Thursday, June 19, 2008

time to geek

Dudes, I bought a computer!
Here's what it looks like.


The screen is only 7 inches wide. It's tiny! And it comes with WiFi, an SD card reader, and three USB ports, plus a port for connecting it to an external monitor. And a headphone jack.
I've been dilemma-izing about this for about a month now. I stumbled on these little things on Amazon, and I couldn't decide whether I thought
a) this is a great deal! A teeny laptop for $350?! Usually the smaller they are, the more they cost!
or
b) Cute, but you could get a real computer for only $100-$150 more if you hit a good sale.
Actually, the one that first caught my attention was the 2 GB model, which goes for $299. Somehow, $300 for a computer seemed worth it, even if it is kind of a toy computer (only 512 MB of memory and 2 GB of "hard drive" space (no actual hard drive--it's flash memory, so no spinning parts to get damaged)). But even with Linux instead of Windows, the entire 2 GB is basically full when you get it, which seems like a bad idea. I decided I should really get the 4GB model, but I really didn't want to pay more than $300, so there the matter rested until yesterday. Yesterday, I discovered a 4 GB one that had been returned, so it was only $310. Bingo, that's what I've been waiting for. I bought it. It still has the same return policy as a totally untouched one, and it qualified for free super saver shipping. Yes! I added a 4 GB memory stick for $18, thus doubling my storage. I plan to use the memory stick for the primary copy of everything I'm working on and back it up to the big computer whenever I work there. It comes with Linux installed, a happy version with a very cutesy user interface, as far as I can tell from the pictures. That's another reason I wanted to buy one now rather than waiting much longer--it seems like they're selling more of them with Windows installed, and I can just imagine how slow and pathetic they are with all that bloated operating system and applications wasting up space and memory. I think it will be a dog with Windows but a reasonable computer with Linux, and the folks who have Linux versions have written that they start up way faster than their Windows desktop machines. I think I'll be happy with that. Also, it comes with a web browser and Open Office already installed. I can't think of much else I need for what I want to use it for. Well, GnuCash would be nice. I had a heck of a time installing that on my Mac, but it might be really easy installing it for Linux, since that's what it was built for. We'll see.
I'm so excited. I've been reading the reviews of these things, and the only complaints I've seen are that the keyboard is really small (ya think? It's a tiny machine! And I have small hands, so I think this should be fine) and some people have had a problem with the space bar being installed defectively. I've already read up on how to fix that, so if mine has that problem, I know what to do. Otherwise, people seem to love them, and if I'm running an online business, I really need to be able to stay in communication when I'm away. Getting this now allows me some time for it to show up and me to play with it before I go to The Knit and Crochet Show in July, which I'm also super excited about. The first day is a professional development day, and I'm going to learn all about designing and getting patterns published and book proposals and getting publicity for your business. I'm signed up for a ton of workshops. Plus I just love going to these things--I get so much energy from being around fiber people and all that beautiful yarn! I can't wait!
What about yarn, you say? Don't I have any pictures of yarn for you today? Well, just a small one. I've been brainstorming for inexpensive items that I could make quickly to take to the Ol' Timey Crafts and Bluegrass Festival, and I stumbled across the idea of crocheted hair scrunchies.


That's a pretty fun thing--easy to make and quick. I made a bigger one first, but it took way too long and didn't look significantly better. I knew I had a reason for buying extra novelty yarn, and now I have a perfect justification to keep doing it!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've always wondered about those teeny computers. I hope yours works wonderfully and fits the needs you have. It sounds like it will do just what you need, and should enjoy it and get much use from it.

It sounds like you are going to be both a vendor and demonstrator for the festival in September. It sounds like a neat opportunity. I have not been to this event before.

Cara said...

Sarah, since it looks like the teeny computer will be arriving today, maybe I'll bring it for show and tell on Monday! :)
As for the festival, I do plan to be a vendor and a demonstrator. Hubby has agreed to man the booth while I demonstrate. I've never been to it before, either, but I think it will be a lot of fun.

~ Phyllis ~ said...

Congrats on the new computer. Sorry I haven't done the tag thing yet. We just got back from Ky. Have fun with that computer