In a previous post I wrote that, “2009 will be the year where I will be less distracted by new gadgets.” Well, compared to years before, I can say that that has been quite true. We are almost at the end of the 1st quarter of the year and I have not added any new gadgets to the TECHNOCOP HQ. In the cellphone department alone, I have stayed with my very sleek E71 and iPhone 3G.
But all that has changed and I would have to blame Windows 7 and a recent business trip to Hongkong together with a close friend. After being extremely happy and productive in Windows 7, I found myself walking the streets of Causeway bay looking for a thin and light netbook. You guessed it, a thin and light netbook that will sport Windows 7 just as soon as I lay my hands on it. Heck, I even brought with me the installer and an external DVD drive. Let us cut through the chase, I bought a Macbook Air 1.86 GHZ Core 2 Duo with 128 gig SSD and 2 gig RAM. At 3 lbs, it is just as light as any netbook on the market.
The Windows 7 install (Using Bootcamp) on the AIR went without a hitch as expected. I simply followed the very well-written step by step guide in Simple Help. Here is my quick take on the experience thus far:
- My eyes are thanking me for the AIR’s very crisp 13 inch screen.
- I enjoy using the trackpad that I do not carry a mouse with me anymore.
- The processor speed is decent. It boots Windows 7 in just 40 seconds and WORD 2007 in 3 seconds.
- The battery is good enough for my regular day of use. The meter shows 3+ hours but I will have to validate that some more.
- Even with its brick power adapter, the AIR hardly occupies space in most of my bags.
- All my software are running without any issues (Office 2007, Photoshop, TextAloud, Windows Live writer, Firefox 3 beta, Sugarsync and the Mindmanager Pro).
As I put the AIR with Windows 7 to the test in the days to come, I will report here other experiences that you may find helpful.
Back to the HK trip, my long-time friend and mentor, MARTIN CEPEDA, asked me to accompany him to a Montblanc shop to buy a pen. We went to the branch in Pacific Place and he went inside the store as I wandered through the other signature shops nearby. When he finally got out of the store, he was carrying a huge shopping bag with the store’s logo emblazoned on it. So I asked, “ boy, that must be a hell of a lot of pens that you brought there.” To which he replied, “Nope, this is my gift to you.”
In my next post, I will tell you what the gift was. (HINT: it is perfect for the Macbook AIR).
