Given that I just bought myself a brand new gaming rig that would last me years to come, many people would find it hard pressed to believe or let alone understand how is it I am already looking for the next new toy to play around with. I must be the geeky equivalent of a womaniser. Always finding some new hardware to ogle, caress and ultimately ride hard and put away wet. Seriously though, that brings me to the reason I'm writing this, with any hope, I can get some perspective in the matter.

I'm looking for a new netbook to replace my long obsolete EeePC 701 netbook. It has served me well over the past 3 years. It has seen me through a post-grad thesis, NaNoWriMo and countless hours of free wireless surfing. Sadly though, it's time to retire it for a better machine, which is where the problem comes in.

I have a feeling that netbooks while numerous in number, are still a very niche gadget. Due to its limited hardware and therefore use, you either get it or you don't. As a result, there aren't many sites out there that will give a critical but balanced review of netbooks. For the most part, a lot of them seem to be comparing it to their larger, heftier cousins that sport an optical drive and better multimedia capabilities. That's the part where most people don't get. Stuff like that aren't really needed for a netbook. You don't really need HD video playback on a 10 inch screen because it makes no difference to the quality. You don't really need an optical drive on a machine that isn't meant to be your primary rig.

Netbooks have always been designed to be a second system to complement your primary rig. They are meant for people who are always on the go between home and work, where they will have a more powerful rig waiting for them at their workspaces. It's designed to be a more cost effective alternative to the more extreme ultraportables. While naysayer can argue that they can do the same things on their cutting edge smartphones, the fact of the matter is, your smartphone won't be your tool of choice if you're going to work on a novel or a research paper. Taking that all into consideration, there are two important things I look for in a netbook.

1. Battery life
2. System smoothness

Taking everything I've learned while using the EeePC 701, I figure that the most important bit is of course having to use the little thing for hours on end without recharging. There is little point for using a netbook if it can die on you after a couple of hours. You can get bigger laptops that would last that long on battery life with more power. Being that I'm well aware of market speak, I know that when a product is advertised to have 10 hours of battery life, realistically it's more likely to have a little more than half of that with practical use. Not that 5 hours isn't a short time either, but I could squeeze about 3 hours on my first gen netbook; given a choice, I would want a whole lot more time on the system without constantly keeping track of how many minutes are left.

Then comes how well the system performs, especially while on the battery. The 701 given its pathetic hardware (it had a Celeron-M which was underclocked to 600mhz), whenever it was using the batteries, the best it could do was just to surf the net, slowly. I didn't dare open more than one program at a time not just because I wanted to save what little charge it had, but because the system would underclock the processor further thus making it run a little faster than molasses. It was a tolerable pain, but I never want to go through that again for obvious reasons. Now like I said before, I'm not looking for things like HD video playback while on a plane or train here. All I want is to be able to surf the net and run a word processor simultaneously on battery without having hair grow on my face.

Given those two criterias, I can make do with the tactile comfort of the keyboard that most reviews seem to also place emphasis on. I say this with good reason too, after all, if I could work for long hours on the EeePC with its 7 inch screen and really cramped keyboard, I'm pretty sure I can live without other so-called luxuries such as 1,366×768 resolution or a weirdly spaced keyboard. Doesn't mean I don't appreciate it though, it just means I can sacrifice those comforts if I have to. And I really may have to as well, because the price I'm looking for is the deal breaker. I bought my EeePC for $500 AUD. Nowadays, some netbooks actually cost more than that in Australian dollars. That's exactly what I don't want. I still see the netbook as the cheaper lightweight alternative to primary laptops, I don't want to spend more than $500 AUD if I can afford it.

So there we have it, my dilemma. What exactly do I buy? Right now, I have my eyes set on the EeePC 1005PE which many reviews say will go to about 8 hours of battery life (14 hours manufacturer claim). If I can get my hands on the matte version rather than the glossy version, it would be even better. However, a lot of sites claim that the hardware is too old, which presents me with the question, what other netbooks out there make a worthy alternate choice?

If anyone reading this could give me some pointers, I would appreciate it a lot.

Do I not blog these days because I have a life now or because I don't have any motivation to write it down? Not that I would call my busy working hours a "life" to begin with. Still, the backlog of things to say just keeps building and building until I've forgotten more about what truly matters than what I deem important enough to talk about.

I guess for the most part, it's the gradual outlook on life I have been developing over the past few months. The solitude from pretty much every social grace has had a numbing effect. No longer do I have the motivation to discuss about every matter I think is important because I know the people around me find no interest in it. The effect does carry with it a bit more emphasis when the things I find interest in tend to be highly niche interests. There isn't much to go on in a small country town.

There are at least plenty of side projects I know I should be working on at the moment. My computer is pretty much done, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything to more I can add to it; you know, geek out to my hearts content. The stories I'm writing in preparation for NaNoWriMo are coming along as expected which would be aggravating during a writer's block and satisfying under inspiration, though mostly aggravating given my current skills.

What's left is to work on my blog. Given it's complex nature, it's something I should really take time to sit down and work on. However, if throw in the weekly chores and some much needed household sprucing up to do; between using the spare time for relaxation or working on my blog, I would have to choose to unwind.

Blogging, much less working on my blog would really be the last thing on my mind, more so when I'm beginning to convince myself that there is no point in trying to connect with people anymore. Maybe there will be one last hurrah in the matter, but as long as there isn't anyone remotely interesting to connect with especially on a physical level, I just don't have any will to pick up the pieces.

A pity though. It could have opened up a whole new world for everyone.

Twenty seven is a good number.

It really is.

Now that that I've made as big deal out of it as I can, can we all just move along like it never happened?

Really, there are better things to do…like avoid Chlamydia.

Yeah, play it right. Practice safe sex.

This public service announcement was brought to you by the number 27.

Always a good number, until I stop saying otherwise.

Something I've been kicking around throughout the weekend. That and actually working out the logistics of what it takes to complete the final design. I was right though, I'm not going to like the process, but at least this time I'm not going to wrack my brains trying to choose the appropriate colour scheme.

Speaking of kicking around, Germany obliterated England 4-1 in the World Cup last night. Not that I would actually talk about football on this blog, but it's something that warrants mentioning. It was the icing on an otherwise pleasant weekend. There is a guilty pleasure in dancing over dejected fans. I know it's not ethical, but when you go against the norm, you take every single victory in stride.