Finish & Texture
One of the reasons I went with the Asus 1001P-MU17 model was for its matte screen and finish. The slightly textured finish is rather nice. The pattern on the case can be seen as squares composed of straight lines or nested squares, depending upon how light shines upon it. This texture continues around the trackpad and keyboard, though not on the bottom (where it would not be much appreciated anyhow).
I have not seen even Apple produce as nice and practical a case finish on a portable. It's unfortunate Asus felt it needed to give the (slightly) higher end version a glossy finish, because I think this beats it hands down.
It seems Asus will be introducing new models at CeBIT with aluminum casings, matte displays and larger trackpads to boot. I'm not sure those will be as cool as the checkerboard design, but its nice to see a matte finish fit into a company's design ethos in a oh-so-glossy obsessed world.
But let me not lead you astray. Although this is a matte finish, and it will not feature fingerprints galore, it will display a hand mark similarly to that on a cold metal finish. Inside however, the screen bevel is a detective's best friend.
Stickers & Accessories
I can do with my new netbook what I can't with my Mac, simply because it's smaller, cheaper and not my primary machine for school and work, meaning I can afford to experiment with it and not worry quite as much about losing it. I'm not used to putting stickers on my Mac, but I felt it was somehow appropriate and needed for my portable Linux box. So of course, I went about decorating it. I got a sticker pack from the Free Software Foundation. Below is what it contained. I also bought another Linux sticker off of Zazzle.
I was a bit disappointed with the uneven distribution of the stickers. It seems the stickers I liked best (the GNU head, and the little GNU/Linux badge) were the least abundant, while the others (like the flamboyant dynamic duo, the now outdated Vista, and the DRM & GPL 3 stickers) were quite plentiful. I suppose your mileage/kilometers will vary. The FSF gives you a sticker count, but for each individual design. Adding the Zazzle Linux sticker (which I cut myself) I bought, I wound up with my current decorated netbook. I figure it's nice to show your GNU/Linux preference. It increases its mindshare for those who are familiar with it, and might introduce it to a few curious.
To finish off my sticker fetish, I sent a self-addressed envelope for my free Ubuntu stickers from the nice guys at System76. I now have an upgraded "Ubuntu key" instead of the displeasing Winodze key my Asus netbook came with (a shame- before Microsoft completely bribed them, they carried a good selection of Linux machines with Home key logos instead. I did not have such a choice, and the Linux models are practically nonexistent).
A cautionary note, though: Paint Stripper is not a good choice to rub off the Windoze logo. It does what it says, and I wound up with a partially unpainted key, requiring spray paint to remedy the situation. Even then the Windoze logo would not come off, and I ended up just rubbing it off with fine sandpaper. Extreme? Yes. Worthwhile? Absolutely. Not the best solution? Definitely. It was worthwhile, but a it could have had a smoother finish (literally) had I been a bit more prudent.
I also bought a case for the Asus from Brenthaven. They cater a lot to the Mac community, and I've been satisfied with two different Mac notebook bag purchases from them before. This case is no exception. Unlike most netbook bags out there, it actually offers some impact protection, and has two pockets, one closed one in the front, open in the back for another item or two. I've found the back pocket is actually practical for carrying a magazine or some school papers. The front pocket is good for a small hard drive, an iPod or some cables. I even managed to fit the power brick/cord in there, with some slight adjusting. Best thing? I got it for under $13.
Netbook + Linux
My Linux distro of choice is xubuntu. It's fast, it's stable, has a low-memory footprint and I find it aesthetically pleasing and more than enough of a desktop environment for my needs. I have included some screen shots of it running on my netbook. The first one is running Firefox in full-screen mode, the second running the Abiword word processor, the third is the xfce desktop.
I've got to say, I think this netbook is wonderful. This and Linux together have rekindled my passion for computing, a topic upon which I will talk about more in later posts. Sure, Apple can make wonderful, worthwhile machines at 1.5, 2 grand a pop. But nothing says the PC has arrived like a $300 machine that can fulfill just about all the everyday computing needs the average user has, and so much more.
Don't get me wrong: I love my Mac, and Apple certainly has a most crucial role in leading design. But I also love the combination that inexpensive, relatively reliable hardware and FOSS offers me in the form of a Linux netbook. That type of mobility, configurability and freedom does not come from the iPhone, iPad or even a regular power-sucking Windoze notebook.
The photos
(Click any for a larger version)
2 comments:
Well done on the Windows key. I hadn't thought about that, but you are right: no amount of effort is too much to get rid.
I'd love a netbook. My iPod Touch is fun, and great for consuming content. But apart from writing (notes), you can't create content on it. I'm itching to do some programming at home and a netbook is more in reach than another Mac.
That's one of the issues I have with the iPhone & iPod Touch. the iPad seems to be headed on the same path- primarily a content delivery system. Although Apple have got a version of iWork on it, but I somehow doubt it will be quite as useful without a stylus.
A Linux netbook is almost infinitely configurable. One caveat? You have to know (or be willing to learn) Linux. Though even that barrier is lower these days.
I'll be posting some more impressions on Linux in a later post.
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