R51 thoughts and questions

OK, after much research and angst, I bought my first laptop. I chose an IBM R-51 Model
28838QU and will probably add another 256 or 512 Ram to it (you guys said it’s easy).

I ordered it on Wed 8/18 and it arrived Monday 8/23 (though the website said “delivery by
11/27”). I bought it from IBM.com

I’m really pleased. It seems like a sturdy little machine. I like the keyboard and the display, and
my battery doesn’t seem to wiggle. And, no dead pixels. Swapped a couple data CDs with my
desktop, and everything seems to be working.

I spent the day getting to know it and I think we’ll get along fine. A couple of the websites I
visited had flash intros and the sound seemed to be adequate (quality actually surprised me after
what I’d read), and would work fine for watching DVDs etc. Maybe I should tell you, I’m 56
and I don’t do gaming and I won’t listen to a lot of music on it.

It’s plenty comfortable on my lap. The heat comes from a vent on the left side.

I’m not a touch-typer (more of a “hunt & pecker) and found myself using the touchpad almost
exclusively - instead of the eraser stick - for word processing, and cut-and-paste. I’ve learned
to develop a *really* light touch. (I need to find the IBM link that shows the secrets for this
machine.

I went to Radio Shack and bought a Motorola G router (they were out of Linksys, and I wuz
*excited* to get this set up!) and managed to get everything configured so I could work
wirelessly from my backyard today. That was my goal. I’m a writer and most of my work is
word processing, eMail, and some browsing and website management.

Early thoughts and questions...

I’m surprised, that moving the unit just a few inches will increase a poor wireless signal into a
good one.


Why does IBM registration require dial-up? I got halfway into it and found that the process
disabled my wireless set-up, and I had to “go back” and start everything all over again. Do I
*have* to register with IBM? How?

Should I call within my 30 days and get the actual recovery discs? There seems to be a divided
opinion. My next goal is to network this laptop (running XP Pro) with my P II generic desktop running Windows
98 (Not SE). The laptop’s networking wizard won’t let me create the disc I need to place in my
old computer, because the laptop doesn’t have a floppy drive (just CD RW and DVD ROM).
One of my network wizard choices is to use the “Wizard Disc”. Will I get that with the discs if I
call IBM? Any other thoughts as to how to network these two together?

My other thought was to bag the networking and get a USB memory stick that would hold the
files, no matter which computer I’m working on. There are a couple *glitches* on the desktop I
don’t want to migrate to the new machine. Thoughts?

Luckily, the Radio Shack guy told me to run the router set-up in my *desktop* (I thought I’d
have to run it on my laptop) which raises another question... do I have to have the wired
desktop computer? Would it be possible just to run the cable modem into the wireless router to
run a wireless laptop? (If the desktop dies, and I don’t want to replace it).

I guess that’s all for now. I have learned so much from these forums, and I really appreciate the
efforts you *regulars* put into answering everyone’s questions.


Thanks, Rick

 

You do not have to register, with a dialup or at all. If you want, call IBM they will direct you to the website to register online(Idon't remember what it is)
It's up to you to call IBM and ask for the disks, if you don't and need them later at some point after the 1st 30 days it will cost you ~$35 to have them sent out. You might learn about the eraserstick and the 3 buttons above the touchpad, I use those all the time...much faster than a mouse or the touchpad after a little use. I would not use a migration tool to get your files from your old PC, just use a USB memory stick to copy your data files and then reinstall all your apps.
The guy at radio shack does not know anything, the router setup is in the router itself, just plug a network cable from the router into your notebook and type 192.168.0.1 or sometimes 1.0 whatever it says in the instructions into your browser and you will be in the setup screen. If you want to enable security features then there is setup in the notebook itself as well. You do not need a desktop system at all, just the wireless router and a network connection.

Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill