If you’re one of my Twitter followers (www.twitter.com/Patti_OShea), you’re aware of my purchase a few weeks ago of a Dell Mini 12. I was hauling a 15.4 inch laptop in and out of the Evil Day Job and I’d reached a point where there was so much pain, I knew I had to come up with an alternate way of writing. I had an Asus eee, but that was 8 inches and when I tried to use it to write, it was a complete fail. The keyboard was too scrunched up for me to build up any speed and hunt and peck made me insane.
I decided to go looking at what was available in light weight laptops/netbooks and I discovered there were a couple of computer makers selling 12 inch netbooks. My first laptop was about that size, and while it weighed as much as a tank, I knew the size was workable for both screen and keyboard. I decided against the ten inch because I didn’t want to risk it still being too small to work on.
I comparison shopped next, looking for which companies offered a 12 inch, how much their model weighed, and price. I eliminated all the 12 inch netbooks that were in the $1000+ range. That was ridiculous! That left me with Dell and HP, and since the Dell weighed enough less to make a difference, that’s the one I ended up buying.
So after about a month, what do I think of my new netbook?
Big thing is that the weight made a huge difference. I no longer have pain from hauling the laptop in and instead of carrying the case on my shoulder, the netbook fits in my tote bag. It’s incredibly light and that was huge for me!
The other big thing is that the keyboard is nearly full size and I can type easily on it. The period and question mark keys are a little tiny and I have trouble hitting the right one (I usually hit both), but that’s the only issue I have with typing on it.
These two things along make the purchase a total win! There are a couple of negatives, though.
I hate the touch pad. I finally found a way to turn off the scrolling feature. It was disconcerting to suddenly have the entire page scroll to the side, especially when I didn’t realize the touch pad had a scrolling feature. It’s better now that it’s off, but I still have a problem getting the cursor to move despite adjusting the sensitivity of the pad. I’m debating buying one of those little laptop mice to alleviate this issue.
No disk drive. I ended up buying a USB plug and play CD ROM drive so I could load software to write on. Let’s face it, if you’re a writer, Microsoft Works doesn’t cut it for word processing.
These are minor nits, though, and while the mouse thing is frustrating, it’s not unworkable. The big thing is that the Dell Mini 12 is light and usable. I’m giving this purchase a thumbs up.
Tags: computers
My fiance, also a writer, loves his little 12" Dell. I had a hard time switching from the larger keyboard to the smaller one but if I had to carry my huge dinosaur of a laptop anywhere, I'd probably get over that quickly.
I'm glad you're getting good use out of it. *Sqeee* More books to read. : )
Hi
Thank you for sharing Patti.
I've been debating about getting a Notebook myself and you clinched it for me. I will.
Love and best wishes from Northern Ontario
RKCharron
xoxo
My question is, what type of software do you write one? Everyone seems to have something they like the best. I was wondering what your choice was.
Marissa
Shawna,
I definitely prefer the keyboard on my 15.4, but the weight difference is substantial. Even the case is heavier than the sleeve I have for the netbook. It's so worth it not to have pain.
Patti
Rob,
If you're looking for something light and portable, the netbook is the way to go. It's not particularly powerful, but since the bulk of what I do on it is writing, that's not an issue for me. I'm glad I was a help.
Patti
Marissa,
My personal preference for is WordPerfect. A lot of writers use Word, but I find WordPerfect is much more intuitive and it allows the user to see the format codes amongst the text. That makes it easy to fix issues that arise when a format code gets in the wrong place. Word doesn't offer that option and it's frustrating to deal with "demon" documents at the Evil Day Job. Plus, WordPerfect is a lot cheaper than MS Office. That said, I have both and I do have to convert my WordPerfect files to RTF format to email to my editors.
Patti
Congrats on the netbook! I'm getting a Dell Mini 9, as soon as Dell builds and sends it.
Like you, I want something easy to carry that can do light duty.
I was just at Uncle Hugo's and I picked up Edge of Dawn. I asked them if you ever signed there, since you're a local author. They said you hadn't, but seemed interested in you possibly doing so (probably in conjunction with another local author or two). So if you ARE interested… you should let them know!
Hi Chris,
Congrats on your Dell Mini! I think you'll like how light it is and how nicely it travels. Those were huge for me.
Thanks for picking up EDGE OF DAWN! I hope you enjoy it! I don't actually do many book signings because I'm shy and they're high stress events for me.
Thanks again,
Patti
Thanks, Patti! I read Edge of Dawn and definitely enjoyed it.
Well, think about Uncle Hugo's – even if it's just stopping by and signing books (they have a section of signed books that they sell at regular prices). It's a pretty low-key experience.
Thanks, Chris! I'm glad you enjoyed EOD! And if I'm down that way, I'll definitely think about heading in to Uncle Hugos and signing what they have on hand.
Thanks again,
Patti