Laptop?

Rich Anpoor

I think I am taking my laptop to India with me this year, not sure yet tho'. I am gonna reread this thread a few times to make up my mind.

my question is. I have an older laptop which the cd drive doesn't work. can I get this fixed in India and has anybody had experience of having computer repairs done on their laptop?

I know pretty much anything can be fixed up in India but I am clueless when it comes to computers etc. Does anyone also have any reccomendationsabout who could this for me? Don't think I will make the south so preferbaly delhi/UP/Punjab/Himachal areas.

Many thanks

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noflylist

Have anyone thought of palm with keyboard attachment

bosquef

I brought my laptop to India, and have been using it in Kerala, where I've been for about 6 months. Originally, I thought I would travel with it too, but given the availability of decent cyber cafes (and the fact that I don't always want to be holed up with a computer), it has pretty much stayed either in my rented apartment or in my friend's office (which I think is less likely to be broken into than my apartment, for various reasons). Travelling with an extra 5 lbs that I'm always worried about getting stolen just doesn't seem worth it. I got Asianet to install a 1 MB/s connection in my apartment. It is reliable, much more reliable than the electricity, and is enough to allow me to talk with my family back in the US on skype. I bought some of that silica gel desiccant, and tried to keep it sealed up in plastic, but all the gel was dead after about 3 days during the monsoon, so I gave up. I bought a pretty cheap laptop, and if the monsoon kills it, so be it.

Most Indians I know who have their own computers have a UPS, which stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply. It is basically a voltage regulator hooked up to a battery (usually a car battery), insuring both a constant supply of 220 v electricity, and a backup in case of power outage. They aren't cheap - starting around $100 - and given the cheapness of my laptop, I've just been using a basic surge protector. On the other hand, if you have a good computer and are mostly going to be using it in one place, it would definitely be worthwhile.

Nick-H

Get one that includes a voltage regulator as well!

I'm very impressed with your internet connection! How much do you pay for your 1Mb connection, and does it really live up to its nominal speed?

I suppose somewhere in the specs for these machines will be the maximum RH they are suposed to suffer --- but my view is that it will only be in danger if you take it out of a cold, AC room into warm humidity. Suggest placing it in a sealed plastic bag before doing this, and letting it warm up before removing and using, else the condensation could be as bad as getting it rained on

What part of Kerala are you in, by the way?

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bosquef

I paid rs. 9000 for one year's connection. The price included a cable modem, which I now own. The connection has a max of 9.25 Gb data transfer over that one year period - so I've avoided downloading videos and music or uploading high res pictures - but now I've had it for 5 months and only used 1 gb (and that includes a few long talks on skype - I actually think over the course of the year the connection will pay for itself interms of saved money on ISD calls.) I don't think it really runs at 1 MB/s, but it is rarely slower than about 256 kb/s, which is pretty decent for most uses

I'm in a suburb of Thrissur. My friends who live way out in the middle of nowhere near here couldn't get the same connection - they could only get a dialup.

Nick-H

I get 256K, unlimited, for the same price from BSNL. so it is a slightly better deal because of no data limit.

The higher speeds are more expensive, but have data caps.

Skype is pretty good: my usage goes way up when I listen to BBC, which I like to

In another thread, perhaps you'd like to tell us what living and working in Thrissur is like? I'm very interested in Kerala, and have visited quite often, but I only know it as a visitor. One day I'd like to live there. I think

jenny_ram

Hi All,
I will be heading to India for a short business trip and will be carrying both my personal laptop as well as my clients laptop. Will that become a problem? Will I be asked to pay some extra charge because of this?



Thanks in advance for all your replies.

Nick-H

Same question in a recent thread.

You are allowed ONE laptop.

happymangotraveller

Hello,
please, I need some help!
How easy is it to use my notebook in Lan Houses? Can I use skipe in a LAN house?How safe is it to check bank account from Lan Houses?
I was very decided to bring my notebook with me. I´ll be travelling for 6 months or it can extend to a year, so I really would like to write a journal, maybe blog, skype and use internet bank facilities, download my pictures, listen to music and I could even watch some DVD. I´m going in exactly one week time, so I don´t know if it is just stress, but as I´m looking here in India Mike that I shouldn´t bring my laptop to LAN house in order to avoid robbery as it would be seen by many people. And surely I won´t have wireless in my room. Also I don´t know how easy it is to use it in LAN houses (configuration, cable, etc). And then cames the trouble of been worried with a not excellent but nice notebook. My ittinerary (Dharamshala, Shimla, Dehradun) will really put me under the monsoon... so am I getting confused and stressed or should I gave all my computer plans and leave my note here in my house in Brazil?
Thanks

Nattusbs

Noflylist #22:

Check out someone else's post earlier in this thread about palm with keyboard.

I have taken my Toshiba Satellite Laptop a few times to India - no problems at all. I was even able to run it on main power on a Rajdhani train where they have electrical outlets in the Chair Car!

One thing I do remember that at certain airports, you may be asked to boot up your computer. The one time I wasasked, the battery was dead I had to do a lot of pleading to convince them that the laptop was in fact what it was and not "some other device".

Cheers

Nattusbs

nvik16

I would suggest get a PCMAI cards from reliance or airtel .They will give you decent 115Kbps connection where ever you get cell coverage . It a pretty good deal actually , you might find it helpful . I never used it my self because my father wified my home and when ever I am home I don't take my laptop with me while going out .

vistet

Lappie in India has been out of the question for me - I trim my pack , and that weight seems unsupportable. On top of that there is the issue with hard drives and altitude.

On the other hand I´m part of the pathetic generation that just barely can write by hand , and I´d like to be able to browse my pics , maybe some basic editing and posting ... ah well , can´t be helped .
Or .. ?



And no , that´s not the hands of Bao Xishun, that´s a 7" inch display , with flash memory . Upcoming model with 10" screen and 16 gig memory announced. I could live with that, on the road.

I have brought with me my lappie in my home mountains once : I had my neoprene zippered cover , and a watertight bag with roll lock and a one way air valve , felt perfectly safe both in the rain and crossing the streams.
Writing and browsing pics in the evening was nice , with the smell of a coffee fire in my nose and munching angelicas..

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milan

I took mine over in 2004 and it came back beat up so bad the computer repair guy couldn't believe it! Though I was very careful, keeping it in its case when not in use etc, it just got manhandled on flights, getting in and out of cars, moving from hotel to hotel etc... The dust and pollution didn't serve it well... That said, though, I'm using the same laptop to type this message! ;-)

& it was nice being able to write, play solitaire and listen to music whenever I wanted. But I won't be taking a laptop to India with me again any time soon!

Milan

Nick-H

Ahh... Solitaire. The only computer game I ever play!

Possibly, also the one thing that has always worked OK, ever since the very first edition of Windows!

Peacefulplanet

Re Silica gel: If it takes up moisture you can put it in the oven (no more than 80-100 'C) for an hour, after that let it cool down in an airtight container and it should be as new