Slashdot Mirror


How Do I Make My Netbook More Manly?

basementman writes "I recently purchased a 10 inch white MSI wind. As you can see it's a small computer and it's good for what I use it for. I get a lot of comments from women saying it is 'cute' or 'adorable.' Not the good kind of cute that will get me the attention I want though, the kind of cute that says they think I have a different presence than I actually want to portray. So how can I make my netbook more manly, or at least have some witty line to respond to the their comments?" Hopefully basementman didn't get a netbook with the hopes of it getting him some action, but what cool mods (or witty one-liners) have others used to salvage their dignity from hardware that is "a good size"?

46 of 993 comments (clear)

  1. Stickers... by PhotoJim · · Score: 5, Funny

    Heavy metal stickers. Lots of them!

    1. Re:Stickers... by sokoban · · Score: 5, Funny

      Stickers are for wimps, real men get truck nutz for their netbooks.
      http://www.truck-nuts.com/

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 is the magic number.
    2. Re:Stickers... by zxnos · · Score: 5, Funny

      no, no, speed holes are the new rage.

      --
      always mosh clockwise
    3. Re:Stickers... by humina · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is a terrible question. The guys "problem" is that women are coming up to him and talking to him? Here is your witty response: ask for their number. Step one to being manly is to stop being an insecure dumbass worrying about looking feminine. If you want women to stop talking to you then just draw a penis on your computer and write "I'm completely insecure" on your laptop. "Problem" solved. If your manhood is put in question because of your laptop then you probably have other issues.

      --
      check out the best blog ever:
      http://oehlberg.com
    4. Re:Stickers... by cptdondo · · Score: 5, Informative

      No sh*t. Long ago I learned the best way to meet women is a) be injured, b) go shopping with a baby, and c) walk around a park with a cute dog.

      Seems to me that a laptop is a) less painful, b) less maintenance, and c) creates less shit.

      Where do I buy one of these?

    5. Re:Stickers... by JCSoRocks · · Score: 5, Funny

      Seriously. The new key to meeting cute geek chicks is a netbook? Why haven't I seen that on any of the spec sheets or reviews? I can't believe I've been missing out on this...

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    6. Re:Stickers... by who+knows+my+name · · Score: 5, Insightful

      most of the 'geek' chicks who actually talk to me about my netbook tend to be the "we're just friends" type... you start talking to a women about computer specs, and she's already put you in the 'friends' category. So my best advice would be to actually engage her in talking up it's cuteness etc... and then quickly move into conversation about her, before she works out what a geek you really are ;)

      --
      Nothing to see here.
    7. Re:Stickers... by sokoban · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is a terrible question. The guys "problem" is that women are coming up to him and talking to him? .

      Well, maybe he's gay and wants to prove how macho he is so he can attract a nice manly man.

      Didn't think about that one now did you?

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 is the magic number.
    8. Re:Stickers... by shellbeach · · Score: 5, Funny

      Seriously. The new key to meeting cute geek chicks is a netbook?

      Hey, at least it shows you're not compensating for anything ...

    9. Re:Stickers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Seems to me that a laptop is a) less painful, b) less maintenance, and c) creates less shit.

      I see you've never owned a Sony laptop.

    10. Re:Stickers... by mishehu · · Score: 5, Funny

      Parrots work too, especially if you want some of that booty! ARRRRRRGH *grin*

    11. Re:Stickers... by jav1231 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Or show her pr0n.

    12. Re:Stickers... by marcello_dl · · Score: 5, Funny

      > putting a large sticker "I'm completely insecure" on one's laptop...

      Err.. the windows logo sticker means exactly that.

      --
      ---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
    13. Re:Stickers... by Mordok-DestroyerOfWo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There's nothing wrong with sporting your geekness to the the world. I spent many years dating girls who had the typical thought "he's a geek, but he treats me nice." Now I've finally found one who thinks "he's a geek and he treats me nice." Contrary to popular belief not all /.ers live in their parent's basements, some of us enjoy active lives that include direct sunlight.

      Once you find a girl who approves of your plans to build a secret passage in your house, your underwater lightsaber/flashlight, and that she'll always be competing with your computers for your affection there is no going back.

      So I say display your geeky side, it's better to attract somebody that likes you for who you are than who you are pretending to be.

      --
      "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
    14. Re:Stickers... by adamchou · · Score: 5, Funny

      take your ramblings elsewhere. this is slashdot. we have no interest in actually talking to women. we want other nerds to talk to us because of our laptop, not hot girls.

    15. Re:Stickers... by rockstar1o9 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And the common denominator in all this is: Make yourself approachable and give other people some sort of excuse to start a conversation. It's not f***ing rocket science.

    16. Re:Stickers... by SkyDude · · Score: 5, Funny

      Seems to me that a laptop is a) less painful, b) less maintenance, and c) creates less shit.Where do I buy one of these?

      If I had mod points today, you'd get them all.Uber-insightful

      Only on /. would a guy ask what to do when a woman talks to him.....

      --
      == First cross river, then insult alligator.
    17. Re:Stickers... by MMC+Monster · · Score: 5, Informative

      The best ay to meet women is to go up to them and start a conversation.

      Don't try to pick them up. In fact, start talking to them as if they were guys. If they start flirting with you, that's a sign that you can flirt with them. Until then, just act as if they are guys.

      This also means that if you are particularly introverted, just start up by practicing talking to guys about mundane stuff. (The weather, what *they* do for a living, traffic patterns, etc.)

      Don't hide that you are a geek, but don't flaunt it or even bring it up unless relevant. And certainly steer the conversation away from computers, microsoft, digital rights management, politics, etc. When you are good with guys, then start the same process with the girls.

      P.S. You're welcome. :-)

      --
      Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
    18. Re:Stickers... by mellon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Believe it or not, girls actually *like* geeks. Admittedly, other girls hate them. Those girls won't come up to you to ask about your laptop. So the key is that if one comes up to you, it's because she thinks she might enjoy talking to you, and the laptop is an excuse. What you should be thinking about is whether you want to talk to her; if you do, use the laptop the same way she did.

      Honestly, though, if you really feel emasculated by a girl who comes up to you and talks about how cute your laptop is, she's probably better off waiting until you get a little more comfortable in your own skin. It comes with time, so try not to worry or be discouraged.

    19. Re:Stickers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      FWIW, this process won't work as outlined for everyone. For instance, guys who use Macs would have to practice by talking to girls first...

    20. Re:Stickers... by Glonoinha · · Score: 5, Funny

      Tell them you have a four digit Slashdot UID.
      Chicks dig that kind of technical superiority and you will get mad amounts of ass.

      --
      Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
    21. Re:Stickers... by physicsphairy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is no reason to worry about winding up friends. Women who are your friends have other women friends to whom they will introduce you or even set you up with. One might even say that making friends with women is exponentially more effective than hitting on them.

      Not to mention that 10/10 times any woman who sets you up with one of her friends will in the process try to sell your good qualities first, which sure saves you introverts a lot of time and effort trying to bring those out into the open.

  2. Obligatory Serious Answer by thesolo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe, just maybe, someone calling a small laptop "cute" is not a reflection on your sexual identity or masculinity. And maybe you should take it as a compliment, because that's likely how it's intended!

    This is like asking how to make a small, fluffy puppy look intimidating. Anything you do to it will only serve to make it more comical, particularly to the opposite sex. Stop being so insecure and enjoy your freaking laptop! If someone says its cute, just say, "Yeah, it is, thanks!"





    Oh, and if you really need a line, next time someone says its cute, respond with, "Yeah, it's a 10-incher, just like my cock." Problem solved!

    1. Re:Obligatory Serious Answer by PaSTE · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm a man, and I'm seriously considering getting a pink laptop. I mean, I already have a pink DS, and from what I hear, pink things are stolen much less frequently due to this bizarre stigma most men seem to have against it. Besides, a pink laptop would totally compliment my new lip stiCHAINSAW and nail polMOTORCYCLE.

      --
      /*No comment*/ #No comment //No comment ;No comment 'No comment REM No comment !No
    2. Re:Obligatory Serious Answer by Weaps · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Yes, it is very, very cute isn't it. Wanna fuck?"

    3. Re:Obligatory Serious Answer by aztektum · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No joke. A friend of mine is an electrician. He was tired of his yellow or orange extension cables going missing from job sites. What did he do? Started buying purple and pink ones. Instead of 2 or 3 going missing a year, he has had one "walk away" in the last 6.

      --
      :: aztek ::
      No sig for you!!
  3. Ummm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Add a dongle?

  4. Here's how by JustNiz · · Score: 5, Funny

    Run Linux on it, not windows.

  5. Really? by Hatta · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not the good kind of cute that will get me the attention I want though, the kind of cute that says they think I have a different presence than I actually want to portray.

    Really? Do the women who compliment your netbook immediately ask if you're gay or something? Are you sure it's not all in your head?

    Either way, the conversation is started. If they suspect you're gay at least that's disarming, and they'll figure it out eventually.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  6. Exactly, women love cute and adoreable. by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Women are coming up to you, in public, and complimenting your laptop and you're pissed because the language they're using is cute and adorable? Were you raised in a barn?

    And the 'attention you want' is ANY. Just because you lack the social skills to turn a 'wow that laptop is cute' into a 'hey would you like to have dinner' doesn't mean some Metallica Stickers are going to fix it.

    I was with my Dad and his dog and my Girlfriend at a rugby tournament this weekend. Every single woman that walked pass came up and started petting the dog. I told my girlfriend next year she wasn't invited and I was just going to bring the dog.

    1. Re:Exactly, women love cute and adoreable. by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

      I told my girlfriend next year she wasn't invited and I was just going to bring the dog.

      So how long was it before you regained consciousness?

    2. Re:Exactly, women love cute and adoreable. by vidarh · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You know some couples are actually secure enough with each other not to freak out if their partners hints that they sometimes think about other people, and are actually capable of taking a joke about it.

    3. Re:Exactly, women love cute and adoreable. by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Funny

      You know some couples are actually secure enough with each other not to freak out if their partners hints that they sometimes think about other people, and are actually capable of taking a joke about it.

      Sure, but the best relationships are secure enough that if one partner hints they sometimes think about other people, the other partner says, "Well, let's have her over for drinks".

      Or so I've heard.

      Or fantasized.

      Actually, I read about it in Penthouse Forum.

      (offstage shouting)

      Yes honey, I forgot, I'm so sorry, I'll go pick up tampons at the store for you -- I'm leaving right now. (That's how relationships actually work, in my experience).

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    4. Re:Exactly, women love cute and adoreable. by Etrias · · Score: 5, Funny

      Excuse me, you just described my new fantasy.

  7. Nope by symes · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why on earth would you want to make your netbook more manly? You've already lured them in - so pounce! Buy them a skinny mocha chino latte, gaze into their eyes and suggest 10 inches is enough for most people.

  8. Some suggestions: by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

    * Cover it with metal spikes and skulls.
    * Tie it to the front grill of a Hummer.
    * Convert it into an ammo clip for an Uzi.
    * Build a beer helmet around it and wear it on your head
    * Program it to make fart noises every time your finger is pulled. With a name like "wind", you could even pretend it came that way from the factory.
    * Put an Oakland Raiders logo on it.
    * Tie it to the back of a pit bull with a chain collar.
    * Put it down your pants for some "natural male enhancement".
    * Tie it to your stomach (under your shirt), and tell woman to punch it so they can feel how hard your "abs" are.
    * Keep it open and playing a heavy metal video nonstop at full volume. Make sure there are plenty of half naked women being objectified in it.
    * Tell the girls you have a small notebook because you have no reason to compensate for anything else.

    Really, the possibilities are endless.

    1. Re:Some suggestions: by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 5, Funny

      * Tell the girls you have a small notebook because you have no reason to compensate for anything else.

      Really, the possibilities are endless.

      Depending on the girl, you might get away with saying you love having something small and cute to keep your lap warm. Then again, you might come across as a pedophile.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  9. Manly? by Jangchub · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Huxley: "An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex." Being "manly" in the sense I get from the summary is something only troglodytes admire. I would find more pressing things to stress over. And no, I don't have a sense of humor, so bugger off.

  10. My manhood isn't online by DingerX · · Score: 5, Funny

    Years ago, I was waiting in the rain at the staff parking lot for the college newspapers to arrive so I could earn my work-study $4.25/hour delivering them around campus. The college president came out, made some snide remark about our dedication, then got in his red corvette. Our editor, a tall Texan woman, muttered "nice car", and as he drove off, yelled "Sorry about your penis!"

    Shiny cars were last generation's penis-compensation trip. This generation, they're laptops. Let's face it: we carry them around with us everywhere, we always insist on using our own, we're proud of its power or versatility, and we carry it with us into the bathroom. It's a penis.

    Most women with braincells are going to recognize that, and infer every other corollary. Guys with big laptops with more power than they ever use are likely compensating for something else. If a guy can come up with something "cute", maybe he knows he can deliver.

    Of course, big, powerful and macho will impress the boys down at the server farm. Come to think of it, the big marketing whole right now is the lack of laptop commercials along the lines of pickup trucks: big burly men, toiling on the server farm. Country music blasts as foreman-looking nerd with glistening muscles and big hands drops a big-ass render project onto his Dell XPS, drops the sucks -- still running -- into his shoulder bag, and walks out the door into the sweet light of sunset.

    1. Re:My manhood isn't online by Belial6 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Women complaining about men with expensive cars is like women claiming they want a sensitive guy. They will make the claims all day long, and spend the night banging the guy with the expensive car. Men with expensive cars are saying the one thing that attracts women who will have sex with them. They are saying "I am willing to spend lots of money to get laid". Underestimating how well letting women know that they can get goods and services from a man while allowing them to maintain the idea that they are not prostitutes would be to deny thousands of years worth of male female courting.

  11. Parser error by Tetsujin · · Score: 5, Funny

    If your that insecure

    Parser error, line 1, near "that"

    --
    Bow-ties are cool.
  12. I discovered a better one by accident by Weaselmancer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Long ago I learned the best way to meet women is a) be injured, b) go shopping with a baby, and c) walk around a park with a cute dog.

    I'm aged and married now so this tip is useless to me, but since I'm not stingy I figured I'd pass this along. =)

    I bought a coffee at my favorite coffee shop near my college about a dozen years ago. As I rounded the bend I saw a kitten stuck in a snowdrift. It was pretty obvious he was recently placed there. Discarded would probably be the better word.

    Couldn't abandon him, so I parked the car, grabbed the kitten and set about looking for the owner.

    Walk into a college coffee shop with a kitten sometime. Thank me later.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
    1. Re:I discovered a better one by accident by Mordok-DestroyerOfWo · · Score: 5, Funny

      I just got done trying that and I got escorted out! Maybe you should have mentioned that the kitten should be alive.

      --
      "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
  13. I'm compensating. by tverbeek · · Score: 5, Funny

    This has been my answer for years, any time someone tries to ridicule my subcompact car:

    "You know how some guys get big SUVs or sports cars to compensate for their sexual inadequacy? I'm doing the same thing, just the other way 'round."

    --
    http://alternatives.rzero.com/
    1. Re:I'm compensating. by chromas · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'm doing the same thing, just the other way 'round.

      So....you're making use of those great e-mail offers to compensate for your small car?

    2. Re:I'm compensating. by Joebert · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh I get it. So their sexual inadequacy is that the place where they have all of their sex is inadequte so they buy a bigger car to compensate, and you buy a smaller car to compensate for the inadequte amount of sex you're having ?

      Brilliant !

      --
      Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.