I've been thinking, off and on, about having my own laptop but haven't done anything about it because there were so many other places for money to go around here. When I was typing up the Scene of the Blog post for Michele of A Reader's Respite, I saw the photo of her netbook and thought to myself, "That looks like what I want!" I still didn't do anything about it.
But for some strange reason I started researching in earnest a month ago. My husband Denis would turn around from his computer once in a while and see that my screen was filled with netbooks, and the two of us talked about what was available, what I wanted a netbook for, and what I wanted it to do. I narrowed the field down to the one that I wanted: a blue Samsung NC10-14GB. I then shoved it to the back of my mind once again. I saw a certain look on Denis's face and thought to myself, "Methinks I know what I'll be getting for Christmas."
When I'm wrong, I'm spectacularly wrong. And when that man of mine surprises me, he does it in spectacular fashion. Two weeks ago I noticed that Denis was keeping close to the front door, mumbling something about a delivery. I didn't wonder about it and kept doing whatever it was that I was doing. (Probably typing up a blog post!) The delivery arrived. Denis shuffled off with a box or two. I kept typing. The next thing I knew, I was being handed a box with SAMSUNG in big bold letters on the side. Denis had wanted to treat me to something special, and he didn't want to wait months to give it to me.
I was totally, completely, thoroughly...gobsmacked.
He didn't just give me a netbook either. He also bought a carrying case for it, and he gave me a wireless mouse he had and didn't use. Here my netbook is in its carrying case:
We hooked the netbook up so that the battery would charge, and I started to read the manual. I wanted to know how long that battery had to charge before I could start playing around with it! Denis told me later that I showed admirable restraint; he wouldn't have been able to wait as long as I did!
Netbooks aren't going to be for everyone, especially if they're hooked on full-sized screens. From the beginning, I didn't want to use this as if it were my desktop computer in the office. I didn't want to load it down with graphics, games, or any other resource hogs that would slow it down. For the first week I had it, I used the touch pad. I hated the touch pad on his laptop, but I wanted to get used to it on this netbook in case there were times we went traveling and I didn't want to take up extra space by packing the wireless mouse. I found the touch pad very responsive and easy to use, so much so that I almost didn't take Denis up on his offer of the wireless mouse.
I think I decided on a netbook after Denis and I had lugged his laptop several thousand miles. I wanted something small, compact, easy to travel with, and very functional. As you can see, it's not much larger than a trade paperback, and it weighs less than three pounds. When it goes traveling with me, it's not going to take a lot of room, and I won't feel like a 98-pound weakling carrying it around.
Another thing I looked for was a keyboard that would allow me to type without breaking the backspace key. The keyboard on this is 93% the size of a full-sized keyboard. I find it very comfortable to type on, and having the option to use the wireless mouse is great.
I needed just one more thing. I kept using the Levengers lap desk that I'd given Denis one Christmas until he rightfully pointed out that I needed to get my own. Problem is, where some things are concerned, you'd swear I was related to Scrooge McDuck, and getting myself a lap desk was one of those things! I just didn't feel justified spending $50 on a lap desk. (Denis, on the other hand, was worth it.) I searched online until I found what I wanted at Barnes & Noble. Two days later, I had what I wanted.
This model is called the Jumbo Lapdesk with Clip, and it sells for $15 at Barnes & Noble. It's the perfect size for my netbook and wireless mouse. It has a clip at the side, which comes in handy when I use it as a writing desk, and places to put pens so they won't roll off the surface and hide under my chair. The attached pillow is filled with some sort of beads that shift easily and keep the lap desk from sliding around on my lap, which is something I can't say for the $50 Levengers model. Granted the top is plastic and won't withstand much punishment, but I don't envision myself fighting off the Mongol hordes with my Jumbo Lapdesk with Clip.I did have to laugh at one of the customer reviews of this lapdesk. The customer had left the lapdesk in the back window of his car on a summer's day...and couldn't believe that it had warped so quickly, so he downgraded the product. Sometimes I think there should be an option for those who follow to downgrade particular people for their stupidity. There's no doubt in my mind that, if I left this lapdesk in the back window of my car here in Phoenix tomorrow, I would be lucky indeed if I didn't come back to a puddle of liquid plastic in the car.
I haven't really tested the battery life of my netbook yet, but in all other ways I am supremely pleased with Denis's gift. If I don't feel like doing needlepoint while watching television in the evening, I can open a post that I've downloaded the graphics to and saved and sit in the family room to finish it. Or I can check up on all the latest posts in my Google Reader. Or I can see a movie trailer on television and check online to see what times it's showing in our local theater.
What can I say? I love it when the man gobsmacks me. Thank you, darlin'!
