April 28, 2009 Netbook nirvana
There are lots of reasons to love a little netbook with a big battery. Some of these were apparent this morning in the local coffee shop. I watched laptop users struggling with their umpteen-inch behemoths on tiny tables, scrambling for AC outlets, and I was even asked to watch someone’s Compaq whle they hit the restroom. My little Samsung leaves plenty of tabletop for breakfast, runs five or six hours with Wi-Fi on and the screen turned bright, and requires so small a bag that I can easily lug it to the loo if I want (see stupid photo below).
One neat trick for mobile use is to defeat the setting that shuts down or puts the machine to sleep when you fold the screen closed. This means you can turn it on in the car and by the time you find a table it’s up and running and the Wi-Fi is connected - very nice. I haven’t written much about my netbook because I’ve been too busy using it.
NC-10 BATHROOM MIRROR SELF-PORTAIT - IT GOES WITH YOU!
(The foreshortening in this photo makes the NC-10 look much larger than it is)
Frank@OBOW
I can report that the Samsung NC-10’s keyboard is sealed pretty well. Let’s just say I spilled a dark brown liquid on it tonight on my dusky dark porch with no ill effect.
Reader Comments (6)
Huzzaa! I second everything you said.
Which netbook do you have, Eric?
Curious, what 'bag' are you using to carry this treasure to the loo and back? :) Seriously, wondering what your thoughts are on netbook sleeves vs. some other larger option that gives you additional storage without compromising size/mobility.
I've got an old Tom Bihn Large Cafe Bag with sleeve for the old 12-inch Macbook. The sleeve swallows the Samsung but I bought it with the bag on eBay for a steal. The bag is big enough to hold 8.5x11 or a standard magazine vertically (12x13x3). I wouldn't want a bag so small that it wouldn't do this; I think Tom was working on some netbook sleeves but I haven't kept up with them. It's a good bag - simple, light, low-profile. TB's Ristretto is slightly larger and has light padding built-in, obviating the need for a sleeve. My son has one of those for his 13" Mac.
I just ordered a Netbook (Asus eee 1000HE) with similar dimensions to the samsung. I'm looking for a protective sleeve/carrying case that would be TSA Checkpoint friendly.
I'd love for it to have:
*Handle to grab it in case I have to *GASP* Gate check.
*Soft foam to protect it from bumps when I run into something with it in my bag.
*TSA Checkpoint friendly. This is a must... so I guess no outside pockets.
Hamster - I forwarded you post to Darcy at Tom Bihn but apparently she answered you on their forum. For the benefit of others, here's their outlook for netbook bags:
"Tom is designing several new bags for netbooks. In addition, we've just purchased a way-cool new sewing machine that will allow us to make a more sophisticated version of our Soft Cell sleeve - which is checkpoint friendly. The new-and-improved Soft Cells should be available within a couple of months."
http://www.tombihn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1961
I turned to TB because they always answer and because they are used to interacting with and reacting to their customers. No doubt there are other netbook bags/sleeves out there.