bigmoney

Points Off for Windows? Assailing the 'Macs Are More Expensive' Assumption

Hardware to run windows is cheaper and faster, but MS Windows is like a high maintenance mistress. If you know how to manage it, you can do so cheaply, with great satisfaction. But otherwise, costs (and security risks) will mount, and you are very likely better off with Apple, because its OS its more reliable and secure.

3G Embedded Netbooks: A Killer Product?

these ultra-portable's are awesome. Compared to a regular laptop, the keyboard is way too small, but compared to a handheld, they rock. I have an Asus 901, that weighs north of two pounds, and includes a 6-cell battery, that keeps the device up for around five hours or so. The screen is 1024x600, which is much better than an iPhone, Blackberry, etc. I can sit in a coffee shop with this device, and screen through a couple hundred seekingalpha RSS feeds with the built in Firefox brower. F11 key gets you "full screen" browser mode.

I just picked up a USB keyboard at Fry's, that weighs maybe a 1/2 pound. With that, and a USB travel mouse, I can now do serious work.

The 901 also comes with solid state drive, so you don't have to worry about setting moving it around and accidently banging it. It has WiFi, but having cellular modem on this device would great. The only snag I can see is that the cell phone companies are provincial, and having built in hardware tied to a particular provider could be a show stopper. I tend to select best of breed hardware in agnostic fashion, and I don't want to be locked in to some cellular provider that differs from my existing cell provider.

Sub-$300 Laptops: Where the Action Will Be

There's a number of players in the ultra-portable niche, including Dell. Each is distinguished by features that may be a priority to certain users. The Asus has non-reflective screen, and 6-cell battery. The Dell has reflective screen, back-lit keyboard, and 4-cell battery. Etc.

These laptops are really too small to be considered laptop replacements, as you have to single finger type on them. However, at 2+ pounds, they can go many places that you wouldn't tote a real laptop around, and its a vast improvement over a handheld, such as blackberry, iphone, etc.

One thing to keep in mind, is that the laptop can be remote controlled (ie. vncserver) from a larger desktop / laptop, which means at home (or work), you can get data in and out of it with full size screen and keyboard.