New Computer, New OS.

So I bought the tiny computer, and I installed Ubuntu Eee on it.

The computer is indeed cute. Combined with the cutest of the new Gmail Themes (Tea House, awww), it is almost criminally adorable. Overall, I am quite pleased with it. It is both more powerful and more portable than the laptop it replaces. Its only flaw, as far as I'm concerned, is the increased eyestrain I get from trying to read smaller fonts on its screen. I suspect there are ways around this, but that will take a bit of research and experimentation. In the meantime, I'm quickly losing what little love I had remaining for tiny-fonted websites like Yahoo! Mail and Bloglines (and am already making the transition to Google Reader, though I'm not ready to invite all the clutter at my Yahoo account over to Happy Gmail Land).

Figuring out how to install Ubuntu was a challenge -- not because of any flaw in the software, but because nobody mentioned that the default Windows CD-burning software won't burn you a bootable disk. Hmm. Wonder why Microsoft left that feature out? Also, Windows booted so dang fast on the thing that I kept missing my microsecond of opportunity to get into the BIOS. So my weekend went kind of like this*:
*highly abridged

ME: F2! F2 F2 F2!
WINDOWS: Hello!
ME: Look, I'm trying to boot to an external drive here, do you mind?
[REBOOT]
ME: F2 F2 F2 F2 F...
WINDOWS: Hello!
ME: What am I doing wrong here?
WINDOWS: Where would you like to go today?
ME: Hush, you. Maybe I was using a faulty CD?
[BURN NEW CD AND REBOOT]
ME: F2 F2 F2!
WINDOWS: Hello!
ME: Augh! Maybe the new burner I got is not working. I'll try burning this on the old laptop. Good thing its keyboard is miraculously working again!
[BURN NEW CD AND REBOOT]
ME: F2 F2 F2!
WINDOWS: Hello!
ME: Borscht! Frarble! I sure won't miss you when you're gone, Windows. But you seem awfully reluctant to say goodbye. Could it be that you are secretly foiling my attempts to burn a bootable disk? I wouldn't put it past you.
[TO GOOGLE] How do I burn an ISO disk?
GOOGLE: Different software you need. Here, free it is.
ME: Ha! Now we're talking. Take that, Windows!
[BURN NEW CD AND REBOOT]
ME: F2 F2 F2 EFFITY TWOOOOO it's not working why isn't it working aaaOH MY GOSH IT'S WORKING!
UBUNTU: Hi! I'm your new best friend!
[ANGELS SING]

And we all lived happily ever after.

Some of you might think I must be super geeky to be using Linux now, but I confess I have yet to use the command line. I haven't needed to yet at all. The graphic interface is super intuitive, and also, really pretty. So far, it's been a lot easier to use than Windows -- and it lets me call the shots, instead of getting all Gates knows best on me.

Granted, I'm still in the early exploratory phase, but the only sign of geekiness I've really encountered so far is the screen savers. Sooo many screen savers. There is one for almost every flavor of geek. There are 3D models of engines and gears for the engineering geeks, molecular structures for the chemistry geeks, Matrix-themed screensavers and flying toasters for the retro-geek-culture geeks. Fractals for the math geeks. Chess-themed screensavers, Moebius strips, galaxies spinning outward, cells that divide and die. Mesmerizing patterns with names like "3D Hypertorus" and "StonerView." I am particularly enamored of the one with the fireworks with colors that glint off the ground and overcast sky as the camera flies around and through them. Remember those first fireworks screensavers, the ones made of monochrome ASCII characters? Yeah. That's why it's so great.

Agh agh agh.

My stove is fixed, but my laptop is broken. I mean, more broken; not only does it run hot and slow and have a broken hinge that makes it hard to keep the screen upright, but the keyboard has mostly stopped working.

If anyone still needed confirmation that I was not meant to be writing a novel this month, well, there you go. At least it waited until I was employed to break!

At this point the top contender for replacement* is the ASUS Eee PC, which is very small and lightweight, and also not very expensive. I am currently evaluating different models, of which there are approximately one billion? (That part is a little confusing.)

One of the most appealing things about the Eee is that there's a version of Ubuntu custom-designed for it. I've been meaning to make the switch from Windows to Linux for years, and now seems like as good a time as any. I've never actually used Linux, but the command-line interface is an old friend of mine, and if I have to change my OS, I'd much rather go open-source than Vista. Much much much rather.

Of course, this will mean a few dramatic changes in the way I compute: using an external DVD/CD drive, relying more heavily on an external hard drive for media storage, giving up some software I'm used to. I'm trying to determine all these changes ahead of time so there aren't any unpleasant surprises. The Eee isn't as powerful as standard-sized machines, so I won't be doing any video editing, for example, or multi-track audio editing, or playing newer games. But I wasn't doing any of those things anyway, so it's only the potential that I'd be missing. And if I really get an itch to do that kind of computing, I could assemble a desktop with a minimum of expense, rather than trying to get a laptop that will do everything.

So this is where I confess that the real purpose of this post is to tap into the collective knowledge of my friend circle(s). Do you, gentle reader, know anything about the Eee PC? Any reviews, caveats, prophecies of delight or doom? Know anybody who's got one? Have any ideas I haven't considered? Tell meee [Invader Zim voice]. I want to collect as much information as possible before committing to anything.

_____
*Naw, I'm not going to buy the next-generation XO. They're super cool, but the computing needs of a third-world child are substantially different from those of a first-world adult.

I Fail at Internet. Also: My House Hates Me!

I am having some trouble readjusting to the 40-hour work week. How do you people get anything done? Actually, I know how I got things done in my last 40-hour-a-week job. I stayed up too late, and I ate a lot of instant food (which wasn't necessarily meeting my nutritional needs). Now I am trying not to do those things anymore, and between that and the 40 hours, my internet output has dwindled to zeroes (without any ones).

This bothers me. A lot. Besides the several things I have recently promised (and then neglected) to share with you here, there have been several events this week I have felt a dire urgency to write about. Having the desire to write, and then not writing, is really bad for someone who fancies herself a writer-type. It's like being in the mood to get some exercise, but not doing anything about it: you miss opportunities and discourage good habit-forming, and your muscles atrophy.

Also! I have not caught up on your blogs, comics, and other creative internet-based output. Still. So please, bear with me while I struggle with realigning my priorities. Time management has always been the hobgoblin of my little mind, and...

Stop the presses: my stove just up'n died. Which reminds me that the third of the month is the official day for things to break in my house (I'm serious, it's uncanny). So the stove is several hours ahead of the game. This makes me angry enough to give up my posture of penitent self-blame in favor of a rabid conspiracy theory involving not only all the appliances in my household, but also the U.S. Gummint (which has given me a big fat homework assignment due Tuesday).

Maybe I'll make a comic about it tomorrow. Because the third of the month is also the day for making comics. In case you forgot.