Choosing A Sub-notebook

My sister has been whining that the Lenovo laptop I got her is too big for her to carry around in college. Since she wanted something just to type word documents, do presentations and chat with, I showed her the Asus Eee PC models, and she loved them.

The available models were 7", 8.9" and 10" and luckily they sell these in Kuwait - Hawalli area - Ibn Khaldoun street. I took her so that she can see and relate to the sizes. The 10" was "big" so the debate was whether it's 7" or 8.9".

The difference between the 7" & 8.9" is the screen size and the disk capacity, but the dimensions of both are the same!

Linux or Windows?
Now, for a sub-notebook, you have very limited resources: 512MB-1GB of RAM, 8-30GB of disk space. And the choice of the Operating System makes a VERY big difference.

If you choose to go with the Windows model, you get Windows only, without Office and without an Anti-virus (which is a must). Office 2007 would kill the poor machine, and an anti-virus would make it unbearably slow.

So it's obvious that Linux is the proper choice for such small devices, and guess what? It does come with a set of applications pre-installed, including OpenOffice.org from which you can save as MS Word 2003 format, or export to PDF.

This doesn't apply to Asus only. For any device with limited resources (sub-notebook, PDA, tablet, Smartphone, Embedded devices) I hardly see how Windows would ever be a feasible solution.

MacBook Air vs. Lenovo X300

A while ago, a few friends showed me a video on youtube on Apple's release of their new ultra-thin & sexy MacBook Air.

Later on, Gizmodo had some *leaked* info & specs on Lenovo's ultra-thin Thinkpad X300.

Thinkpad X300	MacBook Air
+Battery is swappable	-Battery can't be changed
+Can add 2nd battery	-Can not add another battery
+Built-in DVD writer	-CD/DVD: Sold as an accessory
+Built-in fingerprint reader	-No fingerprint reader
+Max of 4GB RAM @ 667MHz	-Max of 2GB RAM @ 667MHz
+Max CPU speed: 2.0GHz, 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache	-Max CPU speed: 1.8GHz, 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
+Max resolution of: 1440x900 @ 128 DPI	-Max resolution of: 1280x800
+#USB ports: 3	-#USB ports: 1
+#Mini PCI-Express: 2 Full, 1 Half	-#Mini PCI-Express: None
+Weight: 1.13 kg / 2.5 lbs	-Weight: 1.36 kg / 3 lbs
+Antennas: Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11n, WiMAX, GPS, WWAN	-Antennas: Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11n
+Wired network: Gigabit Ethernet port	-Wired network: Sold as an accessory
+Enclosure material: Magnesium-alloy for a sturdy & durable cage	-Enclosure material: Aluminum
+Built-in camera	+Built-in camera
-Video output: VGA	+Video output: DVI, VGA
-HDD: 64GB Solid State Disk	+HDD: 64GB Solid State Disk, 80GB PATA
-Looks: Sturdy, Rigid	+Looks: Cute, Sexy
-31.8x23.1x2.34 cm	+32.5x22.7x1.94 cm
Keyboard illumination: Backlit keyboard	Keyboard illumination: Backlit keyboard with sensor

Seems like the Apple crowd are sacrificing a lot here...

* Lenovo's laptop isn't out for consumers yet.
** Thinkpad's are IBM laptops. Lenovo handles them now, instead of IBM.