As a local "road warrior" and dad, I am driving around quite a lot in
my van.

I currently don't own a Linux laptop and am actively searching for
one.

I am vision impaired (partially) and cannot see the smart phone real-
estate for reading content and/or touch typing one letter at a time.
Prefer greater productivity using Emacs and leveraging laptop for
greater personal productivity.

Assume that I want to rely less on my mobile phone and leverage my
Linux laptop which is in my car and has internet connectivity (from
http://www.clear.com).

ASK:

a) While driving the van, find a (semi-)automated way to "resume" my
computer (which has a webcam) and be able to make/receive calls using
Skype.

b) Internet service provider could be Clear (or other).

c) Just as a driver presses a knob to turn on the radio, I am looking
for a "knob"-like interface (or similar) to achieve the Skype usage
experience. (nice to have but not a must have.

d) I will wear a headset so that I can keep both my hands on the
steering wheel (including having a webcam).
(or Webcam without a headset)

e) The aspect about using Skype is to stay virtually connected with
other folks in my family so that we can hear the chatter 360 degrees.

Main goal is to reach out to this forum and get some ideas on buying a
good Linux laptop (rather than using my company provided Win 7 laptop
and using it as a dual-boot machine for personal stuff). Like keeping
work and life separate.

Thanks for any ideas. Rude feedback is also welcome.

Last Mile Resource

Also need to charge the Linux laptop using the car battery (similar to
the charger for a mobile phone). Is such a charger available?

Thanks,

Last Mile Resource

On 2010-10-23, Last Mile Resource LLC <ramu.iyer@gmail.com> wrote:
> Also need to charge the Linux laptop using the car battery (similar to
> the charger for a mobile phone). Is such a charger available?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Last Mile Resource

The easy way is to use the regular charger and an inverter. Remember 
to unplug the inverter when not in use.


-- 
"Never underestimate the power of a small tactical nuclear weapon."