Netbooks?

Originally Posted by Egdon Heath

Click to expand...

This is just ****-ass wrong.
I'm in my 60's and could probably buy and sell you six ways to Sunday and I've got an Acer Aspire One and when I whip it out from the felt pocket I had tailored into my Chesterfield, nobody in the hot spot thinks I'm a broke ass student. Though I wouldn't care if they did, since I was one once. Niche snobs abound. (That would be you). To the rest of you posting here who are considering a netbook, just buy one. If you don't like it, take it back. Mine was $240 w/tax delivered (after 30% Live Cashback). And it's really swell.​

​

Nobody is going to think a 60-year-old-ass-wrinkly-man is a student. Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with what laptop you are using.

Originally Posted by Tarmac

Click to expand...

Nobody is going to think a 60-year-old-ass-wrinkly-man is a student. Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with what laptop you are using.
But they might think he's a professor.

Originally Posted by montyharding

Click to expand...

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.
It's honestly not that big a deal, and I say that as a Macbook-Pro-slinging Silicon Valley resident who recently went back to university for a few months to finish a degree I should've taken care of long ago. Yes, the majority of the college kids are on Mac notebooks, but unless you hang with some sort of lame poseur crowd, it doesn't matter much. And if someone griefs you, you can simply (and honestly) say, "I saved $1000 over your Macbook, b*tch", and walk away. Though I do wish Apple would come out with a netbook. They desperately don't want to, since it'll cannibalize their much-higher-priced Macbook sales- this is part of why they've publicly pooh-poohed the netbook as something of a fad. But if netbooks continue to be a popular and growing market segment, they may eventually have no choice but to roll their own. However, knowing Apple, they'll change the game, maybe by introducing something like a 'large iPhone touchscreen tablet' as their netbook, rather than a conventional netbook. I love my MB Pro, but it's not the lightest or more portable thing to carry around. And while the Macbook Air is awesome in those respects, it is also VERY expensive. Netbooks make lots of sense for your typical non-power-user. Apple's hope that they'll 'just go away' is a vain one, I think. ---

So yeah I am like a step away from buying as Asus 1000HA as my 3rd computer.

Originally Posted by Flambeur

Click to expand...

So yeah I am like a step away from buying as Asus 1000HA as my 3rd computer.

Why the Asus 1000HA? Also, please report back on it. I am going to get one in the next few weeks before a long work trip.

Originally Posted by farfisa23

Click to expand...

Why the Asus 1000HA? Also, please report back on it. I am going to get one in the next few weeks before a long work trip.

I've done my research and it just seems like the best combo of size, quality, battery life, keyboard, etc.

Atom 1.6
1GB RAM easily upgraded to 2GB for $20
160GB HD
10" screen
6 cell battery (5-7 hour)
XP Home

...and everyone seems to like the quality. Seems fine for a $380 lappie you can just throw in a bookbag and throw away in a year or two.

Yeah I have a couple longish trips coming up in the next couple months too so I am thinking of getting one soon.

Ordered the 1000HA, have to wait for it to get here now. By the way, it's pretty crazy - it's the #1 selling laptop on amazon and also out of stock there.

nice buy. i think i'm going to pull the trigger on this configuration
* 8.9" Notebook Computer with WSVGA, TFT LCD Display and 1024x600 Pixel Resolution
* Loaded with Linux, 4GB Solid State Disk and 512MB DDR2 Memory
* Intel Mobile Processor
* USB 2.0, RJ-45 Port, 3 USB Ports
* 802.11b/g Wireless Connectivity , 10/100 Ethernet LAN Network Card
* Intel UMA Graphics Card
* Also Includes Adapter, Battery
* Features MMC/SD/SDHC Memory Card Reader
* 8.86 x 6.69 x 0.79 "; 2.18 Lb.
ok ok, so it doesn't look so impressive right? well the thing is, this is only 300 bucks. and i'm going to be able to get it for 240 brand new. sooo i think it is a good deal. i would basically use it for school for the basic stuff and use portable programs on an nlite xp system. i also may be having to do some flying this summer, so it would be nice to bring with me.

Originally Posted by Steggy

Click to expand...

nice buy. i think i'm going to pull the trigger on this configuration
* 8.9" Notebook Computer with WSVGA, TFT LCD Display and 1024x600 Pixel Resolution
* Loaded with Linux, 4GB Solid State Disk and 512MB DDR2 Memory
* Intel Mobile Processor
* USB 2.0, RJ-45 Port, 3 USB Ports
* 802.11b/g Wireless Connectivity , 10/100 Ethernet LAN Network Card
* Intel UMA Graphics Card
* Also Includes Adapter, Battery
* Features MMC/SD/SDHC Memory Card Reader
* 8.86 x 6.69 x 0.79 "; 2.18 Lb.
ok ok, so it doesn't look so impressive right? well the thing is, this is only 300 bucks. and i'm going to be able to get it for 240 brand new. sooo i think it is a good deal. i would basically use it for school for the basic stuff and use portable programs on an nlite xp system. i also may be having to do some flying this summer, so it would be nice to bring with me.

Looks good. Ultra-*******-portable. You can really fit this into a large pocket. So cool.

My only problem with the 9 inchers was typing and using the screen for prolonged periods of time - a bit smallish. I know compromising would be bad, because I would be giving up some portability, but I wanted something that could replace the main computers for a couple weeks at a time.

But damn, for $240, just to have something to put in your pocket.. Damn. This is like a whole new step in computing - you can use those things for all the **** pocket pcs were never able to do.

Make sure you buy a few bigass SD cards with it since you are stuck with 4gb of ram.

Also see if you can upgrade the ram because 512 isn't so much these days.

i will be upgrading the RAM no question, and i may be getting SDHC cards...it depends. because some of the 8.9 inch models have an expansion bay at the bottom where i would be able to stick a notebook sata drive i think, if i remember correctly. so i would want to capitalize on that, but if not i can just have an 8 gb sd card to hold all of my portable programs and such.

I also ordered a 2GB RAM stick, but no SD due to the 160GB drive right now..

Funny enough, it will also be my largest drive in the smallest computer.. All the other PCs and backup drives are 40, 80, 120GB

Originally Posted by SystemShock

Click to expand...

However, knowing Apple, they'll change the game, maybe by introducing something like a 'large iPhone touchscreen tablet' as their netbook, rather than a conventional netbook. ---

I said this same thing the other day, and this is why I'm waiting on a netbook purchase. That, and my Macbook needs to die.

I read somewhere that microsoft is speeding up Windows 7 development (which is faster and less of a memory hog than Vista) because of the whole netbook craze (most of which are running XP).

I noticed dell is selling them with tiny solid state drives (max is 16 G) while Lenovo is still using traditional hard drives (max is 80 G).

I think I'll wait a year or so...... the sweetspot will be a 10" netbook running Windows 7 with a 50 G solid state drive for around $500.

Originally Posted by greg_atlanta

Click to expand...

I read somewhere that microsoft is speeding up Windows 7 development (which is faster and less of a memory hog than Vista) because of the whole netbook craze (most of which are running XP).

I noticed dell is selling them with tiny solid state drives (max is 16 G) while Lenovo is still using traditional hard drives (max is 80 G).

I think I'll wait a year or so...... the sweetspot will be a 10" netbook running Windows 7 with a 50 G solid state drive for around $500.

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.

As far as SSD, I don't know.. They get pricey, but give them 2-3 more years and we'll be ok. But currently it's too much of a trade-off. At a $400 pricepoint you get an 8-16GB SSD or a 120-160GB HD.. That's significant if you want your video/music library with you and don't want to carry an extra drive. My music library alone is 30GB or so and it's nice to have it all available on your netbook while you're out or traveling or something.