If you are considering purchasing a netbook, then you are probably looking for something portable that you can use at a moment’s notice. With this flexibility comes some trade-offs in features and capabilities. However, here are a few things to keep in mind if you want to know what to look for in a netbook.

In exchange for portability, netbooks are smaller, less powerful, and come with fewer features than other computers. One of the most significant differences a new netbook user will notice is the screen size, which averages around seven to nine inches. If you plan on watching videos on your netbook, you should consider this notable difference. If you do wish to use your netbook for video purposes, then you will also need to consider the battery life, as well as storage space. Saving videos to your netbook uses up a large amount of your storage capacity, and netbooks do not offer built-in DVD players. So look for a netbook that has enough storage capacity to hold everything you need.

Are you away from your charger for long periods of time? Netbooks get the most battery life out of any traditional computer system. However, even within netbooks, the average battery life depends on the size of the battery. Bulkier batteries last longer, but they also make the netbook bigger and heavier. Smaller batteries allow for slimmer, more portable netbooks, but they do not last as long.

What impact does the operating system have?

Another thing that affects the everyday user quite significantly is the operating system that is used. Most netbooks do not yet support OS X entirely, so keep that in mind if you are a Mac user and perhaps consider selling your MacbookPro. Windows is run on netbooks but it is a rather expensive operating system in comparison to the netbooks that want to keep their prices low. So while it is an option, the most affordable netbooks will come with an operating system powered by Linux, which is free.

If you anticipate doing a great deal of typing on your netbook, make sure you test out different models to see which might be most comfortable for you, because netbook keyboards are smaller than those on other computers.

Depending on your computing needs, another thing you might want to look for in a netbook is the power capability0. Some netbooks offer dual-core processors, some only offer single-core. Dual-core processors will be able to perform more tasks, but ultimately cost more. Similarly, the more ram your netbook can handle, the smoother it will run. However, the maximum amount of ram that a netbook can use is less than that on other machines.

What to look for in a netbook depends entirely upon your own personal needs. If you plan on using a netbook for surfing the web, checking your email and other light tasks then a lighter, less expensive and less powerful netbook will work just fine for you. If, on the other hand, you wish to do more computer intensive jobs on a netbook, then you should consider a more powerful version.

Donal Vaughan is an IT troubleshooter and what he doesn’t know about netbooks and laptops is not really worth knowing. From helping you identify where to sell your MacbookPro to evaluating new technology, his technical knowledge can really help you make the best decision.

Photo by phantheum on tumblr

Remedios Vincent is the artist behind Feeas – Made to Dislike, unusual collections of pieces made by reusing old items found in antique shops and flea markets which are reshaped into unique macabre objects of art. From infamous accessories to flower installations, the Spanish artist gives a new purpose to forgotten art pieces and reassembles them into new forms, which unlike other pieces, stand out through their repelling aspect.

His latest “Feeas” – derived form the Spanish “Feo”, which means “Ugly, Hideous”- are titled “Green Tumors” (Pots), and present a series of original porcelain figures with green plants emerging form their interiors and spreading out, like tumors. The figures are made from broken pieces of porcelain resembling parts of the human body, which were purchased in antique shops. Some of them over 100 years old, they were manually reassembled by the artist in this new form, taking them out of their initial context and giving them a new life. This idea of creating art out of discarded items is not new, being explored by several artists in different forms.

Here’s how the artist himself describes the collection:

These objects have their own stories, having been used by people who lived in other parts of the world and at other times, I have tried to retain their spirit subtlely intervening in them.

Once the porcelain pieces are chosen, I bring them life by adding small plants that grow in their interiors like tumors that are invading and transforming them.

They are not meant to be pieces of decoration to use, but small objects of art, with a somewhat macabre appearance.

Enjoy the series below.

Mole Empire has received this project via our Contact form. Here we welcome and encourage both readers and artists interested in featuring on Mole Empire to submit theirs works towards an article on our website.

Photo credits go to Gosia Janik y Fernando Ocaña

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Created by agency 101, the Make a Scene campaign invites you to ‘make a scene’ by creating a film from a combination of pre-shot scenes with actors wearing French Connection clothes.

You can name the film, select a soundtrack and pick a special-effects theme from genres including noir and comedy.

Also, the site hosts a ‘leader board’ showing entries that have been shared the most via social media, with prizes available for the creators of the most popular content.

A global print, online and in-store campaign will launch next month featuring shots from the clips with the most interesting titles.

Jennifer Roebuck, multi-channel marketing director at French Connection, described the activity as ‘a big step forward for [the brand] in terms of multichannel marketing’. So far, 17% of visitors of French Connection’s website have made a film since the campaign launch.

Here’s my version, voting ends on April 30th.

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And yet not a day goes by on Mole Empire without discovering a new promising artist. This time, our attention goes to Princess M, a young freelance artist based in California who creates amazingly beautiful black ink and water color illustrations. In an attempt to give human emotions a concrete form, the artist creates complex and somehow surprising illustrations for an 18-year old student. With an eye for detail she reproduces elements of portraits with colorful, abstract details who seem as taken from an urban environment.

We got in touch with Princess M, who goes by the real name Princess Mia. Inspired mostly by people, their behavior and emotions, she uses her art as a means to connect with the viewer on an emotional level. Her illustrations are an attempt to capture the human soul, to stress upon the imperfections and standards of beauty. She explains very passionately her creative vision:

My work is inspired by people, emotions, quotes, stories, surrealism, darkness, technology and pretty much that reminds me of people. Another big inspiration to me is music and psychology. I like to create my work based on what I see and what myself or others may be feeling. The goal for my art is to just make art people can relate to and have a connection with as if they were interacting with a real person. I feel like emotions, wisdom you can gain from quotes, stories, darkness and technology really makes up what a human is, how odd and complex we can be but at the same time different people find them beautiful.

Dive into Princess M’s artistic view by watching several of her creations below.

Illustrations are courtesy of Princess M

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Manuel Cafini, the Italian based artist who captures motion in photography has just discovered an extension of chronophotography. Known as early Victorian motion photography, chronophotography combines several frames of movement into a single image. The pioneer of this type of photography was French scientist Étienne-Jules Marey who came up with it to describe photographs of motion, further used for the purpose of studying motion in science. A predecessor of modern cinema, this technique initially involved setting up a sequence of cameras to follow the subject moving.

Best known for accurately capturing and exploring the art of motion, Manuel Cafini slightly shifts from simply photographing dancers or the human body in the motion of falling to a very innovative and unique technique. In his extension of the original technique, only part of the subject replicates the frames of chronophotography. Here’s how the artist describes his innovation:

My technique is an evolution of this old technique, a modern interpretation. It’s a fusion of my previous technique with this old technique. Every single movement is visible and with this evolution the final figure is well defined.

Do you know of any other artist who have “played” so creatively with chronophotography?

Photo courtesy of Manuel Cafini

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