the field. again my .02
better listen to him, flounder, he's pre-med.
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better listen to him, flounder, he's pre-med.
Or don't listen to him, considering it's a load of crap and 24/96 works fine over USB... I'd be willing to bet 24/192 would work as well, but my Emagic wont support that input... Maybe it's a big issue in the windows world, but USB has more than enough bandwidth for 24 bit audio.
And my iBook has lasted numerous shows without an external battery. I dunno if the original poster is considering macs or not, but I've found mine to be great for recording live audio.
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And if you look around the 14 inch mac g4 's are going pretty cheap. I may get a 12 inch powerbook in the near future. If I can get work to cover it ;)
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You mean the old PowerBooks (Pismos/Lombards)? Those things are awesome...durable as hell (and I love the design)...
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i think im gonna go with the c1vn for sure, just to find that rigt deal, and sell my m1
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Good choice. I had a c1vn until someone fell on it and busted the screen at oak mtn. I got a c1vpk after that. One thing i would recommend is sending it to Sonic Sense and let him put his dual boot platform on it. It really makes that thing stable.
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Or just install two OSs yourself.
Get in touch with me. I can walk you through it and you'll probably save a few bucks.
Rusty
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thanks guys
whats involved with upgrading a c1xs with a 266mhz processor to say like 667mkz crusoe processor
possible?
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not possible
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yeah, for the most part what you get with a laptop is what you're stuck with. Notible exceptions are RAM & hard disk.
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thanks for the info
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I have a fujitsu lifebook and love it. the p series are small like the vaio picturebooks and they are less expensive. seem to be durable. got my from tigerdirect.com for 999
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i have been looking into those fujitsu lifebooks... i havent found a great price on one yet.... but they do look like a great laptop for what il be using them for
what kind of battery life you get outta it?
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bigbill won't be back til tomm
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he uses an electrofuel to power his toshiba don't he?
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yeah thats right, i forgot, even thou he has a fujitsu
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i taped with a guy this weekend using one of those lifebooks and he ran the extended battery through the whole show i believe
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http://www.dynamism.com/index.shtml
The prices aren't that good but it gives you a good idea of whats out there and on the way
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thanks for all the help guys, ive got t he cash for a laptop, just finding the right one within the time i have till the next time i need it...as my dat is sold i believe
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Dustin, when you pick up your laptop, be sure and purchase a Valence N-Charge battery. I have nothing but good things to say about mine!
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And obviously I guess you also didn't realize that you would intentionally fuck a fellow kind taper in a trade for some equipment either now did you. Thanks for the fucking you gave me Dustin, I really appreciate getting screwed. In the future anyone thinking of doing a trade with Dustin, I would advise you to not trade with this guy. He had originally promised to send me his Mod SBM1 and the 7 pin to optical cable so that I could use it with my JB3. While he did send the SBM1 only after he knew for sure that I had sent my package to him which was a Mod Edirol UA-5 and external battery power system to power it out in the field. He had led me to believe that he had the cable in his posession and that he would be sending the cable alond with the SBM1. I am still stuck with no 7 pin to optical cable, and without this cable I can't record jack shit. Also to boot, in our original agreement he said that he would send me $100 dollars cash the cable, and the mod SBM1 and then he backed out on the $100 cash and I told him that it would be ok as long as he sent the cable since the cable is worth $90 dollars. Thanks Dustin for the great trade, I am very glad that it worked out for you. I would warn you to seriously think about any trades that this loser wants to do with you. This guy will screw you over in a minute.
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what are you talking about? whos dustin?
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what are you talking about? whos dustin?
Dustin is caymanreview. Hypogluxa has posted this same msg half a dozen times, at least. I've offered to help the two of them work this out - privately. Hopefully it'll all be resolved to everyone's satisfaction in relatively short order.
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Well, to lighten up the mood a bit, I will ask you all a question about laptop recording. I am considering selling my deck and buying a laptop. Seems too simple not to.
Could someone touch upon the various means of inputting audio(e.g. USB, etc...)?
Has anyone made the switch and not looked back, or perhaps regretted it terribly?
I like my DA-P1, but transfers to the hard drive are time consuming. mod UA-5 will be a reality for me, in the near future. Any one use this for laptop recoding?
Thanks for the advice!
peace,
mattehw
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i use a vxpocket and laptop, but still use dat as backup. has the laptop failed yet, no, not yet.
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I switched back in October 2001 and haven't looked back. UA5 has been solid for 24/48 using the MME drivers and nTrack or Sound Forge 5.0. I also use V3>VxPocket without any issues. The UA5 has been very unreliable for 24/96 - I've had success in the past, but the last few I've tried had 'skips' in it so I've given up for now. 24bit sounds excellent - enough of an improvement over 16/48 DAT that I have no interest in turning back.
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I think people will start getting out of this UA-5 kick when the m-audio firewire 410 comes out.. that is if it works as is described. I am one who has made the switch to lappys and doesn't look back, but I'm also the kind of guy who likes to stay one step ahead of the pack.
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made the switch wes? you never had a dat
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I did too. I used to patch with a d7. only had it for about 5 months though
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everything is worked out