When I originally wrote this post on my old blog site in May 2007, a close friend of mine was given a computer by her partner who is in the business-computer trade and the partner had, at that time, inherited a recent-model ex-business laptop which he was going to give to her. Here, I had pointed out a useful article written by Sharon Crawford for the Microsoft Windows XP Expert Zone column about this kind of situation where recent-model secondhand laptop computers can come in to their own as a computer for use in the kitchen. The article, which is located at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/web/learnmore/crawford_kitchenpc.mspx , explained about use of a computer in this situation.
There are many reasons why I certainly agree with the use of a laptop for this kind of application. One main reason is that the computer can be quickly and easily stowed away when not in use. This is certainly of importance in this close friend’s kitchen where she had cats that were prone to spraying on anything they could when she is not watching. Similarly, you will have to clear away the computer when you need more space to put those dishes when you are preparing or serving food or cleaning up after the meal. The other main reason that is enhanced by the portability of these laptop computers is that they can be moved around as the user desires.
As far as software is concerned, I would deploy Windows XP or, if the computer is capable enough (i.e. made in the last two years), Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows 7, and a basic office suite like Office 2007 Home and Student.
The kind of use that I am likely to see out of these computers would be Web surfing with IE; e-mailing which can be done with Outlook Express, Windows Vista Mail, Windows Live Mail or a Web-mail service like Hotmail, Yahoo or GMail or your ISP’s Web mail front; and instant messaging with Windows Live Messenger for example. Let’s not forget basic word-processing and spreadsheet work which would be used for recording information; as well as access to some casual games ie Solitaire, Spider Solitaire or Mahjongg Titans that are good for whiling away the time during a long cooking process or long phone conversation. Windows Media Player 11 and Windows Live Photo Gallery would come in to their own for music, pictures and video in the kitchen.
As far as working out the shortcuts for the Favourites Menu is concerned, I would certainly add the following shortcuts:
* Any Website for any organizations (school, community / faith organization, business or government department) that you have regular business with
* Transport information websites, including the departures / arrivals information page provided by your local airports
* Online navigation sites and street directories
* The local "White Pages" and "Yellow Pages" websites
* The box offices for your local cinemas or theatres – you can book online for that upcoming show that you want to attend
As far as printing is concerned, you don’t need to attach a printer to the machine if you have a reliable network printer on your home network. If you need to use a mouse with your computer rather than the inbuilt joystick or touchpad that is part of the laptop, make sure that it is an optical type because there is less likelihood of the kind of dirt and crumbs that appear on kitchen benches getting in to these mice and affecting their performance. Here, you could get away with a basic 2-button or 2-button + wheel mouse for this application.
