|
Time will tell. Basic info: If you have to run XP Home in this then it will initially go online and start updating to sp3 and forward. So, gotta add another gig of RAM, or switch to Ubuntu. An impressively well built device. Or both. Gotta go online and beyond the PDF file to really get the whole story. Otherwise, be content with a convenient and pretty damn good little unit hobbled with a piggy OS.
Only problem I have is the Home and End keys seem to need something extra to get them to work, haven't figured that out yet. And that's after optimizing XP to some degree. Even after I inserted another gig the Intel Atom strains a bit. Otherwise, you will not fatfinger too much once you get the hang. XP will suck up the resources of only 1 gig's worth of RAM.
Being a fan of the Panasonic ToughBook approach to notebooks I was surprised and favorably taken by the QC claimed to have gone into the manufacturing process. Once that's done with, most of the spiffy quickness you noticed out of the box summarily be lost. Which reminds me, most of the detailed instruction guides are not included in the box. LED backlit LCD screen is marvelously sharp, even for astigmatic eyes like mine.Keyboard is solid, well thought out. F and J key guides could have been a bit more pronounced, however.
This is perfect for the casual computer person. But worth it to me. My daughter is very computer savy and I have to fight her off to get my MSI wind from her.
8 inches would be too small but 10 is great.I chose this one because it was upgradeable. Not a minutes problem with this computer at all. It does have the sticker over the screw you need to use to add the RAM so it cancels the warrantee.
I am not a computer Maven but have just loved this little computer. I also have bifocals and like the smaller screen. LOVE IT.
Her laptop is loaded and very heavy so she loves to grab mine to catch up on e-mails, facebook and shopping. The extra ram is really nice, it is a tad slow with just 1GM of Ram but nothing you can't live with.I have chubby fingers and don't really have a problem with the keyboard, very user friendly.
Aren't they nice.When I bought this netbook, I also purchased an 8X DVDrw Ext USB Drive Red (mostly to be able to load software from CD or DVD sources). This is not a negative; it's a simple fact of life with a small form factor such as this. The minor issues above keep this from being a "5".but buy with confidence once you are aware of them. Lots of hard core geeks running multiple operating systems and helping each other with warranty-voiding overclocking mods on their machines:-)I added additional 1 GB RAM chip to this machine on arrival.
It's about 80% the size of the one on most laptops. The important hardware (processor, memory and hard drive) is robust. I've had high regard for MSI's motherboards in home-built PC builds for many years. With many options in the current netbook market, quality of the motherboard is an obvious key ingredient in the longterm overall quality of a netbook.While shopping, I considered the cheaper Linux/SSD netbook offerings. My only two issues with the keyboard ergonomics are these:(1) the period , comma and question mark keys are half the size of the other keys, which takes some getting used to in an already crowded keyboard space.(2) the "Page Down" key requires use of the "Fn" key.also takes some getting used to if you use it a lot (and I do).The rest of the following are forgivable in view of the obvious bang for the buck on this machine, but worth being aware of (and the difference between 4 and 5 stars):-The MSI Wind U100has a built-in web cam, but the bundled software isn not very robust. On the other hand, there is an active community of MSI Wind users in web forums hosted by MSI.
This machine is light, fast and very capable with long battery life. Very easy upgrade (loosen nine screws, snap off the bottom cover, insert the RAM). The shortcomings in the web site navigation above were mitigated by a rapid response (approximately 24 hours) to a web request I made. They said: "Replacement of sticker is not necessary warranty will not be affected you can completely remove it if you do not like how it looks.". You can save.jpg files easily enough, but (as my machine shipped) the included Windows Movie Maker locked up each time I attempted to capture moving video. I confessed to to adding the RAM and removing the "do not tamper" screw cover sticker. In the end, a houseful of Windows machines drove me to the familiarity of XP and the generous 160 GB capacity of this machine's standard 2.5" magnetic hard drive.First: others have commented about the keyboard.
It was immediately recognized at the next start up).it's very snappy. Bad English, complex navigation, and the requirement to both identify the machine serial number AND mail in a form to begin warranty coverage is simply uncalled for. If you have big fingers or marginal touch typing skills.well, then prepare for some typos. MSI should have included better software for webcam video capture.Others have commented on its balance issues; it will tip backwards if you don't pay attention to the cover and support the base firmly.The included.pdf user guide isn't very useful; it's mostly warnings and explanations of the LEDs and connectors.Not related to the machine itself is the difficult navigation on MSI's support sites.
I THEREFOR, RETURNED THE MACHINE. WEB SUPPORT FOR THE MSI NETBOOK WAS UNRESPONSIVE. AMAZON MADE THE RETURN VERY EASY. I RETURNED THE MSI NETBOOK BECAUSE I COULD NOT LINK IT TO MY DSL WIRELESS MODEM. I FOUND THAT THE DOCUMENTATION SUPPLIED WITH THE MSI NETBOOK WERE SO GENERAL THAT THEY WAS NO HELP.
Added a Logitech TrackMan Wheel for her to use. And the best part is it doesn't run on Vista.We recently took an 8 hour trip and it kept her and another friend occupied playing Spider Solitaire on it (significantly reducing the number of driver corrections need). Hadn't thought about something this small until a friend bought one. Plan to add Office 2003 to it so it can be more versatile. Plan on loading a GPS program on it eliminating the need for a separate system in the car. Decided this was what we needed to save our marriage (wife was always on my laptop). So, she now has this "cute laptop" (her words, not mine).Haven't really found any negatives to it.
|
