My G/f lives half way up a mountain near Chiang Rai. We want to get her something with which to communicate with the world. Her old mobile phone is steam driven and she has no home phone/landline. What would be best: laptop, Blackberry, something from Apple? Her needs are emails, phonecalls, Thai music and basic web surfing, but no complex computing. Very grateful for your experience in this.

My G/f lives half way up a mountain near Chiang Rai. We want to get her something with which to communicate with the world. Her old mobile phone is steam driven and she has no home phone/landline. What would be best: laptop, Blackberry, something from Apple? Her needs are emails, phonecalls, Thai music and basic web surfing, but no complex computing. Very grateful for your experience in this.

Get her a Linux based nettop. Acer Aspire One or the sort. Won't have to worry about viruses. Being up in Chiang Rai, you can get CAT's CDMA/EV-DO service for internet connection....

I picked up a little Asus Eee PC 1000H (XP) which does "emails, Thai music and basic web surfing, but no complex computing" with ease and throw in a cheap Nokia for the phonecalling/modem options and she's pretty well covered.

Thanks v much to you both. Ive never had a net/laptop and am still using a computer I bought 10 yrs ago, so am a novice here. Is Linux a type of software or a design style? Also, if you could break down CAT CDMA/EV-DO that would help alot, as am doing this from London. Im guessing CAT is the local supplier of a signal called EV-DO? Finally, do we buy in Chiang Rai/Mai or Bangkok.

Thanks v much to you both. Ive never had a net/laptop and am still using a computer I bought 10 yrs ago, so am a novice here. Is Linux a type of software or a design style? Also, if you could break down CAT CDMA/EV-DO that would help alot, as am doing this from London. Im guessing CAT is the local supplier of a signal called EV-DO? Finally, do we buy in Chiang Rai/Mai or Bangkok.

Linux is an operating system. If you're used to Windows, you know how they offer Win98, XP, Vista, etc? Well Linux is kinda like that. It's the base that all your programs will run on. Now, due to inherently better design, and less of a target because of fewer people using it, Linux has fewer exploits.

CAT is a telecom company. They offer a cell phone connection that uses CDMA. This differs from say T-mobile becuase it is not GSM based. Most "World Phones" are GSM based, but that's because most (if not all) countries have at least one GSM operator. CDMA is not as widespread, but it is, even at its slowest speed, essentially equivalent to EDGE (a GSM variant) that you can find pretty mch everywhere. However, CAT offers EV-DO (evolution data optimised I believe is the meaning) which bumps up the speed at which you can connect over the cell phone network to what amounts to a medium rated DSL line. I.E. approximately 8 times as quick as what is widely offered otherwise. You have to see the local CAT office in Chiang Mai to purchase a plan.

Thanks v much to you both. Ive never had a net/laptop and am still using a computer I bought 10 yrs ago, so am a novice here. Is Linux a type of software or a design style? Also, if you could break down CAT CDMA/EV-DO that would help alot, as am doing this from London. Im guessing CAT is the local supplier of a signal called EV-DO? Finally, do we buy in Chiang Rai/Mai or Bangkok.

If your G/F is a novice computer user but familiar with Windows, I would stick with that as learning how new OS's work is always tricky at first. I would imagine prices are similar from Bkk to Chiang Mai, but Bkk may be marginally cheaper? (Open to correction...).

Even if you see a good deal there in UK, I would still recommend getting it here for warranty/Thai keyboard issues. My experience with Asus support in Bkk has been first rate.

W.

Thanks v much to you both. Ive never had a net/laptop and am still using a computer I bought 10 yrs ago, so am a novice here. Is Linux a type of software or a design style? Also, if you could break down CAT CDMA/EV-DO that would help alot, as am doing this from London. Im guessing CAT is the local supplier of a signal called EV-DO? Finally, do we buy in Chiang Rai/Mai or Bangkok.

If your G/F is a novice computer user but familiar with Windows, I would stick with that as learning how new OS's work is always tricky at first. I would imagine prices are similar from Bkk to Chiang Mai, but Bkk may be marginally cheaper? (Open to correction...).

Even if you see a good deal there in UK, I would still recommend getting it here for warranty/Thai keyboard issues. My experience with Asus support in Bkk has been first rate.

W.

I had actually considered that, but since in the original post it sounded as the g/f didn't have much experience with computer in general it wouldn't be too much of a learning curve to start off on an alternative operating system. Especially on those little netbooks, Linux installs are pretty much tailored for the enviroment.

Asus is a good brand, I've also been impressed with MSI (other than passing bad DSDT tables to non-Windows operating systems on my laptop!) and the Wind has gotten rave reviews.

You guys are going to think me a smartarse , but I googled for some of the kit you recommended and found some comparative reviews. Also, there is a 2nd hand Acer on thaivisaclassifieds for 9000Baht. Thanks for getting me going.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/video/Asus-E...00H-vs-MSI-Wind