Bought this mouse for the netbook today – an A4tech X6-60MD in black – which has this retractable USB cord and comes with a somehow smarter “GLASER” diode/sensor which is said to also work on a glass table (most optical mice don’t).
X6-60MD mouse compared to the wireless desktop mouse
Attaching the mouse to the netbook actually adds a lot of convience to the system – the keyboard and tiny (yet brilliant) screen, however, aren’t that comfortable to work on. The keyboard on this 8,9″ netbook has the same size as the one on 7″ netbooks – next step would have been a 10,2″ netbook though which again adds another 0,3 kg. So this combination will have to do fo the moment. Connecting the netbook to a UMTS phone is a matter of seconds, so it really is a perfect NETbook – even on the road.
I’ve btw stayed with WinXP on this netbook (instead of EasyPeasy 1.0 or eeeUbuntu Standard) because of the special function keys that just work perfectly well with WinXP. Resizing the screen resolution to a compressed 1024×768 (instead of the normal 1024×600) is a matter of one key press. This may of course also be possible with a tuned Ubuntu, but again: not as easy as with XP and I just don’t have the time these days to figure it out. Besides, some of my fav. apps only work with XP and not under (the Windows emulator) Wine.
Sooo….blogging from the netbook (I am currently writing this post on the eee 901) is ok, but due to the keyboard not as convenient as it should be. You’ll quickly end up using 3-4 fingers only. :-(
Someone from Asia also needs to explain to me one day why there’s so much plastic involved in the packaging of such gadgets. A simple cardboard box would have done as well! At least this one could be opened easily and didnt require the scissors. Stupid.
Another thing to note about A4tech products is that their drivers are much better than the Logitech software package which bricked my desktop system the other day.
Oh, and it’s really amazing how long the battery lasts on this netbook. @E-Nyce: the wear-out level is down to 93% on this used battery/netbook, which is still ok I think.
Once my 15,4″ notebook (= desktop PC with an external 22″ monitor and external keyboard/mouse) retires (hopefully not too soon), I’ll probably go for a 12,2″ or 13″ notebook from either HP, IBM or Samsung and also make sure that it has a bright enough screen (= not as pale as the one on my 15,4″ notebook).
AOB:
Took this snapshot earlier this week right here in Frankfurt am Main because it reminded me of Taipeh 101.
I am now officially registered as a resident of Frankfurt/M. It may not be the best city to live in, but it has Germany’s biggest airport and is located in the middle of Germany which means I can reach Hamburg or Bremen (in the North) and Munich or Freiburg (in the South) in 3-4h only. Strategically convenient.
Frankfurt-Hamburg in 4hrs? Think you’re pushing it a bit. (unless you drive over-night with a rented 5series or similar .-)
LOL! I actually never think in terms of “how long would it take with a car” these days.
You may be surprised to learn that träwelling wis Doitsche Bahn only takes ~ 3:40h for Frankfurt <=> Hamburg, and to Minga it’s even less (03:10h). Hii ni sawasawa, sindiyo?
Congrats on the battery life. Love it while it lasts.
Please keep us updated over the next months on the X6-60MD mouse. I wanna get a new travel-mouse, and you know A4tech is one of my sweetheart brands.
As for the packaging, that’s the province of marketing Mad Men, so you know some dumb-dumb Westerners have decided all that plastic promotes sales.
I’m considering a netbook for that upcoming trip I told you about. I’ll start looking at the ASUS line, but if anyone wants to point to other sweeties, let me know. (I am, for now, an XP junkie so no-thanks to Macbooks.)
Ok I will, but I can also reassure you that it already is a good investment. The X6-60MD is small enough, but not too short (like many other notebook mice) and cost only 9,95 EUR which is ok I think. A4Tech…you were right, they are really good. Am still waiting for Logitech to fix their driver package that doesnt like the touchpad driver.
Netbooks: if you really want to go for a netbook, then it only depends on which size you want to go for for.
8,9″: Asus eee PC 901 (like mine, with 12 GB SSD instead of conventional hard disk, Bluetooth & N-Draft WiFi), 1,1kg
10,2″: Asus eee PC 1000H (and other 1000s) with 160 GB HDD and a bigger keyboard, 1,5kg
10,2″: Samsung NC10, sometimes without Bluetooth, but else like all other netbooks – ONLY: it has the best keyboard. 1,4kg
I initially wanted to go for the NC10 and kept looking for it, then I at one poing decided to save the money for a decent 13,3″ successor to my 15,4″ notebook and then suddenly I was weak, started looking for a netbook again and came across this 8,9″ eee which I managed to secure for “just” 216,- EUR. So, for half the price, I even settle with the 8,9″ one.
The alternative are IBM X30 or X40 12″ notebooks which are quite cheap and also have a PCMCIA slot for 3G UMTS cards (so there’s no USB dongle on the side of the computer) but only last 1-2h used and maybe 3-4h new. Bigger screen + rotating hard disk = higher batter consumption. And some of these older IBMs dont even support WPA on the WiFi.
I am also waiting for more 1280×800 netbooks to hit the market. 1024×600 is fine though and even the Atom CPU is good enough for most tasks. I think these netbooks are nice mobile surf stations that just do the job. The 8,9″ is a bit small sometimes and typing on the keyboard is not as fast as on other, bigger netbooks.
I am also using a lot of portable software to keep read/write processes as small as possible on this SSD disk.
Oh, and I think that both the 1000H and the NC10 have a bright enough screen for surfing in sunshine aka Java House & Co.
And really, if netbooks are the only affordable machines that have decent battery runtime, then they are still better than 2nd hand IBM X30, X40, nc4200, HP nc 2400 and so on.
If money wasnt the issue, I’d prolly go for the NC10 next time.