Saturday 17 October 2009

It's so easy to get lost in cyberspace

This morning when I woke up, I had every intention of continuing work on my outline. I thought I would just do this on the Internet first - now I can honestly say that I don't even know how, but somehow the next thing I knew, I was looking at PDAs, which then somehow led to Netbooks. Then I thought I would like a Netbook, because you know then I can do actual writing - as oppose to notes - when I am not at home, because laptop isn't exactly commute friendly. I don't even know if I can afford one, but I started looking at what was around and guess what? It's 23:00 and I have just finished the whole day of netbook research. I mean BLOODY HELL, where did the day go?? You know how easy it is to click this link and that, just look up one more thing, and voilá - barely a sentence added to the outline. But research is done, and at least I know that I would definitely like a netbook. I don't know if I will be buying one yet, but it's on my list. And now I can finally get to my outline. It's only 23:00 afterall, still whole night to go. Coffee, double chocolate cookie, and the outline. So for those of you who have a netbook, which one would you recommend (only reasonably priced ones, not very expensive like Sony Vaio)? P.S: - after my behavior today, which is alas not rare, I have decided that when I do buy a netbook, I will NOT activate Internet on it. That will only be for writing, otherwise I will never get off the bloody net.

7 comments:

  1. I just had this conversation with my husband about getting a netbook and said your exact words. IF I GET A NETBOOK IT WILL HAVE NO INTERNET. Damn distractions.:)

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  2. LOL! Ohhhh, I know ALL about this! About wasting my time on stupid things. Not that a notebook is stupid because it's not. I want one so bad! I think I'd put Internet on it. I think I'd still get writing done. Maybe... :)

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  3. I bought a netbook this past summer specifically for word-processing/note-taking/writing on the go. Given that I have two other computers (a PC desktop and a Mac PowerBook), I wanted it to be CHEAP, portable, yet have a reasonably normal-sized keyboard. Speed (for internet access) and storage were not major issues for me; longevity of battery life was.

    I went with the Acer Apire One, and I've been happy with it. It's around US$300. Go for the six-cell battery --> 6-7 hours of power.

    I'll be NaNoing my PC at home and on my netbook when I'm out among 'em.

    HD
    www.wordflix.org

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  4. Jennifer, it's lousy how little self control I have :P

    Lady Glam, I am not surprised you would get writing done with Internet. You seem very disciplined.

    HD, thanks for the tip. I want a netbook for the same thing, just word processing, and my priority is same as yours, more battery life. I don't intend to store more than documents so don't need a huge size. I also have a laptop and a desktop for home, so that's plenty.

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  5. I looked at netbooks in the summer when they were on sale for the "back to school" season. I came this close to buying one until I tried it out and realized that the 8" wide keyboard was not for me.

    I'm still seriously considering an Alphasmart Neo though. The battery life alone makes me think it would be worth it. :-)

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  6. C R, I considered Alphasmart too because it does seem very handy just for writing, but in the end, I prefer netbooks. I suppose it just gives me a feel of more privacy as oppose to Alphasmart. I view conquering keyboards - no matter what they are - as a challenge, so not worried about smaller one. (weird I know, but I love typing)

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  7. I *adore* my netbook...I think you'll really like one. I did a ton of reading and research before I bought mine, and decided to spend more ($400, I think) to get the top of the line Samsung NC10 (Samsung has newer models out now that you may want to check out too - an NC20, I think?). If I turn off the wifi & bluetooth, it will get nearly 8 hours of battery life...which was one of my main concerns, and one of the longest battery lives on the market. It's also got a nice big hard drive, so plenty of room for photos, blog & site templates, etc. But I'm using mine as my main computer too...you probably don't need that much space if you're just going to use it for writing.

    The Samsung also has a nearly full-sized keyboard - if I remember correctly, it's the largest of the netbook keyboards. I find it very easy and comfortable to type on, with a good "feel".

    I really love it - it's small enough I can take it anywhere, and it fits well on my lap in the living room too. The two other netbooks that stood out when I was researching were the HP 1000, and the Dell Mini 10 (I think that's what it's called). But again, I didn't want the smaller solid state hard drive...if space isn't an issue for you, that opens up a lot.

    One thing you'll probably want to do no matter which one you get is replace the RAM with a 2g memory stick. Most of them come with 1g...2 is better for having multiple windows open and such.

    Good luck - I can't wait to hear what you get! :-)

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