Sep 22 2007
I Just Bought My Travel Laptop
I’m officially a hard core nerd. I currently own two laptops and a desktop computer… that is far too many for a normal person. I’ve got a really old Sony that has been collecting dust since I bought my desktop back in May 2006. The Sony is really sluggish and is pretty big and heavy so carting that thing around the world was never really an option.
So I’ve been on the hunt lately for a more portable laptop and finally found my match! I just bought myself a super small 12.1″ IBM Thinkpad X41. It’s only 1.2kg, 1.6Mhz Intel Centrino, 1GB Ram, 40GB hard drive, wiFi, external CD drive, and 5 hours worth of battery. I’ve never liked widescreen laptops and can’t stand glossy screens and this computer has neither of those dubious improvements so that was a selling point as well. The red thing is my passport, the blue thing is a Swiss Army knife and I put my SLR camera to the right to give an idea of the laptop’s size. It weighs about the same as my camera and lens which I think is pretty amazing.
I bought it used off a totally non-dodgy guy who was getting an upgrade for work and I feel good about the purchase. I got it for £275 as well which is well below what I was willing to spend. I saw it on eBay for over £400 so I think I got a bargain. I was originally going to buy something either brand new or really flashy but I would have been paranoid about it all the time. It would suck if my laptop ever gets stolen but if it does it’s not the end of the world really because I haven’t spent that much on it. I just need to remember to keep everything backed up! It’s not super sexy either which might keep thieves away. IBMs seem to be pretty rugged as well so that’s another advantage.
It’ll take awhile to get used to using a laptop again, especially one with such a small screen when compared to my desktop. I’ll be keeping my desktop right up until I leave and am hoping to sell it to my housemate to cover the cost of the laptop. I’ll be heading up to Scotland for 10 days in October though and will be taking my new baby laptop up for a dry run and will report back on how I find using it.
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I've been travelling since January 2008 living off earnings from the web. Follow me as I bum around Asia and beyond, getting up to mischief and working online as I go. 
WOO good deal! HAHa yes, I always feel kind of nerdy too! Since I’ve worked in the IT field I’m used to people calling me an IT nerd. Between Brian and I, we have 4, sometimes 5, computers in our tiny 1 bedroom apartment at any given time. haha, go us. Glad you got a laptop. At first I was thinking “oh I won’t be upset if my laptop breaks or whatever on the road” (since I only paid $400) but I’m loving it so much it might be a tough goodbye if that day comes
Great price for the laptop! Just get like a 3-4 gig flash drive and you are set.
Sounds like a good deal. You know it wouldn’t hurt to put a new hard disk in the laptop and do a new clean install of windows, particularly if the previous owner was a heavy user.
Good buy! I had a ThinkPad and it lasted me EIGHT YEARS! Youll love it I’m sure. Also, one of the best things I ever did was in January when I got a new laptop (a Dell); unwilling to get reamed by Microsoft again, I saved $600 USD and instead installed Open Office. I haven’t looked back. Give it a whirl!
Sounds like a good deal. Get an external harddrive - not a flash drive but the old fashioned sort that go round and round - I paid about NZ$100 for 60GB one - buy it a padded envelope to live in and use to back the whole thing on REGULARLY just in case….
I know exactly what you mean about being paranoid about losing the laptop!
I took mine around the world with me…..and it came back with me! I was resigned to losing it actually. I thought there was no way it wouldnt get stolen or left somewhere. I think the main reasons it survived are as follows:
1. I didnt keep it in a laptop bag. Mine was similar size as yours and I kept it in a small rucksack. People were amazed when I pulled out a laptop, because they could’nt see how it would fit or understand why someone would keep one in a ruksack - the old reverse psychology trick
Lots of people with fancy laptop bags had theirs stole because they were basically advertising what was inside.
2. When I left hostels I generally took the bag with me because it was useful to pick up leaflets and carry water and any purchases. If I knew I’d be doing something active I would pad lock the zips together and then lock that to my main, large backpack. Prefferably your bed will have them metal struts underneath….my bag spent many a day/night locked up underneath the bed.
Through deception and I guess, pure luck, my bag also survived nights hidden under jumpers and pants! There is only so much you can do, but I would’nt worry too much. If you use common sense you’ll be fine and eventually end up forgetting you even have your only source of income hidden under your pants/jumper/pillow case - whilst you go out and get hammered
good luck
Brooke I almost bought the Dell you have but I couldn’t find one on eBay with the specs I wanted. It’s pretty cute!
I don’t even know how to do a clean install of Windows. Come to think of it, I didn’t get any software with this baby. I don’t want Vista either. Hard drive is probably a good idea. I just bought a 4gig memory stick, an extra 4gigs of memory for my SLR and a spare battery. All these wee things add up!
Lee I’m with you… not a big fan of laptop bags at all. I always wear a courier type bag anyways that goes across my body. I find them way better and much less dorky looking that having a backpack fastened onto my front. I’m heading out tomorrow to find abag that will fit my laptop, camera, and other stuff. I’ll get one of those laptop sleeve things and just put it into that bag. I’m sure I’ll grow attached to the little guy so keeping it hidden away is probably wise. I’m never been the paranoid type though and I’m sure it’ll live under my pillow on many occasions when I’m out boozing!
The laptop looks brilliant from here. Great other accessories as well!