Alpha 400 MIPS Review

This sweet 7”, 3lb mini computer has probably made one of the largest impacts on the computing community in quite a long time. Not only because of its attractive, price of $129.99, but also because its versatility. The alpha 400 has a huge 128Mb ram module and 1 Gig of storage space. Right now you’re saying “wait what?!? My Ipod shuffle has more power than that!” and although this may be true, this netbook runs on the best upcoming operating system, Linux. Linux is a great Open Source (free) program that allows individuals to build and contribute. This Windows like OS is very small and therefore doesn’t need the massive amount of memory that windows does. The computer comes packed with all kinds of software including a Microsoft Office like package of word processing, spreadsheet, dictionary, and many other commonly used applications. There is one major drawback to this system and that is the lack of windows program integration. However, you can install applications specifically developed for Linux, or create your own! The keyboard is small but as I began to use it I became increasingly more used to it and within an hour it was as easy to use my regular sized keyboard (but hard to switch back and forth) Over all this is a good computer for the beginner or someone with an on-the-go lifestyle who only wants the basic computing experience, and if you’re worried about the memory size you can always insert any sized USB flash drive or SD card