Looking for a cheap PC notebook/laptop with an external wireless tablet support for a teacher.

Hello,

I am helping a friend who is a mathematics/math teacher for a school
district. He currently has an old Pentium 3 laptop/notebook, with 512 MB
and Windows 2000, that is just too slow for him and he wants to replace
it to be faster for his teachings.

Bascially, he wants a faster laptop/notebook that can run Windows
2000/XP (let's skip Vista for now) that he can carry and use at home and
school (and any other places). During teaching, he wants be able to hook
up to ANY projectors (even very old ones due to school budgets -- I
think they use VGA resolutions?) to do presentations (graphics, answers,
etc.).

My friend also wants to get an external WIRELESS tablet (Bluetooth or
something) so he can write, erase, etc. using overlays on his programs.
Basically it like the old fashion projection screens with slides and
teachers writing on, but digitally.

Also, the notebook/laptop should be about 14"/15" with about 1280x1024
resolution. He doesn't want those wide screen and huge screens to make
the portability heavy.

Since he is tight on budget (less than $1K [U.S.]), he doesn't need the
fastest and latest stuff out there. Obviously, he needs decent speed,
RAM (1 GB enough for XP and multitasking?), HDD space, Bluetooth?, USB,
light weight, wireless network, long battery life if possible, etc.

A refurbished one is fine as well as long as it gets good warranty and
doesn't break easily. My friend would also like to see the
laptops/notebooks to try if there are local places to visit like retail
stores (e.g, Costco, Best Buy, Circuit City, Fry's Electronics, PC Club,
CompUSA).

Thank you in advance.
--
"When you need a helpline for breakfast cereals, it's time to start thinking about tearing down civilization and giving the ants a go." --Chris King in A.S.R.
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by e-mail.
( )

writes:

> Hello,
>
> I am helping a friend who is a mathematics/math teacher for a school
> district. He currently has an old Pentium 3 laptop/notebook, with 512 MB
> and Windows 2000, that is just too slow for him and he wants to replace
> it to be faster for his teachings.
>
> Bascially, he wants a faster laptop/notebook that can run Windows
> 2000/XP (let's skip Vista for now) that he can carry and use at home and
> school (and any other places). During teaching, he wants be able to hook
> up to ANY projectors (even very old ones due to school budgets -- I
> think they use VGA resolutions?) to do presentations (graphics, answers,
> etc.).
>
> My friend also wants to get an external WIRELESS tablet (Bluetooth or
> something) so he can write, erase, etc. using overlays on his programs.
> Basically it like the old fashion projection screens with slides and
> teachers writing on, but digitally.
>
> Also, the notebook/laptop should be about 14"/15" with about 1280x1024
> resolution. He doesn't want those wide screen and huge screens to make
> the portability heavy.
>
> Since he is tight on budget (less than $1K [U.S.]), he doesn't need the
> fastest and latest stuff out there. Obviously, he needs decent speed,
> RAM (1 GB enough for XP and multitasking?), HDD space, Bluetooth?, USB,
> light weight, wireless network, long battery life if possible, etc.
>
> A refurbished one is fine as well as long as it gets good warranty and
> doesn't break easily. My friend would also like to see the
> laptops/notebooks to try if there are local places to visit like retail
> stores (e.g, Costco, Best Buy, Circuit City, Fry's Electronics, PC Club,
> CompUSA).
>
> Thank you in advance.
> --
> "When you need a helpline for breakfast cereals, it's time to start thinking about tearing down civilization and giving the ants a go." --Chris King in A.S.R.
> /\___/\
> / /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
> | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
> \ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by e-mail.
> ( )

I have been thinking about the same kind of unit for my own purposes
and the IBM thinkpad T41 seems like a good fit for that application.
You write right on its screen rather than an external tablet, but then
it is more of what you see is what you project. They are available on
Ebay for around $1k depending on configuration. It that doesn't meet
his needs, it at least ought to give him a point for comparing other
alternatives.

The one point I would make is that if he gets one, he should find one
with a good warantee left on it (either the IBM one, or one from a
large store/refurbisher that will be in business long enough to honor
it), as my experience is that laptops do eventually die (and a used
laptop has already given up some of its life to the previous owner).
A could of laptops I bought on Ebay without warantee have died within
6-9 months of my buying them (and they weren't obviously lemons upon
arrival, they simply wore out too quickly).

> > I am helping a friend who is a mathematics/math teacher for a school
> > district. He currently has an old Pentium 3 laptop/notebook, with 512 MB
> > and Windows 2000, that is just too slow for him and he wants to replace
> > it to be faster for his teachings.
> >
> > Bascially, he wants a faster laptop/notebook that can run Windows
> > 2000/XP (let's skip Vista for now) that he can carry and use at home and
> > school (and any other places). During teaching, he wants be able to hook
> > up to ANY projectors (even very old ones due to school budgets -- I
> > think they use VGA resolutions?) to do presentations (graphics, answers,
> > etc.).
> >
> > My friend also wants to get an external WIRELESS tablet (Bluetooth or
> > something) so he can write, erase, etc. using overlays on his programs.
> > Basically it like the old fashion projection screens with slides and
> > teachers writing on, but digitally.
> >
> > Also, the notebook/laptop should be about 14"/15" with about 1280x1024
> > resolution. He doesn't want those wide screen and huge screens to make
> > the portability heavy.
> >
> > Since he is tight on budget (less than $1K [U.S.]), he doesn't need the
> > fastest and latest stuff out there. Obviously, he needs decent speed,
> > RAM (1 GB enough for XP and multitasking?), HDD space, Bluetooth?, USB,
> > light weight, wireless network, long battery life if possible, etc.
> >
> > A refurbished one is fine as well as long as it gets good warranty and
> > doesn't break easily. My friend would also like to see the
> > laptops/notebooks to try if there are local places to visit like retail
> > stores (e.g, Costco, Best Buy, Circuit City, Fry's Electronics, PC Club,
> > CompUSA).
> >
> > Thank you in advance.

> I have been thinking about the same kind of unit for my own purposes
> and the IBM thinkpad T41 seems like a good fit for that application.
> You write right on its screen rather than an external tablet, but then
> it is more of what you see is what you project. They are available on

Well, he didn't want one of those tablet PC/notebooks. He just wanted a
light tablet with wireless connection so he can walk around the
classrooms while teaching.


> Ebay for around $1k depending on configuration. It that doesn't meet
> his needs, it at least ought to give him a point for comparing other
> alternatives.

Yea, I suggested that too.


> The one point I would make is that if he gets one, he should find one
> with a good warantee left on it (either the IBM one, or one from a
> large store/refurbisher that will be in business long enough to honor
> it), as my experience is that laptops do eventually die (and a used
> laptop has already given up some of its life to the previous owner).
> A could of laptops I bought on Ebay without warantee have died within
> 6-9 months of my buying them (and they weren't obviously lemons upon
> arrival, they simply wore out too quickly).

Agreed.
--
"When you need a helpline for breakfast cereals, it's time to start thinking about tearing down civilization and giving the ants a go." --Chris King in A.S.R.
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by e-mail.
( )