Averatec 1050 Laptop Computer

[The latest, new-and-improved version is the Averatec AV1150. This machine writes DVDs as well as reads them. It is probably what I would buy if I were buying a new Averatec subnotebook today.]

I am carrying with me a small laptop computer, the Averatec 1050-EB1. The machine is three and a half pounds, or one and a half kilograms. It has a small AC adapter that is no more than half a pound. The screen is 10.6 inches or 27 centimeters. It has an 80 Gigabyte hard drive and a cd writer/DVD reader. Apparently Averatec is now producing the 1100 series which has a dvd writer. For a laptop this small the comparable one I found was the Sony Vaio series but the Averatec was about half the price, roughly 1100 US dollars in 2005.

Reading HoboTraveler.com and DownTheRoad.org suggested to me that bringing a laptop while budget travelling was feasible. I had bought the machine a year before travelling but I still had my doubts before I left about taking it. Mostly I had concerns about security. I usually use the laptop in my hotel room and keep it locked there in my backpack. I don't advertise that I have it. India also has not been a place where I have heard many stories about hotel rooms being broken into, and in general theft is low (unless you just leave something out somewhere).

I am very glad to have brought the computer. In addition to setting up a test version of my website on it, I use it to store and process all of the photos that I am taking. I also write pages for my website on it. I have also watched inexpensive vcds of American and Bollywood films that are available on the street.

Recently, I have had problems with the computer booting. I have apparently fixed them with a Windows XP cd, but I am not convinced that my problems are gone.