New Dell XPS M1330 laptop (and Eudora 8 beta)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Yesterday I received my new laptop, a Dell XPS M1330. It has been awhile since I’ve had a laptop, ever since the TFT display on my trusty Gateway Solo 9300 CX laptop (from 2000) turned red/pink and ultimately died. This new ultraportable Dell machine seems great. There aren’t many besides the Apple MacBook Air that are smaller; in fact, the XPS M1330 ranks second to the MacBook in the CNET Editors’ top thin-and-light laptops review from February 25.
My main incentive to buy a notebook computer right now was Dell’s current $599-off promotion on select XPS models. For the display on this new laptop, I chose the 13.3″ Wide Screen WXGA TL WLED Backlit LCD panel. I also chose the glossy alpine white lid color option because the tuxedo black and midnight blue lids have matte finishes with rubbery, difficult-to-clean surfaces that show fingerprints easily. And I’m a little bit OCD.
With the Core 2 Duo processor and 4GB RAM, this tiny PC is at least as powerful as my primary desktop computer. I think I should probably get an official Apple sticker to cover the encircled Dell logo; that would amuse me. 
Instead I’ll probably put something like a Radiohead crying minotaur sticker on there.
I am trying to decide whether to keep Windows Vista Home Premium or wipe the C: drive and install the extra license of Windows XP Professional SP2 I’ve purchased. I’d go with Linux-based Ubuntu, if Adobe Creative Suite and a few other software programs I use regularly were supported.
There are very few Dell systems available that come installed with Windows XP at this point: desktops, laptops. The XPS M1330 is not one of them, thus I currently have Vista Home Premium on it. Even though XP SP3 has just arrived, Microsoft says it will end OEM and shrink-wrapped sales of Windows XP on June 30, 2008, forcing all users to shift to Vista whether they like it or not. Here’s a related InfoWorld article: “Save Windows XP! The clock is ticking.” They even have a “Save XP” petition. The Vista backlash is a lot like Windows Me (AKA Windows Mistake Edition) all over again.
In other software news, my Windows email client of choice, Eudora, is finally almost to a new official release. Eudora 8 beta 3 has been out since last month. (Eudora 8 is an email client that combines Mozilla’s Thunderbird with code, features, and GUI elements from Qualcomm’s Eudora.) I am just happy to hear that the Penelope project is continuing to progress. I anxiously await.
I’ve done a really poor job with my NCAA Tournament bracket picks this year, at least so far. Possibly the worst bracketology ever. Evar!