I am not a big fan of Notebook computers, especially the latest and greatest over-engineered monster desktop replacements. There are several big problems with these monster mobile machines:
- They cost considerably more than a faster desktop equivalent
- They can’t be upgraded in the same fashion as a desktop
- They tend to be remarkably overloaded with craplets required to make all the value-add functionality work (shortcut buttons and other doohickeys)
- The most powerful machines run hotter than the surface of the sun making them unpleasant to use on your lap
As a result, I much prefer to work with my desktop for heavy lifting. The Nvidia GTX285 video subsystem is massively more powerful than anything available in a notebook, it has RAID 0, 2.7TB of SATA storage and 8GB of ram and quad cores, not to mention a 24inch 1920×1600 display that not even the most ridiculously oversized “laptop” can come close to matching. It also happens to be (literally) 100% reliable, never having once bluscreened or suffering a forced reboot since I built the machine.
Which brings me to my current mobile solution: a Samsung NC10 with 1GB of RAM, a 2GB SD card for ReadyBoost, 160GB 4200RPM HDD, 1.6Ghz N270 Intel Atom single core CPU (HT enabled). To me, this netbook is the perfect desktop accessory and does everything a mobile computer should do:
- It’s totally reliable (having never crashed or hung running both Win7 RTM and RC)
- Has only minimal craplet overhead
- Is only 2lbs or so, has a great 93% keyboard and a brilliant 1024×600 LED backlit display
- Runs Win7 RTM great, including Microsoft Security Essentials, Aero, 480p (720×480) video, real office apps concurrently and a lot more
- Gets SIX hours + of battery life (more if I run the machine in the Win7 power-saver power profile)
- Can sit on your lap without potentially damaging your procreative prospects (runs cool)
So, if you have a big honking desktop and use it to do most of your heavy work (Virtualization, development, media, content creation and gaming), the I’d say the netbook, not some overcooked notebook, is the right machine for your mobile needs.
Windows 7 Ultimate on a Samsung NC10 running Zune 4,0 (playing 720×480p), along with multiple Office apps, browsers, Skype, Steam and Microsoft Security Essentials + Bitlocker.
