Understandably, most of my friends and family were a bit mystified when I told them of my plan. "But.. but.. it's a PC!" they would exclaim "And you're like the biggest Mac guy we know!"
It's true; since I got my Macbook Pro in my senior year of high school I've steered clear entirely of Windows-based machines and stuck to the products from those geniuses out in Cupertino. And yet, in this past year, things started to change a little bit. My Macbook Pro is approaching 4 years old, and is definitely starting to show it's age. It's boot up times are just a little bit slower than they used to be, and the casing is starting to fall apart. Internally it's still strong, able to run a lot of current games via Bootcamp and all the animation software I need for my work.
But I'm also on the run a lot, and those years on the road are really starting to stack up for my poor computer. Me and my computer have had lots of adventures together and, unfortunately, it's got the scars and dents to prove it.
The killing factor, however, has been its battery-life, or lack thereof. The Macbook Pro has never been a marathon runner by any stretch, but I used to at least be able to get through a 2 hour lecture on a single charge. Now, however, my poor old laptop can barely finishing booting up before its power goes, suddenly, and without warning. I've replaced the battery twice, to no avail, and I've come to the conclusion it has some form of digital Alzheimer's.
Yes, it's been a sad thing to watch as my computer slowly starts to lose more and more of its functions, creeping towards the senility and obsolence that not even frequent maintenance and memory upgrades can deter.
Clearly, I began to reason earlier this year, a replacement would be in order at some point in time. As an animation student and overall technology/internet addict, my computer is an essential part of my day-to-day (heck, hour-to-hour) arsenal.
Unfortunately, however, to properly replace my beloved computer would require a sum of money far greater than currently in my possession. And, in all honesty, my computer still functions incredibly well. It's still a powerful machine; provided it can sit still and undisturbed in one place while it does so.
So I decided to buy, not a replacement, but a sidekick to my computer.
Did any of you ever watch the cartoon Batman Beyond? It was the story of future Gotham City, when Bruce Wayne is too old to go out and fight crime himself. Instead he recruits a teenager to go out and be his legs and muscle, while Bruce watched and directed him from the Batcave; the real brains of the operation.
That's what I needed; my laptop's not quite old enough to retire to the Great Beyond, but it's certainly not young enough to go running around in my bag all day, and so I needed something that could accomplish simple tasks while my laptop stayed home plugged into life suppor-err, AC power.
I needed something small and fast, something light and just powerful enough for what I needed. And I needed it to be cheap. It didn't take a genius to figure out what I needed...
A netbook.
I first had the idea when I was in a Verizon store, waiting for the soulless drone behind the counter to transfer my cell contacts from one phone to another. As I wandered around, looking at all the phones on display, a little tiny laptop, the HP Mini 1151NR, caught my eye. A delightfully svelte little laptop, emblazoned with silver swirls and a sleek black finish, I immediately was taken in by its stylings. It was my first encounter with the 'new wave' of netbooks: tiny ultraportables that actually had decent screens and keyboards and at least a modicum of style.
As I picked up and admired the tiny machine, I started compiling a list in my head of what I would need from a netbook, if I actually got one:
- Good battery life. Not like '3 hours good,' but at least 5.
- Tiny form factor; skinny enough to unobtrusively slip in my bag and light enough to be held comfortably with one hand.
- Comfortable keyboard and trackpad
- Aesthetic style that doesn't look like a brick
- Less than $400
Other than these five factors, I didn't really need anything else. Processor, harddrive and other components were irrevelant, as this machine would be solely for the web and maybe the odd bit of media.
And thus began my search.
I rather quickly ruled out the HP Mini 1151NR. Other than mediocre-to-poor battery life, it passed all my requirements, but it required a $60 per month subscription with Verizon's 3G Broadband service. Researching the 1151NR led me to it's new little brother however; the HP Mini 110. For a long time, I thought the 110 was going to be the netbook for me. Stylish, slim, and with a spacious keyboard, I thought it was going to be the way to go; especially with its cool-looking Linux interface.
As I began to research more, however, I began to discover some big deal-breakers. Many reviewers placed the Mini 110's at barely more than a 2 hour lifespan. There was an extended battery you could buy, but it created an enormous protrusion from the bottom of the computer and still barely pushed it past 4 hours. Crushed, I realized the Mini wasn't the computer for me.
I turned to the vast resources of the internet then, searching for a netbook that I liked as much as the HP Mini. I looked at Lenovo, MSI, Dell... they all had offerings, but their specs and stats were all almost identical.
Finally, I stumbled upon Asus. I read on a tech blog about the release of the Asus Eee PC 1008HA. Bewildering product name aside, I was immediately entranced. Internally, the stats were very close to the HP Mini, but one of the 1008HA's big 'sell points' was its battery life (averaged at 4-6 hours as opposed to the Mini's 2-3). Finally, it seemed I had found the computer that would give me everything I loved about the HP Mini PLUS good battery life. Obsessively, I tracked down every blog and review that I could on the 1008HA. That was how I discovered the Asus Eee PC 1005HE. The slightly chunkier, less stylish sibling to the 1008HA, the 1005HE made up for its less-fortunate looks with a bewildering 8 hours battery life. "Looks be damned," I decided, "I want me some of that battery life."
For a few weeks, I prepared to purchase the 1000HE; waiting for a few paychecks to accumulate. Then, the night before my big order, Asus made an announcement. They were releasing a new computer. Almost too good to be true, they were releasing a computer that had the attractive style of the 1008HA (if a teeny bit chunkier), plus an unheard of 10.5 hour battery life.
To say it was an instant sell for me would be a bit of an understatement.
So, fast forward 2 weeks.
I've had my Asus Eee PC for about ten days now, and I couldn't be happier with it. (in fact, I'm typing on it right now!) Sure it can be a little slow sometimes, and every now and again the trackpad can be frustratingly glitchy, but this little guy has been phenomenal. Barely bigger than a paperback book and with almost iPod-like battery life, my little Road Warrior has quickly become a part of my electronic lifestyle.
I've tricked this little guy out with the best open-source and lightweight software out there and, (besides a VERY unfortunately mishap with Ubuntu), have had no problems whatsoever. Google, in particular, with the new offline versions of their many web-apps has provided great replacements for Microsoft Office.
I still use my Macbook Pro for most everything (gaming, movie watching, animation, etc) when I'm at home, but for simple web browsing, email, and writing, I seem to keep finding myself kicking back on the couch with my lil' Eee in my lap.
So what did I learn from my adventure with netbook shopping? For one thing, picking one out is nearly impossible. With all the identical configurations and ludicriously complicated model numbers, you practically need the sort of mind used to bending spoons to comprehend them.
But, now that my shopping is over, purchase in hand, I'm very happy with the way things turned out.
So, whether netbooks are just some flash in the pan or not, I really like mine, and I'm actually very psyched to get back to school so I can really try this baby out on the go.
And, as my girlfriend hopes, maybe this means I'll become more tolerant of Windows.
....we'll see about that one....
