Bunch of neat integrated features: webcam, Bluetooth, wireless, card reader. And it meets my number 1 requirement for laptops, in that it has a standard S-Video/component/composite connection for TV-out capabilities. Lots of smaller laptops either drop that feature or have moved to HDMI, but I place a value on being able to connect to a wide range of TVs as opposed to the smaller percentage supporting HDMI.

Another cool thing is that this is the only 14-inch laptop I found which supported the 1440×900 resolution, every other was a lower resolution. Since I do development, I greatly value having more screen real estate, and this resolution really does not seem too high for this size screen. Text is still crisp and readable.

Lastly, this laptop is my first exposure to Windows Vista. So far, I’m not-unimpressed. Lots of small changes to the GUI, but overall I think they are positive changes. It resolves many long-standard pet-peeves I’ve had with the XP interface: the term “Start button”, preceding everything with “My”, and over use of primary colors. Other than that, lots of configuration options have moved around, mostly in ways that are neither good nor bad. I haven’t had negative experiences so far with it. It’s not earth-shatteringly amazing, but it’s not horrible either. Just some slight improvements. I’m OK with that.

Overall, I am very happy with this laptop so far. It does everything I need it to, performs well, looks pretty sleek, and was a good value. Farewell Camilla, you’ve served me well the last five years.

However, once in a while, I really do a lot of work in one sitting on my laptop. For instance, if I work from home, or if I take the laptop on a trip and it becomes my primary computer. In those cases, the “intuitiveness” of the touchpad is overshadowed by the discomfort it causes after extended usage.

For these times, I decided to buy a Logitech Notebook Optical Mouse Plus. It was the top-rated corded optical notebook mouse on NewEgg and Amazon, and was only $11, so I figured it’s a good deal. Why not cordless? Mostly because it’d be just one more battery to charge. Also, with a laptop, I don’t forsee the need to require the mouse to be far away from the computer. I love the wireless mouse I have for my desktop, but it just didn’t make sense for a laptop.

Seems pretty good. Smaller than a desktop mouse, but not as small as some Microsoft notebook mice I have seen, so it’s still comfortable to hold. Cord wraps around the bottom and snaps into place. Feels pretty sturdy and solid overall, even the scroll wheel. Not a terribly exciting upgrade, but worthwhile and a good deal. Nice.

Also, to Fozzie‘s page, I added a headset. This isn’t a new component, though. I’ve had this headset since August of 2000. For some reason, I just had never listed it on this page. But it’s certainly a part of Fozzie. This headset has enabled me to use Dialpad.com (back when it offered free calling), Skype, Stanaphone, and, currently, SightSpeed. Quite a lot of use for $15 six years ago.

It may seem odd that Camilla had two 128MB modules rather than just a single 256MB module, but at the time that I bought Camilla, there was a substantial financial savings by going the 2x128MB route. I knew that 256MB wasn’t a whole lot for a laptop to run Windows XP, but I decided that I would save the money in the short term, and then upgrade one of the modules within a year. Well, now, 2 years later, I’ve finally done it Even 384MB is a little low for a laptop — when you’re dealing 5400RPM hard drives, you don’t want the OS to swap to disk very often! — but my plan is to upgrade the other 128MB module within a year.

So look for that upgrade in November 2007….