Out of stock

[innocent_lex]

In my never-ending search for gadgets, I want something I can use to help me write on the tube. This is not a simple task, both in the fact that I can't read my own writing on a good day and the bumping of the tube makes it simply not worth the effort for pen and paper, and in the fact that what I want either doesn't exist or is out of stock. Yes, the entire world of electronics is out of stock.

My journey so far :
- investigation of a folding portable keyboard to go with my Palm T3. This is harder than it looks, as said keyboards either don't work with the T3 or are IR devices. On a tube? Not a chance the T3 will balance in the little cradle without flying off at the first bounce, let alone actually keeping an IR connection. Scratch that off the list.
- decided there's absolutely no point investigating further handheld gadgets as I did that a couple of months ago and it's a waste of time. Deem these scratched off.
- investigation of the ASUS eeePC which is a wee laptop running on linux. Sadly, while it's great in concept it has only 4Gb of flash drive space, and if I'm going to buy what's basically a word processor I'd like it to be less than £250, especially since you only get less than half that space to use for yourself. And anyway, it's pretty much out of stock everywhere, so even if I did want one I'd want to see it before I bought it. Scratch that.
- investigated UMPCs (ultra mobile PCs) which means a laptop but a lot smaller. And guess what? I found something! It has everything that my real laptop has, except for the CD / DVD drive. I checked review sites, more review sites, and on and on. And then, because I want to see it in reality before I buy, I had a look at various shopping sites... it's out of stock everywhere! Oy.

So, UK folks, when you shop for computers in real bricks-and-mortar shops, where do you go?

Comments

[sg1jb]

What about a small slate-style tablet pc -- like this:

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/the-digital-writing-pad,review-144-10.html

[innocent-lex.livejournal.com]

The one I've been looking at does both the tablet function and the laptop function, depending on what you need at the time. It's the Vye S37, based on a Japanese make (and I'm not sure if they're actually the same thing) http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/hardware/2208243/review-vye-s37

Price is a consideration, too, and this pushes the maximum I'm prepared to pay.

[sg1scribe.livejournal.com]

The only place I've ever got any decent service is John Lewis, where I purchaseed my Sony.

The Sony shop in MK was completely useless. They wouldn't let me play with the computers because apparently once they switched them on they would invalidate the guarantee or some other nonsense. Their sales staff were all 12-year morons too (although that is probably insulting your average 12 year old).

[innocent-lex.livejournal.com]

I buy an awful lot of stuff from John Lewis (it's where I got my Vaio) but they don't seem to sell what I want this time around. I'm gutted. John Lewis is my staple shop!

[sg1scribe.livejournal.com]

I was just thinking about that conversation we had at the weekend. What I really like about John Lewis is that they don't look at me and go 'middle-aged woman' therefore 'knows nothing about computers but will want the pink one'.

Too many supposed 'gadget' shops employ staff who not only know less about the gadget I want to buy, they actually get their facts wrong.

[innocent-lex.livejournal.com]

I do like that about John Lewis in general - the people who work there are actually helpful and try their best, even to the extent of backing off when they're in danger of being annoying.

I had one weird experience when looking for a laptop a couple of years ago, where some young bloke pointed me at something, said it was great and began extolling its virtues when it came to gaming. I just stared at him. Finally I interrupted and asked, "Yes, but what can it do that's actually useful?" He was quite flummoxed. I had to talk to someone else in the end.

[rynogeny.livejournal.com]

You sound like you know what you want, but I've been researching the Asus eee for a work project, and while you're right about it only having 4GB of drive space, it also has an SD card slot, which people have been using to bump that up quite a bit (such as carrying around two or even three 8GB cards.) Still not much in comparison to a 'real' laptop with a 80-100GB hard drive, though the flash drive is apparently particularly useful in situations where the device is likely to get banged around quite a bit.

I saw a random thread on a tech forum the other day where a guy was saying he was about to depart on a round-the-world trip, including the Mt Everest base camp, Asia and Africa, with just a backpack, and was wondering what people would recommend, laptop wise.

The eee won, hands down, because it's cheap (thus not hideous to replace if it gets stolen), hard drives don't fare well in high altitudes, it's light and portable, and he can carry as many good-sized SD cards as he wants to supplement the size of the drive -- and by keeping them separate from the device, he'd be covered if it did get stolen. None of that's relevant for you, of course, but I thought it was an interesting discussion.

I've actually thought I might get one when my laptop needs to be replaced. It has wifi, and USB, meaning I could use the same setup for connecting to the internet that I use now (near broadband speeds through my wireless phone company.)

But the UMPC's are supposed to be really cool, too. Good look getting your hands on one!

[innocent-lex.livejournal.com]

The thing about 4Gb of space is it would be full in an instant, and I don't want to be carrying around extra bits and pieces. So it's a nice concept for what it is, and I'm sure is incredibly useful for all kinds of situations, but I suppose what it comes down to is if I'm going to get something I want flexibility, something I can turn on and start using without having to work out a new OS and new programs, and few limits.

Still, if I ever get the urge to climb a mountain, I'll bear the eee in mind. *g*