Geek Alert: Netbooks & the Airport Extreme

I know that many of us attend and run conferences and professional development sessions, and with more educators getting netbooks, I wanted to share a problem that I experienced, and the solution, in case you are ever encounter it.

I just purchased my fourth netbook, the MSI Wind, with b/g/n network ability and it worked like a dream on the wireless network at home (Apple Airport Express) and out and about at public WiFi hotspots.

However, in my office, with the Apple Airport Extreme Base Station, the minute I connected to the wireless, the netbook would lock up my Airport Extreme. I thought I was imagining it the first couple of times and reset the base station and the cable router, only to have it happen each and every time.

I did some Internet research and found the combination of the MSI Wind (and a few models of the Asus eeePC) and the Airport Extreme Base Station can cause a problem. However, I also found the solution below. It is an easy fix on the netbook.

If you are using the standard Windows wireless configuration utility

1. Right click on the wireless connection in the taskbar and select STATUS
2. Click on PROPERTIES
3. You should be on the GENERAL tab
   
4. Choose CONFIGURE next to the wireless adapter box
5. Choose the ADVANCED tab
6. Scroll down the list and click on POWER SAVING MODE
7. Change the value to CAM (Constantly Awake Mode)
8. Click OK

or

1. Go to START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL
2. Choose the SYSTEM option
3. Choose the HARDWARE tab
4. Choose the DEVICE MANAGER button
5. Expand the NETWORK ADAPTERS entry on the list
6. Double-click on your wireless adapter
7. Choose the ADVANCED tab
8. Scroll down the list and click on POWER SAVING MODE
9. Change the value to CAM (Constantly Awake Mode)
10. Click OK

If you are using the Ralink wireless configuration utility
(I am not, so cannot verify these instructions)

1. Uncheck POWER SAVING MODE
2. Enable CAM (Constantly Awake Mode)

I only post this for those of you that might run into this either at a conference you are attending or running, or at a WiFi hotspot using the Airport Extreme base station. Hope it helps!

New netbook on order!

Netbooks are the new "little" laptops that are all the rage. There are those that have 8.9" screens, 9" screens, and 10" screens. There are those that run Linux and those that run Windows XP Home. There are those that have solid state drives (SSD) which have no moving parts and those that have regular hard drives. There are white, black, pink, green, red, and blue versions of netbooks available. They have wireless, Ethernet ports, multiple USB ports, VGA-out and some have card readers and built-in video cams and mics.

I have had two since this class of computer came out. I started with the 7" Linux-based Asus EEE PC which was a swift little machine with a great suite of tools. I then moved to the 7" XP Home version of the EEE PC, but the SSD was not large enough for the apps I wanted to run. I fell in love with the 8.9" EEE PC 901, but, by that time, there were starting to be more of these on the market and at good prices.

I toyed with the idea of the MSI Wind (10") for a while since it had a bit larger keyboard than the EEE PC. The price was right, but the overall device was kinda large for my idea of a netbook.

I liked the HP Mini-note 2133. It had a great keyboard, but by the time I spec'ed it out to have the OS and hard drive I wanted, it was too pricey.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 came out today, but it is not available with any more than a 16GB SSD.

I have been reading great reviews of the Acer Aspire One, and the only negative I could find was it only had a 3-cell battery. The price was right, the keyboard was largish, the size was right, the camera was 1.3 megapixel, it came with a regular-sized hard drive with XP Home, and had all the best of all the devices. It does not have Bluetooth or an N-standard wireless protocol like some of the others though, but this was not a deal-killer for me.

Today it showed up on Amazon with the 6-cell battery and even a larger hard drive than the previous model, in white or a sapphire blue color (if you care about things like that), and at the price of the earlier version...w00t! I ordered the blue initially, but after reports of its "smudginess" and having to type on a black keyboard, I decided on the white one.



It is on order and I will let you know what I think when it arrives in a few weeks! (Hey, the Aspire One even has its own Facebook page!)

UPDATE: 9/9/08
For those of you who want a little larger netbook with 10" screen, the Asus EEE PC 1000H is available at mwave and Amazon for $449 with its price drop yesterday. What you get for the $50 extra dollars is a 10" matte screen, a tad more battery life, N networking and Bluetooth. What you lose is the smallish size of the Aspire, half the hard drive space (160GB on the Aspire one, 80GB in two 40GB partitions on the EEE PC 1000H), and the lighter weight (the EEE PC weighs one pound more than the Aspire One). However, the Asus EEE PC 1000H gets great reviews and would be a nice option for someone, too!

I decided to stay with the Asus Aspire One-- I want white, a glossy screen, and the smaller form factor, but I was tempted!

UPDATE: 10/17/08

The 6-cell Acer Aspire One finally came today and it is everything I expected! The screen is beautiful, the keyboard has large enough keys to touch-type comfortably, and it seems pretty speedy. Since I ordered it, there have been new versions of other manufacturers' netbook models, but I kept comparing and came back to the Acer Aspire One as my netbook of choice.

With 1 GB RAM, a small form factor, a 160 GB hard drive, and Web cam and external mic, it is a little powerhouse! I have not tested the 6-cell battery life yet, but it is supposed to last 5 or 6 hours. I will be taking it to conference next week, and the real test is always how it performs as a presentation machine!