So I installed XP, which was a very simple process, and even went as far as installing Firefox and a few other little thing I like.

So I was deciding whether to trash XP and install Linux on it… Along comes NoMachine. NoMachine is a suite of applications you can install on Linux running it as a server and then you just get the Windows Client, log into the Linux Box with it and Bingo! A lovely Linux Desktop session running on my XP box.

NoMachine is a great thing for us great people who want to use Linux from Windows remotely. Plus I dont have to worry about Synching files etc… Yes, this only works if I’m within wireless range at home (at the moment) but at least I can wonder anywhere around the house and not be stuck at my desktop in the study.

I’m actually outside right now under the verandah enjoying the fresh,the noises of the birds and the occasional car driving by. Ahh what a life

In short.

I’m going to keep XP on this netbook, use my nomachine login into my Linux Box and that’s about it for now. If I do wonder off away from home, I still  have WAMP installed for my website development and notepad++ for my text editor. OpenOffice for all my Documentation,Ebook creation etc. So I’ll still have what I need to do what I have to do. So it’s all good!

Santa ( my wife) decided I needed a new laptop and so here I am typing away on my new HP Mini 5105 Netbook.

My experience with Netbooks so far…

I had bought myself an ASUS EEEPC 701SD from Ebay ( paid $200 AUD  for it) and it’s been a great little workhorse. It came installed with ASUS’s own flavour of Linux which was very useable as far as surfing, writing etc. All the normal stuff one does. The 701SD is a 7 inch screen, 8Gig of SD Ram for the Harddrive, 512MbRam and I added in a 4Gig SD Card into the slot to give it a little extra. It was never intended to be anything more than something I could take with me and write stuff when the mood took me.

I even got it a car charger so I could it’s battery topped up when I was “out”.

The plan was to upgrade it to Kubuntu 9.10, but I never got that far… The kids have sort of taken ownership of it these days…

The reason I bought it was I had seen my (now old ) boss using one, and I was very impressed with a few things about it.

1. It’s small
2. There are no mechanical parts to it ( ie the HD is all semiconductor) so it can take a bit or rough handling.
3. The Keyboard is very useable, unless you have massive fingers.Otherwise it’s very easy to type away on.
4. The screen is extremely readable. At only 7inches you would think you would need a magnifying glass to see anything, but the opposite is true. It’s not the size that matters it’s how you use it…..and it’s used in a way that you don’t think – gee that’s small!
5. Battery life with the standard battery is about 2 hours…from memory. I might be wrong there, but then mine had been used and batteries get a bit tired with a bit of use. Still it’s not bad. You can upgrade the battery and get something like – 7 hours. I’ve not bought one so I’m going off the quoted figures on that.

So the Netbook, over a full blown laptop, held it’s own in my book. It’s not a replacement for a Laptop. It’s never intended to be,but as a mobile device that gives you the ability to email, write wonderful blog posts etc, it does the job just fine.

The HP Mini 5101

My wife decided I needed a bigger one! A Netbook that is! And I’m thinking it was more because she got a good deal on it (Santa won’t spill on how much) . Plus I’m starting a new job in January on contract… So it was decided this was the way to go. I must say I was very surprised and shocked and flabbergasted  all at the same time as I unwrapped “the present”.

For one thing, I knew nothing about any HP Netbook. I’ve only been following the ASUS netbooks in regards to what they had and what was selling on EBay…Ebay is an interesting place to watch how much things sell for. I must say, some people pay near or over retail price on netbooks. They are certainly popular, even the old ones…

So when I opened the box and took out this small, slimline netbook I was amazed at how light it was. Then on opening the lid, I saw the Keyboard….. Ok, I was initially shocked by it! Why?  Well I’m used to a keyboard where the keys are snug to it’s friend. Like a normal keyboard… But the keyboard on the HP Mini 5101 has padddocks of room between each key. Plus the keys themselves are huge…

It’s a bit like, Ok we’ve got lots of room here guys, let’s shift all the keys about to make it fill up the room we have…At first I thought it was going to be really annoying… but I must admit, as a bit of a touch typist, it works.

For anyone a bit slow and unsure of what keys to hit..It does give them a very good chance to hit the right ones . So I’ve come to accept the “paddocks” of room between the keys.

Functions are the wrong way

One complaint about the Function Keys like the F1, F2 etc… For some silly reason HP decided to make the special functions the main keys . If you want to use the F1 keys etc you need to hit the fn key…In my opinion this is the wrong way around… I’m more likely to want to Hit the F5 key to update something than change the contrast…

So to use the F5 key I need to press the fn key then the F5 key to get it to work…If I don’t I’ll put the machine to sleep. That even makes it more stupid! Want to refresh a page, Whoops I’ve just put the thing to sleep. Not good!

I’m not yet sure if this can be “reversed” by some setting. If someone knows, please feel free to let me know in the comments.

EDIT: I have found in my investigations (to make it sound terribly formal ) you can change this behavior of the “Arse about” Function Keys in the bios. So I am going there now so I won’t be cursing this otherwise brilliant netbook for going “to sleep” instead.

The Screen.

This is a 10.1 inch LED screen, nice and big. The resolution is the HD option of 1366 x 768. Which makes the text small, but it’s very crisp and clear. So I can get a whole lot of stuff showing on the screen. I’m quite impressed. Initially it all seems like “ant writing” but you do get used to it. Even with my shocking eyesight.

Operating System

This unit comes with Windows XP.  Ok ,I’m not a big Windows fan but…

Now HP, in their wisdom, actually provide the OS and all support stuff on physical CD’s.  So in the case of  a catastrophe, you’ve still got what you paid for. The question is, these units have no CD drive so how would you get the stuff back on it? There are a few ways, but nothing terribly simple. The main thing is, you won’t have a trashed system with no way to recover it. Although I think there is a built in restore  system if things go “pear shaped!”.

Oh, one thing I didn’t mention yet. When you first start the netbook up , it asks you a few questions and installs the OS for you. In fact it couldn’t be any simpler and you are up and running in no time flat. Yes I was impatient and plugged in the battery and plugged in the charger and got  it up… Very well done HP.

Some Specifications.

• Screen, LED 1366 x 768.
• CPU is a 1.6GHz,  Intel Atom E280
• Ram : 1G
• HD : 160G, 7200rpm.

I’m going to have to come back to finish this as the Kids are pestering me to take them down the street to use their gift vouchers….Till then take care and happy netbooking.

Cheers

Tim