My Mini Laptop

NOTE: This post could potentially be seen as a product review. I have not been paid or asked for this review. This is based on my real experiences with the product.

A couple years ago my husband bought me a mini Dell Inspiron 910 for Christmas. It's cute, really cute. It's smaller than a typical spiral-bound notebook. I was a little apprehensive at first because it runs on Ubuntu. I know nothing of any OS beyond MS (yes, I'm one of those people). It also has Open Office instead of MS Office. I taught a course on MS Office for 2 years, so to say that I am familiar with the software is an understatement. Thus far, these qualities are not too much of a hurdle any more.

I have been able to get online in a pinch (if I can find a free wi-fi connection, such as in my local library) and I can do some moderate editing work with Open Office from anywhere I choose to take the little guy. It has actually proven to be a sanity life-line for me. I no longer feel as tied down to my PC as I used to. This is great because the computer room is either dominated by my husband--he likes to use my computer chair as a foot rest--or horribly hot because of all the equipment in there (we have a number of PCs running, plus the television and printers, etc.) and oftentimes unbearable. Plus, I tend to get less work done on my main PC because it has so many games. :-)

While my little laptop is not as powerful as a full PC or a full laptop, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps because of this I can get more work done. I have fewer distractions and more motivation to get straight to work. Plus, such as on a day like today, when our Internet inadvertently goes down it's much easier to take my little guy, along with my little girl, out to the local book store or library and reconnect to the online world.

I think I've decided to name my little laptop Gir. It's a thing for me. If an inanimate object annoys me or proves itself invaluable, I feel compelled to give it a name. Gir is compact, cute, humorous, and comes through in a pinch. Though, sometimes he does go off on the deep end a little, much like the sometimes-too-sensitive touch pad mouse on my little laptop. But I've learned to accept that and work around it.

I love my Gir and I'm happy my husband decided to get it for me.