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Not always the latest & greatest, but I can recommend looking at TigerDirect for cheap notebooks, especially their "web-only" specials. I recently picked up a 800mhz/10gHD/128M RAM/WiFi/13" new (not refurbished) IBM R30 ThinkPad for $800. Can't complain about that. Runs Linux just fine too. :-)

I also shopped around on eBay for a while but found used prices a lot higher than new or factory reburbished equipment.

Shop around!

That's a bummer. I got mine from Tiger Direct for $99 in January. Keep watching, maybe they'll come back. $99 is the right price for these.

$80 seems pretty optimistic for a useful machine.
You can get a IBM ThinkPad Transnote for $800, which seems like a steal to me.

Do you really need a laptop?

Apple Newton Message Pad 2100's and Sonic Blue Revo's seem to be going for $100-150 on eBay.

TigerDirect.com has *a lot* of cheap parts and computers, and laptops. Enjoy.

Orange

$1 a Mhz isn't that great, I mean when you get up to a 200Mhz laptop they run around $200-$250 on ebay(last I checked) and you could get a desktop computer three times that fast and a lot newer for around the same price, I saw a 700Mhz PC over at TigerDirect for only $300. Sure, you pay for portability and size, but look in the sales ads, new laptops compared to new PCs around the same speed(in the GHz) isnt that widely varied. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think a p200 laptop should cost $250.

I would get IBM Transnote instead.

I may not have the $4.5K to buy the box but that software looks spiff. The java demo of the cluster monitoring was realy cool. How about I get a stack of these and use the free software.

Yeah yeah network speed blah blah. Let a man dream!

And here's a working link to the Sony 12x firewire drive you mention.

1. ~ Intel Celeron 1GHz processor (FCPGA) ssor socket w/ 66MHz bus
2. 
   128MB SDRAM; Upgradable to 256MB
   ~One 144pin DIMM slot for PC100/PC133 SDRAM
   ~10GB UDMA hard drive
   ~24X Max. CD-ROM drive ( swap for dvd / cd-rw )
   ~56k modem & 10/100 ethernet
   ~Intel 82810E built-in full motion video accelerator w/ 4MB shared video memory
   ~Supports 1280 x 1024 pixels resolution at 24bit color
   ~S-Video / RCA composite Out ports
   ~Speakers and Audio: Built-in 16-bit stereo (Sound Blaster / Adlib compatible)
   ~Built-in speaker
   ~microphone in / line out port
   ~IrDA
   ~Peripheral Connections: Two USB, one 9-pin serial port, one 25 pin parallel port (EPP / ECP) PS/2 mouse & keyboard ports
   ~Dimensions: 157mm x 146mm x 45mm (6.18" x 5.75" x 1.77") & approx. 950g (2 lbs)
   
   * One Year Manufacturer Warranty
   * No Operating System Included

a full pc in a tiny case. check it out

I found tigerdirect has the 800Mhz chip, but nothing faster. These are from the previous version of the C3 that run at 1.6V and don't support SSE. The newest C3, called Ezra, runs at something like 1.2V and uses less power. I think they also have SSE support but I'm not sure about that. I can't find anyone selling these chips. Pricewatch doesn't list newer via chips, google searches just turn up reviews, etc.

How about 10 MB hd, a gigahertz CPU and $500?

Anyone have a good idea why one is $1000 more than the other?

This PC seems to do everything the $1500 one does. Check out what it comes with: Specifications: Processor: Intel Celeron 1GHz processor (FCPGA) 370-Pin processor socket System bus frequency at 66MHz Memory: 128MB SDRAM; Upgradable to 256MB One 144pin DIMM slot for PC100/PC133 SDRAM Storage: 10GB UDMA hard drive 24X Max. CD-ROM drive Video: Intel 82810E built-in full motion video accelerator H/W motion compensation for S/W MPEG2 at 30fps 4MB of video memory (shared) Supports 1280 x 1024 pixels resolution at 24bit color One S-Video Out port One AV Video Out port Speakers and Audio: Built-in 16-bit stereo (Sound Blaster / Adlib compatible) Full duplex 3D stereo sound Built-in speaker One 3.5mm microphone in port One 3.5mm line out port (using active speakers) Communications: Built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet (RJ45) Built-in 56K V.90 modem (53K max. per FCC regulations) IrDA Peripheral Connections: Two USB ports One 9-pin serial port One 25 pin parallel port (EPP / ECP) Keyboard and Mouse: One 6 pin PS/2 mouse port One 6 pin PS/2 keyboard port Electrical Requirements: Line voltage 100V AC (100V to 130V AC) or 230V AC (180V to 260V AC) Frequency: 47 to 63 Hz, single phase Power in: DC 18V / 3A Maximum power 64 Watt Weight and Size: System approximately 950g (2 lbs) System Dimensions: 157mm x 146mm x 45mm (6.18" x 5.75" x 1.77") One Year Manufacturer Warranty No Operating System Included [PERFECT FOR LINUX!]

Although I have never shopped here, TigerDirect has some good prices on DVD-RAM's as well as DVD-R & DVD+RW, well below the $25.00 / disc prices of last year.

3%

TigerDirect is also selling the IA-2 model for $99, just look here.

You can get a USB ethernet adaptor and then you can use broadband

The DLink one mentioned is $30

Accessories Supported:

USB Mouse

Standard Speakers sets
USB Ethernet Adapters

Supported USB/HPNA 2.0 adapters
- Netgear Phoneline PA101 10MB USB Home Network adapter
- Linksys USB200HA
Supported USB/Ethernet adapters
- Linksys USB10TX v3
- Linksys USB100TX 100T
- D-Link USB 10/100 Ethernet Adapter

it seems that tiger is trying to list everything twice for double ratings.

So would it look like this http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTool s/item-details.asp?sku=D158-1008 only in different colors then? Is this really that new of a concept? These things have been in the last few Tiger catalogs I've gotten.

-J

Head over to TigerDirect, or your favorite catalog or web site. Buy parts. Build PC. Enjoy PC. Install Linux on PC.

Hmmm. They may have just been temporarily slashdotted? I can still get to them at this link. If not, just go to Tiger Direct and do a search for 'Audrey'. And Tiger Direct is reputable - just look at the Audrey Hacking website, like, in the forums. You'll read lots of good things about Tiger Direct, at least as far as the Audrey goes.

Hmmm. They may have just been temporarily slashdotted? I can still get to them at this link. If not, just go to Tiger Direct and do a search for 'Audrey'. And Tiger Direct is reputable - just look at the Audrey Hacking website, like, in the forums. You'll read lots of good things about Tiger Direct, at least as far as the Audrey goes.

That hideous price tag is now down to $89, plus $30 for the USB Ethernet adapter if you have a LAN at home (this is at TigerDirect). Audrey still works fine, if all you want to do is e-mail and light web browsing (the "channels" of presumably specialized content no longer work, but otherwise the unit is fully functional).

If you do a little relatively easy hacking, you can get a GUI text editor onto it that could be a passable word processor, and Audrey does hook up to certain USB printers with no modification.

Most people are hacking the shit out of them, though-- they make great little terminals for controlling home automation and stuff-- I have two.

~Philly

I haven't seen this posted in the discussion yet... One can purchase an Audrey for $89, brand new in a sealed-by-3Com box, at Tiger Direct. I have two of them, and they're quite fun to play with. :-)

- Eric

tigerdirect.com has alot of cheap PC systems. Everything from emachines to IBM netfinity servers
For A cheap roll your own they also have some barebones sytems

tigerdirect.com has alot of cheap PC systems. Everything from emachines to IBM netfinity servers
For A cheap roll your own they also have some barebones sytems

tigerdirect.com has alot of cheap PC systems. Everything from emachines to IBM netfinity servers
For A cheap roll your own they also have some barebones sytems

tigerdirect.com has alot of cheap PC systems. Everything from emachines to IBM netfinity servers
For A cheap roll your own they also have some barebones sytems

Here is one of the more interesting toys I've gotten lately, the 3com Audrey. Now on sale at TigerDirect for $89. Take the plunge and get the 3com 3c19250 USB Ethernet adapter, available Here for $30.

The quick breakdown on the Audrey, they run QNX 6.0 out of a flash disk, and have a browser, mail program, scheduler, memo pad, and some other tools built in. It can also sync with your PalmOS device. Hardware-wise, it is a Geode 200mhz processor, with 32 megs of ram and a 16 meg flash. It has a built in 56k modem, 2 USB ports, an infrared keyboard, 640x480 touchscreen, stereo sound with built in speakers.

Once you have followed the directions listed in the threads at the I-Appliance BBS you will be able to install other applications from QNX 6.0, or even upgrade your system library so you can run 6.1 binaries. People have turned this unit into remote terminals, digital picture frames, mp3 players, home automation terminals, etc. You can't put linux on it because it (yet) because it doesn't actually have a BIOS, but once you get familiar with QNX you really won't mind. You get download QNX 6.1 for free, there ISO is Here. It is a pretty nice OS in its own right.

I've got two Audreys, I use one to run QNX-based ICQ and AIM, so I can dualboot to play ReVolt or take apart my main machine for whatever reason. The other one is my girlfriend's and she uses the builtin apps for scheduling etc plus for web surfing in the bedroom.

The only downside to the Audrey is that its pretty... Shall we say... Lacking in testosterone. Everything from the shape of the unit, to the bootup giggle, to the layout of the manual, to the clear, oddly shaped stylus... Definately was being marketed to the fairer sex. But that's ok, cause chicks will dig it.

Ditto.

I used to use a 2 port Linksys and a hub, which worked great. I replaced them both with this closeout 3com model which is $50, and has a built-in print spooler.

I covet this box, but not as a router.

You may want to consider a refurbished laptop, like some of the ones here. And if you're really serious about long battery life, these claim to give you up to 12-16 hours of usable battery life, with the downside being that they are external, and a bit pricey:
Electrofuel PowerPad 120-A Notebook Battery (up to 12 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 120-B Notebook Battery (up to 12 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 160-A Notebook Battery (up to 16 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 160-B Notebook Battery (up to 16 hour)
PS:Sorry all the links go to TigerDirect, I'm sure you can find the products on Pricewatch also. Just remembered seeing the external batteries in one of thier catalogs, is all.

You may want to consider a refurbished laptop, like some of the ones here. And if you're really serious about long battery life, these claim to give you up to 12-16 hours of usable battery life, with the downside being that they are external, and a bit pricey:
Electrofuel PowerPad 120-A Notebook Battery (up to 12 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 120-B Notebook Battery (up to 12 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 160-A Notebook Battery (up to 16 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 160-B Notebook Battery (up to 16 hour)
PS:Sorry all the links go to TigerDirect, I'm sure you can find the products on Pricewatch also. Just remembered seeing the external batteries in one of thier catalogs, is all.

You may want to consider a refurbished laptop, like some of the ones here. And if you're really serious about long battery life, these claim to give you up to 12-16 hours of usable battery life, with the downside being that they are external, and a bit pricey:
Electrofuel PowerPad 120-A Notebook Battery (up to 12 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 120-B Notebook Battery (up to 12 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 160-A Notebook Battery (up to 16 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 160-B Notebook Battery (up to 16 hour)
PS:Sorry all the links go to TigerDirect, I'm sure you can find the products on Pricewatch also. Just remembered seeing the external batteries in one of thier catalogs, is all.

You may want to consider a refurbished laptop, like some of the ones here. And if you're really serious about long battery life, these claim to give you up to 12-16 hours of usable battery life, with the downside being that they are external, and a bit pricey:
Electrofuel PowerPad 120-A Notebook Battery (up to 12 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 120-B Notebook Battery (up to 12 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 160-A Notebook Battery (up to 16 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 160-B Notebook Battery (up to 16 hour)
PS:Sorry all the links go to TigerDirect, I'm sure you can find the products on Pricewatch also. Just remembered seeing the external batteries in one of thier catalogs, is all.

You may want to consider a refurbished laptop, like some of the ones here. And if you're really serious about long battery life, these claim to give you up to 12-16 hours of usable battery life, with the downside being that they are external, and a bit pricey:
Electrofuel PowerPad 120-A Notebook Battery (up to 12 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 120-B Notebook Battery (up to 12 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 160-A Notebook Battery (up to 16 hour)
Electrofuel PowerPad 160-B Notebook Battery (up to 16 hour)
PS:Sorry all the links go to TigerDirect, I'm sure you can find the products on Pricewatch also. Just remembered seeing the external batteries in one of thier catalogs, is all.

All this is is winamp on some cheap but shiny looking box. You can accomplish the same thing (albeit without as pretty of a box) for 1/3 the cost using the 3com Audrey. $89.99 from tigerdirect, as opposed to $289 for the Audiotron.

Why can't I find a nice laptop in the budget $300-500 range?

You can buy older notebooks at Tiger Direct:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/c ategory_slc.asp?Id=1701

They have at least one in the $300-$500 range, maybe even more than one.

steveha

Just get a 3COM Audrey. $89 and for another $30 you can add a USB ethernet adapter.

The now discontinued 3com Audrey is on sale over at Tiger Direct for a cheap $89. Add on a $40 USB network adapter and you're in there. I kinda want one, but I'm gonna get a wireless card for my labtob instead. Dig it...

Yeah, there's also spam friendliness that will get you blocked from various networks all around the planet, thanks to ELN's habit of only replying to complaints of abuse from their network when their supposed anti-spam stance (from back when they took Sanford Wallace to court, mind you, quite a few years back) is threatened with exposure, or they're threatened with a listing on the RBL (auto-ignorebots don't count as replies).

And, at least in Florida (where a good friend has first-hand experience), in the Tampa area, the solidity of their dialups is somewhat dubious itself, dropping connections at random intervals, and providing slow connect speeds even when the local copper is in good shape.

That kind of crap is why I dumped my Mindspring address (well, that, and TigerDirect wouldn't stop spamming my address, after repeated bitchgrams to both TD and BellSouth, their upstream provider). Funding spammers and/or spam enablers is not something that sits well with me. (This post, ironically, coming from a town where UUNet dialups, like the one I'm using, are essentially the only game, if you want access to the rest of the world via a modem.)

I prefer the removable drive bay myself, because you can also use the available bay to boot test operating systems via lilo simply by addressing the appropriate partition on the 2nd drive.

If you go to removable drive bays, you can get them cheap from www.tigerdirect.com for about $14.99 each without fans (with keys) and 3 fan models (without key) for about $22.99 (there are discounts in higher quantities 3-5 or 6 or more tiers)

You may also find the external usb/paralell and firewire kits there as well.

They send out almost weekly catalogs (the size of a magazine) for free if you sign up for one at the website.

(not important to this line) They are selling one of those robot lawn mowers in there for $794.99, i though those things were going to be thousands of dollars.. ill get one if i can one day.

DRACO-

I have a catalogue for Tiger Direct sitting on my desk right now. It has info on a product called the I-Jam 833 (IJ-833). It plays MP3's burned onto a Cd, but doesn't give much info. I tried to find it on their website, but couldn't get any where. Any one have more info?

I always use E-gold or something similar when possible because it protects me as a consumer. I did work for a large catalog/online company that sells computers and related products. While employeed there I showed them several methods their system could be penetrated, including grabbing a list of credit cards (several thousand) which I dropped on mgmt's desk w/ a detailed step-by-step list of how I did it and how to fix it. They never have fixed it (it's been over a year) and it's been enough to cure me from most online shopping. If I use a credit card I use a debit card with a hard limit and only a small amount of $ in the account. It should be noted that this company is using the same software that many other companies use and that I had no special access to the system. Just by knowing the software they used and how those bits work together I was able to access the system at a very high level.

Plays CDs and CD-R's with MP3s on them. Equalizer, anti-shock (though I doubt playing MP3 CD-Rs could have any kind of anti-shock), and a built-in battery charger if you use rechargeables. Fairly ugly-looking, but it's portable and the best part is that there's NO FRIGGIN' DOWNLOADING. Has a digital display, a simple dsp equalizer, and bass boost.

Available for immediate shipment at: 1-800-292-6095 or http://www.tigerdirect.com/.

Umm, duh...

Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/

Plays CDs and CD-R's with MP3s on them. Equalizer, anti-shock (though I doubt playing MP3 CD-Rs could have any kind of anti-shock), and a built-in battery charger if you use rechargeables. Fairly ugly-looking, but it's portable and the best part is that there's NO FRIGGIN' DOWNLOADING. Has a digital display, a simple dsp equalizer, and bass boost.

Available for immediate shipment at: 1-800-292-6095 or http://www.tigerdirect.com/.

Umm, duh...

Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/

The Pine D'music is great, I bought one recently mainly because I have all my MP3s archived on CD anyway, so I might as well. I bought mine from TigerDirect.com (Catalog number P450-1270CD) and it cost me approx. 300$ USD. A quick search over there didnt show it on its website, possibly because its primarially setup for PC systems, but you can Request a catalog and I know its in there. I just tried a few other sites (buy.com, pricepulse.com) and didnt see any listing for it, so I dont know where else you could get it. Good luck!

----------------------------------

The Pine D'music is great, I bought one recently mainly because I have all my MP3s archived on CD anyway, so I might as well. I bought mine from TigerDirect.com (Catalog number P450-1270CD) and it cost me approx. 300$ USD. A quick search over there didnt show it on its website, possibly because its primarially setup for PC systems, but you can Request a catalog and I know its in there. I just tried a few other sites (buy.com, pricepulse.com) and didnt see any listing for it, so I dont know where else you could get it. Good luck!

----------------------------------

I know there are several external VGA to NTSC converters available. Some of them don't require any drivers and are therefor OS independent. This is also an alternative if you are out of slots, or if you're running a laptop.

I know TIGER software used to have a bunch of these for sale, though I can't recommend the company, it might at least give you a starting point for comparing brands and features.

Also, I know x10 makes an external VGA to NTSC product, (that uses a 2.4 Ghz wireless transmitter/recvier combination so the output can displayed on any NTSC device in your house) and they have been fairly good about releasing linux drivers for their products if it does turn out to need drivers.

One caveat though, I have never thought these products did a great job converting 640x480 to NTSC, they might be better converting NTSC level resolution from the VGA out port to NTSC though.

Well, the glasses can only be used for television, and not for your computer--unless you use a tv-out card, but then the resolution would be very low, and text would probably be unreadable.

I have also something similar, but they could be used with your computer too. You can find more information at TigerDirect's Homepage.

Also, does anyone know if these glasses are also available for PAL? The page says that it can be connected to any NTSC source but it does not mention anything about PAL.

Did anyone else notice the warning? "This product is not intended to be used by children age 15 or younger." Does anyone have information on this? Maybe it does more damage to the eye than a normal TV screen?

You could just buy your own computer. That's what I did when I lived at home. Can't get a top of the line rig, but you can get some parts and throw something together. Tiger and Egghead tend to have pretty good prices/cheap shipping.

LocalEmperor

-=He is watching you=-