Laptop for FieldWorks?
Anyone working in language documentation use a laptop specifically for the SIL FieldWorks software? At the school where I did my MA, that was pretty common among Linguistics Department faculty. I don't think that my current laptop is going to last that much longer, & I don't want to subject it to the conditions of my field site. I'm saving to buy a nice computer, but I think I should get something for fieldwork before that. Anyone with experience have any advice about what to look for for this specific purpose?
Posted Aug 21, 2022, 4:31 PM UTC · edited
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Literally anything Windows will run FLEx. They have a Linux version but I strongly advise against it. I'm an experienced Linux user with multiple distributions and lots of finagling to get weird random packages running, and FLEx just isn't worth running on Linux, even their own Debian clone. Do not use FLEx on Linux, which pains me to say as a borderline Linux evangelist.
Get a laptop that runs Windows, has a decent battery life, and is made by a company that has a decent track record for reliability. I know people who use MS Surface Pros for fieldwork without issues, as well as ThinkPads, or really anything that they'd otherwise use in theri day to day life.
Where will you be doing fieldwork? To me this is the only thing that might influence the answer, but the overall answer will be "literally anything with Windows that you can reliably use".
Don't use paper beyond quick notes. That's madness.
My works in the Sudan. I'll check out the Surface Pro line. Thanks!
In the past I've used a ZOOM audio recorder & paper simultaneously. The paper is partly performative: People can see what I'm doing. However, I also use it to take notes of gestures, changes in the audience, &c, that aren't picked up on audio alone. I then take my recording back to my house, load it onto my laptop, & start transcribing. I don't really expect that my basic process will change: I'm looking to get a less expensive laptop so that I don't feel like I'm taking an unaffordable risk by bringing it to coffee shops or outdoor gatherings: Plenty of people would be happy to go over transcriptions with me, but I don't like making them come to me.
I appreciate the recommendation!
I've done the same for the same reason.
If it matters, since you brought up gestures and change of audience, I myself use a Tascam DR-40 (a Zoom h4 equivalent) but also a GoPro. I can't remember if it's an 8 or 9 but it's one of the ones which logs GPS as well. I still take all the notes I would for metadata, and the Tascam does the audio, but the GoPro adds an extra layer both for geographic location as well as all the gestural/audience stuff. Especially useful for later figuring out who the side comment came from since I can see them now.
Crazy as it may be I actually plan to use a SteamDeck on my next trip to the field, just for the portability. I have a super light 2-part keyboard I travel with anyway. The tiny screen will get annoying but for as little time as I actually need to stare at one I think it'll be fine.
That's really interesting! What will you use the Steam Deck for?
I use Linux as my daily driver anyway (don't actually use FLEx much as I'm mostly doing lexical and phonological work) and since it's just a small PC running Linux (or Windows if you feel like installing it), and since it also has a potentially expandable m.2 SSD slot, I think it'd be pretty useful to have just to copy things over from the Zoom/Tascam or GoPro, as well as with an external keyboard to type up my field notes and metadata. I have a ReMarkable tablet I use already for note taking during non-fieldwork meetings and reading papers/ebooks, so I figure a workflow where I do recordings with handwritten notes which I then type up before bed would be well within its capabilities, and save me from having to carry the size/weight of a laptop. More room for gifts to give people in the village, which is something I've always sucked at.
Other than typing transcribed stuff, which I don't do that much in the field anyway unless working specifically with someone (which is hard to make happen at the time of year I go since it's time for harvesting and everyone's already so busy), the main reason I bother with a laptop at all is to get stuff off the audio and video recorders and preview to make sure it's useful. Last trip to the field I took an 11" MacBook Air from 2012 or earlier because that was literally all I planned to use it for, and it worked well, but even with a new battery doesn't last too long.