cheapskate bringin' the laptop noise

Some of you know that my Gateway craptop finally took a turn for the worst when the integrated video card poo-poo'd out on me. This means it's an irreplaceable part - the whole motherboard needs to be replaced - a good friend of mine informs me. At $200 it's a deal-breaker considering all of the trouble I've had with this machine. The saying goes, "Never say never" but as a veteran owner, I'll never buy Gateway again.

I get RSS feeds from CNET's "The Cheapskate" . . . cuz I'm cheap. And it always finds the best tech-deals. I've been in the market for a new laptop for over a month, now . . . and I've been increasingly attracted to the ever-growing popularity of ultraportable "netbooks". Most companies are trying to get a piece of this market, which was seemingly started with the advent of ASUS' Eee PC. Even Dell's trying to get a piece of the action with its Inspiron Mini 9.

Today, the Cheapskate featured a deal for the ASUS Eee PC 900 for $294. Yes - under three hundy and VERY attractive. It boasts very high marks all-around - even laced with a Linux OS. I'm taking the plunge. I'll keep ya posted on my thoughts in case anyone else is curious as to the practicality of the thing.



Goodbye overpriced $1200 broke-ass Gateway.