My IBM model T-41 has been my workhorse for home, other portable uses, and travel. My notebook computer goes with me almost everywhere. Before that, I used Dell, Toshiba, and HP notebooks. On airplanes, it is difficult to work on a typical notebook computer, especially if the person in front of you reclines the back of his seat. My T-41 has a lot of miles on it, but it has plenty of hard drive, a fairly fast processor, and adequate memory (1 GB).
Last year I threatened to replace the T-41, and I would have bought another machine similar to it -- only faster and with more memory. So, as a budget-saving measure, Gail gave me an Acer Aspire One for my birthday. She's really smart that way.
This computer is very small, lightweight, and easy to use in airports, airplanes, shuttle busses, taxis, office lobbies, bathrooms -- you name it. Its Intel Atom processor is fast enough for my purposes and it has 1 GB of memory. It has 8 GB of internal memory and 8 GB in an SDHC card, but I need more storage.
In order to load Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Corel Draw, Paint Shop Pro, and a few other favorite programs, I replaced the 8 GB SDHC card with a 16 GB SDHC and loaded everything onto that. I bought an external DVD drive, which made loading the programs easy and fast. I also use an external 2.5" hard drive with it. I often use all three of its USB ports.
If I had this buy to do again, I would get the model that has a hard drive and an upgraded battery, as the battery in mine lasts only about 90 minutes. That means I run out of juice about half-way to Denver.
Otherwise, I'm very happy with the Acer Aspire. As Ron said, it is the most portable type of computer and handy for travel, but it will not replace a full-size computer.
