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Handspring Visor phone

Re-thinking my mobile tech

Right now, I carry an iPhone, an Asus EeePC netbook (running Ubuntu 10.04 NBR) on a daily work day basis. When I travel, I carry the iPhone and usually the EeePC. I also own a 13″ Toshiba laptop that I dual boot Ubuntu and Windows 7, but I only use the Toshiba only for teaching and presentations.

My thought process is:

  1. Should I sell both the Toshiba and the netbook and get a thinner, lighter laptop?
  2. Just sell the netbook and stay with the Toshiba?
  3. Sell the netbook and get an iPad or one of the upcoming iPad competitors running other operating systems?
  4. Sell the Toshiba and the netbook, and get a slightly bigger netbook to replace both devices?

As a traveling tech trainer and troubleshooter, my netbook is extremely handy to have with me when Read More »Re-thinking my mobile tech

Lazy computer users

Messy ComputerOver the past few days, the tech news sites and blogs have carried a story centered on a quote from a NetBook (tiny laptop) manufacturer stating that the company receives 4X the returns of Linux based systems versus Windows systems. The more often I saw this headline and read the articles, the more irritated I became.

Computers are still in their infancy compared to much of the technology we use today. Americans have had indoor plumbing for 75 years, electricity for almost 100 years, telephones for almost 100 years, televisions for 50+ years, and radios for 70 years. Computers, however, have been around just over 15 years en masse, and even today they only exist in about 70% of American households.

My point is that computer technology has not matured enough to

New Dell Mini laptops


Introducing the Inspiron Mini 9. Starting at $349.

Dell has joined Everex, Acer, HP, Sony, and the ground breaking Asus Eee PC in the arena of the netbook. Netbooks are small laptops with a screen of 9″ or smaller and a weight of less than 2.5 pounds. They all run on either a form of Linux or Windows XP. The Dell Inspiron Mini (click the picture above to buy or read more about them) is Dell’s entry into this increasingly crowded and popular market. Remember that these netbooks are not for everyone, but they fill a niche for frequent travelers, train or bus commuters, and computer users who want an inexpensive yet capable second computer.

Asus started a whole new trend

I just returned from visiting my brother and his new baby and traveled, again, with only my phone and my Asus Eee PC. As usual, the little laptop did not disappoint. I was able to keep up with email, work with my spreadsheets and word processing documents and do other web research as well. All from a little marvel that cost less than $400 and weighs less than 2 pounds.