Cheap Laptops?

[ChuckDickerson]

Well, the robotics day as part of the summer camp alluded to in this thread was held last week and was a smashing success. We had 30 students in the camp and built 10 BOE-Bots (one for every 3 students). The student teams built, programmed, and competed in a day and a half. The competition was run totally autonomously (dead reckoning) and simulated a battlefield with rescue, re-supply, and recon missions. The students did an amazing job and a fabulous time was had by all! However, since this was our first year to do this many valuable lessons were learned on what to do and not do in the future.

One thing we learned was that each team needs their own laptop to program their robot. We had 10 BOE-Bot robots and only 5 laptops of various types so two teams had to share one laptop which sometimes turned into a bit of trouble. We are already looking at how to make things even better for next year and have some money left over in the budget to spend this year on things we will need next year. High on the priority list is to get as many inexpensive laptops as we can. We would like to get a BUNCH of the same laptop as cheaply as possible. The laptops do not need to be very fancy at all. All these need to do is program a robot. If it can program an FRC, Vex, BOE-Bot, etc. it will be fine. We do not need MS Office, or any other software (anti-virus, etc.) other than the basic OS. A minimum amount of hard drive space (20GB) and RAM (512MB) should be fine as well. USB ports are a must, of course. A good old RS-232 serial port might be nice but I doubt we can find one anymore. I know I have seen cheap laptops in the newspaper sale papers from Best-Buy, Circuit City, etc. for less than $500 each but have really never looked at their specs. We would like to purchase at least 5-10 of all the same (less than ~$500) laptops to dedicate to this task. We are not particular about what brand but would prefer to stick to a MS Windows machine for compatibility with the programming software.

So, what would you buy? What is the cheapest laptop you know of that will reliably program an FRC/VEX/BOE-Bot robot?

[AndyB]

The new Vostros are pretty reliable from what I have heard.

http://www.dell.com/content/products...=04&l=en&s=bsd

I'm pretty sure you can get them in both XP and Vista.

[chris31]

Newegg has several Acer laptops listed from $450 from Newegg. You could also contact local computer repair shops to see if they have anything they can donate.

[EHaskins]

If you watch Tigerdirect's refurbished and clearance areas, you can pick up a descent Laptop for under $400.

You might need to watch for a while, but you can get some good deals.

[Jeff Rodriguez]

Check with a local businesses. Our team was able to get 4 laptops donated. Many larger companies are always buying new PCs and getting rid of old ones. They may be willing to donate some to you or offer them at a very low price.
Also, Pratt & Whitney has a surplus store near us that has old PCs for very cheap. Look for something like that in your area.
Many batteries in second hand laptops are little to no use, so you know before you buy. Buy as long as you can plug them in you'll be fine.

[ChuckDickerson]

Thanks for the suggestions but we are looking more for where we can bulk order new cheap laptops. Being a government agency we really can't go and buy used/surplus stuff (we generate enough of that on our own). We are looking to bulk buy ~10 laptops (all the exact same) of the least expensive laptops that will do the job (minimal requirements). For once, we have some $ and just need to know how best to spend it. I don't want to buy a bunch of cheapo laptops and then find out they are not compatable with the robot programming software(s). I am looking for suggestions on cheap laptops from teams that are proven to work reliably when programming the FRC/VEX/BOE-Bot/etc. robots. We have plenty of laptops around that will work but they are all different types and are "loaners" thus they can't be dedicated to the robotics program. We are looking to get away from a hodge-podge of loaner laptops and buy some dedicated systems. Think computer lab at school with a bunch of cheap computers all exactly the same. We need laptops so they can be stored in a lock cabinet when not in use. I know I have heard of compatibiliy issues with some of the FRC software (MPLab?) and USB drivers/adapters/etc. and want to buy the least cost proven setup.

Thanks!

[Alex Cormier]

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[Gdeaver]

I bought a cheap Acer for work. It has held up nice and if I break it or it's stolen, 450$ isn't to bad to loose. The Acer AMD laptops are the cheapest.

[AV_guy007]

Originally Posted by Ogre

Check with a local businesses. Our team was able to get 4 laptops donated. Many larger companies are always buying new PCs and getting rid of old ones. They may be willing to donate some to you or offer them at a very low price.
Also, Pratt & Whitney has a surplus store near us that has old PCs for very cheap. Look for something like that in your area.
Many batteries in second hand laptops are little to no use, so you know before you buy. Buy as long as you can plug them in you'll be fine.

Have you been to the Pratt. surplus store lately. Its disappointing, they got rid of all their good stuff. no more dollar bin and no more cheap crt's. I got a 21inch dell crt made in 2004 that was absolutely perfect for only 5 bucks!

I used to love that place. I am sad to see it turn into what it has. An over priced slightly used and new computer store. no more hunting for bargains, no more fun.

[ChuckDickerson]

Originally Posted by AndyB

The new Vostros are pretty reliable from what I have heard.

http://www.dell.com/content/products...=04&l=en&s=bsd

I'm pretty sure you can get them in both XP and Vista.

We are currently leaning toward the Vostro 1000 at $499 which is in our price range but are still looking for any other better options. We are discouraged at work from buying refurbished equipment and we cannot do mail in rebates so most of the cheap Acer, etc. laptops at places like Tiger Direct are out. Does anyone have any hands on experiance with these Dell Vostro laptops programming FRC/VEX/BOE-Bots? Any incompatibility issues we should know about? I have always had pretty good luck with Dell in the past.

[Guy Davidson]

I'd look into the new $100 laptop MIT project. Could be just what you need (simple, robust, cheap).

[EHaskins]

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...2&e mail=null
Just saw that one in an HP newsletter.

[chris31]

Originally Posted by sumadin

I'd look into the new $100 laptop MIT project. Could be just what you need (simple, robust, cheap).

When those become available I dont think they will be able to be purchased by anyone. The purpose is to give computers to 3rd world countries and so until they have gotten them to other countries I dont think you can buy a OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) laptop.

[SgtMillhouse648]

Wal-Mart has an acer a step down from the one I own for under 5, I think it has a 100GB HD and 512 RAM, Here's one like it.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5663691

Hope this helps
Malhon