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Why I Love Netbooks
Posted by Mark Wilson at 1:00 AM on August 30, 2008
Just because I'm a fat American doesn't mean I've always wanted a fat American computer. Over the years I have grown to hate so-called performance laptops from Dell and HP. They were big, ugly and heavy enough to rip your shoulder out of your socket, and getting bigger, uglier and heavier all the time. Why didn't we get those little laptops, you know, the ones made for Japan and available only on Dynamism? Like the lady who buys shoes a few sizes too small, I sought a computer that could be used for emails and surfing and not require steroid supplements to transport. Oh, and could it be cheap, too? I spend all my money on fast food.
Netbooks are wonderful.
When the Asus Eee PC arrived, it subverted every laptop tradition that had come before it. It was the first cheap drool-worthy laptop (not counting the judgmental hippie Kumbaya circles of the OLPC), and its mentality was different, too. Not there to replace your PC, but not there for the business traveller either, the Eee was simply a fun machine, a computer just made for dudes who like computers. Seriously, how many laptop ads have you seen that feature a model relaxing on the beach? There's a reason for that.
And maybe the most innovative paradigm shift—oh, I went there—was that this amazing laptop wasn't even built out of laptop parts! There was a freaking digital camera memory stick in the thing in place of a real hard drive. Had we been lied to? Could digital cameras double as computers for all this time??
You see, my MacBook Pro, that's for work. My phone, that's for outside. My mini note? Perfect, it won't even distract me from the television.
Take the iPhone. It's great, but it's streamlined for productivity. It's so good at what it does, filtering news headlines from air and emails from inboxes, playing music on command and calling web numbers with just a tap, that I'm trapped in productivity.
Sometimes I don't know where I want to go online, just that I want to go online. And it's this digital improvisation that begs for a mouse, a keyboard and speakers to play any stupid songs off any stupid web advertisements. I want the full effect, only smaller.
Just as an HDTV can bring a movie theatre home, so too can one of these put a full computer back in your actual lap. Have you ever Skyped on a mini-notebook? Yeah, it's like one of those telephone conversations from the future as told by an '80s sci-fi movie. It's fantastic.
For those who crave more power, don't worry, as processors shrink this platform will become synonymous with the laptop. And for those who crave more comfort, get over it. You'll learn to type on a new keyboard or stay away from the second helpings.
I'm just saying, there's a reason James Bond carries a Walther PPK.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
dc-united
Posted 1:28 AM 30/8/08
That's a model?
dc-united
Jaze
Posted 1:18 AM 30/8/08
Obviously, I REALLY feel strongly about this.
Jaze
Jaze
Posted 1:17 AM 30/8/08
Sigh.
Maybe this movement will force Apple to bring out a 12" MacBook. I really thought that was the perfect size. Comfortable, portable (unlesss you have muscles like wet tissue paper) and looked great on the beach with models.
Jaze
Jaze
Posted 1:16 AM 30/8/08
Sigh.
Maybe this movement will force to Apple give us 12" MacBooks. I thought that was the perfect size, comfortable, portable, and would look good on a beach with a model.
Jaze
trendspotter
Posted 1:55 AM 30/8/08
@kidlucrative: Yeah, so really her ass is small...
I am tempted by an Acer Aspire One, but they're hard to find in stock these days. Back to school, grr.
trendspotter
kidlucrative
Posted 1:49 AM 30/8/08
@Tank: True, but their advertising meme seemed to be just that.
observe:
[wikigiz.com]
Of course it's possible that it just looks photoshopped since it's really small and we almost always see that form in larger pictures, so our brain assumes either she's too big or it's too small, so we assume photoshop. Who knows.
kidlucrative
Visp3r
Posted 1:46 AM 30/8/08
That picture is one of the worst shoops V've ever seen.
Visp3r
Scott
Posted 1:43 AM 30/8/08
@NcSchu: He does now. However back in the day it was a PPK. Interestingly enough both of them suck in real life.
Scott
Scott
Posted 1:42 AM 30/8/08
@Tank: I for one do not want sand in the crotch of my netbook!
Scott
NcSchu
Posted 1:41 AM 30/8/08
Actually James Bond now carries a Walther P99.
NcSchu
Tank
Posted 1:38 AM 30/8/08
The camera and computer look photoshopped. Even if the computer was $50.00, why would you want to take it to the beach? With just a little breeze, everything gets covered in sand.
Tank
Tank
Posted 2:05 AM 30/8/08
@kidlucrative: You're probably right about the computer but the camera looks horrible.
Tank
Davedave24
Posted 2:52 AM 30/8/08
@kidlucrative:
it doesn't look photoshopped because of the size, it looks photoshopped because the lighting is totally inconsistent. The sun is apparently behind her, yet she casts no shadow on the keyboard and the laptop casts no shadow on the mat. It also appears to be tilting out of perspective a bit, although that can be forgiven somewhat due to the beach not being a perfectly level surface.
Davedave24
macabron
Posted 2:47 AM 30/8/08
Look at the shadow she proyects...Look at the shadow of the laptop...
macabron
helldiver
Posted 3:12 AM 30/8/08
Netbooks would make sense if their price were under 200 dollars.
It pisses me off when I see the high-end EEE Pcs selling for the same price as a 14inch laptop with more power.
helldiver
yogibimbi
Posted 2:55 AM 30/8/08
@Jaze: I have a 12". Want an 8" touchscreen only!
yogibimbi
JoOngle
Posted 3:35 AM 30/8/08
Technically the Asus Eee was a distaster for Macbook air, the air filled the void - but the price was off base for most of us, then Asus Eee (plus hordes of - we-want-in-on-it-too clones) came right after.
Most sales are kept secret, but the business boom in the stores tells the truth.
I visited 3 different stores 4 weeks after the Asus Eee was on sale (basically when I bought mine) and saw that each store had 40-50 if not hundreds of Asus Eee, both Black and White ...under the counter and behind the desk...
...I asked the clerk...how come? Can´t you
afford storage space?
He replied - I´m selling these faster if I
don´t have to go back and forth to my storage
(which is just 100m away btw.) all the time.
Then my thought was ...oh my... no wonder every single computer producer in the world wants in on the deal - this is the best kept secret since the secret sauce or whatever, seriously though - Apple blew it again.
JoOngle
Michael Lehet
Posted 5:12 AM 30/8/08
I love my eeePC, although when I type really fast I get all garbled up. Otherwise it's the perfect machine for on the go!
Michael Lehet
alter
Posted 5:58 AM 30/8/08
love my eee too!!
alter
gadjitfreek
Posted 5:53 AM 30/8/08
I ditched all of my other laptops for the Acer Aspire One, which is all the laptop I need for work, play and travel. For $350, how can you go wrong?
gadjitfreek
urbanturban666
Posted 6:55 AM 30/8/08
1.small
2.fast
3.cheap
You can only have 2 of em!!!
Im glad to see more 1/3s. for years if you wanted some computer to use on the road you could only get em 1/2 or 2/3.
urbanturban666
urbanturban666
Posted 7:14 AM 30/8/08
@gadjitfreek: the first computer my mom ever owned was an aspire one and she cant stop using it... i was so impressed with my eee4g (cept the screen) that i figured i should get it for her... even to build a cheap atom box with a crummy flat screen wouldve costed more. i grabbed the 120gig linux model (and a usb mouse) and slapped xp on it since she started learning how to compute on a xp machine at her work recently, and i didnt want to mess up her learning curve. And really its all she could ever want, she can watch movies on it, play music and keep in touch with all her friends abroad. She skypes my brother who just moved across the country from us.
Netbooks are the greatest thing to happen to computers since the invention of the cpu (not really but its up there). A computer that experienced users and first time users can buy for peanuts and cherish them even more than there fancy gaming/audio rigs. from me and the 100 things i do at one time on my eee to my new to computers mom who only uses firefox, office and skype (no joke thats all she ever uses).
urbanturban666
madmaxmedia
Posted 7:27 AM 30/8/08
It's a great looking pic and all, but is a netbook really usable on the beach like that? The real sun is coming from behind her, and would be totally washing out that cheapie LCD...
madmaxmedia
capitalass
Posted 8:34 AM 30/8/08
@Jaze: just get the thinkpad x200, and install os x on it. You'll have a classier and more durable computer too.
capitalass
barco
Posted 8:40 AM 30/8/08
IBM 701C! (butterfly keyboard, you noobs)
Then I had a Powerbook 2400 back in the late 90's.. Then Apple basically gave up on the tiny notebook, and I gave up on Apple. I hated the G3 powerbooks, and went back to PC's.
Why did it take this long for a "revolution?"
barco
mgslegrand
Posted 10:11 AM 30/8/08
I'm typing this on my new MSI wind (just got it an hour ago). I don't have anything bad to say about netbooks so far.
mgslegrand
Geraldo
Posted 12:28 AM 31/8/08
@JoOngle:
I don't know that 'Apple blew it' is accurate. Seems to me they make conscious decisions to stay out of, or minimize their exposure to, some low margin markets, i.e. the sub-$1,000 computer markets. And no, I don't think the Mac Mini counts ;-) I think it's more accurate to say they haven't figured it out yet. ASUS OTOH, makes money on $100 mobos, so I'm sure they can figure out hwo to make money on a $400 computer. I also have far greater expectations when Apple releases a product. But, I digress...
I love the idea of the Netbook -- I love the screen size and price point, but I tried an ASUS in a Best Buy the other day and I can't tough type worth a damn on it. OTOH, a surprising number of people I work with still hunt and peck, so maybe it's not such a big deal as I seem to think it is.
@barco:
I think the Butterfly was a great example of how to solve the full keyboard problem. Ditto on Apple giving up on the PowerBook Duos, and so on. I think they're missing a huge opportunity. Something like a MacBook Air wih a much smaller screen and under $700 would be nice.
Geraldo
GeekChick
Posted 3:38 AM 31/8/08
The majority of computer users are women and children. They generally have smaller hands and are very comfortable with a smaller keyboard. They generally are not the people who write computer reviews, so this point is seldom mentioned.
GeekChick
longrun
Posted 5:05 AM 30/8/08
Asus? WTH? I had a Fujitsu Lifebook 1120P years before the EEE came out. It has a transmeta Crusoe 800mhz, 60mg harddrive, touchscreen, wi-fi, ethernet, modem and a 6 hour extended battery. (although with a max of 256ram it is a bit crippled) I run Ubuntu Linux on it and can surf for hours without my powerbrick leash.
longrun