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Lunchbox Computers for Live Music Performances?
Dan Reetz asks: "As a PC based musician, mobility is critical. However, most laptops have horrible soundcards. PCMCIA cards like a VXPocket cost about 700 clams. A friend of mine recommended I look into 'lunchbox' style computers as a portable solution. A few searches revealed them to be quite expensive and they are hard to find used. Does anyone know of a source for used Lunchbox PC's (even just the diplay would be fine) or a better low latency/noise audio solution for laptops?"
I have done a dj thing at a small event (party for uni society) with just a PC and a whole load of tracks i ripped for ease or mixing on a pc. Plus with a TV out card card winamp plugins can be projected onto a well
Lunchbox machines aren't meant to be cheap or inexpensive...Their meant to be ruggedized PC's in portable enclosures for jobs that need the full power and expandability of a desktop PC without the (relative) fragility that comes along with desktops. You probably are not going to find one cheap. If you want this kind of power and can be reasonably careful, an intelligently built desktop that is carefully secured inside the case can do your job. You want that ruggedness...you're going to pay for it.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
A cheap new laptop with your expensive PCMICA sound card would still be under $2000. Thats much cheaper than any of the decent luggables, and less expensive than making your own luggable - if your time is worth more than $20 an hour. If price is an issue, than a used MicroATX form factor computer with a 15" LCD monitor strapped to it permently coulden't cost more than $1000 and would weigh about 15 poinds. Paint the whole thing black with Krylon and it might even look cool.
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
How about using the USB ports for audio? You probably don't want a cheap pair of USB speakers, but perhaps just a box you can hook up from USB to your amplifier. A quick web search found one but of course I have no idea if it meets your quality needs. If this works, you could use any laptop with decent USB.
Perhaps you could get a small computer that has a PCI slot, such as a Shuttle SV24. Get a flat-screen display and a small keyboard and mouse, and then stick in your choice of high-quality PCI-based sound card. This plus a couple of carrying cases would be about as functional as a lunchbox portable, and a heck of a lot cheaper.
Good luck.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
I've been thinking about building a similar type thing myself. Take a good, metal briefcase. Go to your local computer hobby shop, and pick up a small motherboard, perferably with intigrated ethernet/modem, etc. Throw in a video and sound card, whatever proc you like, etc. Put it in the bottom of the briefcase so that the sound and video are flush with the side. Cut two rectangular holes in the side, so that the cards can have the plugs sticking out, just like in a case. Mount a sheet of metal above this. The keyboard and mouse rest there. In the top of the briefcase, take a flat screen (15in for under 300 now) cut off the stand and mount it in the top. Run the cords to a small surge that fits in the case, and cut a door for the cable to come out and plug in. I'm sure something could be done for battery power. There, for not much more than a normal desktop, you have a portable powerhouse, that will do whatever you want.
Sig!
Amen. So many of these slashdot questions (and I'm not usually so critical of them) are in the form of:
;)
... you know you're on the right path when you're dealing with cheap enough gear thats not quite good enough, not when you're looking at aquiring super expensive gear thats likely overkill for your desired application and use on the cheap.
The rest of the world seems to have to do/pay X to make Y. I don't have X. How do I make Y?
Computer based musicians should know that it's a terribly expensive hobby. I say hobby, because, he's obviously not makin too much money off of it. What would he do if he actually had to pay for his software too (as the software will usually run you up into the 1000$'s once you have all the neccessary effect and software synth packages most comp based musicians need)? Oh wait, I guess he'd just ask where he could pick up Emagic Logic Audio on the cheap too
As for the original question, going the lunch box route would be lunacy. They were not built for mobile musicians, so why not realize that the best route would be to figure out what other musicians of his industry demographic are doing? His underlying question would be far more appropriate on a comp-musician's website like Sonic State or Harmony Central
"Old man yells at systemd"
What you really want is a regular laptop with a Firewire audio interface. There are several on the market now geared more towards multi-channel stuff, but I'm working on a hardware design that would make a high-quality (think 24bit, 192KHz) stereo output relatively cheap (say $100). Email me at omega at temple - baptist dot com for more info, but don't expect anything usable for a few months ;-}
GStreamer - The only way to stream!
Jeez - you guys take yourselves way too seriously and come across as boring and pedantic. Big deal if the guy is asking the impossible. Read something else and don't waste his time with a lame reply.
Sheesh.
At least some here knows about real studio equipment. After reading the article I feel sick, it doesn't even make sense. There is no mention of this guy's needs except for some reason (unexplained) he needs a lunchbox machine?!? Com'on This guy (1) can't afford real audio equipment (2) Hasn't picked up a Damn music hardware catalog in about five years. (3) Probably has never played a real gig. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but if this guys a pro musician I will cut off my arms so everyone would know that I'm not.
"Get them before they get....
unless you need the 24/96 fidelity for something (and if you're playing live it's not really going to make a difference) just use what comes built into the notebook and get a $6 patch cable at the shack. i know many musicians who use PCs (some highly successful) and only the truly anal and wealthy among them has invested in high-end sound for the PC that they take to gigs.
here's my alternate solution: get a portable 19" audio rack bin ($60-$200 available at any fine audio gear merchant) and a cheap 1U rackmount box with 1 PCI clot from siliconrax or somebody ($700-$2000 depending on configuration). get a delta66 adapter (probably $150 by now) and shut off the onboard sound. in this way, your computer is fairly self-contained and portable, and you have more rack space for your effects, mixers, nord lead or whatever else you need to carry.