Describe a day’s use of your netbook. How did it differ from your day’s use of the net-tablet? Which one did you prefer? Why? What advantages did one have over the other?
Matrix vs. Darryl
Since I’m supposed to have this done by tomorrow, I thought I’d be all responsible and do the blog the night before 
WELL. I have a netbook that’s NOT Darryl. It is not a tablet. It’s a blue Acer with Windows XP. I don’t have an official name for it. I was thinking of Demoskenes for a while, but I barely know how to say it, let alone spell it. So for the duration of this post, the blue Acer shall be dubbed Matrix.
For the last week or so, Matrix has especially been of use when I was backstage for One Acts tech week.
Speed: I don’t see much of a difference in terms of speed. Either I haven’t been paying enough attention to Matrix for the past week or there really isn’t a difference.
Portability: No difference. The cord has something attached to it to help me stop from just shoving it wantonly into my backpack, however.
The screen and keyboard are actually much better for only being a measly inch bigger- but it helps nevertheless.
I’m finding the lack of a tablet hits harder in math class than I thought it first would. However, I still rate tablet as not as important as other points such as speed.
I kinda sorta hate the mouse of this specific computer. Not only is is small, it’s not as easy to use as most mousepads should be.
The speakers’ location on Matrix is strange… I feel like they’re on the bottom because my music becomes clearer/louder when I lift Matrix up. But it’s a rather insignificant point.
As for battery life, I can barely remember how many hours this supposed to last. All I know is that I have enough battery to last me until my free period at 1… however, I don’t turn on Matrix until 10 or 11 now because of the way my classes are spaced. And the only class I really regularly use Matrix in is Spanish IV.
I actually think I like Windows 7 better than XP now (if anyone remembers mmy whole XP is just as good as 7 spiel in some blog post oh so long ago). I just… like it more. I’m sorry, I don’t really know what exactly it is that makes it good.
In conclusion, I don’t really think Darryl is superior or inferior to Matrix. From my experiences, they both have good and bad points that kind of weigh each other out.
Times I Use Darryl
Just an average day of Darryl usage:
11/18/09:
7:00- Darryl is safe, sleeping in my locker as I rock the volleyball unit (…ha! As if I could actually play.)
8:00- I wrote about two paragraphs of my DBQ (it’s basically an essay) for an AP Euro assignment due the next day. It took a solid 20, 30 minutes. I had a quiz from a student teacher in this Precalc class today, so we didn’t take notes or anything of the sort- but if we did, we normally use OneNote for the entire hour, and sometimes we use Sketchpad to help us understand certain concepts.
9:00- I almost never use Darryl in Physics. I’ve only used him once- a month or so ago when I wanted to try to do my physics homework on Darryl. We use the computers/laptops in the lab, though.
10:00- Today was one of the few days we used computers in AP Lit. We researched literature during various periods of time. It took about 20 minutes and my group created a powerpoint and notes sheet about postmodernism. However, using computers in this class is a rather rare occurrence. We probably only use the laptops 2, 3 times a month… I think.
11:00- Spanish 4 normally tends to be the class I use Darryl most in, and most creatively, but because I had a student teacher, we only used it for about 15 minutes that day to start on our homework (blog posting on blackboard) and checking homework. In spanish, we’ve used computers for notes, journal entries, chat on blackboard, projects, videos, audacity, and bunch of other stuff I can’t remember right now.
12:00- AP Euro uses laptops more than AP Lit, but less than Precalc. Sometimes we’ll have alternative assignments instead of our daily discussions over the reading, like making a comic strip, or sharing a powerpoint that we can use the computers for if we want. Sometimes, we’ll have to research various subjects. The alternative assignments take from about 30-40 minutes, and we get a couple days for research in class. Also, we can use the laptops after a test, which is what I did that day.
1:00- This is my free hour, and I use Darryl TONS here. Especially that day (it was the day of the theatre trip to The Addams Family), since I had homework that had to be done online. I finished my homework blog post and commenting, continued working on my DBQ some, and at that point, some of my friends asked if they could use Darryl to start/finish their homework. If no one at my table (who doesn’t have a laptop) has any computer homework to be done, then we end up listening to music or watching a show on Hulu, or reading MLIAs out loud : )
2:00- Well, this is normally Orchestra, and we don’t use computers in this class- except when Ms. Ehrlich tries to show us a video on youtube.
3:00- Because I went to see The Addams Family, I used Darryl on the bus and finished my DBQ. I didn’t have to stay up until 4 in the morning regretting my procrastination habits after the trip : )