The Gadgets Page

For the last two years, I have used my Apple MacBook for travel and home computing. It has been a great computer, but with the introduction of the netbooks, I wanted a sleeker machine to travel with. Last week, while I was in Las Vegas covering CES, I took a detour to the Las Vegas Fry’s Electronics and purchased an Acer Aspire One. Here is a photo of it compared to my MacBook.

When the MacWorld announcements were so disappointing, I realized that Apple is never going to make me a netbook. They are too in love with their full sized keyboards and 13 inch screens. Sorry, Apple, but THIN isn’t necessarily SMALL. The Acer Aspire One can fit in my purse. The MacBook Air cannot.

I don’t mind Windows, and honestly, I’ve had some difficult problems with the Mac OS that just DIDN’T work. Going back to a Windows machine is merely a training of my hands to use Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V instead of Command+C and Command+V. Other than that, there is little difference. That’s why it was so easy for me to switch from Windows to Mac. It’s just as easy to switch from Mac to Windows, especially on a travel computer.

Plus, I want to try out all the cool Linux stuff that Ubuntu offers. With the Acer Aspire, I was able to create a USB boot drive following these instructions:

• USB Ubuntu 8.10 install from Windows (non Persistent) | USB Pen Drive Linux

It was easy to follow the instructions and I was able to do it without too much help from Mike. I haven’t been able to get my wireless to work yet, but it’s fun to play with a new operating system and I like the idea of running a computer with open source software.

In the end, I felt frustrated waiting for Apple to deign to give me a netbook computer. I wanted a small computer that I could take traveling and to coffee shops. As many times as Mike said that my MacBook was “small enough,” seeing it next to the Aspire is a shocking reminder that it’s possible to upgrade by downgrading in size.

Update 12-08-10:

It has been nearly two years since I wrote this entry. In the end, the Acer Aspire is in Kristen’s room, relegated to kid’s computer status. I’m STILL using that MacBook as my heavy duty travel computer, but more often than not, I don’t even bring that and just use my iPad wherever I go. While even the newest MacBook Air STILL doesn’t fit in my purse, the iPad does.

Apple DID make me a portable computer that lets me blog, write, read books, watch videos and play games on the go. I guess I should have been patient and saved myself the money I spent on the Acer…