I miss the eraserhead mouse pointer on my old Thinkpad. It’s so convenient for switching between typing and quickly using the mouse.

If the laptop only has a trackpad, you have to move your whole hand to move the mouse. It’s annoying.

With the eraserhead, you don’t even have to lift up your palm. Your thumb (button clicking) and index finger (pointer moving) are already in position.

It’s unfortunate that few laptops are built with the eraserhead these days. They just don’t pass the muster of an in-store test because it’s hard to control the mouse pointer when you’re not used to the eraserhead. But after a couple of days of use, you’ll want it on every keyboard you use from then on.

Even desktop keyboards could use the eraserhead pointer. I hate having to pick up my hand and move it over to the mouse.

I’m sad that the eraserhead is probably going to die out.

Apple’s “There’s An App For That” campaign is so good that I expect apps for all kinds of things, and have actually been disappointed.  I recently searched for these apps that don’t exist:

• IMDB — to add insult to injury, there isn’t a mobile version of the website.
• MSN/Bing Video — to watch The Guild.
• Netflix — though there are approved 3rd party apps.
• Google products like Gmail, Docs, and Reader — though their mobile browser versions are pretty good.
• Kayako — a very popular helpdesk application I’m evaluating for Killer Aces.
• Quantcast
• Compete
• ComScore

I’m not saying there aren’t plently of great apps on the iPhone. In fact, I recently contributed an article to Intel’s MyLifeScoop.com featuring the cool ways iPhone apps have made my life easier — 3 Ways Technology Makes Personal Finance Easier.

I’m saying that because Apple’s done such a good job with their app store (now with 100,000+ apps*), I now expect an app to exist for every web service or site I use.

* The link goes to a Wired article that says “But as the App Store continues to expand, an inevitable question arises: How many apps do you really need?” My answer is — more than what they have now!

This puts the pressure on developers. In addition to a Windows and Mac version, I now expect your service to have an iPhone version too.  (And I suspect Android users feel the same way. If not today, then soon now that a bunch of second gen Android devices have rolled out.)

Fred Wilson talked about this a few weeks ago when Droid came out.  He said the mobile web (meaning apps, not mobile versions of websites) was the next big thing in tech.  He said:

I believe that mobile devices are bringing web services into our pockets and purses, onto restaurant tables and bars, and into schools and stadiums…

The “mobile web” is where “it” is at right now. And it is also where it is all going…

The mobile web sector is developing quickly and innovation is happening all over the place. It is very exciting to see.

Calling it a netbook is an insult.  It’s more appropriately called an affordable ultra-portable. That’s how I’d sum up the Aspire One 751h.

This Crunchgear review of the Acer Aspire One 751h netbook is dead on. My experience jives completely with the review.  But the advice to disable (and not replace!) the antivirus software horrifies me.  Just ignore that part.  Everything else is spot on.

(AVG is a good free antivirus you can use to replace the bundled trial McAfee.)

The 11.6″ Aspire One line might be the perfect on-the-go work machine.  It’s light and skinny (1″ thick), but big enough to do real work. The 600 px height of 7″ netbooks feel claustrophobic. I carried it in my messenger bag all day, along with the power brick, with no problems.  Sub 4-lb laptops are nice.

It’s very nice, but it’s not perfect. A more powerful processor and reconfigured trackpad area in this chassis would be the perfect portable work laptop.

Four cons you should be aware of:

1. Not for watching videos. It’s underpowered and/or has crappy drivers. Mine comes with Vista Home.  Some users say upgrade to Windows 7 makes the machine speedier and video watchable.

2. It’s a fingerprint magnet. On the top cover and around the trackpad. See pictures at Crunchgear to understand the ridiculousness of the situation. What’s the point of a pretty, glossy cover if it’s always covered with smudges?

3. The trackpad buttons suck.  Being depressed and stiff, you have to lift up your entire hand to get a good clicking angle.  This is only a problem for right-clicks since you can tap the touchpad for left-clicks.  But still. The mouse buttons really suck.

Plus the buttons are placed in a bad position.  The touchpad is short because the buttons are below it. If the buttons were moved to the sides, they would solve two problems at once.

4. The reflective glossy screen makes it hard to use outdoors.  It’s impossible to use in sunlight and hard to use even in shade.

Wishlist:

1. I’d like to see an SSD version. Personally, I’d prefer the speed and fault tolerance of a SSD at less than 100 gb versus a 5,400 rpm 160 gb hard drive. 5,400 rpm is slow and I feel like I’m going to break it if I’m walking around with the machine on. 5,400 rpm spinning platters suck.

I just bought a new laptop.  Actually, it’s classified as a netbook, but it’s bigger than most.  I got an Acer Aspire One 751H.  I’m typing out this post in a Starbucks on the machine now.

This model has an 11.6″ screen with a hi-res 1366×768 pixels.  I love the hi-res screen.  The extra vertical screen space is a huge advantage over the typical 600 vertical pixels of other netbooks.  The screen size, the fuller sized keyboard afforded by the larger footprint, 2 Gb of memory (most netbooks come with 1 Gb), and slim profile (just 1″ high and not tapered) are my favorite features of this machine.

First thing I did when I booted up the machine?  Installed Firefox and went to type out this blog post. :)

I’ve never bought hardware this quickly.  Usually, I need to agonize over a potential purchase for months first.  But I needed a small laptop that didn’t make scary loud noises for DrupalCamp today, so I did some quick research, found the Aspire One line fit my wishlist almost perfectly, and stopped by Fry’s to pick one up this morning.

Speaking of the reason for buying this laptop, I need to get a move on if I’m going to catch the keynote!

PS: I already miss the eraserhead pointer on my old Thinkpad.  Those Thinkpads were nice machines.