_MSP6749 Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is dealing with the cold weather better than I am.  As I get older the cold affects me more than it used to.  Anyway, this blog is about my mobile computing solution.  I have two main computers.  Both are Macs:  my iMac, which has a 27-inch Retna screen which is awesome, and a 15- inch Macbook Pro that is awesome!  It's an older one, but I have upgraded the ram and the hard drive and it's quick and works great. To replace it would be very expensive with a new model, and then to have it broken or stolen would break my heart.  And it's pretty large and heavy compared to newer models.  So I wanted to get a mobile computing device that ticked three boxes. Box 1, it had to be inexpensive so if it broke or got lost not a big deal.  Box 2, it had to be small and lightweight.  And Box 3, it had to be able to run Lightroom so I could backup files to an external hard drive.  So I went on a search for the machine that would tick those three boxes.  And let me tell you that was hard, but I finally made a _MSP6753 decision and went with a machine that will work.

The machine I went with was the Lenovo Miix 320.  It is a 2-inch laptop/tablet with 4 gb ram and 128 SSD hard drive.  The operating system is Windows 10 64bit with a 10.1 display at 1920x1200 resolution. It has a detachable keyboard and can be used as a tablet. I got this machine refurbished off of Ebay, and it looks like brand new.  I was a little nervous ordering it off of Ebay, but everything worked out okay.  This little machine has ticked all of the boxes mentioned above.

Box 1, had to be inexpensive.  My goal was to try to keep the price under $300, which is almost impossible, so that's why I went with refurbished.  That actually kept the price down and brought in all kinds of computers that were available.  I wanted a laptop that had a real operating system not a Crome Book that are selling for the price range that I want.  This machine came in at $199!  Tick!

Box 2, small and lightweight.  This little 10-inch screen machine only weights 2.2 lbs.  It does have a small screen, but the resolution is great and sharp.  The keyboard is crunched together a bit, but it has full-sized keys and doesn't take long to get used to.  It's small enough to go into a small backpack or small shoulder bag. Tick!

Box 3, has to be able to run Lightroom and make backups to an external drive. This is probably the most important box of all.  The minimum ram requirement for Lightroom to run is 4 gb of ram, which this machine does have, just does. That's one of the reasons I wanted an SSD to increase the speed.  It does run Lightroom.  I won't be processing a lot of photos on it, but it's nice to know I can without any problems. The machine comes with 2 USB 2 ports and one USB C port, so transferring files via USB works fine. Tick!

_MSP6755 So this machine handled all of my criteria for my mobile machine.  Would I love to have a 13-inch Macbook Air?  You bet.  But they just cost way too much.  If money weren't a factor, that's the way I would go.  But it isn't.  I'm really surprised at how well this little computer works.  Browsing the internet and all other regular computer functions, this little computer works great.  It runs Lightroom well enough to process photos, cull, and backup with no problem, although it is a little slow but not that bad. I think that this little machine will work well for what I need when I go camping or on a photo outing without worry of theft or breakage.  I'm not really promoting any brand or operating system because I'm a die hard Mac guy, but for this purpose I hope this little machine will be the ticket!  Only time will tell.  Keep shooting!