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07-31-2019, 01:20 PM
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#41
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19 pulled by GMC Canyon Diesel.
Posts: 198
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Judging by the state of affairs with the dishes under my sink after even a short drive (and they are better secured than electronics), I would never ever have my iMac in the trailer while travelling. If I absolutely had to have it along it would be well stored in its box. My new companion is a MacBook Air and it is very happy to be in the truck with me for the ride. If sans laptop, pencils and paper also work well, albeit slower but with unlimited memory.
__________________
Jean-Pierre
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Mark Twain
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07-31-2019, 01:38 PM
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#42
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Quimper Peninsula, Washington
Trailer: TBD
Posts: 369
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JPSpins
If sans laptop, pencils and paper also work well, albeit slower but with unlimited memory.
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Try as I might, I have not been able to pick up Netflix on my pencils & paper. Perhaps the connection speed is too slow.
__________________
Thanks,
~Farther
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07-31-2019, 01:46 PM
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#43
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19 pulled by GMC Canyon Diesel.
Posts: 198
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I think Escape should provide an etch-a-sketch in the welcome kit for those moments when we just cannot do without technology. No solar needed.
__________________
Jean-Pierre
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Mark Twain
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08-15-2019, 01:55 PM
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#44
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Bozeman, Montana
Trailer: 2019 Escape 19
Posts: 41
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I am relatively late to this conversation because I have been too busy picking up, bringing home, and outfitting our new Escape 19 (we traveled in our 15B for 330 nights over 8 years). After reading some of the comments, I thought I would add my four cents worth, as it may be that I am the only person on this thread who actually builds his own computers (desktops, not laptops.)
I would echo the comments of those who said that there is too much “bounce” in the trailer for a rotating hard drive to exist very long. If you think about it, the head which reads the data from a hard drive disk (spinning at 5400+ rpm) is floating only 5 – 10 NANOMETERS above the spinning disk. Now the heads are “parked” when the machine is off, but still, with such tight tolerances, you are asking a lot of that spinning hard drive to not crash given the jolts that the trailer gets when towing.
So, if you want to carry a desktop computer in your Escape, you should have the spinning hard drives replaced with Solid State Drives (SSD).
What we do is carry a notebook computer, always in the tow vehicle, on the rear passenger seat. Still not perfect, but better than leaving it in the trailer. Also, there is little on that notebook computer that is not a copy of something that is on our desktop computers (which are backed up daily).
I am sure that the MacBook systems have better displays than cheap (relatively) PC notebooks, but keep in mind that if you are doing any kind of work in Photoshop or Lightroom on a notebook computer, the color accuracy of the notebook computer screen may not (ok, is probably not) as good as the color-calibrated monitor you have at home.
One of the other commenters indicated that one way to go might be to use something like Intel’s NUC. For sheer power consumption, that would be a great way to go. I recently built a small desktop computer to run the weather station on our home that feeds our Website (TwoHikers.org). It is based on an ultra-low energy CPU, and storage is only on an SSD. The entire desktop only burns 18 watts (without the monitor). Which is good, because it is running 24/7/365.
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08-15-2019, 02:04 PM
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#45
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Whidbey Island, Washington
Trailer: 2020 Escape 17B "Voyager"
Posts: 2,700
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I think an iMac will hold up. And it is compact enough for what you want- go for it. But back it up just in case! Mom has had 3 iMacs and the first and second replaced only when she could not longer get a printer that would work with them due to not being able to upgrade the OS any longer. They seem pretty rugged, not that Mom throws them around but the grandkids have used them a lot.
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08-15-2019, 03:30 PM
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#46
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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rajenkins, that is a neat little weather/camera/views you have set up @twohikers.org. enjoyed looking at the mountains in various seasons.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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08-15-2019, 03:30 PM
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#47
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Quimper Peninsula, Washington
Trailer: TBD
Posts: 369
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My iMac desk top computer, although working very nicely now, will soon be unsupported by Apple if it isn't already. Do iMacs have solid state drives?
By the time I get my Escape 21, I will most likely have a MacBook Pro to go with it.
But, I have an additional unplanned for expense. A tooth I cracked in my youth has started to haunt me and a temporary crown has only reduced the discomfort not eliminated it so there will be an expensive root canal in my immediate future. Ya, I know, TMI.
__________________
Thanks,
~Farther
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08-15-2019, 03:55 PM
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#48
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,873
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Farther
A tooth I cracked in my youth has started to haunt me and a temporary crown has only reduced the discomfort not eliminated it so there will be an expensive root canal in my immediate future. Ya, I know, TMI.
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Baja, 7-900 bucks.
I must be the only non-Apple user. My Panasonic Toughbook goes everywhere with me, bumpy roads and all. Never had an issue.
Ron
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08-15-2019, 04:45 PM
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#49
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Santa Rosa County, Florida
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 Tow: 2024 Toyota Tundra
Posts: 3,107
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rajenkins
I am sure that the MacBook systems have better displays than cheap (relatively) PC notebooks, but keep in mind that if you are doing any kind of work in Photoshop or Lightroom on a notebook computer, the color accuracy of the notebook computer screen may not (ok, is probably not) as good as the color-calibrated monitor you have at home.
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My MacBook Pro's Retina display is pretty good, but if one is serious about color accuracy it is possible to use a color calibration tool on a laptop, just like on a desktop display. The tool uses a sensor that lays on the screen and software that generates a color profile, which the computer then uses to give good color accuracy.
It just crossed my mind that I should be able to use the calibration tool on the LG television I moved to the trailer to use as a computer monitor (and TV). Since the color profile is stored on the laptop, it would only be used when the TV is being used as a computer monitor. Hmm, it oughta work...
__________________
Mike Lewis
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie-- propane
Photos and travelogues here: mikelewisimages.com
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08-15-2019, 04:47 PM
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#50
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: North Augusta, South Carolina
Trailer: 2019 Escape 5.0TA "SCRATCH" First 5.0 TA registered in South Carolina
Posts: 621
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rajenkins
I am relatively late to this conversation because I have been too busy picking up, bringing home, and outfitting our new Escape 19 (we traveled in our 15B for 330 nights over 8 years). After reading some of the comments, I thought I would add my four cents worth, as it may be that I am the only person on this thread who actually builds his own computers (desktops, not laptops.)
I would echo the comments of those who said that there is too much “bounce” in the trailer for a rotating hard drive to exist very long. If you think about it, the head which reads the data from a hard drive disk (spinning at 5400+ rpm) is floating only 5 – 10 NANOMETERS above the spinning disk. Now the heads are “parked” when the machine is off, but still, with such tight tolerances, you are asking a lot of that spinning hard drive to not crash given the jolts that the trailer gets when towing.
So, if you want to carry a desktop computer in your Escape, you should have the spinning hard drives replaced with Solid State Drives (SSD).
What we do is carry a notebook computer, always in the tow vehicle, on the rear passenger seat. Still not perfect, but better than leaving it in the trailer. Also, there is little on that notebook computer that is not a copy of something that is on our desktop computers (which are backed up daily).
I am sure that the MacBook systems have better displays than cheap (relatively) PC notebooks, but keep in mind that if you are doing any kind of work in Photoshop or Lightroom on a notebook computer, the color accuracy of the notebook computer screen may not (ok, is probably not) as good as the color-calibrated monitor you have at home.
One of the other commenters indicated that one way to go might be to use something like Intel’s NUC. For sheer power consumption, that would be a great way to go. I recently built a small desktop computer to run the weather station on our home that feeds our Website (TwoHikers.org). It is based on an ultra-low energy CPU, and storage is only on an SSD. The entire desktop only burns 18 watts (without the monitor). Which is good, because it is running 24/7/365.
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My last build was an all out gamer to use with a flight simulator game. My "hard drive" is two M.2s paired in a raid zero. I think at least 8 times faster than most SSDs. I can see no reason why, especially with SSDs, you could not drag a desk top computer around in a trailer. I am a real heretic and "PC" all the way but I do have an iPhone. On the road I use a convertible.
__________________
"Everyday's a Holiday"
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08-15-2019, 06:56 PM
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#51
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Quimper Peninsula, Washington
Trailer: TBD
Posts: 369
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC
Baja, 7-900 bucks.
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$900, you guessed it and that's on top of the $800 for the crown. And a few years back there was another crown and an implant for the other two molars that the indiscretions of youth destroyed. Over my lifetime I've spent almost $4k on this particular testosterone detox.
__________________
Thanks,
~Farther
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08-15-2019, 07:25 PM
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#52
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Commercial Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 - "Felicity"
Posts: 2,945
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I spent about 17 years working for a Japanese company (Fujitsu) as the manufacturing engineer of a factory building hard drives and laptops. Every desktop/laptop hard drive we built had a "park" position for the read/write heads when the operating system was shutting down where there was no data on the disk platters, and the heads would be mechanically restrained from moving into the data sectors of the disk platters.
The head assemblies actually have an airfoil design on the arms that hold the read/write heads to control the "flight height" of the head and prevent it from crashing into the magnetic oxide coating of the disk platter.
I have no problems with my old hard drive laptop bouncing around in a wall-mounted pocket to hold it vertically against the back wall of my 21. Kinda scuffs up the wall covering, but the computer works just fine.
A funny: We tried to build a solid state drive in a joint project with Intel in the 80s - memory chips were a different technology then. Those drives were about 12 x 18x 10 inches high and required more than 100 watts to run.
__________________
Charlie Y
Need custom storage to your design? Don't drill holes!
www.RVWidgetWorks.com
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08-15-2019, 08:22 PM
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#53
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Baytown, Texas
Trailer: 2017 21' Escape - upgraded version
Posts: 2,697
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tractors1
A funny: We tried to build a solid state drive in a joint project with Intel in the 80s - memory chips were a different technology then. Those drives were about 12 x 18x 10 inches high and required more than 100 watts to run.
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I must be older than you. I used to work with computers that had magnetic core memories - ferrite beads on a wire grid. 64k of memory was a lot. Of course, we used paper tape readers to load the boot.
Surprisingly, I don't miss them as I type this on a laptop with 4k graphics, 16g memory, 128GB SSD , and a 1TB HDD. Of course, you need that much to cruise the internet - right?
__________________
Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Engineers believe in fixing it so that it never breaks.
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08-15-2019, 10:35 PM
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#54
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Santa Rosa County, Florida
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 Tow: 2024 Toyota Tundra
Posts: 3,107
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tractors1
I spent about 17 years working for a Japanese company (Fujitsu) as the manufacturing engineer of a factory building hard drives and laptops.
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I remember when IBM sold its small hard drive business to Fujitsu. I've been to the Intel facility in Hillsboro, Oregon as well. Think it was Hillsboro; it's been a while.
__________________
Mike Lewis
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie-- propane
Photos and travelogues here: mikelewisimages.com
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08-15-2019, 11:35 PM
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#55
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19'
Posts: 264
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I remember when programmers cared about how much storage their programs used
__________________
Kirk & Shelley
2014 19'
Surrey, Beautiful BC, Canada
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08-16-2019, 12:15 AM
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#56
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Bremerton, Washington
Trailer: 2019 5.0 TA
Posts: 1,141
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Farther
Do iMacs have solid state drives?
TMI.
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They are an option, yes. I have a 3 terabyte fusion drive on mine. It has a 1TB SSD and a 2TB HDD. They are mounted as a single volume with a smart controller that automatically stores the most frequently used applications and data on the SSD for faster access.
The current 27" has a 2TB SSD available. Or the above mentioned 3TB fusion drive.
__________________
- Arnie & Paula & Kizzy the rat terrier
https://www.arniesea.com
- 2019 5.0 TA, 2017 Tundra Platinum.
- Bremerton, WA
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08-16-2019, 12:25 AM
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#57
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC
I must be the only non-Apple user. My Panasonic Toughbook goes everywhere with me, bumpy roads and all. Never had an issue.
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No, but the Apple fans must either like to mention them more (perhaps because the paid so much for them), or have more problems with them, because Apple products come up in discussion much more than others.
And yes, we have a Mac, an iPhone, and iPods... plus the Samsung PC and Motorola Android phone that I use.
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08-16-2019, 12:43 AM
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#58
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Bremerton, Washington
Trailer: 2019 5.0 TA
Posts: 1,141
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P
... or have more problems with them, because Apple products come up in discussion much more than others.
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I have never had a virus on any of my iMacs. I’ll just leave it at that.
__________________
- Arnie & Paula & Kizzy the rat terrier
https://www.arniesea.com
- 2019 5.0 TA, 2017 Tundra Platinum.
- Bremerton, WA
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08-16-2019, 12:59 AM
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#59
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P
No, but the Apple fans must either like to mention them more (perhaps because the paid so much for them), or have more problems with them, because Apple products come up in discussion much more than others.
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I have no clue what you are saying. I do know that Mac/PC discussions are pointless.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
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08-16-2019, 01:32 AM
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#60
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,873
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Lewis
I remember when IBM sold its small hard drive business to Fujitsu. I've been to the Intel facility in Hillsboro, Oregon as well. Think it was Hillsboro; it's been a while.
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Me too, pretty big complex. What I remember most is the horrible rush hour traffic from there to downtown Portland.
Yup, the Apple story has been a long and interesting one. But the last Apple that I owned was an Apple 2e.
Ron
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