I'm thinking about buying a cheap laptop off of ebay simply for notetaking. The PocketPC just isn't cutting it anymore. I'm thinking though, how can I make it less prone to being damaged? I was thinking I could take out the hard drive, replace it with a CF-to-IDE adapter, load Windows XP Embedded onto it, and pad around the CF card. What else could I do thats cheap and easy? If I put cottonballs under the screen, would it catch on fire? Your advice is appreciated.

Solid state data might be a good idea, but there is only so many times you can write and rewrite to them. A swapfile will kill one in less then a day.

I would just say get yourself a really nice padded case for it, that way it protected.
Maybe one of those metal brief cases with some foar padding in it...

|Drew|

I would simply customize XP Embedded to not have a swapfile... About a case, I believe those are expensive. Oh well maybe I'll just invest in a PDA keyboard instead. Thanks.

not cheap but very usefull
Tablet PC very good for taking notes
(I don't have it but I've tried it)
it goes so good with MS OneNote 2003

Yes TabletPCs are awesome, but very expensive. The lowest priced is around $900-$1000. I'm looking for an under $100 solution

Replacing almost anything in a notebook is a major undertaking. The cheaper notebooks usually need special tools. Notebooks are a far cry from a desktop. Depends on which model you buy. The IBM ThinkPad (in the $200.00 range) has a few older 486 models that open easily and you can swap hard drives, floppy drives, etc. My son uses such a model in college for light work.

We added a foam pad with that space blanket heat abosorber to the bottom of the case. It provides a little cushioning and looks smart. I think he bought it from lik sang. Later, he replaced it with a bottom mount battery that included a pad.

We use those sturdy but lightweight plastic briefcases found in hardware stores for tools. The cushioning material can be cut with an exacto knife (also found in the hardware stores) for the notebook and its accessories. They cost half of what normal notebook cases cost and do the same thing.

Thanks for the info. I know what model of ThinkPad's you're talking about... I had one, but it had a cracked screen. I think it was a 760L (120 mhz Pentium, wow). The nice thing about it was, the keyboard lifted up and gave you access to all the internals. I should buy another one of those.

hello i just recieved a topic reply notification from crispy


what the heck is this? I need to enter a password or something to get in.
and its not MSFN.org its msfnhosting?

and that reply should have been in here ?????

It was a server glitch, I apologize ... ignore it, it should be fixed now

Whoa, I made this topic?