Recommend a Win 8 tablet/laptop hybrid for business/web design?
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I remember just a short time ago, many laptops maxed out at 4 GB. And a few short years ago, many laptops maxed out at 2 GB.
Yes, from I belieive normal (x32) WindowsXP could only address 3GB... But for work I need to be on Windows 8 x64 and the trouble is that even on 8GB it's still rather slow... If I can find a better desktop search utility that X1 Desktop Search that is less resource hungry then maybe I would get away with 4GB but until such time 4GB remains a deal breaker for me.
J
J
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My laptop is perfectly fine with 4gb of ram. I usually have 8 or 16gb in a desktop solely for my virtual machines.
Like I say, local/desktop indexing and searching is the only thing I need serious RAM for. What do you use for powerful searching of your computer:
A) for textual content
B) for filenames?
[I dont get on with the default Windows7 nor the Office2010 searching...]
J
A) for textual content
B) for filenames?
[I dont get on with the default Windows7 nor the Office2010 searching...]
J
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I use Everything from voidtools.com to search for file names. It's so slick and fast it has changed the way I name files. I put more info in the file name so I no longer care as much about the directory structure. Everything is free.
For textual content I'm using Copernic Desktop search. It's pretty good. Better than windows search for sure. I'm using the free version but they have one that's pro.
This is on a desktop machine with 6 gig ram running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.
I'm struggling to find the right travel machine as you are. Screen resolution is more important than size to me. As are the kind of touch screen you can really do handwriting with. I'm coming to learn that this is NOT a capacitance screen but can't tell if the technical term is "pressure sensitive" or "active digitizer"
A friend has a Fujitsu Lifebook t902. It only has 1600x900 resolution and it's a bit heavy at 1.89 kg but it can take up to 16gig ram and a 256 SSD. A PDF of the specs is at http://globalsp.ts.fujitsu.com/dmsp/Publications/public/ds-LIFEBOOK-T902.pdf
Also one of my pet peeves is a keyboard with dedicated Home and End keys. I use them all the time and don't like having to hold down an FN key to do so. And the t902 has them.
> I use Everything from voidtools.com to search for file names.
Yes nothing seems to come anywhere close to 'Everything' in terms of A) being light on resources, B) few keystroke needed and C) speed of results. I use it all the time too.
BUT, it doesnt really do network drives and (tragically) it is no longer being developed, so I am trying to wean myself off it.
Yes, I might well try Copernic again, although when I last tried it I didnt get on with it. From memory I found it clunky and resource heavy... but that was a couple of years ago and it may have improved.
Yes, 1600x900 is more or less tolerable although with the GBP399 iPad running at 2048x1536 pixels (3.1MP) humble it would bug the cr*p out of me not to be able to watch a Full HD video... at Full HD! Let alone the fact that I would be running at less that 50% the number of pixels... [Dont get me started]
Yes nothing seems to come anywhere close to 'Everything' in terms of A) being light on resources, B) few keystroke needed and C) speed of results. I use it all the time too.
BUT, it doesnt really do network drives and (tragically) it is no longer being developed, so I am trying to wean myself off it.
Yes, I might well try Copernic again, although when I last tried it I didnt get on with it. From memory I found it clunky and resource heavy... but that was a couple of years ago and it may have improved.
Yes, 1600x900 is more or less tolerable although with the GBP399 iPad running at 2048x1536 pixels (3.1MP) humble it would bug the cr*p out of me not to be able to watch a Full HD video... at Full HD! Let alone the fact that I would be running at less that 50% the number of pixels... [Dont get me started]
I've ordered a Lenovo Twist and should have it in a couple of weeks. I ordered Core-i7, Win8 Pro 64 Bit with 8 GB memory, and a 256 GB SSD. What's wrong with that? Previously I'd ordered a Sony slider and cancelled that order when it was unavailable for sale anywhere in the world, but the sliding mechanism for that is more vulnerable than the Twist in my opinion, and the Twist gives more viewing angle options. The Twist's resolution seems a bit limiting, but I also ordered a USB3 port replicator from Lenovo and can connect it to my 22" 3D-HD monitor at home when working on the desktop. The Twist supports higher resolutions on external monitors, so I don't see how I'm negatively impacted at all (except that I might see if I can get a touch-sensitive external desktop monitor in the not too distant future). For movies, I can just chuck it on my 75" Samsung HDTV, no problems, via the HDMI cables (I got a mini-HDMI to full size HDMI adapter for next to nothing). So the main thing I would've liked extra would've been a presure-sensitive stylus, but this machine will do me for the next year or so, easily. Oh, forgot to mention my 128 GB USB3 memory stick that I have plugged in most of the time, got it from eBay for $90. works great and is nearly as fast as internal HDDs.
Edit: I should've mentioned: my present laptop Toshiba Portege R830 has Win8 Pro (clean-upgraded from Win 7 with the boxed version of Win 8 on day 0) Core i5 and 480 GB SSD and 8 GB Ram. Its native 13" display resolution is also 1366 x 768 which has been perfectly adequate for my needs over the last year or so. So I expect no disadvantage using that resolution on a very slightly smaller Twist screen, but get the benefit of Slate/Tablet configuration and touch screen and Core i7, and SATA3 internal. ETA for my Twist delivery is Jan 21.
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@dweebken and @impenetrable
I'll be intrigued to see how you get on in practice.
* * *
Meanwhile, I see that Lenovo has introduced a some interesting new stuff at CES 2013.
e.g. The Lenovo Helix
Hands-On With Lenovo
What's quite cool is that the screen is detachable AND REVERSIBLE. This means that it can close with the screen on the outside like a tablet. OR open and close with the screen on this inside, opposite the keyboard, much like a laptop.
This form factor is surely the way to go. The only fractional down-side is that if you always want to use the keyboard there will be a small amount of extra weight you car carrying around to allow for the detach-ability !
The rest of the spec looks pretty full-caffeine: 11.6", 1080p, Core i7, SSD, "up to 6 hours" as a tablet +4 hours power in, on board storage of stylus with 256 pressure sensitivity.
Personally I will almost always use a keyboard and my main gripe is that the screen is simply too small to comfortably read at 11.6" and 1080p resolution! Because IMHO, to do any serious work I think you need at least a 13" screen.
So I am stilll thinking about the X1 Carbon with a nice big 14inch screen that now has a touch version... BUT even though it is "the thinnest and lightest 14in laptop on the planet" it cant ever be used as a tablet because the screen doesnt fold back 360 degrees so using any substantial use of touch wont really work. Also I *think* it is still only running at 1600 x 900 pixels.
And unfortunately the 13" Lenovo Yoga still isnt 1080p - it's 1,600x900. :^[
Hmmm I wonder if they will make a 13 or 14 inch Helix?
I'll be intrigued to see how you get on in practice.
* * *
Meanwhile, I see that Lenovo has introduced a some interesting new stuff at CES 2013.
e.g. The Lenovo Helix
Hands-On With Lenovo
What's quite cool is that the screen is detachable AND REVERSIBLE. This means that it can close with the screen on the outside like a tablet. OR open and close with the screen on this inside, opposite the keyboard, much like a laptop.
This form factor is surely the way to go. The only fractional down-side is that if you always want to use the keyboard there will be a small amount of extra weight you car carrying around to allow for the detach-ability !
The rest of the spec looks pretty full-caffeine: 11.6", 1080p, Core i7, SSD, "up to 6 hours" as a tablet +4 hours power in, on board storage of stylus with 256 pressure sensitivity.
Personally I will almost always use a keyboard and my main gripe is that the screen is simply too small to comfortably read at 11.6" and 1080p resolution! Because IMHO, to do any serious work I think you need at least a 13" screen.
So I am stilll thinking about the X1 Carbon with a nice big 14inch screen that now has a touch version... BUT even though it is "the thinnest and lightest 14in laptop on the planet" it cant ever be used as a tablet because the screen doesnt fold back 360 degrees so using any substantial use of touch wont really work. Also I *think* it is still only running at 1600 x 900 pixels.
And unfortunately the 13" Lenovo Yoga still isnt 1080p - it's 1,600x900. :^[
Hmmm I wonder if they will make a 13 or 14 inch Helix?
@dweebken and @impenetrable
I'll be intrigued to see how you get on in practice.
...
I'm still waiting on delivery. I called Lenovo last night because their delivery schedule database was down, and had a whinge, because when I ordered the PC over the phone I'd been told I'd receive it this week, but they later said after ordering it that it'd be Jan 21. Now they're saying there's some MORE weeks delay in shipping. They shouldn't offer stuff for sale if they can't ship in reasonable time (like 2 weeks) in my opinion.
The Helix looks interesting, but won't be available until late Feb, which probable means I can't order it in Aus until March or later and maybe wouldn't get delivery until May/June at their current delivery rate.
Update: I called Lenovo on Thursday and spoke to a supervisor who said there's a delay on the supply of the 256 GB SSD in my order. She's going to try to bump up my priority for when the SSDs do come in. Shd said she might have an update for me on Monday.
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We ordered some HP all in one's at work and they are also on a multi-week backup too. Was supposed to ship end of December, now it's estimated mid January sure to part shortages.
How's about this?
NEC LaVie X Ultrabook (on display at CES 2013)
Intel shows off NEC LaVie X Ultrabook at CES 2013The Droid Guy | Top Technology News
A nice big 15.6 inch screen, 1920 x 1080 resolution, Ivy Bridge Core i7-3517U dual-core processor, 1.9GHz clockspeed, 256GB SSD. Weight is 1.59KG/3.5lbs - very impressive for such a large screen.
The only weak point for me is just 4GB of RAM. Oh and it doesnt seem to have touch. Damn. Plus the fact that it isnt out yet...
NEC LaVie X Ultrabook (on display at CES 2013)
Intel shows off NEC LaVie X Ultrabook at CES 2013The Droid Guy | Top Technology News
A nice big 15.6 inch screen, 1920 x 1080 resolution, Ivy Bridge Core i7-3517U dual-core processor, 1.9GHz clockspeed, 256GB SSD. Weight is 1.59KG/3.5lbs - very impressive for such a large screen.
The only weak point for me is just 4GB of RAM. Oh and it doesnt seem to have touch. Damn. Plus the fact that it isnt out yet...
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That is more than enough for a daily usage.
Most Indonesian computers have RAM varying from 128MB-2GB.
The main thing that takes RAM seems to be my desktop searching.
I use Windows (7 x64) and Outlook 2010 for work.And as a webmaster I have nearly 10GB of emails and 2.5GB of documents that need to be indexed. The problem is that the default Windows and Outlook searching see me to be awful.
And so I am using something called X1 Professional Client (Version 6.7.4) - which is superb when it works, but it is incredibly heavy on resources and although it has been around for a while it is somewhat flaky (it often fails to index things completely e.g. my contacts. I tried Ultra Finder a couple of months ago and it was sort of OK but not brilliant and then my trial ran out and it needs me to pay $49.95 to continue - so I have not done so.
A couple of years ago I have previously tried local versions of: coppernic, yahoo, google, bing and for various different reasons I hated each of them.... So for now I am stuck with X1.
Btw, for just filename searching the best thing is the incredibly light-weight "Everything" from voidtools.com I think. But they have stopped supporting it.
So if you anything better and lighter that works well with less than 4GB on these kind of volumes of data please let me know.
J
I use Windows (7 x64) and Outlook 2010 for work.And as a webmaster I have nearly 10GB of emails and 2.5GB of documents that need to be indexed. The problem is that the default Windows and Outlook searching see me to be awful.
And so I am using something called X1 Professional Client (Version 6.7.4) - which is superb when it works, but it is incredibly heavy on resources and although it has been around for a while it is somewhat flaky (it often fails to index things completely e.g. my contacts. I tried Ultra Finder a couple of months ago and it was sort of OK but not brilliant and then my trial ran out and it needs me to pay $49.95 to continue - so I have not done so.
A couple of years ago I have previously tried local versions of: coppernic, yahoo, google, bing and for various different reasons I hated each of them.... So for now I am stuck with X1.
Btw, for just filename searching the best thing is the incredibly light-weight "Everything" from voidtools.com I think. But they have stopped supporting it.
So if you anything better and lighter that works well with less than 4GB on these kind of volumes of data please let me know.
J
This is the Win 8 forums. The sevenforum is over here: Windows 7 Forums
So far I've found the filename indexing on Win 8 to be okay and haven't had to use an external app. Just search from the Start screen. But my needs aren't as high-powered as yours. I'm still only on the trial of X1, and not convinced it's buying me much joy except for email content searches (Outlook and Lotus Notes) where it's been really helpful a couple of times. but for filename searches Ive been using the windows 8 defaults so far.
I used to use the predecessor to X1 (when it was from Yahoo? forgot because it's been so long ago) before it became for pay. And it was fabulous, especially with indexing external or networked media.
But have you tried out the indexing in Windows 7 or 8 lately? It's pretty darn good at indexing documents. I can pretty much accomplish what I did in X1. The major advantage of X1 to me was the quick preview of the document so that you can see if it's relevant. I wish they'd add that to the Windows 8 indexing. But as a free feature, the Windows 8 version seems pretty good.
> But have you tried out the indexing in Windows 7 or 8 lately? It's pretty darn good at indexing documents.
Sorry all I can give is Win7 feedback (I am a *prospective* Win8 buyer!). The filename bit of Win7 searching works *fairly*, well I concede... But how do I get it to do a search on just one directory (and subdirectories)? And how do I get it to index the local network?
Also, I cant work out how to get it to do email searching. And if I search using Outlook2010/Exchange it is frankly atrocious. VERY slow indeed... AND the indexing seems to keep getting stuck so that it doesnt actually index most of my emails.
All in all, Win7 searching gets a big thumbs down, (and I'm guessing Win8 is little or no better!)
J
Sorry all I can give is Win7 feedback (I am a *prospective* Win8 buyer!). The filename bit of Win7 searching works *fairly*, well I concede... But how do I get it to do a search on just one directory (and subdirectories)? And how do I get it to index the local network?
Also, I cant work out how to get it to do email searching. And if I search using Outlook2010/Exchange it is frankly atrocious. VERY slow indeed... AND the indexing seems to keep getting stuck so that it doesnt actually index most of my emails.
All in all, Win7 searching gets a big thumbs down, (and I'm guessing Win8 is little or no better!)
J
here's searching only in one specific subdirectory (D:\kaplan):
so I typed in the search box for "mediastinum" and it found all the documents in this folder only that contained that word, either in the filename, or within the file itself. and this was a Microsoft Word DOCX file. DOCX was the reason I dumped the Yahoo/X1 in the first place. It would index DOC files but not DOCX.
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