jemjabella

Not an End of Year Reflection

I was going to do one of my traditional "reflect on the year" thingies, but it occurred to me that there's not much point. I have actually done very little this year that I intended to. Oh sure, I finally managed to get NinjaLinks in to a half working state, and rev.iew.me is doing really well, but these two things are a tiny fraction of what I talked myself in to. I guess this goes back to what I said in my last entry about getting on with stuff and making the most of my time. (Although you guys perhaps misunderstood me... I mean to make the best of my "coding time" so that I have MORE free time for relaxing stuff like my gaming, the pets, etc)

Anyway, instead of the yearly recap, I'm going to talk about one of my Christmas presents. Karl bought me an Acer Aspire One. I had initially wanted the Asus EEE, but having spent some time with Rachael's when she came down last I found myself struggling with the keyboard. The AA1 keyboard is much more similar to that of my Dell so I can switch between the two effortlessly.

The whole idea of me getting a netbook is that it'll help with this efficiency thing. I can code stuff on the move (in otherwise useless time) as well as more frequent access to my e-mail. I hope this helps me get my inbox back down to a more manageable level, especially as the e-mails I made promises about this time last year are still at the bottom of my bloody inbox.

So... the Acer. It is the Linux version (+5 geek points), with an 8GB solid state drive (means I can chuck the thing around!) and 512MB RAM. I've ordered an 8GB Micro SD card which — in the M-SD to SD adapter — I can slot in to the side using the specifically made expansion slot. I can also use the card minus the adapter for my mobile phone... not that I ever actually do anything with that.

I've already tweaked Linpus (the OS) about, but haven't made any major changes. I installed Firefox 3 (it's better behaved under Linux, I've found), ditched the unnecessary apps to free up drive space and added a custom desktop wallpaper (this probably sounds like no big deal but I am a Windows girl and it took me a while to figure out where to go!) Those of you interested in the process of tweaking Linpus may find my acer-tagged delicious bookmarks of use.

Of course, if I get too used to Linux, this can only mean one thing for the Dell...

Comments

There are currently 24 approved responses to "Not an End of Year Reflection".

1. 

   Emsz 30/12/08 at 20:40 #

   2008 seems like a pretty bad year for finishing stuff all around :P
   Have fun with your AA1! :D (That sounds like a type of battery, btw :P )

2. 

   Peter Green 30/12/08 at 20:44 #

   Yay for Linux!!! :o)

3. 

   Hev 30/12/08 at 20:47 #

   Did you get my email? I don't need a response quickly, just want to make sure you got it & it didn't wind up in the spam folder cause it had links in it.

4. 

   Hanna 30/12/08 at 21:01 #

   Go Linux! You will like it :)

5. 

   Vasili 30/12/08 at 21:08 #

   I was just talking to my uncle about his favorite type of OS is and he ended up saying Linux. I really want to try it out now. D:

6. 

   Joe 30/12/08 at 21:27 #

   If you're gonna use Linux, at least use some form of Ubuntu. ;)

7. 

   Karl 30/12/08 at 21:36 #

   Joe, strange you should say that, but Jem was asking about 64bit OS's, and I thought I'd sacrifice my Dual Core AMD (similar spec to Jems Vostro) and test out Ubuntu Ibex AMD64, in case she does decide to switch.

   Not too shabby! Several things in it are a bit of a pain and I'm glad I've used Linux before to sort that out..but on the whole I like it. I've even got a virtual WinXP machine in an emulator on it, so I can use either now. I need XP for work, but...Ubuntu 8.10 is growing on me..

8. 

   Mimi 30/12/08 at 23:09 #

   Lucky :( I got a PSP from my man, which I suppose isn't too bad. Hopefully you will answer my e-mails from now on.. :P

9. 

   Chris Ritke 30/12/08 at 23:16 #

   lol - was just thinking about this when up popped your post - I've been waiting for the new mac mini (if it actually does happen next week) but then I read about the Asus EEE - was just chatting with a friend who said the AA1 is better. But 8GB drive? Ugh. 160GB (eee) sounds better to me. But I'm waiting for mac world - and then I might wait a little longer. Who knows what else might come along - and it's not like I don't have enough computers already.

10. 

    Caity 31/12/08 at 00:22 #

    Well you have definitely impressed me with all your accomplishments this year. I know we are always harsher on ourselves, but you really did accomplish a lot!

11. 

    Karl 31/12/08 at 00:40 #

    The problem with the moving parts high capacity hard disks (IMO) is just that..moving parts. The 8gb SSD is plenty for working on the move, plus the expansion on it is quite good..it can take 2 memory cards at once.

    I'm VERY tempted myself, as I need to work between 2 sites this year and nothing puts me on edge quite as much as carrying a hard disk in a laptop...even in the car, I go careful with my Inspiron.

    SSD is as bombproof as a USB pen..you'd never use an Eee/AA1/HP Minibook/whatever as a main PC anyway - take it from me, the screen doesn't bear prolonged use and novel writing. For working on the move though, it's more than good enough..:)

12. 

    Wendy 31/12/08 at 02:17 #

    I'm also torn on whether I should write about my new year's resolution because everytime I do, I never seem to get them done. The Acer notebook is something that I have been wanting to get as well, but most probably if I do I will be getting the Windows version.

13. karl   31/12/08 at 13:51 #

    You can put XP on it - I've done so for a colleague that bought one but preferred XP.

    Assuming you have a license for it, of course..heh. Works well, even on the 8gb!

14. Mumblies   31/12/08 at 16:04 #

    Happy New Year to one and all, may this coming new year bring peace, happiness and prosperity.

15. 

    Vera 31/12/08 at 16:04 #

    Oooh such great plans! Well then, may you have a GREAT NEW YEAR!

16. TWD   31/12/08 at 21:13 #

    I'm just curious about one thing: you said the netbook will help you get stuff done on the go - couldn't you do the same with any other laptop? (Or maybe I'm wrong and you didn't have one... but I swear you had a Vaio. e_e)

17. 

    Joann 01/01/09 at 01:32 #

    I agree review posts aren't necessary... unless wanted! =) Anyway, I really like this design now... if I can recall it being different before... not too long ago? Anyway I'll be honest by saying a lot of your post was very confusing to me but only because I don't know much about Linux... etc... I'm not much on the computers, servers, browsers... or whatever all of them mean! So... I will leave you with best wishes for 2009!

18. 

    Nile 01/01/09 at 02:30 #

    I am a huge fan of Acer. My first Acer notebook was the 5100 Aspire. I am now looking into the 6800 Aspire series. What I have seen beats out my other notebook (that was stolen) and even my desktop. Does yours come with the 9 USB ports?

19. 

    Brian 01/01/09 at 06:24 #

    I'm glad you didn't write a year review piece. I'm so tired of reading those in the past few days. Although, I do like New Years Resolutions. :)

    I like Acer. I'd rather buy an HP myself, but when I use my mom's Acer, it works beautifully with seemly little problems. Have fun with it! :D

20. 

    chanel 01/01/09 at 18:07 #

    Good luck with Linux. I will be forever with a regular pc. No MAC. Happy new year. <3

21. 

    Jem 01/01/09 at 19:45 #

    just testing changes to my blog...

22. 

    Stepherz 02/01/09 at 07:23 #

    The EEE's so cute, but the AA1 looks neat too! :)

23. 

    Heaven 05/01/09 at 08:17 #

    haha I think using linux is +10 geek points. I personally use knoppix because of it ease of use. Also because I can keep windows. Not that I like them I have found I cant live with out them.

24. 

    My Blog Resolutions — jemjabella.co.uk 01/02/10 at 11:27 #

    ... Now that you've read every man and his dog's post on new years resolutions, including my ramble on my efficiency drive for 2009 (already going well, I might add) I thought it appropriate to talk about the resolutions my blog/we...