After running into insurmountable technical difficulties with my favorite laptop, I rushed out and grabbed the first and cheapest netbook I could find, which turned out to be the
Acer Aspire One D260. It's a mouthful to say and to type, but it's a mere trifle to pack around. I
love this planet.
A month into using it, I just wanted to note that I am still every bit as pleased with my purchase as the day I laid down the lucre. There have been no major surprises or snafus, although I have to say: I thought I could stand having no CD/DVD drive on it, but it's really starting to chafe me now. I keep reaching for a disc tray that doesn't exist, and I never realized just how much I depend on one. Would it be stupid to buy an auxillary USB CD drive now to go with it? It
would, wouldn't it?
I'm also a bit puzzled that this version of MSPaint has no "invert" function, and that this version of Windows Photo Viewer has no "fix" functions. And I suppose there's no point complaining that the thing came loaded with all kinds of software and games that I don't want, and had to take considerable time to uninstall - that is just the way of things nowadays.
But these are mere trifles, my friends - if you haven't tried the new generation of netbooks because of bad experiences with older ones, or with laptops, give this one a spin. It's fast, it's powerful, it has a battery that lasts long yet charges fast, and if all you really want to do is surf the web and write (like me), you're all set. And in an increasingly wi-fi-saturated world, it's nice to be able to pack this lightweight doohickey around and start writing whenever and wherever the muse mocks me (like
Ernesto's Mexican Restaurant!).
