So, I’m sitting here reading every article I can get my hands on regarding my new HP Mini 1000 and I came across an article which set me Fuming. Jennifer L DeLeo, should do more research I’m thinking. Granted the article was dated 9/22/08 and the HP Mini 1000 wasn’t released till the following month but I was very disappointed in her article.
It describes the very poor state of affairs for Netbooks back in September. The tiny screens, the overheating problems, the limited hard drive space… It sounds as though she wasn’t all that sold on the idea of what a mini laptop really is good for. She was writing this article as if the netbooks were supposed to compete head to head with a full size laptop. Well I’d like to set her and other netbook doubters straight!
The Netbook design is meant to be very small very portable. This isn’t the kind of laptop you use to program on, play 3d graphics intensive games, or edit movies. The Netbook is first and foremost a “portal device”. It provides a portal to the internet and its vast resources. RDP, Websites, Webmail, Online Office, etc…
Over the next year or so I’ll be posting all of the various things you can do with a Netbook.
Jennifer’s article on the Top 10 Netbook Accessories, I believe is completely ridiculous!!!!! These are accessories for a full size laptop.. why on earth would you want a full size keyboard to lug around everywhere when you have a beautifully crafted mini keyboard built right in… granted the only keyboard I like in the netbook line is that on the HP Mini 1000, but hey… my opinion still applies here.
I agreed with only two of her “top 10”. So here’s my picks for the
Top 10 Accessories for My Netbook:
1. Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009 with GPS Locator – Every ultra portable netbook absolutely needs a GPS mapping solution. Here’s the perfect one. I’m using the older 2007 version… as a result I also picked up the Pharos Bluetooth Cradle for Microsoft GPS Receiver .
2. Rosewill Black USB 2.0 External Slim 8X DVD Burner Model ROD-EX001 – Yes there are probably faster more expensive external burners out there… but who cares. This is a simple straight to the point burner. It’s slim so it will fit nicely in the bag with your netbook. It doesn’t require an external power supply so you can keep the number of cables to a minimum. However be careful… since it pulls power from your battery, you’ll only want to use this when you have the netbook plugged in for AC power.
3. Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 – By now I’m assuming you know to order your netbook with built in Bluetooth right… Well here’s a tiny Bluetooth mouse. It includes the two most used features on my computer… the back button on the web browser and the scroll wheel. On top of that it includes a battery meter for the two standard AAA batteries it requires. Oh, did I mention it comes with a neoprene carrying case… Wahoo…SCORE!!!!
4. SONY SRS-BTM30 Stereo Bluetooth Speaker – OK… this should be a given, cause if your gonna stream those internet radio stations you’ll want an awesome set of speakers to sent that music to, right? Here are a set of stereo speakers which connect to your laptop via Bluetooth. Set them up on your book shelf, plug in the AC power and sit back with your netbook in full audio heaven!
5. LACIE 301841 500GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive – This one might be a no brainer unless you currently enjoy the benefits of a Windows Home Server. In that case, you’ll want a small portable hard drive to store the various movies, TV shows, documents, software and all you might collect. If you have to take it with you… use one of these to do it, otherwise get yourself a home server and store terabytes not gigabytes…
6. A-DATA 16GB Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) Flash Card Model TurboSD SDHC 16G – This one plays double duty… The HP Mini 1000 comes with a built in SD memory card reader right… if you’re like allot of people you’ll be ordering your netbook with a solid state hard drive totaling only 8 or 16 gigs. Here is the absolutely perfect way to increase space. Oh, did I mention that this can be used in your digital camera also? You might also want to try out for triple duty… Here’s an 8GB micro SD card with an SD adapter… that’s right… use it in your cell phone, digital camera, and now your netbook too…
7. HP 8GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) Model P-FD8GB-HPV100W-FS – A flash drive is a no brainer when it comes to portability which makes it to my top 10 list. If you decided to go with the HP Mini 1000 like I did, then might as well go for the HP flash drive. Here is a large capacity 8 gig model for the low low price of 14.99. Or you could tempt fate with a Patriot Xporter Magnum 64GB Flash Drive, that’s 64 gigs of pure storage… oh yeah… I’m feeling it now..
8. Microsoft Windows 7 – Absolutely!!! get the next version of windows on your netbook. The public beta is coming Friday!!! (01/09/09) This new OS is designed with size and speed in mind. It features many that will make your Netbook experience better than anything XP and Vista can bring you.
9. CyberPower CPS150SI 15A Power Inverter – If your portable you’ll need a power inverter for your car. Here is the best one I’ve ever owned. The HP Mini 1000 comes with a 30watt power supply, which means this 120watt output device is perfect. Best of all it is tiny like the netbook itself.
10. HP un2400 EV-DO/HSDPA Mobile Broadband Module (FN556AA) – Lastly, if you’re like me you’ll want to have 3g internet access from anywhere. I’m also cheap and just had to save $50 and order the un2400 3G internal card separate from my main netbook purchase. For some reason they are charging $200 through customization. On top of that I think they’re out cause I just dropped by there and couldn’t find the option for the WWAN module. Oh well.. hopefully I won’t get burned by ordering them separately because I’ve heard of a bios lock on PCIe cards. Hopefully that only applies to non-HP cards.
There you have it… my top 10 list for NetBook Accessories..
So, you’d like to use that fancy new broadband modem you ordered with your HP NetBook. Only problem is you’re so ahead of the curve with technology that you’ve taken advantage of the free year-long Windows 7 RC. That is the dilemma… how to get your Qualcomm un2400 broadband modem to work on your fancy new operating system. This problem took me a while to figure out. Finally thought it just started working… and the first post I’m making is this one 😉
danielheth 