I bought my first netbook about a month ago - an MSI Wind U100, featuring a 10-inch screen (1024x600) and utilising a 1.6 GHz "Atom" processor. It is extremely light -- the laptop with the battery in it weighs about a kilo.
For A$680 it also came with a 120 GB HD (at the time of ordering it was spec'd with an 80 GB, so bonus...), 1 GB RAM, 802.11g, and a 6-cell battery (good for 4-5 hours). It has 3 external USB ports and an ethernet port. The key thing it doesn't come with: a CD or DVD drive. But that's fine.
I also bought a few 3rd party add-ons -- another 1 GB RAM, replaced the Wireless G mini PCI-E card with a Wireless N, and replaced the internal disk with a 2.5-inch 500 GB SATA (5400 rpm). This brought the total spend up to around (just below) A$1000. In terms of modifying/installing the 3rd party hardware? Piece of cake.
A couple of weekends ago I configured it as a hackintosh (10.5.4). I am very impressed with the results -- the laptop is quite snappy even with I/O and CPU intensive tasks such as running a Windows XP instance in VMware or playing video.
The only HW not working is the headphone jacks and the internal microphone (easily remedied with a USB headset, which I use when I voice-skype anyways).
While I'll keep my MacBook Pro for everyday work, the netbook should be the perfect travel companion for my upcoming trips to Hong Kong and the Czech Republic. Not only is it compact and light, but it's so inexpensive that if it came to the crunch I wouldn't be too worried about replacing it if it got flogged.
For A$1000, I think the spec is unbelievably good.
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Monday, 6 October 2008
Random
Some other random thoughts:
- Apparently by 2030, laptops will be hotter than the sun. Semi-seriously, I wonder when we will start to see warnings on the side of laptops like they do with coffee cups...
- I've been playing around with the Windows port of xbmc on my Vista Media Center lately. I've played with it before on my retired Xbox, but my interest has been piqued by all the forks we have seen emerge recently such as Boxee and Plex. It's fascinating that open source leads the way in this industry, given the commercial potential.
- It's a good time to be a Redskins fan. I can't remember the last time I was so inspired by the team and it's coaching. I mean really and truly inspired. I didn't think much could top last week's win over Dallas in Texas Stadium until I watched the Skins rally from being 14-0 down in the first quarter to dominate Philadelphia at the Link. Not just winning, but winning with style (such wonderfully aggressive play-calling by head coach Jim Zorn). I am so freaking proud of this team right now, and I've been on a natural high all day after watching the game...
- ...possibly akin to what Manly fans feel about their team walloping the Melbourne Storm in yesterday's league Grand Final 40-0.
- I'm quite looking forward to going to Hong Kong at the end of the month to witness Dingo put some hurt on the All Blacks. Lots of new talent on display, and with plenty of time (4 weeks) to get ready. The Wallabies have so much upside between now and the next World Cup. We are very lucky to have a philosophy like Robbie's to go with the talent, rather than conservative, stifling thinking ala Connolly.
- I'm also looking forward to the new Coen brothers film Burn After Reading. Their humour almost always strikes a chord with me.
- With Nick doing All Tomorrow's Parties at the Sydney Festival this year, I think this is gonna be the year where I get off my butt to try and get some tickets to Sydney Festival events in a timely manner (as opposed to my usual ad-hoc manner). I love this time of year in Sydney.
- I feel a project coming on...
- Apparently by 2030, laptops will be hotter than the sun. Semi-seriously, I wonder when we will start to see warnings on the side of laptops like they do with coffee cups...
- I've been playing around with the Windows port of xbmc on my Vista Media Center lately. I've played with it before on my retired Xbox, but my interest has been piqued by all the forks we have seen emerge recently such as Boxee and Plex. It's fascinating that open source leads the way in this industry, given the commercial potential.
- It's a good time to be a Redskins fan. I can't remember the last time I was so inspired by the team and it's coaching. I mean really and truly inspired. I didn't think much could top last week's win over Dallas in Texas Stadium until I watched the Skins rally from being 14-0 down in the first quarter to dominate Philadelphia at the Link. Not just winning, but winning with style (such wonderfully aggressive play-calling by head coach Jim Zorn). I am so freaking proud of this team right now, and I've been on a natural high all day after watching the game...
- ...possibly akin to what Manly fans feel about their team walloping the Melbourne Storm in yesterday's league Grand Final 40-0.
- I'm quite looking forward to going to Hong Kong at the end of the month to witness Dingo put some hurt on the All Blacks. Lots of new talent on display, and with plenty of time (4 weeks) to get ready. The Wallabies have so much upside between now and the next World Cup. We are very lucky to have a philosophy like Robbie's to go with the talent, rather than conservative, stifling thinking ala Connolly.
- I'm also looking forward to the new Coen brothers film Burn After Reading. Their humour almost always strikes a chord with me.
- With Nick doing All Tomorrow's Parties at the Sydney Festival this year, I think this is gonna be the year where I get off my butt to try and get some tickets to Sydney Festival events in a timely manner (as opposed to my usual ad-hoc manner). I love this time of year in Sydney.
- I feel a project coming on...
Phones
A couple of random phone-related thoughts:
- There were two things that I have felt were show-stopping detractors with the iPhone which have nothing to do with it's design. The first is that iPhone sales have been tied to service provider contracts featuring very (to put it lightly) uncompetitive data rates, and the second is that they've had NDA's tied to the platform SDK, curbing efforts by communities to develop for the iPhone (including writing books). Thankfully, the latter has been fixed, and the former is rumoured to be addressed in the next few months.
- In the meantime, I have allowed my company to provide me a Blackberry Bold, simply because I am entitled to a new phone once every two years. The phone has a solid design, but I'm still trying to decide whether I like the idea of carrying around email in my pocket.
- My previous phone (the Treo 680) was without doubt the best I've ever owned, but unfortunately PalmOS is a dead platform. What a tragedy. An OS with a really great philosophy that I will miss. The phone now becomes a hand-me-down for V.
- There were two things that I have felt were show-stopping detractors with the iPhone which have nothing to do with it's design. The first is that iPhone sales have been tied to service provider contracts featuring very (to put it lightly) uncompetitive data rates, and the second is that they've had NDA's tied to the platform SDK, curbing efforts by communities to develop for the iPhone (including writing books). Thankfully, the latter has been fixed, and the former is rumoured to be addressed in the next few months.
- In the meantime, I have allowed my company to provide me a Blackberry Bold, simply because I am entitled to a new phone once every two years. The phone has a solid design, but I'm still trying to decide whether I like the idea of carrying around email in my pocket.
- My previous phone (the Treo 680) was without doubt the best I've ever owned, but unfortunately PalmOS is a dead platform. What a tragedy. An OS with a really great philosophy that I will miss. The phone now becomes a hand-me-down for V.
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