In middle school I used a device called
an AlphaSmart. The AlphaSmart was a handheld word processing device
with a tiny black and white screen, a keyboard and room for AA
batteries. All being said, the AlphaSmart was a one use device: only
designed for word processing. The HP Sttream 11 can do more than just
word processing, but I primarily bought it for that purpose. And
while die hard gamers would call it a toy, I consider it a computer I
would feel comfortable giving a child. In the long term I plan to buy
a better ultralight laptop, but for the time being, the HP Stream is
a fine device. I have my audio and video on a portable hard drive, so
the lack of space doesn't entirely bother me. For the first time in
ages, I'm writing again. I love it.
The machine's specs are a 11 inch
1366x768 screen, an Intel Celeron N2840 processor, a non-removable
32GB SSD drive and 2GB or DDR3L RAM. For ports you get a headphone
jack, 2 USB ports including 1 USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port (full size
to boot) and a full size SD card reader (the 13'' Stream and most of
these Chromebook-killers have microSD ports. You also get 802.11
b/g/n networking and Bluetooth. I'm not sure how much everything
weighs including the adapter, but it's light enough that my back
isn't in excruciating pain when I get back from work.
In my real world usage, I've found that
this laptop surprisingly starts up quicker than stated by the major
tech websites and magazines. For me, a start takes about fifteen
seconds from pressing the power button to the desktop coming up.
That's about how long it takes my desktop at home to start and my
aging Dell Latitude to start, which is acceptable.
However, the Stream does have its
drawbacks, all of them annoying. If you have a huge inbox like I do
with Gmail, forget about having an email client on your machine. This
is a machine truly designed for streaming, not as an independent
unit; however the machine is a bit less dependent on the Internet
than the Chromebooks. However, when you include the recovery software and a full Windows 10 install, you're down to less than 10GB of hard disk storage. A nice touch to the notebook is that the
keyboard feels really nice, and feedback on the keys is what you
would find on a machine twice the price. While the battery life is
impressive, it isn't as great as I was hoping, as I don't get much
more than six hours out on a charge. That being said, the
professional reviewers have said the laptop's battery performs as
advertised.
For years, the major tech magazines and
news outlets have been predicting the demise of the computer. With a
new generation of computers and hybrid tablets on the market, the PC
market I think is poised to make somewhat of a comeback. And while
all of us (myself included) use the cloud, there are limits to the
cloud and I see the home desktop at the hub of the home.
Here begs this question: when can I get
another, and one with better specs? There is definitely a market for
low-end Ultrabooks. For quick and dirty jobs, the Stream definitely
fits the bill. And
UPDATE: Since I first wrote this
article, I bought a slightly faster and better Dell. Slower processor
in regards to clock speed, but faster than the older HP. And the
black color is WAY more professional. Another USB port couldn't hurt,
too! The Dell has it's pros and cons. With the Dell the RAM and battery are removable, but the hard disk is still not upgradeable and its a pound heavier. That pound and very slightly newer hardware does allow for another hour of battery life.
Who would have thought twenty years ago we would have $200 notebooks?
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