2. I have tweaked my system to meet my
personal needs over the years. Once, I
had a 133 MHZ processor with a 100
MB hard drive. Today, I have had
enough experience to know what I want
to use and the technology has expanded
to the point where you can make careful
choices. For my latest computer, I went
with the Acer netbook. I have had
various models and makes of laptops in
the past and I was trying to get away
from having a laptop I always had to
plug in. The Acer gives me a good six
hours on the battery and stays cool. I
have outlined the fan cooler I added to
keep dirt and dust free as much as
possible (I have a curious cat who likes
to help me do my work.
MY OVERALL DESIGN
Steve
Warner
photos

3. ENHANCEMENTS
W I D E S C R E E N M O N I T O R I N P U T D E V I C E S
I have added a wireless mouse and
a VisTablet input device to direct
draw and make illustrations. Both
are portable and low power
consumption
Steve Warner photos
On the right side
I have my USB
to hub and
speakers

4. I use an external USB drive for backup
300GB with SmartWare to control my
backup areas. I also have a smaller non-
powered hub into this side along with my
external monitor connection. This
computer has three USB ports which I
find convenient. The non-powered USB
hub has four. The only device which
needs the computer directly is the Sony
book reader to charge. My cell phone,
shown circled in back, is a Palm Pixi
Plus and has a feature called Hotspot.
The computer has a great wireless card
built in, but if I am in an area without
WiFi I can use my cellphone for my
computer to connect to the internet. The
black disk under the blue USB is an
external DVD which allows me to watch
movies or read CDs as my netbook has
no internal CD/DVD drive. It only needs
the USB power and is portable.
BACKUP AND DVD

5. I have wondered over the years if one device
will do all the functions electronically. I
was thinking of getting an iPad for this
reason but decided against it as the
tablet is still an on-going development
and HP is coming out with one soon. I
like my phone to be small and portable
and I can add the reader for even more
entertainment or study on-the-go
purposes. The netbook allows me to have
the freedom to work on projects, as I did
this year when I went to my sister and
brother-in-laws to watch the Super Bowl
and did my homework at the same time.
HP has added Palm to their lineup and is
coming out with a web browser 2.0 for
the phone. I have thought about the
Android or iPhone but have always liked
the Palm platform.
USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB
Steve Warner photo

6. VON NEUMANN’S ARCHITECTURE
My system is based on the traditional von Neumann architecture.
There have been developments in laptops with even longer
battery life with no hard drive only flash type memory, but I am
not comfortable with it yet. The improvements I have noted are
there is a dual processor HP 210 with 10 hours of battery life,
and I am considering making an upgrade there. The difference
will be I will go from a 1.6 single processor to a dual processor
and maybe gain a little speed. I am not yet totally sold on it as I
haven’t had a chance to try out one and am happy with the
speed I have since I run Windows 7 Home and Office 2010 plus
antivirus software and Photoshop among others with no
noticeable lag time. I can watch movies with little difficulty. I do
have a broadband cable connection which I don’t think I could
ever go back to dial up and since the price was right so far so
good.

7. PORTABILITY AND HOME
This is my mobile one setup. I found this desk in
Walmart for $20 and it is perfect for sitting the
netbook on your lap and still using your mouse. The
keypad on this model is full size and I do have an
external wireless keyboard as well. Besides sitting
on your lap, there are folding legs under the desk
for sitting it upright.
This is for mobile three setup which is
just the netbook and the mouse and
they fit conveniently in the small
netbook bag. I have used it when I go
to visit relatives in the hospital or go to
doctor appointments of my own.
Steve Warner photos