Laptop for CCD imaging

I want to buy a laptop to get started in CCD imaging, control my telescopes, etc. I have an LX200 10", a Tak FSQ106 on a yet to be determined mount (probably Tak), and an SBIG STV. All have just been purchased so I haven't played with them yet. What features do I need in a laptop? I see people talking about USB ports, other ports (serial), and also how much memory and hard drive space do I need?

Thanks -

Ryan

Ryan, I do not have a lot of experience in ccd photography, but I do have much computer experience. Computers are very inexpensive now. I always buy computers from Best Buys or Circuit City, and I get one that has been outdated by a new model. Usually, these go for about one-half the original price. They also are missing things like disks and perhaps power supplies. Make certain that they sell you something that works though.
Get memory. I try to keep 256 Mbytes RAM and you might as well get 20 to 40 Gbytes of disk space. RAM memory is cheap and disk space is a bargain. The RAM will let your system run faster.
Make certain that you get the latest USB port. Many devices work though USB. In my observatory, I have a laptop at the boundary of the building with a buried conduit in the cement floor. I run one USB line from the laptop through the conduit to a 4 port USB hub on the telescope pier. From there, I can run my camera directly, and also, I have a USB to RS232 adaptor to run the telescope. It works fine. This computer is connected into an ethernet network in my house. I use VNC by AT&T as a client server system to allow my inside computer to control the laptop through the network. I also have cable internet access through the ethernet router/hub in the house. That way, I can run my telescope and the camera from my study and any computer on the network, including the one in the dome can access the internet. I have had no trouble with the computer set-up. I wish that I could say that I am able to take great pictures with the system. Maybe someday.
Ted

Do you plan to do processing on the laptop too? Imaging and control are pocket change for a computer. You could easily do with an old, used clunker. If you want to run Photoshop or some other demanding software, though, you're going to want to get a fairly recent notebook.

If you're buying a new notebook the best thing I can recommend is 256MB RAM at a minimum. 512 is better, 1024 is better still. You can never have too much RAM, and your RAM can never be fast enough. DDR is the way to go. Processing speed (what most people mythically equate to MHz) is of virtually no significance because P4's and Athlon's are just so powerful. Get what's in your budget. Many people grossly overestimate the amount of hard disk space they need. 20GB is really quite a lot of space. If it's not too expensive, get yourself more but if you're on a budget and you're not some chronic MP3 downloader then you'll likely never even use half of that.

I would shop for a notebook with 1 or more USB ports, a serial port, a parallel port and a PS/2 port. Ethernet is a given as is CardBus. Everything else is personal preference.