I too have ultrathin laptop envy
July 6, 2008 by Clair Ching
Filed under laptops
I also want something light and powerful enough to be my work machine. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any yet. 
Well, anything affordable, that is.
To someone who travels by riding buses, trains and jeeps, going light is a big factor. There are days when I have to take a cab going to the office because I feel that my bag is too heavy or I am carrying too many bags – one for the laptop, the other for books, and other supplies I need.
The Asus EEE PC is something I’ve always liked because of the form factor. It’s really small and I like that. It has Linux pre-installed and if ever, I could always install the eee Xubuntu on it. It’s just that I wish that were more options for consumers like me. Of course, we could always choose any and install Linux anyway. But not’s the only point: Why should we still get the one with Windows and pay full price when we wouldn’t be using the OS anyway?
In terms of form, I think that my Lenovo C300 N100 isn’t too bad if it were lighter and thinner. Though I find the current generation of Acers lighter than this laptop, I still prefer the look and feel of my Lenovo, in general. I still have ifs and buts about the bluetooth and wifi switch — because there’s only one switch for both, dagnabit! However, I love the fact that I have 4 USB ports and I love my keyboard.
Others say get a Mac anyway. But for the price? I’d think twice. Maybe more than that. But still, I envy Mac users because of the form factor of their laptops. Oh well, I am still thinking about it anyway. And maybe I’d find in the next few months that there’d be several ultra-thin laptops with Linux pre-installed (or maybe they’re OS-less). I shouldn’t probably whine about it. It’s just that the article from Computerworld reminded me about the ultrathin laptop envy.
My mom recently gave me her old Sony Vaio TZ series laptop. There’s no way I would have been able to afford it on my own, but it is an awesome little laptop. 2.7 lbs, tiny, but powerful enough for my needs (I don’t do gaming on the road.) I’m not a big fan of the Macbook air- it’s light, but big enough that it still seems like it would be awkward to handle in tight spaces (like an airplane seat.)
I’ve tried to get Ubuntu on the Vaio, but it really cuts the battery life and I have so far been unable to get the wireless to work. Oh well.
I really hate it when people who make a lot more than I do say “just get a mac” – when I can afford a comparable computer for half the price non mac. :/
I know what you mean ^^; Getting a Mac isn’t the solution to everything. It’s just that when on the road, I want something lighter to lug about. *sigh* I am crossing my fingers that I see something affordable with the form factor I want.
You might want to check out the MSI Wind. It has the prettiest form factor from all the new netbooks in my opinion and best of all, its hardware is easily upgradeable. the only con is the wifi chipset of the MSI Wind doesn’t work by default with Ubuntu but you can change the chip so even thats not a problem. It’s around 500 dollars but that’s the windows xp version. Eventually the Linux version will come out at 400 dollars.