I've recently started carrying a Lenovo S10 netbook when my MacBook Pro mobile studio has no chance of use. The S10 is tiny, black and very solidly built with a matte finish and wonderfully non-glossy screen. It weighs a mere 1.2 kilograms (2.64 lbs) and will provide the proper amount of extra audio and/or data processing power during the live show when perfect blasts of rare thylacine synergy are needed.

I'm also using it to reclaim time I would otherwise find wasted in the wait for things to happen. These thin moments, added together, provide a window for the writing of weblog posts like this one... perhaps even more once I find the trick of compartmentalizing threads of focus, sleeping and waking them as my physical context changes.

Truthfully, the stats on this wee beastie didn't seem impressive at first glance:

1.6GHz Atom processor

512MB RAM

80GB HD

25.9cm (10.2"), 1024 x 600 display

Keyboard 88% normal size

Small trackpad

1.3MP cam mounted in the screen bezel

Then realization dawned on the purpose of this device: mobility, productive use of time and place as single focus events. It's a revolution. It's a gift from the universe. It's the instant addition of extra abilities. With some easily made modifications, It's a perfect companion at this particular point of technological capability on the upward curve. Would I prefer a portable device more like A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer from Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age? Hell yes. But in this moment of possibility, this is the scaled down equivalent. And honestly, the hardware, inexpensive as it is, is very nice. The keyboard is small but easy to type on, the keys have a sweet little snap. The screen is drop dead, super bright, LED backlit gorgeous.

Did I mention the S10 is tiny and portable? For comparison, here it is hanging out with my MacBook Pro 17 inch:

If you need a vorpal device of your own, here's how to enable a stock S10 to glow with blue magick light when enemies are near:

1) RAM upgrade

Lenovo decided to solder the standard 512MB of RAM to the mobo for some unknowable reason, leaving the single memory slot open. A maximum of 2GB can be addressed, so one 2GB SODIMM later and I'm full up. The S10 was well-behaved with only 512MB, but now operations are smooth and fluid even with multiple workspaces.

2) Hard drive upgrade

I was honestly surprised by the zip of Microsoft XP Home on the power-sipping Atom processor. I explored for about a day, then XP had to go. I swapped the 80GB stock drive containing XP Home for a clean 320GB Western Digital Scorpio spinning at 5400rpm. This was the substrate for my next step.

3) Operating system upgrade to Ubuntu 8.0.4 - Hardy Heron

After the drive swap, a simple USB boot from a freshly burned iso of Hardy Heron and I'm on the golden path. The install was fast and painless. Almost everything worked immediately, including sound, webcam and energy management. The wireless was the lone holdout until I patched the system using Update Manager. Lenovo used a Broadcom wireless adapter in this device which works well under Ubuntu, but requires non-free software drivers. I'll swap it out at a later date for something less proprietary. Not only was it the easiest Linux install in history, Ubuntu runs fast and snappy on the S10.

Once memory, drive and operating system are upgraded, go for these options in Ubuntu:

Auto-hiding menu and app bars to maximize screen real estate

Desktop switcher (I'm using 3 horizontally right now, but have experimented with 6 desktops - 3 columns, 2 rows.)

GnomeDo (Forget icon hunting. Just type, watch the autofill, hit enter once the app you want shows up.)

Finally, there is something very fulfilling about playing Infocom text adventures directly in a terminal window on this tiny netbook. "frotz zork_1.z5" automatically recasts waiting in the subway as an exploration of The Great Underground Empire.