Netbooks?

[otc]

Originally Posted by Flambeur

I just don't trust anything microsoft... wish they made a windows "lite" for netbooks though, although i think XP works well in that capacity wish current processing power and memory.

I havn't tried it on my netbook (I am pretty familiar with linux and its hard to beat linux for the ability to go "lite") but there are a few stripped down windows options out there.

There are a few people out there with tools to strip windows down (one is called XPlite IIRC) that give you a very cut down version of windows in what I believe to be a fully legal manner--they require an existing copy of the windows disk or install files in order to create the stripped down installer disk.

The other option that I have heard a lot about is using XP embedded (XPe or XP-e). I used to see this a lot in people who were making car computers back when the only viable car systems were less powerful than todays netbooks and needed incredibly fast bootups while only having to preform certain tasks (namely play music/video or run GPS software...no 3d gaming, no server leftovers, etc). This is an official microsoft product that lets you pick and choose what goes into the system so you can abandon things that wouldn't be needed on a netbook and get a lean system with fast bootups. The only issue with this is that you can't legally acquire it--it is only sold to high volume embedded hardware manufactuers. There are probably still lots of torrents floating around with XPe and it would be worth a shot if you can't go the linux route (and I wouldn't be morally opposed to using a pirated copy of XPe if you had a legit XP license...)

 

[Flambeur]

Originally Posted by otc

I havn't tried it on my netbook (I am pretty familiar with linux and its hard to beat linux for the ability to go "lite") but there are a few stripped down windows options out there.

There are a few people out there with tools to strip windows down (one is called XPlite IIRC) that give you a very cut down version of windows in what I believe to be a fully legal manner--they require an existing copy of the windows disk or install files in order to create the stripped down installer disk.

The other option that I have heard a lot about is using XP embedded (XPe or XP-e). I used to see this a lot in people who were making car computers back when the only viable car systems were less powerful than todays netbooks and needed incredibly fast bootups while only having to preform certain tasks (namely play music/video or run GPS software...no 3d gaming, no server leftovers, etc). This is an official microsoft product that lets you pick and choose what goes into the system so you can abandon things that wouldn't be needed on a netbook and get a lean system with fast bootups. The only issue with this is that you can't legally acquire it--it is only sold to high volume embedded hardware manufactuers. There are probably still lots of torrents floating around with XPe and it would be worth a shot if you can't go the linux route (and I wouldn't be morally opposed to using a pirated copy of XPe if you had a legit XP license...)


Yeah, I am actually fine with the XP on netbooks - it's pretty bulletproof at this point, and probably runs faster on netbooks than some of the high end systems when it just came out. I think it's great that they are using XP - I'm just not a linux guy, and that godawful vista would suck badly on a small laptop.

I'm already thinking of what I should install on my Asus when it comes in,what do you guys think?

Office (I have the 2002 corp license version)
Reader
iTunes
Firefox
VLC Player
PrimoPDF
AVG AV
Zonealarm
My trading software

hmm what else?

 

[otc]

All of that stuff should work fine (and an older version of office is probably great to cut down the fat.

It probably comes with reader. I'm personally not a huge itunes fan but I question how well the interface would fit on the small screen...winamp may be an option with its more modular and adjustable windows (and for me, it syncs better with my ipod than itunes does).

I would almost ignore zonealarm...I have been doing well with the windows firewall and it would help cut down the resources being used.

Firefox is great on the netbooks, especially if you keep in mind how short the screen is and make good use of the screen real-estate. I use it with small, no-text icons, no bookmark toolbar, tab-bar only when multiple tabs are open. I don't do these but there is also a plugin called "Hide Menubar" that hides the File/Edit/etc bar unless you press alt and there is the option to hide the status bar. When you want the extra space, f11 (fullscreen) is your best friend.

I don't know what trading software you use but thinkorswim's stuff works great on mine.

An addition you might like to try is a little piece of software called "Launchy". It gives you a popup keyboard launcher for programs (with smart-completion/guessing/typo ignoring) similar to quicksilver on a mac. I use it on all my windows systems (alt-space to bring it up and then type a few letters from the program name to run it...or type in some math for a quick calculation) but it is especially nice on a netbook where I find navigating the start menu to be slower than with a desktop mouse.

 

[Flambeur]

Hmmm interesting, might try the launchy thing.

 

[Flambeur]

Well the Asus came in today!

I'll post a review when I log a couple days/weeks with it.

 

[Flambeur]

This thing ******* rocks! Installed a shitload of software and media, and there is still plenty of space on the 160GB HD. It's beautiful, doesn't feel cheap at all other than being relatively light, and the screen is really nice. I'm getting over 7 hours indicated battery life in just word processing/browing mode, and over 5 hours watching a movie in the VLC player with the screen dimmed a bit. The keyboard takes a bit getting used to, but nothing bad.


Just wish my RAM stick would get here sooner so that I can finish this up.

 

[holymadness]

This just in: Sony Releases New VAIO P Series 8-inch Screen Notebook BY: Andrew, NotebookReview.com Editor PUBLISHED: 1/7/2009 The tiny 8-inch screen 1.8lb Sony VAIO P has been officially announced and is available online at SonyStyle.com with pre-orders for the $900 device starting tomorrow.

The VAIO P is about the thickness of a cellphone and Sony is claiming a weight of 1.8lbs, meaning it can comfortably fit into your coat pocket or easily slide inside a purse or backpack pocket. The screen may be small at 8-inches, but the unbelievable 1600 x 768 resolution will mean a lot of viewing real estate can be crammed into that small area -- at the cost of very small text and icons of course. The screen is a glossy XBRITE-ECO variety. http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4784

 

[Matt]

sexy n all, but 900 for netbook??? no thanks.

 

[holymadness]

They're not advertising it as a netbook for that very reason. In a perfect world, this would start blowing the competition out of the water and we'd see a number of cheaper alternatives surface, but I suspect that the price point will keep it from being enormously popular, despite its awesome specs. The tricked-out version is $1500.

 

[Matt]

the Taiwanese will be painting them in metallic maroon by the end of the month....

 

[Steggy]

i saw that on uncrate. what i like about the netbooks is they are big enough to be laptops. so i can type comfortably. atthat viaos point, it looks like i would have to type with just my thumbs, which would get annoying. plus that price tag....id rather get a much better notebook and suck it up for the portability.

 

[Flambeur]

So yeah - a mini review of my Asus 1000HA

I ******* love this thing. Not much else to say. Ultra-portable, long battery life, nice screen, the 95% size keyboard only takes about 10 minutes to get used to, everything else works great together.

Perfect for travel, it just sat in its sleeve in my small shoulder bag and went with me on the planes, into coffee shops, etc. Great for entertainment or work on the planes too - i am getting about 5-6 hours of battery life while watching videos or working with the screen brightness turned down a bit.

Don't get me wrong, if I am at home, I'm still on my 17" powerhouse laptop, but even if I just wanna move to bed, or especially leave the house, the Asus easily replaces it.

I'm actually curious about the use of the 8" netbooks as well. Unless you have a very specific use for them, they are too big to always carry with you when your iphone/blackberry does 90% of what they'd do, and they are too small to fully replace a laptop if you're say at the coffee shop writing a 10 page document or putting a presentation together. I think 10" is the perfect size.

 

[bkk]

Flam - I highly suggest installing Windows 7. I've been running it for roughly a week and its bliss. Beautiful and runs extremely well. Also do the RAM upgrade beforehand.

 

[Flambeur]

Originally Posted by bkk

Flam - I highly suggest installing Windows 7. I've been running it for roughly a week and its bliss. Beautiful and runs extremely well. Also do the RAM upgrade beforehand.

Hmm. I already have the 2GB upgrade.

So how is W7 much better than xp? It's basically updated vista, right? I'm scared of driver issues and such plus migrating all my programs?

 

[Steggy]

i got the asus. ended up being 270 rather than 240. but it's still pretty nice for just taking to classes.