Have a look at this comprehensible video of WordPress.tv:

First of all: it IS possible and it really makes fun using Windows 7 !!

But one after the other:

Normally, the Samsung NC10 comes with Windows XP Home. After all, for professional use in networks with several computers, at least Windows XP Professional is necessary in my opinion. That is why I installed XP Pro right away immediately after the purchase. Under XP Pro, the NC10 runs as fluent as under XP Home. The OS and the performance fit very well together. I nevertheless invested a few Euros to buy in a 2 GB Ram module, which is a really good buy, as the Ram helps already under XP to make daily life more fluent.

Prior to installing Windows 7, this Ram upgrade is ESSENTIAL! So make sure to get the Ram before further steps. Installing it is as easy as opening 2 screws, exchanging the Ram and closing the whole thing again. Around 5 minutes of work.

(Of course I did some investigation before trying the installation, especially this and this article (German) have helped a lot!).

So, lets ROCK!!

1. Installation medium:

As the NC10 (as most other netbooks) has no optical drive, already to provide an installation medium can be a challenge. In fact there is a variety of possibilities:

2. Installation:

To really boot up the stick, you will have to go to the BIOS and change the boot sequence to first boot the USB stick (go into the BIOS with the stick plugged in and you should be able to select it). Once that is done, the installation program of Windows 7 should start. The rest of the installation of Win7 is described all over the internet and nothing special. You will notice, that you only have to provide some information in the beginning of the installation (e.g. where to install the OS) and at the end (username and name of the computer).You can even install the OS without a serial number and without activation (for a limited amount of time).

3. Hardware:

A great thing about brand new OSes is, that almost all hardware in a computer is recognized instantly. This also happens here: In Windows 7 Professional FINAL (from MSDN-AA), almost ALL hardware in the NC10 KAY2DE is supported. Only the UMTS modem is not working right away. Also the blue Fn keys do not (yet) work and the touchpad only works without scrolling (right side).

Nothing that can’t be fixed

Easy Battery Manager for Vista 3.2.1.8

Realtek HD Sound Drivers (if necessary)

Marvell Ethernet Drivers for Vista x86

4. UMTS / HSDPA:

To enable UMTS is a little bit more work than the other hardware in your little friend.

First load

Samsung Connection Manager 1.6.8.0501

and install it. You will notice, that the unknown HSPA device in device manager will vanish, which means, that the hardware will work from now on. You will however notice, that the Connection Manager will not work right away. Some websites say that using it in XP compatibility mode would work, I cannot confirm that. But there is even a better solution:

- Go to Win7 network center and add a new connection

- Select “create a connection with the internet” (should be the first option)

- Use a new connection (this page will only be offered if other connections exist)

- Select “dial up connection”

- Now you should be asked for a dial-up number and your credentials. These settings differ from network to network, please check with your mobile network provider. For the number, you should enter *99# , as that is the correct setting for packet based dial-up connections (GPRS, UMTS, HSDPA). If you need further credentials, I cannot say.

- After this procedure, you can dial-up the connection and should have mobile internet after a few seconds. The fastest way to connect from now on, is the internet/network symbol in the taskbar, where you can find all network connections (LAN, WiFi, Dial-Up) and from where you can shoot up your HSDPA connection right away.

5. Summary:

Having worked some time with Windows 7 on the Samsung NC10 KAY2DE now, I have to say the Netbook performs well enough to keep Win7 as standard operating system. All my usual programs run like on XP plus the extra gadgets Win7 offers. It surely performs better than Vista would have (although I have to say that I never tried Vista on it).

It however is DEFINITELY necessary to upgrade the Ram to 2 GB, otherwise Win7 will not be funny at all. Some people I know have upgraded to a SSD as well. On my main PC, I have a SSD under Win7 as well. In a desktop, as well as in a laptop, a SSD surely makes sense, as it speeds up the system considerably. On the other hand, it is quite expensive. I would suggest a SSD in you main computer or a bigger/faster laptop, but you can equip the NC10 with a SSD as well of course.

If you have questions and/or comments to my installation procedure, please do not hesitate to post in the comments.

After breathing freely in the heights of the Alps, we made our way to the beautiful town of Knuffingen, a really nice place to be. Despite the one or other (beautifully illuminated) desaster happened, Knuffingen is mostly peaceful. You would certainly love to live there.

As the Wonderland is in Hamburg, of course the landmarks of Hamburg are incorporated in a beautiful scenic setup. Just three steps away, the Wonderland teleports the visitor to a totally different environment. Road trains and scenic landscape with endless roads clearly indicate that the world traveler has arrived in the USA. From the gambling paradise Las Vegas to the Rocky Mountains and to dusty Mid-America (incuding Area 51), we made our way to the Art Deco district in Miami and the Keys.

After a nice short trip to the scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland) and their ports and landscapes, we came back to hamburg in just a minute.

The Miniature Wonderland is a great place to be and you should really visit it. I would recommend to have at least 3 hours left, to be able to have a look to the big territories in general and all the cute small sceneries in special. By the way: in addition to the already established scenes, a couple of others are already in the planning phase or already in the building process (airport). You can have a great overview over the current situation on the Wonderland’s website.

If you are interested, there is also a short (official) video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_oDdGmKyA

At the moment, you can see:

• Harz
• Knuffingen
• Austria
• Hamburg
• America
• Scandinavia
• Switzerland

But there is more in development:

• Airport
• France
• Italy
• after that

So, recurring visits make truly sense.

Small hint: the Speicherstadt Kafferösterei is just 10m away from the Miniature Wonderland. A great coffee and maybe a hand-made waffel is a good starting- or end-point of a “world trip”.

However, a NetBook has until now not yet hit my desk, because after having discovered the benefits of UMTS/HSDPA mobile internet, I did not want to buy a notebook without integrated UMTS anymore. Finally, I got lucky, as the first incarnations of UMTS notebooks started to appear in autumn 2008. The LG X110 looked quite well and had UMTS, but was somehow “pinky” around the keyboard and the battery run time was baaad.

Then the Samsung NC10 crossed my way in the local Media Market…. Almost love at first sight! The NC10 is – at least for me – the best looking netbook at the market. Of course I have the color “for guys” (as a salesman described it): black. It is matte black on the inside, and on the bottom and has a glossy front with the typical Samsung sign.

The screen seems to be very bright and brilliant, fortunately MATTE (in contrast to most laptops nowadays). The keyboard is small, but big enough to write quite normally, without too many typos. The touchpad is much smaller than the one of the biggest competitor Asus eeePC 1000H, but nevertheless, the display hinge is much more elegant with the NC10 (the display is about 3 cm smaller in height than the 1000H, despite the same LCD size).

My decision-making points were by the way:

Samsung NC10 netbook review from Stuff.tv

EDIT (20.01.2009): In the mean time, I have upgraded my little companion a little bit:

• RAM: Upgrade 1 -> 2 Gb of RAM, worked perfectly with Kingston 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 CL5
• BLUETOOTH: Hama Nano Bluetooth USB Adapter Version 2.0+EDR Class2, which is almost not visible when in the USB port and can therefore stay in the netbook

Now the baby is really the best Netbook (at least for me! ;-D)

EDIT (26.01.2009): A perfect TIP for all MS Office 2007 Users on Netbooks!!!:

To fade out the FAAAAT 2007 menu bar (fat especially on Netbooks!), just press Ctrl+F1 or double click on any of the menu bar titles (“Start”, “Insert”, etc.) to fade out the menu. You can reverse that the same way, or – if you need a button while hidden – just press a menu title ONCE and it will fade in until you have found your button…

Once connected, you can do true “Road Warrior” Posts, as you can also add photos from the camera (or the photo library). Although the keyboard works remarkably well, it is nevertheless not really suitable for longer posts, but hey – Blogging is a spontaneous thing!

The iPhone becomes a more and more complete mobile office: WordPress for iPhone, Twinkle for Twitter Updates, The “Telefonbuch” Website on the Home Screen (for ALL German phone numbers). Together with the fabulous 2.0 iPhone firmware, which brings complete Exchange support, the office in the pocket is already reality.

I have a huge number of plugins active. However, they all managed to work with the new version. I followed this guide and updated without problems. Pay attention: the wp-config.php content has changed. So make sure to adapt your old file to the new settings.

Do you think your WordPress is too slow? Did you ever want to write a post OFFLINE? Then you should have a look at the GREATEST feature of WP 2.6: support for Google Gears! With GG, you install a small web server on your local machine and web applications which are GG enabled, use this web server to store their content locally first. In the background and/or as soon as contact to the internet server is re-established, the updates are synced to the main website automatically. So you can work on your blog like with a local application. Ain’t that great?

Well, after several attempts on their website, it seems as if twitter would have a little problem with its success. The website is overloaded more than it functions. At least at the moment…

In the meantime, you can find out facts “About Me“, see what I do in Sports and have a look on my other interests

Alexander Leis