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Notes from the Netbook

Well, it has been done.  I have bridged the gap from my smartphone to my desktop.  I write now from my shiny new ASUS Eee PC netbook.  Now that I've owned this marvel of compact technology for 24 hours, I've formed a couple of opinions about the usefulness and hangups of these nifty, cheap and fashion forward devices.

What I like:
I love that it's tiny.  I love that it has a webcam, can access the internet and I can use it to write a novel of epic proportions.  It's easy to use, and even the smaller keyboard is comfortable to use.

What I don't:
I'm really disappointed by Windows 7 Starter.  I can't even change my desktop wallpaper.  And believe me, I tried.  For two hours.  I read blogs, tutorials and forums.  Starter has some major limitations when it comes to available services, which makes for a pretty disappointing out-of-the-box experience.

What I miss:
Since I purchased the Netbook soley for the ability to write on the go, I don't miss much.  The Netbook doesn't play DVDs.  It doesn't even have a CD reader.  It doesn't have steller sound, and it's doubtful that I could jerry-rig any kind of media program and have it run smoothly.  But, that's ok with me.  When I want to play video games or Photoshop an image to make myself look 15 pounds lighter, I'll use my desktop PC when I'm at home.

My suggestion:
If you are looking to be able to edit music, burn DVDs, create digital art or create your own YouTube empire then you probably want to go ahead and spend the extra change to get a full laptop.  But if all you want is something to tap away an e-mail on without getting thumb-cramps from your Blackberry, or write your memoirs in the park; then a netbook might be right up your alley.  When shopping for Netbooks you will find that most of them carry roughly the same level of features, so rather than get tied up in the number of USB ports or the size of the hard drive make sure that you find one that has a keyboard that is comfortable for you to type on and a screen that repels glare and you can read.

And those are my notes on the ASUS EeePC netbook, written from my Netbook!

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