Netbook

I got a new netbook the other day and am quite chuffed with it. I first encountered one last August when I was contemplating getting a new laptop. After searching the interweb, well just running a few Google searches, I read an article about a ‘netbook’. What on earth is this? I thought, so clicked on the link. The article written by some dude high on technology explained how a new strand of mobile device was entering the scene. Looking like a laptop but half the size with a quarter of processing power and no CD ROM they were ideal for surfing and word processing. My grubby little fingers rubbed themselves together with glee at this thought. How a jealous look would appear on my face at seeing all those people carrying around their slick “13 inch Sony Vaios. It wasn’t really the design that brought the green-eyed monster to come and sit with me. Nope, it was the size. They could fit easily in a bag to carry around. Whereas when I jammed my laptop in my rucksack it kind of resembled something the Ghostbusters used to wear when on duty.

When I saw the photos of the first generation netbooks, they looked like little toys. Like ‘my first computer’. Still, the fact they had only a “10 size screen made me blind to the fact that they only came in three coloured tops, lime green, pink and baby blue with a white keyboard. So keen was I to part £160 for one so I could type and surf the web easily on the move I didn’t even bother buying one online. Nope, I betrayed my oath never to pay over-the-odds for computer goods and went to PC World.

These little netbooks were huddled in the corner looking more suitable for a 7 year old than for me. Still I didn’t care, the convenience outweighed the fact it would look like I carried around a Speak ‘n Spell. I chose a lime green one but the guy with the creased shirt told me they only had baby blue left. The transaction was swift and quick. Back at home I fired up the little machine only to remember that it didn’t run on Windows and instead used Linux. This took some time getting used to but after a while I really liked the little netbook. It would go around with me everywhere I went and if I stopped for a drink or was waiting for someone I would try and hook up on wireless. Even if there was no free wireless I would still spend the time thinking of passwords on the off chance I may get in. I never did.

As the months rolled by I realised that my old laptop had become obsolete. It had been acting up but since I bought the little machine I hardly used it. This fact made me realise that my computer habits consisted of surfing and word processing and that’s it. No computer games, or online gaming or Photoshoping (if that is actually a word). I considered selling the laptop so done another Google search to find out how much they were selling new. That was when I saw the new generation netbooks. If only I hadn’t seen it and wasn’t wooed by adverts so easily. The new netbooks didn’t look like a child’s toy but sleek contemporary pieces metal to accompany Ikea furniture. They had hard drives larger than my laptop and the keyboard was almost full size. Still this came at a price and one of 250 big ones. Not the sort of money I had to spend, certainly not on lavish and hardly essential things like that. Still I wanted it. I looked at my old laptop and thought I would not get much money for this. But my current little netbook was still in pristine condition with a box and manual still colleting dust on my wardrobe. That was it. I slapped it on ebay and one week later I was posting it off to somewhere in England having got £141 for it. This meant only £109 to contribute for a new netbook which wasn’t too bad (it was but I convinced myself it was a bargain) and now I’m using it to write this entry.