Hi!

Don't forget the Asus Eee Pc range too.

Even if you get the 4G Linux version, it works very well with a cut down version of XP, with no problems at all.

I have a 701 and cant fault it.

I have read about those Asus machines. I went with the Acer Aspire One since it was what I wanted in a new laptop (smaller than my current old Dell Inspiron 8200 Pentium-4 laptop) and a bit more, plus it was in a store for me to look at before buying. The Wal-Mart stores are apparently only stocking the versions of the Aspire One with 120Gb or 160Gb hard drives (there are versions with 16Gb solid-state drives) and Windows XP Home (there are also Linux versions). Three USB ports and a couple of card slots - one for SD cards, another one for many types of cards including SD - have come in handy, for adding programs or data or copying pictures from my camera's memory card.

Not having an internal CD/DVD drive is not a problem. I have an external DVD burner that can connect via USB, and I have already installed a bunch of software including 5 different satellite-tracking programs. It was nice to sit at Vancouver airport on Tuesday and, with a small USB phone handset and Skype, be able to make free phone calls from there before my flight home. The airport security in Phoenix initially thought it was a DVD player, and asked me to remove my laptop from my laptop bag. It was already out, taking up only half of the plastic trays intended for loose items going through the X-ray machines.

I want to use this laptop initially to control my two FT-817s in the field, since I have a pair of Yaesu CAT cables and serial-to-USB adapters for those cables. I also want to get a 6-cell lithium-ion battery pack for more operating time. I get about 2 hours' usage with the supplied 3-cell pack, not bad for the size of the pack.

73!

Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/