Why not use the Classmate?

[TogetherSword8]

We used to use the old Classmate computers, but we got a dual core 4GB ram computer for our coders and use that as the drive station computer. This way all code and programs needed, etc. can all be in one place, esp for changes at competition when you don't have internet connections and can forget thumbdrives, etc.

[pyroslev]

The classmates are a good option for basic play. But if you are doing more advanced vision processing, multiple cameras, or more than the average, an Ultrabook is the route to go. You don't have to log in and out of a user to use a DS. The list goes on.

[austinious]

Thanks for the input.

We'll have to buy a new battery for an old Dell dual core. of course I've seen some posts about using a Raspberry for onboard vision processing.

[FrankJ]

If you are just running the drive station & not a lot of other processing IE vision or lots of widgets on smart dashboard, it does not matter.

If you use the DS for programming or vision, you are better off with something faster.

Personally I like the programmers having to use a different computer to deploy code. That way I know when it is happening & can brick their computer if need be.