Techno Cop

Netbook a junk? Or does it just work?

 

Working as a security consultant for the 2^nd Global Forum for Migration and Development, I found myself for extended periods of time tied to a desk that was to be my co-working space for a week. Having decided that I will put the Netbook OS X to the test, I requested the organizers to loan me an external monitor and a USB keyboard. The first image below was my setup with the OS X Leopard Desktop showing. But with just one click of a button, I have access to the XP Desktop (second image) configured under Leopard's Spaces.

For the duration of the Forum, I used the Netbook OS X as my only workhorse to write and print wirelessly (using a Canon iP90v with portable battery pack and connected via Bluetooth) the nightly critique reports, downloading and editing digital pictures, preparing the occasional Powerpoint presentation, web browsing while listening to iTunes, and even blogging using MS Word 2007 as I am doing now.

The only problem with this setup is the endless distraction that I get from the people looking over my shoulders ogling this very cool setup. Some simply could not believe that this tiny 2lb machine could handle practically anything I throw at it. Yes, the Netbook OS X simply works and when you factor in the price, weight and battery life, it is simply amazing.

Jeff Attwood of Coding Horror had a similar observation of the netbook;

I didn't expect much from this cheap, diminutive laptop; it's mostly for web surfing, light email, maybe a tiny bit of miscellaneous office work. And in case the color choice didn't make it clear, it's not even for me. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

As I sat down to configure this machine, I belatedly realized that for most of what I do with a computer, this cute little netbook is perfectly adequate. Sure, the keyboard is a bit cramped, it's no performance powerhouse, and the screen size, at 1024 x 600, is definitely the minimum necessary for it to be practical. It took some adaptation, but it wasn't frustrating or disappointing to use. It delivered (almost) the same web experience I'd get on my desktop or laptop, with no serious compromises. It just.. worked.

To whoever said that $500 Netbooks are junk, my netbook OS X is the best piece of "junk" I have ever laid my hands on for the almost 2 decades of computing life.

Netbook OSX Redux

Now that the new macbooks are out in the market, it is quite obvious that Cupertino will not be turning out any netbook version anytime soon. According to Steve Jobs, the iPhone is as close as they will ever get to a netbook except for the price.

In a teleconference last October 21, Jobs practically categorized the netbook as junk,

"There are some customers which we chose not to serve," he added. "We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA will not let us ship that. But we can continue to deliver greater and greater value to those customers that we choose to serve. And there's a lot of them."

As a satisfied Apple customer for the past one and a half years, I am not one to question the logic behind this "business strategy." However, I totally disagree with categorizing the $500 netbooks as junk. In a recent blog, I wrote about how much I am loving the Asus eee 1000H with OS X installed (via hackintosh) that it has become my everyday mobile device. Yesterday, a friend asked me to get him an exact same machine.

I decided this time to get a black Asus eee 1000H with OSX Leopard installed from my friend SHINRAI. I even airbrushed an Apple logo just for kicks. As I have said before, everything works fine with the Netbook OSX except for the ethernet. All of the software that I have installed on my Macbook 13" and the MacBook Pro 17" are running without any issues in the eee PC. You can see the size comparison between the MacBook Pro and the Netbook OSX in the pictures below:

And here is a pic beside the HP 2710p Tablet PC with a 12" screen;

Junk or no junk, the Netbook OSX will reside permanently in my gadget bag.

 

 

Netbook Bag

Okay, Okay, my bag collection is already bordering on the Imeldific. But with the proliferation of netbooks everywhere I go, I am sure a lot of users are wondering as to what is the best bag to carry their netbooks in.

In a recent blog, I wrote about how all my daily gadgets fit quite snugly in the TUMI Generation 4 Leather Organizer Tote. Last week, I started ON A NEW PROJECT which requires going to a lot of business meetings. I decided that it is time to use a bag that is more appropriate for business. The TUMI Small Expandable Computer Brief, which I had to get out of the attic, is just what I need. This will be my daily gadget bag for the duration of the current project.

Although it is just a tad larger than the Tumi tote, its being expandable allows me to carry a bit more stuff inside. Take a peek,

This TUMI is able to accommodate quite a load:

1. The netbook OS X
2. Tekkeon battery pack which provides 4 additional hours to the netbook. It also powers the iPhone thru USB.
3. The Capturx Pen and Journal, my tablet PC alternative.
4. My 'iBook', which is basically an iPhone 3G situated inside a hacked Moleskine.
5. USB HSDPA
6. The X-mini capsule speaker.
7. The hard to find wireless Nortek Flat WL 2.4 mouse.

The TUMI Computer Brief could indeed carry quite a load without being obtrusive. Mine is made of ballistic nylon.

P.S.

My iBook is a true conversation piece everywhere I go. I swear, people at the Bucks won't be satisfied with just a casual glance at the iBook. I will be close to retirement if only I could get a dollar every time I am asked the question. "Where did you buy your iPhone carrying case?"

Netbook OS X on the Asus eee 1000H

In a recent post, I wrote about the computers that I own. 3 are Windows OS and 1 Mac OS X. Recently, my Tablet PC HP 2710p for the nth time started having problems recovering from sleep mode. As a longtime windows user, this is nothing serious considering that what it all requires really is PATIENCE. I waited for 5 minutes, and still no progress from the 2710p with Vista Business. I decided to instead go to the ever reliable macbook which stays tethered to the 28in Samsung:

I opened the display and almost instantaneously, the macbook is on with the wifi indicator showing that it is connected. I triggered Firefox from the dock and up comes Gmail. I scrolled down to the labels to look for the file that I need to send, opened the email, clicked F in the keyboard, and out comes the forwarding email dialog box. I then typed the first 3 letters of my intended recipient's email address and out comes a slection of email addresses. I clicked from the selection the correct address, clicked the send button and I am done. At just about this time, I noticed that the tablet PC has finished initializing.

Looking back to the 1 1/2 years that I have had the Macbook, I simply could not recall experiencing even a minor hiccup. Something I could not say about any of the Windows only computers that I own. I believe that experiences like these by Windows only users contributed immensely to the dramatic rise in sales of Apple computers.

As much as I would love to carry the 5++ lbs Macbook with me all the time, there are just more times when travelling light is paramount. This is why I recently bought the Asus EEE 1000H PC with XP OS, which at 2lbs and 10 in screen, is snappy enough for my daily computing needs. I have been reading a lot lately about the EEE PC and MSI Wind being hacked to run OS X. Imagine having the reliability of OS X in a 2lb package...the Macbook Air, you say? But at a little under $2,000.00, it is definitely not the only option to most. Last weekend, I took the plunge and had a friend install a DMG image of the Leopard OS of my Macbook onto the EEE PC.

The process went fairly straightforward and Leopard was running in the Eee 1000H in under 2 hours. There are just a couple of issues which could be deal breakers for some:

1. Wifi works fine but with the use of a software utility - Wireless Utility Cardbus PCI. The Netbook OS X connects alright with most any wifi router. However, even coming off from sleep mode, you would need to initialize your connection from the utility.

2. Audio works fine but only with the use of a USB soundcard the size of a small Bluetooth dongle. Once the dongle is attached, you can install your external speakers or earphones with standard adapters.

3. Installing a Mac OS X in a non-apple hardware is in violation of your Apple agreement.

4. You can no longer avail of Apple's software update as these may render your netbook install inoperable.

Barring the above issues, the following are what I love about the Netbook OS X:

• It recovers from sleep in under 3 seconds. Though not by just opening the screen. You would need to depress the power button of the netbook.
• Mac OS X is very snappy in this 1.6 ghz atom with 2 gig RAM.
• It runs all the softwares I have installed in the Macbook to include XP under VMware.
• I am getting a decent 4+ hours of battery life with the 6 cell battery.
• The weight, the weight. At a little over 2 lbs, I hardly even notice that I have with me a full featured "MAC"
• The price. At around $500 dollars, one can buy 4 of these netbooks at the price of 1 macbook air.

  I am simply loving my OS X in the Eee PC. It is has become my permanent mobile computer. I believe that this is also the case for the thousands of netizens who fell in love with the netbook form factor. This early, PC manufacturers are worried that the phenomenal rise in Netbook sales May Hurt Laptop Sales. Since Cupertino is always listening, I believe that it is only a matter of time before they finally start turning out more affordable laptops.