BC10 wrote:
I am looking to buy a laptop for my sailboat. Any advice out there on
brands, spec's, etc? Is BigBay a good unit? Pro's and cons on anything
are most welcomed.

A google search for marine laptops will turn a lot of hits with
discussion of the pros and cons of using laptops on boats. Things like
water/weather proofing, risk of hard drive jolting/damage, where and how
it will be used, and much more will all come up.

A major consideration is how viewable the display will be in daylight,
shaded, and with direct sunlight on the display. Here is a page that
explains screen brightness (NITS) and contrast ratios (CR). If you can
find that listed as a spec for laptops you are considering it will give
you a feel for how useful it will be in bright light.

http://www.stealthcomputer.com/faq_lcd_technology.htm

It says that a "..true sunlight readable display is normally considered
to be an LCD with at least 1000 nits of screen brightness and a contrast
ratio greater than 5 to 1. In outdoor environments under the shade, such
a display can provide an excellent image quality."

The newer marine color chart plotters and radars typically have LCD
displays of 1000 NITS or more. A typical laptop computer has a 200 NIT
display. Some of the newer laptops on the market are getting up around
500 NITS. But it is hard to find NITS/CR specs for laptops.

I guess the makers expect you'll buy it to find out if you like it?

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)