A while back I ordered a new computer.  Dell had a deal on the mini 9 netbook (netbook seems like such a marketing ploy).  So just about 7 weeks after I ordered it, we finally got ours.[1. Why 7 weeks you ask?  Well, the first one the sent had a bad hard drive and it took me that long to convince them that repairing the broken one wasn't and option.  I spent about 5 days on the phone with loads of tech support people trying to tell them that the computer was broken (note to dell: if it says 'error: bad ssd' and won't boot, then the computer is broken)  Anyways, I digest.]  After finally getting them to send me a new computer, the computer works wonderfully.

Here are some things I’ve noticed after using it for the past few weeks:

Pros

• Inexpensive; for $197 (+ $25 for RAM at fry’s), this is speedier than my old laptop (and the desktop computer, but that’s more to do with the operation system[2. To get the computer at 200$, it comes with Ubuntu linux.  Since this isn't meant to be a main computer, this isn't problem.  You can get a free alternative to almost any program on Windows.])
• The built in SD memory card slot is nice and adds some very needed extra storage (the hard drive is only 8GB)
• The screen is super clear and sharp (though the glossy screen can get a glare once in a while)
• The power cable has no brick.  (Well honestly there’s a brick but its little and its part of the plug).  Its nice to just have a simple cord.
• The solid state hard drive is fast and quiet.  I don’t worry as much as I did with spinning hard drives.

Cons

• Dell really needs to revamp their tech support.  A minor issue like a bad part should not take weeks to resolve.  Dell sent a broken computer, I don’t see why I should have to get that repaired.  If I were to buy a shirt that had a hole in it, I wouldn’t expect them to sew it for me, I would just get a new shirt.
• The key board is small.  Really small.  I have fat fingers and I just barely type well enough on it to make it bearable.  Some keys are missing and some are moved (The tab and caps lock are half the size of a normal key, the quote key is next to the spacebar and there are no f11 or f12 keys)
• Since there is no spinning hard drive or fan of any kind the thing is absolutely silent (which is good) but because theres no noise its a little disconcerting, and it gets a little warm without forced convective cooling.
• 8 GB is not much space to work with (even with the SD card slot).  You can upgrade to a 32GB drive without too much effort but that kills the deal of a $200 computer.

Even with all those cons, I wish I had this computer in college.  Its so small and light that I could’ve used it anywhere.  I wouldn’t keep my music collection on it or mountains of photos, but for 95% of what I do on the computer now, it works perfectly.