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Using a Netbook with Parallax products ?? ..... — Parallax Forums

Using a Netbook with Parallax products ?? .....

CatspawCatspaw Posts: 49
edited 2011-11-30 13:30 in General Discussion
Well, I'm diving in. First time posting. I was in electronics when dinosaurs were the latest craze. Here's the question.

After perusing as much as I could find on Parallax, I have not seen anything that would restrict me from using a netbook [I have laying around]. On several occassions, I have tried to install software that found my netbook wouldn't support their screen resolution. It's slightly off from normal. It is relatively new (XP s/w and decent processor) netbook.

I would like to start off my pre-retirement funtime re-education with the BS2 and a propscope.

So does anyone know if there are any restrictions/bugs that would prevent me from using said netbook and the aforemention products?

[My biggest question would be about the propscope due to it's most likely high degree of graphics.]

And on an antique note...we would have killed to have the resources available.....way back when....that are apparently available now. Can you say "Hand boot"?

Comments

  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2011-11-29 13:25
    You should be fine. The Parallax software isn't all that computationally intensive.
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-11-29 13:28
    Not sure about what resolutions the propscope works with since I don't have that, but everything else I have used has worked well at 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024. No reason your netbook won't work.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2011-11-29 13:35
    My little Acer Aspire One does fine running the PBasic Editor and programming Stamps and other processors. It does not have a fantastic graphics adapter, however. Many MPEG movies play in a medium-sized window but stutter on full-screen. And it makes a real difference how many windows are open. So depending on your particular netbook, adapter & memory, propscope may or may not challenge your resources.
  • CatspawCatspaw Posts: 49
    edited 2011-11-29 13:40
    Well, thanks. You'd think it wouldn't be a problem...but somehow it seems to crop up every now and again.

    I'm really looking forward to getting into this stuff. I was never into the mega-programming "I have no idea what this module is for" stuff. I was weaned on assembly language and enjoy beating my head against the wall trying to pack a gigantor program into a few K of memory. That and I am really looking forward to interacting with people who do more than drink beer and bang nails. I don't know if I would enjoy electronics much if it was all about giga-gobs of memory and high level languages and such. Everything about Stamps really suits me.
  • icepuckicepuck Posts: 466
    edited 2011-11-29 13:41
    If you are using an unmodified netbook with 1gb mem and XP home or win7 starter your best bet is to run one program at a time.
    -dan
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2011-11-29 14:07
    Catspaw wrote: »
    ... with people who do more than drink beer and bang nails. .

    All the robot builders I know & love are in it to build a beer-fetching robot!
  • User NameUser Name Posts: 1,451
    edited 2011-11-29 15:21
    Catspaw,

    I've never used a Basic Stamp, but the SX and the Prop are both great for assembly programming - tight code doing lots of stuff fast - and their tools don't place a lot of demand on the host computer.
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2011-11-29 15:36
    I don't have a Prop Scope but I do have the older USB oscilloscope Parallax sells (or sold). There is definitely a problem using the oscilloscope software on a netbook. The "Run/Stop" button doesn't fix on the screen. I have to start and stop the oscilloscope from one of the full down menus. It's a pain.

    The Propeller Tool works okay on the netbook. It's just a hassle only being about to see a post card sized potion of the code at a time.
  • CatspawCatspaw Posts: 49
    edited 2011-11-29 15:42
    At this point I figure to start sort of at the beginning and use the BS2. I've investigated the BSs and the SX and Prop. My mind naturally migrates to the fancier stuff. Then I have to remind myself to start with a good foundation and move on from there. My mind gets so cluttered, I get less done. The BS2 will suffice and lay my foundation. I've already mentally started building and figured out a host of problems I would have encountered had I gone directly to the more complicated stuff. The BS2 will help me with a simpler and modular organization.

    Well...beer-fetching dog.....beer-fetching robot....mmm....anything beer-fetching is good. as long as it doesn't include nails.
  • ajwardajward Posts: 1,130
    edited 2011-11-29 15:46
    I'm running the Stamp and Propeller software on an Acer netbook, with Win 7 Pro, without any problems.

    @
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2011-11-29 16:37
    Both Stamp and Prop IDEs work just fine on my FIC ION A603. It is an AMD Geode LX800 with 256MB RAM running Windows XP.
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    edited 2011-11-29 17:00
    OT: Hand-booting... You mean with switches and a pushbutton (like on the Univac 418, etc) ???
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2011-11-29 23:27
    When XP was reaching its end game, I brought a new computer with Vista on it - which was a bit of a disaster as it was only in Chinese. So I went to dual boot with Ubuntu Linux on my desktop.

    But I did acquire a netbook and found it immensely enjoyable for electronic projects. Now I have a Toshiba NB150 with a dual boot of W7 Starter and Ubuntu Linux. And this is where nearly all of my Parallax projects reside. I use the Windows W7 when I have to, but have migrated to Linux support for the Propeller.

    In sum, there shouldn't be any problem. And I find that having my desktop available for research whilst I use the netbook for programing is a very handy work mode.
  • CatspawCatspaw Posts: 49
    edited 2011-11-30 13:30
    Well, the netbook is just sitting there otherwise. Then I realized what a great resource it would be in conjunction with the stamps.

    C: yes ...... as in hand switches and stuff.

    Thanks all for the replies. I feel confident that everything will work out fine.
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