I was at a Toshiba outlet store, testing the Harman Kardon speakers on a Toshiba NB520 that was on sale. The netbook was bundled with a fantastic D-Link N-router (I regret I opted for a RAM upgrade instead). An Indian guy was hovering around the same model but with the orange lid. I preferred the Turquoise Green. He had noticed I had booted up to a Linux desktop using my Linux Mint LiveUSB (on a Verbatim Store N'Go) and Knoppix LiveUSB (on an Imation USB stick). He gave me a knowing smile and nodded approvingly. A week later, I watched Matt Hartley on Linux Action Show! repeat his love for netbooks and express his regret for its demise.
Tablets/hybrid tablets are awesome in whatever form factor (10" and 7") and with the right applications can be very useful machines. I also encourage people to at least try laptops with touchscreens and give Windows 8 a chance especially if they have plenty of disposable income. Moreover, if you have even more cash lying around, ultraportables get you plenty of attention in Starbucks or at the office. However, if you're a devoted Linux user and can barely afford lunch like me, then there are reasons to get a netbook before they are finally extinct and replaced by an oversized Samsung Galaxy Tab:
1. Netbooks are going to disappear soon. I've already mentioned a few form factors and devices that are more popular than netbooks. As it is, netbooks are now a niche product with only enthusiasts still supporting them. The Toshiba was on sale for good reason with the Japanese manufacturer preparing powerful and affordable ultraportables sporting the new Intel processors for the next quarter. I wanted to get a netbook as a replacement for my four year old ASUS EEEPC1000H if (and when) it finally died. The first-generation netbook, which my ex-girlfriend used to say "wanted to be a Macbook when it grew up" survived four countries and countless Linux distributions such as resource-hungry openSUSE KDE, Lubuntu, a crippled Mandriva, and a fickle Fedora release. I'm quite fond of its keyboard, impressed by its flexibility, and prefer its portability over 13" and 14" laptops (more on this later). In short, I wanted a netbook before availability drops to 0% and goes the way of VHS. The Toshiba, with a later Atom processor and sturdy design, is a worthy replacement. If you're still running a netbook today and prefer it over other machines, now is a really good time to get one with prices below sea level.
"Did you just insult my netbook?"
Wolverine art from Uncanny X-Men #205 (1986)
2. Linux and FreeBSD. When netbooks first came on the scene, Linux distributions such as Ubuntu and Fedora had problems with the wireless card and display resolution. Linux devs released specialized distributions like EEEBUNTU to handle issues with Atheros and Broadcom cards. Today, most of the mainstream Red Hat or Debian-based Linux distributions can handle most netbooks out of the box with little to no configuration required. If you're a Linux enthusiast or you want to learn a Unix system like FreeBSD, a netbook is a practical and perfect choice. My OS choice for the Toshiba? I'm putting its paces on an openSUSE 12.2 install to check the hardware but afterwards I'll be installing the latest FreeBSD or Archlinux release.
3. Performance, speakers, and keyboard. So-called "IT professionals" criticized netbooks when it was first released years ago, citing the small keyboard, display size, tinny speakers, and pokey performance as primary problems with the form factor. I'd love to have them read their articles today when everyone's using a 10" touchscreen tablet, oversized smartphones, inconsistent quadcore mobile processors, terrible touchscreen keyboards and keyboard accessories. These writers failed to understand what the netbook should be used for, preferring instead to make snap judgements by running freaking Windows XP or Windows 7. Performance? The first-generation Intel Atom processor could actually handle VirtualBox on a Windows XP install without problems. Today's Atom processor is considerably more powerful even if the netbook you purchased was limited to 2GB of RAM (the Toshiba can handle 4GB with a Linux install). The original netbooks admittedly had poor speakers, but who actually uses their portable for listening to music or watching movies when you have a tablet or desktop replacement laptop around? Not many people but I certainly do - that's the reason why I got the Toshiba model with the Harman Kardon speakers. Are the Harman Kardon speakers any good on the Toshiba? Well, I actually winced when Indy clocked that bald Nazi while watching Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
4. Non-touchscreen and a permanently attached keyboard. Today's users have no right to complain about a netbook's keyboard considering how everyone has become used to terrible QWERTY pads, unresponsive tablet accessories, miniature touchscreens on smartphones, headache-inducing iPod Nano screens, and (gasp!) vein-popping touchscreen keyboards. I had to get used to the Toshiba's key placement, which was very odd compared to the 1000H's, but I prefer it over a touchscreen keyboard any day of the week especially when I'm writing or working on technical documents. Hybrid tablets with keyboard docks are well and good but I'm comfortable with a keyboard that doesn't detach from its parent device. There's also something to be said about worrying if the tablet or display will fall off as you furiously type your version of Fifty Shades of Grey or execute more uhm... brisk activities with your right hand (such as writing Java code).
5. Battery life. Ok, nothing beats the battery life of a tablet or ereader. But if you're penny-pinching, a netbook is much more affordable than an ultrabook, which costs more than six months of rent. When installed with Linux, full-sized laptops and even the earlier netbooks clocked in at a maximum of 3 hours and even less for models with a discrete video card (this is without the somewhat obtuse modifications you could do to increase battery life). The Toshiba gave me a worthy 5 hours with its N2800 processor and surprisingly robust 6-cell battery on an openSUSE 12.2 install - a Linux distribution not well-known for conserving battery. I expected much less than the 3 hours of Macgyver I can get from the drained battery of my Lubuntu-powered 1000H.
If you already own more than one laptop or mobile device, waiting at an airport or surviving a flight isn't much of an issue anymore. If your netbook runs out of power, switch to your tablet, and if that runs out of power, switch to your iPod or smartphone for entertainment (and if I'm really desperate there's my Lenovo Ideapad Z360 on my carry-on). I tend to look at the bigger picture when it comes to battery. Shelling out close to a thousand dollars for a Macbook Air just for its battery life (and no Ethernet port) or Macbook Pro for its all-day power just isn't practical for a guy who mops floors and drinks instant coffee.
6. Resilient, portable, and (knock on wood) disposable. After 3 months of use when I first bought it, my Lenovo Ideapad Z360 looked like it had survived Afghanistan with scratches and smudges all over its chassis. My four-year old 1000H still looks new with maybe 2 visible scratches and remnants of Linux stickers. I wouldn't bring my Ideapad (or even my invulnerable iPad 2) camping but I'd definitely bring my 1000H or the new Toshiba. Having learned my lesson from the pearl surface of the 1000H (which is tough but looks embarrassing in public places), I chose the Toshiba's tougher and more practical pockmarked exterior. I'd love to tote one of those expensive and beautiful ultrabooks like the HP Envy or the Megan Fox-endorsed Acer S7, but I don't think I deserve one - I'd leave it home for fear of damaging the darned thing and wasting 6 months worth of cold, hard cash.
The EEEPC1000H fits even in a man purse.
7. Flexible. You'd be wasting your Samsung Series 9 if you set it up as your server. However, if you're working in a different country (like I am), a netbook can be set up as a file or web server until you move on. Some users badmouth the Atom processor, but the truth is it can handle plenty of heavy duty tasks when setup properly. Don't believe me? The Raspberry Pie can be set up as an all-around server and the Atom has tons more power in comparison.
8. Real multi-tasking. Full operating system. I'm a huge fan of Android. Apple iOS, for all its faults, is a brilliant platform for entertainment and specialized mobile tasks. However, at the end of the day, I want to be able to watch GoldenEye (1995) while writing on Cherrytree as Grsync backs up to an external hard drive as Transmission downloads the latest Cinnarch Linux ISO (with Shutter running to take screenshots for my blog). My Ideapad, of course, is my primary workstation, but as originally designed, the EEEPC1000H and Toshiba netbooks are supplementary machines for tasks that don't need too much processing power but require a fully-capable system without the bulk of a laptop.
0 comments:
Post a Comment