Blog of a Long Distance Worker Tech

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Tag Archives: netbook

Netbooks and Performance

ASUS1005HA Almost all netbooks (apart from some of the early Acer and Asus devices running Linux) are supplied with 1GB of RAM. Microsoft has further cemented this by defining lower license fees for Windows XP for computers with small screens and only 1GB of RAM, which means that this is the most popular memory configuration for netbooks.

advent-4211-msi-wind-mini-laptop-small At the same time, many people rule out netbooks as low power, sluggish computers that cannot replace a main machine. After my experience of the last month and a half, I would agree. This is when I purchased a new netbook after a problem occurred with my first one … the venerable Advent 4211C, an MSI Wind U100 rebrand. Amazing how I can call a computer that is less than 15 months old as venerable!

The netbook I purchased was the Asus EeePC 1008HA, a very nice and thin machine which I did not originally desire, but my options were limited. The machine I wanted was the Asus EeePC 1005HA but that was not in stock in the timeframe I needed. The problem with the 1008HA is the shorter battery life and the higher price, but I was desperate that evening for a machine. The other problem is that it came with 1GB of RAM compared to my upgraded Advent machine that had 2GB.

The other problem I quickly discovered was that it is closed up harder than a coconut. The machine is basically not upgradeable by anyone but the brave. Needless to say I proved braver than most, particularly after I managed to pierce the keyboard ribbon connector and cut two wires whilst trying to get at the memory. This is because you have to crack the case open after removing the keyboard, disconnecting multiple connectors and making sure that you use the dip switch to disable the battery feed to the machine (thus avoiding blowing the whole thing).  Who needs the left CTRL, Alt, Windows, Fn, function, delete and backspace keys anyway!  After all the fun with doing that I found I had the wrong 2GB memory stick. Putting my slightly crippled machine back together, I had to focus on my day job and with it using the still 1GB Asus.

What I noticed quite quickly is that the machine perpetually struggled with the lack of RAM at a scale that virtual memory could not help. The machine has had a minimum physical memory used of between 700MB and 930MB, and I now know what happens when the physical memory starts to run out… a machine that goes into coma for 30 seconds plus as it struggles to unload a program, to load another one. This has not been a good experience. If this was all the experience I had ever had with a netbook, I could understand saying that netbooks are useless.

Let us be honest, the sweet spot for Windows XP is 2GB ( just like the sweet spot for Vista I have found is 3GB ). This means that all netbooks are not as performant as they could be, and it will stay this way as long as manufacturers keep with supplying them with 1GB. I have started to see however netbooks and their like coming through with 2GB and this seems to be tied to supplying the machine with Windows 7… At least, Windows 7 Home Premium. I hope this continues.

So my best advice out there for the netbook owner? Get yourself upgraded to 2GB… you will then have a very functional, low cost, very portable machine that will perform every duty you throw at it except really heavy duty graphics/video or gaming. The other advice? Make sure that your netbook is user upgradeable. Me? I now have the machine I need but no warranty.

Travelling … service resuming

ASUS1005HA Things have been a little quiet on the site for a while, mainly because I have been involved in a pretty intense period of project work which has required me to do a multi-country commute for almost six months now. During this time, I have really appreciated the smallness of my netbook main machine and gained a (poor) appreciation of hotel provided WiFi, as well as just how far ahead of the game the UK is in Mobile Broadband (particularly in terms of PAYG tariffs). I have also experienced a sea change in my phone experiences also as I have moved from Windows Mobile to the Apple iPhone. One thing I can really push is that the iPhone has proven a worthy secondary device to go with the MSI Wind netbook – not a replacement, just a secondary device. With the release of the v3.0 software, the Apple iPhone has become a great business device for the mobile worker, particularly one that travels to multiple countries. The applications and the iTunes App store are THE killer aspect for the phone. So much in fact, I had to get two – one for the UK and one for the remote country :-) . I guess an iPhone with support for two SIMs is still too much of a specialised requirement.

More on that another time, but I would like to return to the ‘secondary’ device comment. Walking around, the iPhone is a great emailer and mobile work business helper but it simply cannot replace a PC for working email and documents. You do need a PC to get the job done, and netbooks are really a good package for that, particularly when you have a large screen and keyboard installation in your semi-permanent working locations.  Working with the MSI Wind though has really punched my buttons with regard to battery life – my MSI Wind is simply too short lived at 4 hours, although good for many I am now looking at the latest batch of machines that give 8+ hours. However I am torn between waiting for Windows 7 based machines or getting an XP based machine now. I will have to see how long I can tough that one out. You can sense an update coming…

How about your experiences with iPhone? Netbook? Recommendations for a long life battery netbook? Feel free to comment.

Cost of the Loss of a Laptop

A new report by the Ponemon Institute in conjunction with Intel claims that the average cost to the enterprise of a stolen or lost laptop is $49,246, once you factor in not just replacement but intellectual property loss, lost productivity, forensics, and other downsides.

Report: average stolen laptop cost is $50K; Intel: buy vPro – Ars Technica.

This is an interesting report, but it is interesting to think about the impact of full disk encryption and full data synchronisation back to base on a continuous basis on the cost. The headings that they used are:

  1. Laptop replacement cost: $1,582
  2. Detection & escalation cost: $262
  3. Forensics & investigation cost: $814
  4. Data breach cost: $39,297
  5. Intellectual property loss: $5,871
  6. Lost productivity cost: $283
  7. Other legal and regulatory costs: $1,117

Now with the disk encryption and data synchronisation, you can see a different picture:

  1. Laptop replacement cost: $1,582 (or less than $500 for a netbook!)
  2. Detection & escalation cost: $262 – probably the same
  3. Forensics & investigation cost: $0, what forensics or investigation do you need when the machine is a dead weight without a valid logon
  4. Data breach cost: $0 as there would be no data breach
  5. Intellectual property loss: $0 as there is little or nothing lost through the data sync to base
  6. Lost productivity cost: $283 (probably the same)
  7. Other legal and regulatory costs: $0 as there is no loss, so no legal or regulatory costs

Now this is a simplistic view, but you can see that with using low cost laptops/netbooks, good full disk encryption and well implemented file sync, you can reduce the ‘cost’ of a laptop loss from $49,226 to $1,045. Even allowing for some error, the cost benefits are good in a loss situation.

Netbooks survival only in recession?

Netbooks

Will netbooks die off as the economy recovers?

Liliputing has a great post here which is based on an Information Week article.

My own view is that Netbooks are helped by their low cost, but that is not their point. Their success is more about their form factor and utility in a low cost package. There will not be a recovery and increase in cost as the market recovers, primarily because netbook or laptop – the price of a computer in the UK is now fixing itself between £250 ($380) and £400 ($600) – $1000 computers are in the past in the same way that $2000 computers are.

Computers are getting into their sweet spot for price and the profit is being impacted by the OS cost. Microsoft is one who must adapt – their OS is now the most expensive single component in the package. I think Microsoft needs to think about its Microsoft tax and less about the Apple tax.

Battery Life

Whether you use a netbook or an ultramobile notebook (same difference!), the one of the most important requirements in my view, particularly for the very mobile worker, is that it has a significant battery life – whole day preferably.

Down with 3-Cell Batteries: Netbooks Should Have 5+ Hours of Battery Life

The only problem with many 6 cell batteries is the sometimes awkward shape and the additional weight that it generally gives the notebook. In fact when I come to replace my existing machine, I will be looking at those machines that give at least 5 hours of battery life. How about you? Do you believe battery life is so important?

Laptop Security

Try thinking of your notebook or mini-note not as a computer but as a pile of cash. Would you leave $800 lying around on a library table or the front seat of your car? How about $300? Chances are you wouldn’t, and that’s because we instinctively realize that’s tantamount to inviting unscrupulous types to help themselves.

Mobile PC Security Tips: Part I

This article offers some straightforward security tips, but the best one is unsaid.

Make it so you do not care whether your laptop is stolen. Take the normal physical security precautions, but make best use of the Cloud to ensure that if the laptop is lost or destroyed, that you do not lose any data. This is done via file sync systems such as Mesh, Live Sync or others, or by using Gladinet to give folder level access to online storage mechanisms like Google Docs, Amazon S3, or Skydrive. What about security of the data – well make sure you use full disk encyption for the laptop so nothing on the disk is recoverable without the password.

And then we come to the cost… well use low cost laptops or netbooks at less than €400/£400 or much less, so the biggest cost is actually the installation of a new machine.

These are what I can recommend, think about it.

Brief Intro to Netbooks

Podcast_CTAP_small CNET does some very nice podcasts and other info about technology and gadgets. The latest Real Deal (144) podcast covers Netbooks and discusses the relative merits/use of different features of netbooks. Have a listen.

Obviously their are country specifics particularly about wireless internet (3G), as you can get 3G embedded versions in the UK without a contract – something that I can recommend, and the whole cost of 3G is very different here particularly with some of the new Pay as you go options, but it is a pretty good overview.

Netbook Screen Optimisation

One of the annoyances for me about many netbooks is the choice of the 1024×600 pixel screen. When you are around the office you can make use external monitors as I have already discussed, but when you are actually mobile there is simply not enough pixels. There are a couple of things you can do beyond using the F11 fullscreen view in Firefox.

1. Task bar to hide

You do not need the task bar all the time, and just making it hide gives you the equivalent of 768 pixels in the vertical. You can make this much easier to manage by making use of software such as ObjectDock as well – a pure steal from the Mac of course.

2. Play with the DPI

You can make the font size of all applications (well almost all) reduce in size, by playing with the DPI (Dots Per Inch) settings in the Settings area of the screen properties. By default, this is 96DPI (at least on all my machines) and the settings give you some movement in this value by using the custom option. Now, if you have a real big screen on a computer, some people also actually increase the DPI with the 120DPI setting already being built in. You can see the display steps to the setting here:

netbook-dpi-setting1netbook-dpi-setting2netbook-dpi-setting3 Now doing this does require a reboot, and you have to read the dialogue boxes very carefully to select the right answer.

Now with the DPI setting, the actual amount you choose depends on what you feel comfortable with, but I find that 80% is the lowest you can reasonably go, with 90% being even more comfortable.

So what is the downside? Well some applications do not scale and some dialogue boxes can be a bit screwy – but not to the extent that I have had problems when set to 80% DPI. The only additional problem you can have is that some windows do not display anything, which is very rare – hey Microsoft can you fix Live Messenger please!

You can always change it back to 100% if it is that important, but the gain is good as shown in this screenshot – click to see it full size.

netbook-dpi-result

This optimisation works on any of the netbooks, including those not-made by Sony :-)