I ordered a netbook tonight! I'd been eyeing them for a while (probably at least since my roommate Chelsea ordered one for the World Race and we would skype each other from the second to the third floor, hehehe), and in the past few weeks and months I've been kind of watching them on Amazon a little more interestedly.
Also, I've started realizing times and places where it'd be really handy and useful to have one around...the purple Dell Inspiron 1525 I bought myself Christmas 2008 (right), while wonderful, beautiful, and still a great computer, feels bulky, heavy, and just doesn't feel like it travels well. I just finished a theatre show where it would have been pretty handy to have a little netbook around - there were times I needed to have internet access or a computer, but I didn't bring my laptop in just because of the size and heft and the fact I was already carrying two bags and my dinner and a drink, did I really have another place to hang a laptop bag?
It was a little over $300 when I found it, but was most impressed with the TV tuner option it has...you can watch TV...right from the laptop...anywhere! I thought that was just too cool for school - especially as my TV doesn't get any channels right now (don't have cable, and haven't gotten the whole antenna, digital conversion box thingy yet as I keep thinking about buying a flatscreen LCD tv...). So here's the new addition to my technology pile...he'll be joining the other Dell, and the year-2001 Sony Vaio which hasn't even been switched on since I moved here (I should get everything off it and make it a Linux machine, but who has time for things like that?).
Specs:
Now I've read a few other things on the comments, discussions, and reviews on Amazon, and also on other websites, saying it has an HDMI out, and that the RAM is NOT upgradable (soldered onto the motherboard), so there are some pluses and minuses...I've also heard Windows 7 Starter is awful, so here's hoping it's not bad and people just don't know what they're doing - or that I can change to another OS easily enough...
I don't expect to be listening to iTunes, streaming tv, and working in Photoshop all at once, so I think that 1GB RAM should be okay. The main things I see myself using it for:
- Travel: getting ready to be doing a lot of travelling over the next few months and it'll be so much easier without lugging the big purple monster around
- Email/facebook: my daily regular routine stuff, I think it'll be perfect for it
- Watching tv: assuming I'll be picking up a decent number of channels (ie, more than zero), I'll happily watch a little tv here and there, perhaps plugging it up to the real tv to watch on the 'big' screen
- Blogging: would like to be blogging more so here's my chance
- Sundays: yeah I know that's a weird one, but basically I would like something that can travel to the coffeeshop, and I can make notes at a meeting or just surf the web while relaxing during the day.
- Skype: right now I only really skype with Chelsea in whatever country she's in that day, but I imagine I could start doing it more often now that I'll have the webcam built in feature...perhaps even start vlogging? hmm...
It cost about half the price as my purple laptop, and I would say is going to be doing at least 75% of what I do on the laptop already...
Considerations I've had:
- What kind of data sharing model do I use between my computers? How am I going to get photos, music, and documents back and forth, and keep track of what's where?
- How difficult will Windows 7 Starter REALLY be - and can I change it out?
- What programs should I put on the little bugger?
- and last but most important,
- Where can I find the most stylish sleeve possible??? Do I have to make my own???
Oh - I also ordered a netbook skin to help protect the laptop and make it look pretty, since it's a boring black one ;-) Of course I had to get something with a LITTLE purple in it! I tried to choose one with a dark background so it'll 'blend' in with the black better (ie if it starts peeling, or is too short in one area...). I ended up ordering the regular laptop size, as the netbook size would be too short by an inch or two. Since I'm getting the regular size - I'll have to trim it unfortunately, but they say that is easy with a razor blade (hmm, we'll see...)
'Course I just found a site that has way more designs and WAY cooler designs - they are more expensive, but they are custom-fit to the netbook size and have a piece that goes on the inside of the netbook to coordinate that as well. The site is decalgirl and I can even get skins for my iPod and blackberry to coordinate! Ahh...
