We have a newcomer in the family. Meet the Librarian!
It’s a Dell netbook - 10.25” wide, 7” deep and about 1” tall. It weighs less than 2.5 lbs. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh…..
I am absolutely enchanted with this machine. It all started when I mentioned to Myria that my reader was beginning to show some issues. It’s a Viewsonic PPC and has been in near constant use for almost 7 years. Mainly I have used it as a portable book-reader and an appointment keeper and I was beginning to think I should start looking for a new one.
But guess what? There aren’t a lot of PPCs being made any more; do-everything phones have just about killed that market and what there is that’s still available is very expensive and comes with a lot of features I don’t need and would never use.
Of course my resident computer expert encouraged me to look at the netbooks - the little, tiny laptops that have been springing up everywhere. They were small, portable, light-weight and cute as the dickens :) I was reluctant at first because I wanted something small enough to put in my purse and because I doubted that I would be able to manage (what I thought would be) the small keyboard on a netbook.
As it happens, the keys on the Dell are actually bigger than the keys on the Logitech keyboard that I use with my main system.
We researched the possibilities - including looking at exclusive readers like Sony’s and Amazon’s Kindle and while they certainly do a good job, reading books is all they do. I don’t need Blue Tooth or GPS, but I wanted a little more functionality than that. Also, for a one-trick-pony, I felt they were a little expensive. On to the netbooks.
These little things are ubiquitous - or nearly so :) Everybody makes one (including Gateway which I thought had died the big death years ago) and some manufacturers make several versions. But the basic package is pretty much the same no matter who you buy it from. 1 gig of RAM, 160 gig hard drive, built in wi-fi. The cases can vary quite a lot - and you can pay a fair bit extra for a colored case (something other than black) or a “special” edition designer case. Other extras would include things like more memory, a bigger hard-drive, etc. After looking around, it seemed that the basic Dell machine would suit my needs well.
Frankly, it’s a better and faster unit than my main system - which is also Dell, but several years old now :)
That’s my reader software. I was really afraid I would have trouble reading on the small screen. But actually, the screen isn’t that small and I have no trouble reading at all. Whee!
So Myria and my father got together an gave me a combined, early Christmas present :) I dearly love this little machine. I can do anything with it that I can do with my main system and I can bring it anywhere.
I have a bag I can use to put it in, but I eventually want something I can use both as a purse and a carrier. I’ll have to look around and see what’s available but there’s a possibility of making one too :) That might be too much fun not to try!
Finally, from the Try Anything department:
Last weekend I got an urge to make something decorative for fall as we have absolutely nothing. Christmas decorations we have - Thanksgiving/fall - not so much. Anyway, I hied me to the webs looking for pumpkin patterns. Let me tell you, you could drown in all the pumpkin patterns available for free out there. But in the midst of searching through them, I remembered a pattern for making a ball - a sphere. It’s here - Judy’s 12 Section Yarnball. The 12-section is for a large ball. I used the pattern for the smaller ball towards the bottom of the page. And I followed the pattern exactly (except for the number of sections) but I crocheted it instead of knitting it.
I admit it was something of a whimsical experiment that happened to come out way better than expected. The rounder pumpkin has 6 sections; the squattier version has 8 (the stems and vines were improvised). They took very little time to make and were really quite a bit of fun. If you want to try this, I used worsted weight yarn and a size H hook - but the pattern should work just as well for any size yarn and the appropriately sized tool to work it with.
Myria loves them!
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What an exciting new toy! I had no idea they did so much. Can you browse for patterns? That’s a definite selling point for me!
I love the pumpkins—they are so cute. There really isn’t too much for autumn/Thanksgiving. Maybe a knit turkey? :)
I checked out Rob’s blog, and I saw that he was considering knitting the circular vest. I am almost done with mine! The same pattern! But I’m using the Debbie Mumm “Traditions” yarn in Beeswax. I’ll send you a picture when I finish…
Greta -
Sure, you can browse for patterns. The models I looked at came with either Windows XP (full version) or a crippled version of Windows 7. Either would come with Internet Explorer - the standard Windows browser so you can go anywhere any other browser can go.
A crocheted turkey! Maybe a pilgrim hat to go along with it?
I’m looking at that circular vest pattern too but my mind is still playing with possibilities. I’d love to see yours when it’s finished! BTW, Rob is short for Roberta :)
I love the curling leaf! Too gorgeous! These might be a little like potatoe chips, non?
Hey!! Thanks for sharing about the netbook; I’ve wondered about them. Now, it seems like it could be a great addition to any computer system… easy to take along, functional, portable. Nice!
I love the pumpkins! Strangely enough, I’ve been thinking about them, too. I was thinking of making a few for our Thanksgiving (in October), but there were too many other projects on the go. Maybe next year. I found a couple of really cute patterns on Ravelry (where else, huh?)
What a lovely early Christmas present. And the pumpkins are very cute.
Nat -
Those curling vines are as simple as can be. Crochet a chain as long as you like. Turn and do 3 sc (single crochet) in each chain. It’ll curl up all by itself just as nice as you please :)
Ev -
I can’t recommend a netbook enough - they are wonderful little gadgets. You’d have to look around to see who had the feature/price ratio you liked best. But I’m very happy with Dell - personally and professionally I’ve always had good luck with them - both their products and their service.
Lynne -
The pumpkins were so much fun because of the translating from knitting to crochet. It shouldn’t have worked - but it did!
I’ve been thinking about a netbook. Thanks for posting about yours! A friend got one and we’ve tried using it for video phone calls but it doesn’t seem to work very well for that. We get much better sound quality with desktop to laptop.
Adorable pumpkins!
Chris -
I don’t use net video/phone stuff so I really can’t address the issue. The sound on this netbook seems good to me (and better with headphones) but I’m talking about game sounds and You Tube here :) Hope you find what you’re looking for!
This is a test comment.
Hi. I have a small notebook too, an Acer. I have made a small bag in Cascade 220 which then I felted and lined. The woolen exterior gives it enough protection and cushioning, while the inside lining prevents it to get fluffed.
I thought about closing it with a zipper, then opted for two buttons. think I cast on 49 stitches using a no 7 (something between 10.5 and 11 US size) circular needle. I knitted a tube about as high as twice the height of the notebook, and did a three needle cast off at the end. Then I washed it at 60°C in m washing machine. It felted practically to the exact size. Approximately the width should be one time and a half that of the pc. For mine 49 stitchd worked ok. I hope this can help you. Congratulations on your new friend! Happy Knitting. Hugs.
Laura -
That’s terrific information - exactly the kind on thing I would want to know. I don’t have any Cascade (which is admittedly nice stuff) but I do have some lovely, )PURPLE, Paton’s Classic Wool which should fill in nicely :)
I still need to think about things like closures and additional pockets (if I want this to be a purse too) but your information should give me a good start. Thanks a ton and knitting hugs right back at you!
I use a Dell netbook. Love it! Went with a real hard drive and as loaded a model as I could afford. Carry it around constantly. I wrote a review and took pictures of it on my blog, too, because I loved it so much.
I loaded regular Windows XP Pro on the netbook (I had a license) and actually speeded up the boot time from XP Home. No problems, been using it for months.
I do machine knitting videos and put them up on YouTube, and I edited most of them on the netbook because it’s always handy and in use. I also do the blog on it and all the correspondence.
Diana -
Wow! Now that’s what I call a ringing endorsement :) To be honest, I haven’t done anything really stressful (computerwise) so far on this baby but it has handled everything I’ve wanted to do very well.
I need to load some graphics software - once I decide what I want to use for photo editing - but I don’t anticipate the machine having any issues with it.
So far, I’m a very happy camper but, honestly, I would expect no less from Dell. Their quality and service have always been excellent.
