Netbook!

An Acer Aspire One. $300 at Fry’s.

It’s amazingly tiny and lightweight, at least compared to my old laptop. Despite being a netbook (and therefore inherently low-end) it’s now the most powerful computer I own.

1.6g CPU. 1g memory. 142g solid-state (flash) hard drive.

Built-in ethernet, built-in wireless. Built-in webcam and mic. The keyboard is just barely big enough for me to type on with my great big huge hands. The speakers are rather quiet, even with the volume all the way up.

It has no built-in CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, though I can get an external one. It’s got a built-in recovery partition so I can reinstall Windows if it gets hosed. I’ve ghosted the recovery partition onto an external drive in case it gets hosed. I can boot Linux from a USB flash stick if the hard drive gets hosed.

The fact that the hard drive is flash memory-based means it will wear out sooner than a standard hard drive, though it’s probably a bit more resistant to being dropped.

It’s got 3 USB connectors, a VGA connector, and audio connectors, so I can connect it up to an external monitor, mouse, keyboard and speakers and use it just like a ‘real’ desktop machine.