You probably noticed...

You probably noticed in my first posting on the Dell Mini-9 I was discussing the merits of Linux and how it worked into my day job requirements. Then, after my hospital exploits with Kidney Stones and Steptic Blood Poisoning I refered to the use of Remote Desktop on Windows XP. You caught me!

I modified the Mini-9 by purchasing a 32-Gig Solid-State Drive for the machine and loading Windows XP Pro into the Solid-State Drive. I still have the 4-Gig original drive and can swap between the two operating system pretty quickly (just two screws on the bottom cover and two screws holding the mini-PCI drive in place).

One thing about Windows Operating System software - it tends to be a memory hog (along with other vises) so I also upgraded the memory in the machine to 1-Gig but in hindsight I probably should have opted to go with 2-Gig of RAM. This also is a very easy modification - you just unplug the RAM stick from the machine (it is located in the bottom just like the solid-state drive) and plug in the new larger-capacity stick of RAM. Piece of cake!

Since my main machine bellied up which is part of the reason I opted for the Mini-9 I used the Windows XP Pro package I had for it - since the ULA (User License Agreement) specifies you can only run the software on one machine I can do this - the fact the original machine had died allows moving the operating system to the new one. I will argue with anyone over that fact! (grin).

I was quite surprised as to how well the Windows XP Pro runs on the Mini-9. Bootup time is respectable and with 1-Gig of ram the machine the response of the machine is also respectable - of course having random access solid-state drive technology also helps.

Case in point - We went on a mini-vacation just after Christmas (2008) in Cedar Key, Florida. This was just before all the Kidney problems cropped up. I loaded a navigation program into the Mini-9 and used a BlueTooth wireless GPS receiver to obtain the GPS coordinates for the navigation software. It worked like a charm! The navigation software took us right to the front door step of the motel we were staying at but also picked the best route to go. The 9-inch display made it very easy to see the route and allowed greated detail than would have been possible with a Tom-Tom or other such navigation device. We even used the Mini-9 to check our email and check on activities in the area as well - that is something a Tom-Tom does not do.