4 replies to this topic

[AdvMutant]

Hey all.
By Christmas, I'm gonna have 83$(300 NIS), and I wanna plan what I'm gonna use it for. I have several different options -

I can buy a 2.5" HDD USB adapter, so not only I can get myself a[long awaited] external HDD to install Linux on, but I can also re-use it. It's something very useful, so if a HDD gets full I can just buy another. The main reason why I don't want a 320GB external HDD[which is the cheapest one available] is too much space, so if I get the adapter I spend 11$[40 NIS] on it, plus 14$[50 NIS] on a HDD, it's a total of 25$[90 NIS], while the 320 HDD is around 85$. 60$ saved. But I need to know one thing, do these adapters need an external power source, or can I power them with nothing more than a USB port?

I also really want something comfortable to read eBooks on. I'm gonna get a netbook, but I'm just being curious - will a Palm M105[160 NIS, 45$] or "Palp Pilot M550"[probably a typo, double typo actually. The picture shows a Palm Pilot M505 :c-lol:. 200 NIS, 55$] serve as a nice portable eReader? Something that I can pull out of my pocket at a school break and start reading "C For Dummies" or something. I really like reading but I rarely do, because my parents are kinda short of money. They say that books are expensive and tell me to read PDFs which I hate because I like to read books only before I go to bed, while I'm lying. You see, I hate wasting day hours on things that I can do at night, mainly because I go to bed early.

Another options is a SSD. Since I'm gonna get a netbook, I want it to be strong and comfortable because it's gonna be my primary workstation for a long time. Bleh, what I really want is some l33t boot speed XD, which I can get with a Kingston 8GB SSD 83$[300 NIS]. I don't really know if it's worth it, but it really is awesome. If I'll get it I'll have to find a way to push it somewhere it's not supposed to be in, because nettops rarely have an extra HDD slot and I'm not gonna give up the original one. Do SSDs produce heat as much as HDDs do? I thought that maybe I can put it behind the LCD.

I wanted to get a screenless Pentium 1 laptop[70 NIS, 20$] and turn it to a nettop server, but chargers are expensive and the laptop didn't have one. I thought about it a lot and decided that it isn't worth it. I can invest the cash in something better, and build a nettop.

Or... I can just save the cash. Don't know what for, just save it and see where it goes.

The thing is that I never had 83$ before, and now that I'm gonna get it I'll have to use it smartly.
Happy X-mas! :c-biggrin:
Thanks for any help. Mike.

[Alexander]

As per SATA spec, a desktop SATA drive will require 12v, that is nearly double what USB can provide, so it may need an external power source. 2.5'' external HDDs were build more power efficient, 3.5'' external HDDs require an external power source as well often. You should consider that.

I had to look up them, but the Palm Pilot M505 appears to have a colour display and lighted background, I looked at the M105 and it appeared a little more basic. They should serve their purpose for e-book reading, as that is how people used to read e-books back then and it went well (before kindle, netbooks, iphone etc..), the screen size is not bad:
M105: http://pdadb.net/img/palm_m105.jpg
And 505:
http://ecx.images-am...L500_AA300_.jpg

I had looked up specs on SSDs, they tend to consume less than 1/5 - 1/10 the wattage of standard mechanical harddisks, so they will not heat up and can be used in extreme temperatures as well. I would look up your BIOS manufacterer specs for any system (nettop, netbook or whatnot) to see if their BIOS supports secondary/slave disks, I am not so knowledgable in those specs.

Hope that helps. :)

[John]

You've put a lot of thought into this.

[eafkuor]

You don't HAVE to buy something pc related, you know :D
If you don't really need anything, just keep the money and spend it when you find something you really want/need

[AdvMutant]

I want something that has to do with PCs[or Macs]
@Nullw0rm, thanks for explaining. I was gonna get a 2.5" adapter, so I guess I won't need external power. After you explanations, I'm still not really sure. A pocket PC, an external hard drive or a SSD. I guess I don't really need an SSD just cause of it's speed - I've been doing fine with regular SATA and IDE drives. The purpose I wanted it for is fast system startup on the go[on a netbook], but after carefully thinking I might get a Mac Mini. I always wanted to mess with Macs, here's my chance - cheap, small, power-efficient, stronger than my correct PC. If I'll be getting one there's no room for a second hard drive.
...Which leaves me with a pocket PC and an external hard drive. I want some bonus mobile storage, so I can install my own OS on it. If I'll get a Mac Mini I'll be able to carry not only my OS but my entire computer with me. So... A pocket PC looks like the best option. Can you connect to the internet with it somehow? I heard that it doesn't have bluetooth and that you can only do it using a cradle. wdf? Or you can buy a modem that snaps on the back. Also, if you can read PDFs on it, have anyone ever tried it before? Not only on a pocket PC, say on an iPhone or something. I'm afraid the screen/fonts will be too small.