Originally Posted by
wahoonc
My choice. It is not like you are going to die if the computer goes down. Another thing to think about is getting a refurbished business class laptop. They are a bit better built than standard consumer versions. I routinely get 4-5 years out of Dell D-6XX in a field environment, and they aren't babied. Not abused, I keep them in a padded case for carrying. I would use a dry bag and a padded case for cycling. Look for something like the Dell D430 to get a compact model. FWIW I currently travel (not by bike) with a Dell Mini-10 and a Dell D630. The Mini-10 uses a SSD drive and can get close to 8 hours of battery life.
Aaron
For what its worth I'm the local computer guy here in my VERY small neck of the woods. So I run across quite a few deals. Last week a friend brought over a Dell D610 that he found in the garbage.. Hooked up the universal charger went to bios but the hard drive was bad. Got it for 15 bucks..... Thought about taking it on my tour.. but just tooooooo heavy.. It weighs more than my 17in laptop. But you are right they are pretty rugged. Another friend brought a similar model over that was in a car wreck with them they needed there info off of it. The screen was broke, it had a slight curve to the base.... But it still booted up...
Jay....