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Wed
27
Aug '08

love of the small

I have been a big fan of tiny/small gadgets mainly the small computer (Subnotebook).. and smaller they get more sexy they look to me.

For those who did not get what I meant by Subnotebook in the first paragraphs.. A subnotebook is a small and lightweight portable computer, with most of the features of a standard laptop computer but smaller.  Subnotebook are also known as “ultraportable” and “minilaptop”, while Intel has coined “netbook”. The term “ultra-mobile PC” (”UMPC”) is also used, although this is the name of a platform of small form-factor tablet PCs (see UMPC).

Subnotebook shot to lime light in 2007 with the launch of ASUS EEE PC; its success caught most hardware manufactures off guard. And within a shot span of time all other manufactures started releasing UMPC computing products like Acer Aspire One, HP 2133 Mini, MSI Wind PC and others being on their way out..

After much deliberation on which subnotebook to order I recently ordered my Asus EEE PC 901 Linux edition from Amazon. I also got it to India with my friend who happened to be coming back around the same time.

I have been playing around with it for a week now; and I am absolutely loving it. I uninstalled the Xandros Linux that came with it and installed the Ubuntu-EEE (Ubuntu optimized for the Asus Eee PC) within two days of using it. The startup speed and battery backup is amazing. And I am getting used to the multi-touch features and the small keyboard. Shall soon post a detailed review.. till then you can view this Youtube video..

Also I just came across this nice little computer called ‘Space Cube‘ - claims to be the smallest PC in the world and it measures a mere 2.1″ x 2.1″ x 1.8″. That according to me is ultra cool ! Its hard drive is actually a 64MB SDRAM card, and it is equipped with a LAN port, USB connectivity, and a monitor connector as well. It’s an offshoot of the Space Systems Research Group of the University of Dundee.I can see amateur robotics and rocket and other engineering groups being interested in devices like this and it can open a can of possibilities for them.

If you have found any such interesting gadgets do sound off in the comments..

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