Netbook fun, Shure earphones, New mouse

So after a week or so playing with Ubuntu on the Acer Aspire one, I figured, let's put XP on this.
And I am really happy that I did. Took around an hour to get up and running - drivers downloaded really slowly but other than that, plain sailing really. EAP and 802.11x out of the box, so could connect to Corporate auth in seconds and be up on the network.
Windows GUI does an alright job, but using hidden SSIDs can cause it to not find a network for ages... so put Secure Services Client on it. Now it's working like a charm.

Also, last week took the thing apart to put some more RAM in. I had a spare 512MB stick in my drawer so used that - but it does only take an additional 1GB stick. So I brought the total system RAM to 1GB - there's 512MB soldered to the mainboard.
It's fast! But a lot of effort to put more RAM in. Be warned!

Tips for moar netbook friendly XP:
* Turn off visual themes and effects apart from ClearType
* Change screen DPI to 85%
* Disable login theme (regedit themeenabled to 0 - google it)
* Install Firefox with some nice theme like Foxkeh
* Twitterfox
* Pidgin instead of MSN (way faster)
* Skype is good for video - built in webcam
* Put a big Wall-E sticker on the back of it (also makes it faster)
* Update the BIOS for more reliable sleep and WiFi
* Speedfan doesn't work

All for now on the netbook. It's a great little machine. Next week I will order the massive battery for it, apparently 10 hours or something. Result.


Shure ES110
OK so I feel ripped off by Media Markt for these, after now looking on the net and comparing the inflated price I paid for them, but they are awesome! They go really loud, are immensely clear and with the right earbud combinations (comes with like... 6 or something) they block out all other sound for a truly disorientating, weird, talk-to-yourself style immersive listening experience.


Also, I got a mouse... Logitech something or other - that rules as well. Laser reads loads of surfaces, and the receiver is so small, you can leave it in your laptop. OR, put it away in a little house provided in the base of the mouse. Complete with awesome red eject button.

The scroll wheel is cool... you can scroll normally, like click.click.click, or you can press it like a button and release, and it changes the gearing so it's a free flying wheel. And you can spin it for like 7-8 seconds in one hit, flying through massive documents and stopping by stopping the wheel. Useful.

And it has a green light on it, which is the icing on the cake... Nah really it's got a good weight, and feels nice to use.


Unknown how long it will be until my hearing is damaged from these earphones, but they're slightly too awesome to stop using for now.