The all new Netbook as Main Computer series is a log of the trails and tribulations of going from powerful Core i5, 14″ notebook to a puny, weak and underpowered 10.1″ netbook with half the power. Can Tiff survive?
Like a Boss!
Recently, I left my job and had to return the laptop provided by the company. This isn’t too big a deal because I generally don’t really have any affection to that computer even though it is smothered with stickers and other personalisations.
On the first week of leaving it, I already have a few problems. First, the netbook has a puny screen. I went from 14″ of glossy glory to 10.1″ of flaccidity. In the past, my palm couldn’t cover the screen, now it can. That’s how bad it is. And then there’s the resolution, I went from a tolerable 1366×768 to 1024×600. That means that some websites don’t really display well, unless I shrink the website to 85% or so, which would mean that the words become tiny.
The most horrifying thing that I discovered is that Windows Easy Transfer, a program that is supposed to make migrating from one computer to another easy has a big Achilles heel – it won’t transfer from a 64-bit based Windows to a 32-bit Windows, which is probably what most netbook has. Now that was truly problematic, and because of this, I had to do it manually – email, pictures, work documents, etc. What a misnomer Easy Transfer is, especially after spending that six hours copying 100-gig’s worth of files.
Then, there’s the problem of email. Windows Live Mail went rogue on me, and although it confirmed that it has exported the emails, it seems to have only exported whatever it liked. I am missing so many emails that I’ve got to go back and get them. Damn!
The consolation is that my netbook has one of the finest chiclet keyboards ever – way better than the one on my desktop or notebook. A chiclet layout is a very efficient keyboard due to its small size and low keypress stroke, and I really like it. Coupled with the fact that my HP Mini comes with a reversed-function keyboard – meaning that you’ll have to press the Fn key to get to the Function buttons (F1, F2, F3, etc.). I tend to like this, although it does get annoying in games which require these keys.
Then, there’s also the unbeatable battery life of a netbook, and the portability of it. I remember lugging that 2.6kg notebook around, with its massive power supply. That wasn’t too nice on my shoulders. But the netbook, weighing in at 1.5kg or so, doesn’t feel so hefty when you carry a single-shoulder messenger bag with it inside.
Horses for courses indeed, but as it is right now, the netbook which I am using is a pretty good horse which can do everything that I need it to do except play the best games or run the most intensive of software such as Adobe CS5 or Sony Vegas Pro.
As I am now left with my netbook, I am endeavouring to see how effective it would be as the primary computer. It’s a small, cute and radically different from all the other computers which I have had, because it is low in everything – and that can be a double-edged sword. Yes, it is low in processing power – check. Low in graphics ability – slideshow 1080p movies – check. Low in screen size – check. But there’s also low in power consumption – check, low in weight – check.
In this series, I will investigate if it is possible to actually survive with a netbook, by shutting out all other sources of more powerful computing. Will I survive?
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