It features a new 10 inch screen and an 1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU. The 1000 model ships with Linux and a 40GB SSD; the 1000H model ships with Windows XP Home and a 80 GB HD. Both the 1000 and the 1000H have 2 GB of DDR RAM. The 1000 has a rated battery life of 4.2-7.5 hours, while the 1000H is rated for 3.2-7 hours. It also offers a keyboard that is 92% the size of generic notebooks, aiming to make it more comfortable to type. Like the Eee PC 901, the new machines feature 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The prices are NT$18,988 (approx. US$625) for the 1000H and NT$19,988 (approx. US$658) for the 1000.
Though the price is creeping towards a lower end notebook, it’s still offering some interesting subtleties, including Linux, SSD, and a fairly decent screen. I would reckon that the 1000 model is probably more robust… and suitable for those who are ‘road warrior’ types!
Last.FM – What can I say? I’ve been blogging about the different music services for quite a while. I’ve already used Last.FM for about two weeks, and I can honestly, it’s everything that Pandora was, and much more. It offers a lot of additional options for users, including profiles, search, favorites, a downloadable application, … and great music. In the few weeks of listening, I’ve racked up a huge diversity of music… this is like the CD store I can’t find anywhere in Tamshui or even downtown since Tower Records closed up in 2004.
I also like the additional features and plugins that you an add to your profiles in Web2.0 apps like Facebook, etc. or on your blog. It’s easy to do, and helps to link your musical tastes with your readers! How neat is that? So…
I’m now using four different sources for finding my music online: Emusic, Sky.FM, Amazon, and Last.FM. In addition, I surf a larger number of online radio stations, download sites (all legal), and I’m now looking to see if I can’t get an iTunes account in the UK. Smoke that in your pipe, Pandora. You could have that money! Hah!
Please remember, don’t steal music – after all, you just don’t need to.
I remember buying my first portable pc by TwinHead. It was a 386 pc with about 16MB of RAM, and 80 MB hard disk. Yes, MB, not GB.
Nowadays, I’m using two PCs (both of which are or were secondhand at one time) at home: one with 2 hard disks topping out at 160GB, 768MB of RAM; and the other about half the size. I also have numerous portable disks (three, I think!), a DVD burner, and lots of memory cards,… I’m sure I don’t have enough computer memory now, and I know I haven’t solved my computer back up problems even now!
But for many people replacing their desktops isn’t much of an option these days: Vista sucks, existing XP installations are fine with current generation hardware, and perhaps financially ‘constraints’ limit replacement of your desktop for a while!
I was very lucky to replace my old 17″ CRT monitor (it’s still fine, if anyone in Taiwan wants one!) with a great quality monitor. In fact, I was so impressed at the quality vs. the price I actually bought two when I discovered our local PC store was running a special offer on ViewSonic monitors.
After getting it home, I realized something that I had been missing for a long time: excitement. I was thrilled to have extra desktop space on BOTH computers, it simply made using even the older one that much more fun. It doesn’t matter that the underlying PCs are over 5 years old, the simple upgrading of the monitors made them fun again!
I’m in the market for a replacement PC at some point for sure. But if I can keep these going for another year or two, where’s the harm? I only use them for surfing, music, email, blogging and other less intensive tasks.
If your budget is ‘constrained’, there are simpler and less expensive ways to upgrade older equipment like this. Buying certain add-ons can really impact how you FEEL about your PC. For me, that included buying a new monitor (at NT$6500 – about US$220 approx.). Other upgrades could include a new graphics card, a new set of speakers, even just a better quality keyboard or mouse. To bring back excitement without breaking your budget, buy something that you could use to extend your PC usage: a Skype phone, a new game, … Whatever.
You’ll certainly find that you can enjoy your existing PC much longer this way, save a little in the short term, and still upgrade to that brand new PC (with Vista, if you must!) … Oh, and there’s another huge advantage: not upgrading avoids a lot of upgrading hassles.
Ad: if you’re looking for new larger monitors, try these…
And don’t forget to check out my own download … [download#1]
