Review: Dell Mini 12

Here's a partial list of computers I've used for at least 100 hours:

PC jr, Apple IIc+, some 386sx, some Pentium I, Compaq laptop (Pentium), HP laptop (Pentium III), Mac clone, Gateway Pentium III desktop, Mac iBook (the white one), Dell Inspiron 610 laptop, Dell Inspiron 530 laptop, Dell Desktop (dual Xeon chips), Dell Latitude notebook, ASUS eee, and probably 3 or 4 others I'm forgetting.  My point is, that I've used a ton of computers with a ton of different operating systems including DOS 4, every flavor of windows including 3.0, Mac OS, Mac OSX, Linux 2.4 and 2.6 (RedHat, Ubuntu, Fedora, and CentOS).  However, my favorite computer is the one I'm typing this blog post on ... my new Dell mini 12.  Here's what I love...the screen is just big enough at 12", the keyboard is just big enough since most of the keys are full size, the hard drive is just big enough at 60GB, and the processor seems to be fast enough...but the best two numbers are the price (less than $500) and the weight (less than 3lbs)...I LOVE those two numbers!!!

I've only used the computer for three days now (so I'll post a longer review in a couple months), but here's what I've found:

(1) While I wouldn't want to work on the computer for 8 hours straight (you'll still want a desktop or full feature laptop for that), I can easily work for 3-4 hours without being annoyed with the screen, keyboard, or speed.

(2) The new Intel Atom processor is okay -- you do not want to try running three applications at once (it has only a single core), but the speed is generally not an issue.  I watched Daytona 500 highlights on ESPN.com, and they were a little choppy, but still acceptable, and that was the processors biggest problem. 

(3) The bloated software known as MS Office seems to run just fine on the computer.  I've editted some big Word documents and powerpoint presentations without a problem.

I plan to add an SD memory card to help speed up access to big files, but the computer is generally just awsome.  I love saving my shoulder and only paying $450.  Seriously, I may just buy a new Dell mini every 18-24 months and never again by an expensive laptop that weighs a ton.