Sony Sliders: I could be referring to the new Sony PSP Go or the Sony MYLO, but I’m not.

This is not the first time I’ve had a problem with a slider button on a Sony product. My very first Sony PlayStation Portable was occasionally a source of aggravation, but only with certain games (most notably Grand Theft Auto : Liberty City Stories). In the heat of battle, I would accidentally flip the sliding On-Off switch and oh no, where did my game go? Sometimes I got it back, other times it was just tough luck - should I have being playing GTA in the first place?
This problem wasn’t just limited to the first PSP. I had the same problem playing a Pinball game on the Sony PSP 3000, the most recent PlayStation Portable (the last one which still handles UMDs). In both cases I just had to adjust my grip slightly and the problem went away. Don’t get me wrong, the Sony PSP is still my favorite handheld gaming console.

The last time I was blogging, I happened to be using my Sony VAIO VGN-S460P Laptop, and when I clicked the  “Save” button, I got an error message that there was no internet connection. It took a frantic few seconds to realize that I had accidentally flipped the Wireless switch to the off position, not that hard to do since the slider switch is just where my right wrist rests. Poor design? Maybe, but I still like the laptop.

I looked at two computers today, and tried to figure out which was the best laptop.

The first one has 4GB RAM and a 320GB Hard drive, as well as 14 inch screen. The second has 2GB RAM and a 160GB hard drive, and a 13 inch screen. Both have Dual Core Pentium Processors, DVD writers, IEEE802.11 Draft N wireless and a built-in webcam.

The first sells for around $650, the second for at least $1100. The first is a Toshiba Satellite L515-S4925 Notebook. The second one is an Apple MacBook Pro.

I guess it depends on whether you can afford the MacBook Pro, and whether you don’t mind that it does not have a user-replaceable battery. Other than that, it is likely to provide a solid computing experience. It also has a oversized multitouch trackpad.

The Toshiba Satellite costs $500 less than the Apple MacBook Pro, and has better hardware specs. It has double the memory and double the hard disk capacity. Since the Toshiba runs Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit, 4GB of memory is the recommended minimum of memory (1 GB is required). It also has a user-replaceable battery.

Which one would you choose?

Tripped up by levels of “compatibility”!. I had mentioned that I was having problems after installing Eeebuntu NBR (Net Book Remix) on my Asus EeePC 701 Netbook (see “Neglected Netbook gets new OS“). Important Dialog Boxes were cut off at the bottom of the screen, making it impossible to configure Eeebuntu properly. I though it would simply be a matter of looking at an Ubuntu distribution on another PC to see what the buttons are, and work from there. It wasn’t.

Then I came across some interesting information. The Ubuntu wiki had a page
“HardwareSupport/Machines/Netbooks” which gave three Tiers of compatibility for Netbooks which had been tested with Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04. Tier 1 was “…netbooks that work reasonably well, with few or any issues, and no major issues“. Unfortunately, the Asus EeePC 701 Netbook fell into Tier 2:
“…netbooks that work somewhat, but have problems that may interfere with typical activities at the moment, or many smaller issues.”
For the EeePC701 there was this note “This netbook basically works, but most of the problems with it center around the fact that it has a very small screen with a default resolution of 800×400 and many apps simply won’t scale down to that size.” Two of the issues were “Evolution setup assistant takes more space than available on Eee 701SD” and “Display preferences takes more space than available on a Eee 701SD“.
By space they mean screen space.

This wasn’t even mentioned on the main Eeebuntu NBR website, and if I’d known about it, I certainly would have thought twice before installing Eeebuntu on my Asus Netbook.

After neglecting my Asus EeePC 701 Netbook for a number of months, I’ve now loaded a new Operating System onto it. The Netbook had fallen into misuse even before I started “playing” with UMPCs (Ultra Mobile PCs). The UMPCs with all their miniature delights almost put the Asus EeePC right out of my thoughts.

Then, a several days ago I charged it up , booted up and looked at the same old pre-installed linux Operating System, which for some reason is giving error messages when I try to get updates. Fortunately, I had just seen (and downloaded) Eeebuntu, after reading “Let Eeebuntu Free your Eee PC” on the GHacks blog.

I followed the steps mentioned in the blog. This took longer than expected - which is almost always the case when working with computers – the third step (”Plug in a >= 1 Gig Usb flash drive to your computer.“) taking the longest. For some reason the smallest USB flash drive I could find was a 4GB SanDisk micro. It had files on it, so I had a “quick” glance through them, backed some up, then deleted them from them removable drive; formatting it would definitely have been faster. An hour or so later I had Eeebuntu installed on my Asus EeePC 701 Netbook.

Now the downside. I should have spent a little more time trying it out, because for some reason the screen resolution is cutting off the bottom of dialog boxes. What that means is that I cannot see the buttons at the bottom of the dialog boxes to apply settings (I need to look at an Ubuntu distribution on another PC to see what the buttons are). Once I know the layout of those all important buttons, I can change the screen resolution and join the Asus EeePC to my home wireless network…

The HP (Hewlett-Packard) Pavilion dv2-1030us looks like a Notebook, although a very slim one. With 4GB RAM and a 320GB hard drive, it sounds like a notebook. Instead of an Intel Dual Core or even AMD Turion X2 mobile processor, the HP Pavilion dv2 has an AMD Athlon Neo running at 1.6 GHz. The Neo is AMD’s answer to Intel’s Atom processor – specifically meant for Netbooks. This means that inside this Notebook is a Netbook processor, and this Notebook delivers performance which is more like a Netbook than a Notebook. All is not lost though, as the AMD Neo processor has enough power to run Windows Vista smoothly.

This machine appears to be aimed somewhere between Netbooks and Ultraportable notebooks. It is pricier than Netbooks, but it does have a 12 inch screen. Like Netbooks it does not have a built-in optical drive, but it does include and external DVD writer.

Other Notebook-sized Netbooks similar to the HP Pavilion dv2 are the Samsung NC20 and the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Notebook.

From the company who practically invented the Netbook, comes their latest Netbook, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE.

The Asus 1000HE features the new 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor, which was designed for low-power products such as Netbooks. One of the main differences from previous Asus Netbooks is the keyboard, which has widely spaced, flat-topped keys. These make for an improved typing experience.

It also has 1GB RAM and a 160GB hard drive, which seems to be the current standard for Netbooks. Other specs include a 128MB Mobile Intel GMA 950 graphics card, 3 USB ports, SD card reader and Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for networking. It runs Windows XP.

The 1000HE weighs a bit on the heavier side for Netbooks, at 3.2 lbs, but for that you get very good battery life: Asus promises up to “9.5 hours” of battery life, but CNET.com tests showed 6 hours and 21 minutes, which according to the CNET.com Asus Eee PC 1000HE Review is still “an extremely impressive number“.

Naturally this is only my opinion based on a limited subset of UMPCs which I have tried.

When I started I hadn’t received the Sony VGN-UX380N yet, but it had always fascinated me. Upon seeing it for the first time I thought Wow!, it is smaller than I’d expected. The 4.5 inch screen is bright, but I definitely need to try increasing the font size and lowering the screen resolution to make it more readable. I don’t remember than problem so much on the OQO Model 01 I tested, nor on the Fujitsu U810 LifeBook. The Asus R2H UMPC doesn’t really count since it has a 7 inch screen, compared with the OQO Model 01’s 5 inch screen and the U810’s 5.6 inch touchscreen. Okay, the others all have bigger screens!

The layout of the keys on the Sony VAIO VGN-UX380N’s keyboard is closest to a standard keyboard layout. Unfortunately the keys don’t have enough tactile feedback. The U810’s keyboard does some unexpected sharing of keys, but is closest to typing on a regular notebook. The OQO is quite amazing because of it’s size and how well it functions as a regular PC. It also has a really neat way to check the battery charge without turning it on. Pressing an unobtrusive button on the underside of the OQO lights up row of small lights, giving you a quick visual indication of the battery’s charge.

Choosing the best one is hard. The dual clamshell notebook/tablet PC configurations of the Fujitsu LifeBook U810, along with it’s general ease of use narrowly gives it the edge. So the Fujitsu LifeBook U810 narrowly beats out the Sony VAIO VGN-UX380N.

To recap, we are looking for the smallest Windows Notebook. The requirements are that it has to at least be able to run Windows XP.

After much research and some Googling, the winner is the OQO , the smallest full-powered, full-featured personal computer, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It was around before the term UMPC was coined – the first model was called a “ultra personal computer (uPC)”

So, what is the OQO? Wikipedia has some details, so does CNET.com. There have been a number models of the OQO, with the first OQO, the OQO Model 01 released in the fall of 2004 with the computer shipped with a 1 GHz Transmeta Crusoe processor 20 GB hard drive, and 256 MB of RAM. It also had integrated 802.11b wireless, Bluetooth and a USB 1.1 port. It ran Windows XP.

Now the Important part - size and weight: 4.9 by 3.4 by 0.9 inches and it weighs 0.9 lbs. Apart from the weight, the size is closer to a PDA than most UMPCs.

The OQO is very much a PC though, as newer versions (the OQO Model 02) can run Windows Vista. The OQO can also run modified versions of Linux.

We’re looking for the smallest Windows Notebook here folks. The requirements are that it has to run Windows XP. I have to put that in, otherwise some Linux machine smaller than a Sharp Zaurus C-1000 would win.

Our first contender is the Fujitsu LifeBook U810 (already superseded by the U820, but never mind). This mini notebook, size 6 inches by 6.73 by 1.26 and weighing only 1.56 pounds, has a screen which swivels to convert the mini-notebook into a mini-tablet PC.

The LifeBook U810’s specs are as follows:
A 800MHz Intel A110 Processor, with 1GB of RAM, it has a 40GB hard drive, integrated Mobile Intel Express 945GM Graphics card, a 5.6 inch touchscreen (measured diagonally). It includes Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g wireless as well as wired 10/100 Ethernet. There is also a fingerprint reader, microphone, a VGA (0.3 Megapixel) camera and card readers which for Compact Flash and SecureDigital memory cards. There is only one USB port.
The LifeBook U810 can be purchased with Windows Vista Business. Since this entitles you to a downgrade to Windows XP, you also get a restore disc for Windows XP tablet Edition 2005 along with the other discs – I just had to mention that.

Just a few days ago I managed to get my hands on a Samsung Q1 Tablet PC. Although I did not know it at the time, it was one of the original “Origami” Ultra- Mobile PCs. That didn’t stop me being blown away the first time I held it in my hands and booted up Windows XP. It is about the size of a large paperback book, with a 7 inch screen. I have played with all manner of devices, but booting up the familiar Windows XP on such a small device was really awesome.

Now I have booted up Linux on an Asus EeePC Netbook. That also has a 7 inch screen. Then there were a few of the VGA screen Pocket PCs – but they don’t generally “boot up”, unless they have been reset. Yet this booted into ultra-familiar Windows XP.

This particular Samsung Q1 has a 1 GHz Pentium M processor, 1 GB RAM and a 60GB hard drive. The graphics are from an integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900. In addition it has built-in Bluetooth, 802.11b and 802.11g wireless and several ports including 2 USB ports. This model does not have a hardware keyboard (later models have a qwerty keypad with half on one side of the screen and half on the other). Fortunately a USB keyboard was provided which worked well.

Although the Samsung Q1 is not something you can carry in your pocket – you would need a really big jacket pocket, it is as portable as a Netbook. Even though I’m blown over by it, there aren’t too many advantages over a pricier Netbook, and the Samsung Q1 is relatively pricey itself.