Here we go again …

Who’s got the bigger … notebook hard drive? I guess Western Digital has beaten the others to the punch. Enter 1 TB of storage goodness in a 2.5″ platform. Whaaat?! I’m still using a lowly 500GB in my desktop beast an now WD has come out with something even larger for my notebook? Perhaps it IS time to upgrade. I’ve barely filled up half of my 80GB laptop hard drive and along comes something to tempt my wallet. Shame on WD for trying to put me in the poor house with their lineup of storage solutions! I guess the only thing left is to wait for Seagate to come out with their version … and run out and buy it.

Netbook expectations

Making decision to buy an netbook usually takes less time than buying one. Portable, cheap, SSD hard drive, what’s not to like? Well you should consider a few things. Manage your expectations before you run out and buy one.

Netbook does not equal laptop. One of the most common mistakes people make is that they are getting a complete laptop in a tiny package. Wrong. Netbooks have limitations. For one the processor is slower than what you would get in a regular 15″/17″ laptop. Some applications are just not going to run smoothly on that 1.6Ghz Atom processor.

Storage capacity. 8GB/16GB/32GB SSD is not a whole lot of room to keep all of your stuff. Music, photos, programs, all taking up precious space on that tiny drive. You should only install the essential programs. Keeping a selection of music and photos on a USB/SD card. Yes, a selection, that does not mean your entire library. That is what your iPod is for.

Keyboard. It’s a tiny computer, and hence the keyboard may not be to your liking. It really does take some getting used to. If you plan on typing for 4 hours straight, then maybe you should consider the 10″ netbook or even a 12″ laptop. Big hands and this typing surface do not go together.

Touchpad. It is equally as tiny and takes getting used to. If you primarily navigate using the mouse you are not going to like the amount of concentration required to move the little pointer thingy. You gotta learn keyboard shortcuts, ALT, TAB, FN, Windows key are mashed quite often.

The screen. Again some people are not going to like the tiny screen. Some people might find it hard on the eyes. It’s definitely not designed to be stared at for hours on end.

Far too many people get buyers remorse soon after picking up a netbook. By the same token these the are same buyers who don’t research what they are buying. You just aren’t going to get a fully functional laptop at a $300 price point. Obviously there are going to be some compromises. Just make sure you can live with them.

New laptop every 3 years for life

I know what you’re thinking, “what’s the catch”. Well it seems like a pretty simple offer from Fujitsu. Buy any Fujitsu Lifebook laptop and the extended 3 year warranty and that’s it. Get a new laptop every 3 years. Sounds pretty sweet. If you go through laptops frequently this might be something you want to look into. A couple of interesting features of the program is that under the Fujitsu plan covers theft and 1 time accidental damage. This is off of the UK site so it may only be applicable to UK customers (I haven’t bothered to read the fine print, but you can).

Prices (from the site) range from £ 810.39 (14″ with a 2.26ghz duo core cpu) to £ 1,134.97 (12.1″ with 1.2ghz cpu). Pricey but like I said, it may only appeal to those who change laptops frequently. One thing I can say about Fujitsu laptops are that their screens are usually top notch.

Dell Mini 9 debuts, special offer for U.S. customers

“If you can wait until 6 a.m. Central tomorrow, Sept. 5, you’ll be able to get a Mini for only $99 with the purchase of a Studio 15, XPS M1530 or XPS M1330 laptop through 6 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9 (U.S. only).” (link)

Buy one to get a smaller for a cheaper price. Hmm. This is just the excuse I was looking for to blow some cash. Let’s see, the cheapest Dell Studio goes for what, $649 for a 15″ display and then $99 for a Mini with a 9″ screen. Spend $600 to save $250? Is that a paradox? Who cares! Dell’s got a hit on it’s hands. Beats the Asus Eee PC, MSI Wind, and Acer Aspire hands down. Finally the wait is over, hit the site and order yours.

Related posts:
Dell Mini 9: no ubuntu for Canada

Only TSA laptop approved bags

There’s a new option for people annoyed at having to take their laptops out of their bags at airport security. The Transportation Security Administration will now allow travelers to leave their computers inside “checkpoint friendly” cases.

The new rules, announced Tuesday and set to take effect Aug. 16, are intended to help streamline the X-ray inspection lines.

TSA said it reached out to bag manufacturers this year to design laptop cases that would provide a clear, unobstructed image of the computer as it passed through an X-ray machine. The agency said the new bags will be available for purchase this month. (link)