13 Jun
2010
13 Jun
'10
8:57 a.m.
I suppose this may be considered passe in this modern
world of iPads and
eBook readers (here on cctalk, of all places!), but I use an old Tablet PC
(an Acer Travelmate C110 - cost me all of $200 on eBay a couple of years
back) for PDF viewing away from my desktop (i.e. on the workbench). It's
nowhere near as light as a Nook, but it's considerably more functional -- I
use it as a dumb terminal, do some light coding, and can annotate PDFs with
the stylus if need be. It's still pretty small - it has a 10.4" 1024x768
screen, weighs somewhere around 3lbs, and is convertible between a "tablet"
form factor and a normal "laptop" with keyboard.
I did the same with my new notebook, a P4 gateway convertible, bought
new about 4 or 5 years ago. The former owner said it gives around 14 (!!!)
hours with the battery being new, I can only get 3 hours from it (it is
still the original battery). I like it, it is a dream for reading PDFs and
drawing. But it is TOO chubby. Weights a lot. I'd love to have something
lighter...