1 post tagged “eee pc 4g surf”

An addition to the household...an Eee PC 4G Surf in Galaxy Black that I've named George. No, not after Mr. Knightley. When I saw him out of the box, I wanted to hug him and pet him and call him George! So he is George.

I've wanted one of these for more than a year, by "one of these" meaning a netbook, one of the tiny laptops that are proliferating of late. I really wanted a Foleo but when Palm canceled it, I considered an Eee PC. I even had one on preorder. I wanted it to take to the JASNA AGM in Vancouver last year, but it wouldn't be out in time, and I wasn't really sure I wanted one, so I canceled it.

I ended up purchasing a used Toshiba Portege 100, which is also very light and has a bigger screen and keyboard. However, because it is (well) used, I've had some trouble with it, and even though the laptop itself weighs about 2 pounds, the extra battery (necessary) and the charger (also necessary) effectively double the weight.

Meanwhile, I told one of my co-workers about the Eee PC, and she ordered one. I tried it out, and thought the screen and keyboard were both too small. I was interested in Dell's netbook, which was rumored all summer, and recently released in Windows XP version only. I would have ordered it if the Ubuntu version was available in time for this year's AGM (and the Hornblower convention in San Diego a week later), but it wouldn't be available until the middle of October--too late. Also I'm not crazy about glossy screens. Didn't we get rid of them when we got rid of big fat CRTs, because they make glare and give users headaches? I guess the modern kind are better, but I really think I prefer a matte screen.

I made up my mind to take the Toshiba to Chicago and San Diego, but I really dreaded the idea. The weight, the logistics of TSA, etc. just made it so much difficult, as I am trying to one-bag it this year. I have a new convertible backpack--we'll see how it goes. But of course I want to save weight and bulk whenever possible.

I revisited the idea of the Eee PC. I tried my co-worker's again, and was surprised how quickly I became adjusted to the keyboard. She has it set up to boot into advanced mode, which I really like (and will be doing for George). The screen size is fine for what I need. And the price has dropped $50 since I had it on preorder. So I went for it, and George has arrived and made himself at home. I was thinking about selling the Toshiba, but since it's a little more powerful than the Eee PC, I'll hang onto it for a bit. If I don't use it for a few months, I'll probably sell it. I can see myself carrying the Eee PC on a daily basis. Maybe I'll even do some writing; stranger things have happened. ;-)