Netbooks? - Page 3

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keyboard is i think 92% of full size? makes it so much easier to type than trying to use my sausage finger on some of the other netbooks. netbooks are amazing, i love them

I honestly don't remember. Whenever there's a new release, I think, "I should check it out since I don't remember why I disliked it so much." Then when I try it, I remember. I do give it an honest try, and am quite lenient with it. I'll probably remember in 2 weeks when I have to install it for someone. He wants me to setup a server and we were going to do it a couple of days ago, but the hard drive died. I'm one of those guys who found out what I liked by distro hopping and reading about the backend of Linux. So I pick one of the Big 5 (Debian, Gentoo, Slackware, Archlinux, LFS) where you're just given the minimum --- the Linux kernel, GNU and a toolchain. From there I build up what I need. I really like my setup a lot. 6 different teletypes and 2 X sessions running. The reason I have two is because most people can't use my desktop. I have a mouseless tiling window manager, which aims to increase productivity and maximizes screen use. The second one follows WIMP computing. So for someone like me, the GUI offered by Mac OS X and Windows is considered outdated, which is why I said: The only reason I'm in the terminal is because I find it very redundant to have a file manager. I have a very strict filesystem hierarchy and naming convention. Having a file system to graphically view files/folders and perform tasks such as copying, renaming and moving is just weird when GNU does that excellently with rm, cp and mv. Navigation is also much faster outside of the graphical interface when you learn about popd, pushd and relative paths using ~ and ~-. If you get someone who knows Linux very well to setup your system for you, you shouldn't have to touch the Terminal. That's what I did for my roommate. He bugged me a year to setup Linux on his laptop. I finally got around to it. He doesn't even know what a terminal is, and he wants Linux on every computer he sees. My ex-roommate also decided to take the plunge on his Macbook Pro when he saw both of us with Linux. Except he wanted to be a terminal jockey, like me. Since he didn't know quite as much, he split his time between a virtual terminal and the graphical interface. My brother also wanted to be a terminal jockey. Unlike my ex-roommate though, he completely ditched X11 and was working in the teletype every time. Linux's robustness really shines in the Big 5 when you get to tailor it to your specific needs. It's like the bespoke suit of operating systems. ---Edit--- Oh sorry, didn't actually answer your question. My distro of choice is Arch Linux.

I have been really enjoying my EeePC 1000H after grabbing it on ebay with live.com cashback in august. A friend of mine was inspired and recently got the 1000HA (same thing but with more HD space).

I've got 2GB ram and right now it is set to dual boot xandros and ubuntu. I will probably ditch the stock xandros now that ubuntu (with adamm's kernel and some other guys ACPI scripts) is just as functional.

the system came with XP but as far as the Windows tax goes, I didnt feel it. The 1000H is actually cheaper by a fair amount than the 1000 since SSD drives cost so much more.

I've seen the wind and I am happy I went with the 1000H...better battery and a multitouch mouse makes it so much more enjoyable.

I stopped by best buy last night, they had a mini 10, ee 10, and the smaller ee.. I actually really like the 10" models, they seem just right for an ultralight.

I don't know what the appeal is about the 12" G4 - it weighs more than almost any 13" notebook (bar the recently superceded macbook, one of the heaviest non-basic 13"s you could buy) you'd care to name, to a very noticeable level. In the lightweight netbookesque category I have the Air and the Sony TT. The TT is vastly superior to the Air as a portable companion if you have the eyesight to cope with the increased pixel density of the screen. Most recently I used a couple of different netbooks but I wouldn't actually use any of these on a daily basis, even though a lot of my work is web-bound... because there's a fair amount I also do on the machine itself, and the low-endiness of these machines is just offputting if you're used to better things.

I looked at a handful of netbooks. All of the 9" and smaller models were too small for my liking. The keyboard was much too small and I was aggravated by constantly missing the shift key. I also took HP out of the running because my wife's work laptop is an HP, and its the worst laptop either one of us has ever owned. Among its other issues, it overheats when placed on a flat/cool surface. Terrible engineering. That left me with Lenovo, MSI, and Asus, and I went with the Asus 1000HA just because I was able to use my AMEX points to get it for free (and I've had good luck with Asus's motherboards in my PCs).

That being said, the 1000HA isn't perfect. The on board mouse is useless. The track pad works as expected, but the buttons don't have a good feel and take too much force to press. The shift keys also require a bit of conditioning to be able to hit them without looking. I've had some issues with hitting the up arrow instead, which has been annoying. Other than that, I'm quite happy so far. Its great for what I need: something to drag around the house with me when I need to do simple things like surf the net or listen to music over the network. All of the power computing is done through my PC.

End my 2 cents.

since you have some experience with this, can you explain what exactly makes netbooks unsuitable for daily use if you mostly use internet/office software?

For one, you're walking around with a badge saying "I'm a broke student / hausfrau who bought on price who knows nothing about computers". Apart from the other problems of relative build quality, functional limitations, slowness, etc (not to mention needing to reload the OS if you want full connectivity since not many ship with XP Pro) the first reason alone is enough to put me off.

I thought I was the only one concerned about the impressions my computing solutions make on others.

When you sit in front of a large number of posers wielding Apples on a regular basis, it's a starting factor

Funny.....I've always figured the typical owner to be somewhat of technogeek who also utilizes a standard desktop or notebook as their primary computer.

Posers in what way? I'm thoroughly confused.

I'm young, I live in Silicon Valley, and I have never felt this. I go to cafes all the time. I would much rather be "showing" a Lenovo S10 than a Macbook. Are you sure people look down on you like this?

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i think the majority of people who know enough to realise the type of computer you are using is the same person who would assume that its only your secondary machine