netbook, are they useful?

[casey2910]

im giving my laptop to my daughter soon. i use it for email access and surfing at work and home. should i just replace it for my use with a netbook? the price and size of these 10" versions seems appealing. would i be happy with it or do i need to just get a traditional laptop.
any body using these your opinion would be very helpful.

[Fogboundturtle]

I used my netbook when I got stargazing. It very useful for sky chart map and other astronomy software. They are perfect for light application. My only complain with netbooks is the keyboard might be difficultyfor user with big hands.

[ramblinmike]

My sister has one (an HP), she loves it. It's pretty cool, considering how far laptops have come. That said, I would rather have a small full-function laptop, like my 13" macbook (plenty of PC versions that are around the same size). Small, but can do what I need it to do and it has a "normal" keyboard.

While netbooks are really portable, keep in mind they often have nothing but USB, so if you need to install something via CD, or watch a DVD, or import a CD to put on an iPod, you're out of luck. Some utilize DVD-drive sharing, so you can install stuff via another computer, but I have no experience with this. And keep in mind, a 10" screen is pretty small. I would be hesitant about making it my only computer. That said, you can easily buy an external USB cd/dvd drive for pocket change.

[eljayski]

for just email and internet.

on the advice of members of this board, i got one from system76 (a "starling")
with ubuntu linux.

works like a champ and lets me strike a blow against microsod, the evil empire.

went ahead and ordered another linux netbook, this one from "zareason," for my wife. system76 and zareason were both recommended for linux.

good luck.

[TDPRI]

I've had two. They are great for travel. But the keyboards are brutal if you have to type more than a little bit. Look for one of the 11" screens -- because the extra screen width actually makes the keyboard bigger.

My first was an EEEpc with a 7" screen. It came with linux and a 4 gig SSD drive. I put a slimmed down XP on it and it ran fine. My second is a 9" Dell Mini 9. It came with 8 gigs of SSD, but I changed that drive to 64 gigs of SSD. I run Windows 7 on it. I like everything about it but the keyboard. They relocated some vital keys and it's impossible to type on.

I've just ordered a new Laptop that is a step up on the netbook powerwise but below the standard notebook in form factor. Called a Ultralite or Thin and Lite it's sized like a large netbook, but has a processor and HD like a full sized notebook. It comes with no CD/DVD drive and they weigh between 3 and 4 lbs. Where a netbook costs approx $300 and a full-sized Notebook costs approx $1000, the Ultralite costs approx $600. This is a new category and it's catching on fast. All the features and speed of a full-sized notebook but the size and weight of a large netbook.

If all you are doing is email and net browsing then a Netbook probably could be perfect for you, just make sure it's one you can type on.

[Guitar_Ninja]

I've been scoping out the Dell 11Z recently. High def screen, keyboard 92% the size of a standard one, only one inch thick and weighs around three pounds.

The one downside to netbooks is that they don't come with any kind of optical drive, so that could be a downside for some.

[tuuur]

I installed a few netbooks, HP minis. The customers that use them now are very happy with them.
Performance-wise they are better than you'd think of a small configuration; 1 gb of ram and a 1.6ghz atom processor.
I agree with Paul on the keyboards though; the lay out is more narrow, so I made many typos using them.

[Alamo]

Could these Netbooks handle a simple stereo-recording with 2 mics and Audacity audio editor?
I would also like to use the midi editor for my Boss GT-3 multi-FX at the rehearsal room.
would that be possible?

[TDPRI]

Originally Posted by Alamo

Could these Netbooks handle a simple stereo-recording with 2 mics and Audacity audio editor?

I don't think the processors (Intel Atom) in these Netbooks have the horsepower to handle audio recording duties. I think you'd have all sorts of problems and issues. You need a full core 2 duo processor.

Some of the "thin and lights" or "Ultralites" that I mentioned are available with a Core 2 Duo. Look at the Asus UL30A-A1, the Acer 3810T, the HP dm3z. They are run $600 to $800 depending on configuration.

[getbent]

I was at a meeting last week with a gentleman who'd bought 2000 of them for a school district a year ago and wants to know if I can figure out how to recycle them and replace them... they have had some really serious reliability problems and they just haven't lived up to what they were sold as.

For very simple email and productivity and for a single user as a bridge when traveling... I think they can be a solution. I'd strongly recommend against the bigger screen (tons of cracking issues) and I'd recommend getting stick memory vs. a regular hard drive. The gentleman mentioned had north of 1K hd failures in a year.

Also, if you pursue the 'ruggedized' promotion, if the plastic looks like 'diamond plate' it doesn't mean anything... get the true specs as to what they have done to ruggedize the case. It will double the cost of the machine, so be aware of that.

Some of the early data (2-3 year stuff which is too short to call adequate) suggests that after about 60 days folks stop using their netbooks... it does not suggest why, just that it happens.

I agree with TDPRI that multimedia is not a viable option on any of the atom based netbooks... joining any significant domains is also out even with a thinned xp.

[Alamo]

Thanks gentlemen, that's what I suspected and just hoped it may be possible.

I'll keep a Zoom H4n on my wishlist then.

[Jeri]

I have one that came free from my mobile phone company..(an Elonex webbook) Didn't use it to start with but the last 18mths its my no 1 pc.. Fits in my bag and goes everywhere with me.. Am using it now.. Use memory sticks for backing up and have a usb cd/dvd drive but use it for everything.. Itunes, browsing , email, charging my mobile, my company accounts and invoices etc etc etc.. Not recording tho.. prefer my old casstette based portastudio..

[beep.click]

Netbooks are useful if you use a computer a certain way.

I got one for reading in bed -- it's GREAT for that.

I don't normally take mine out of the house, but they now have free WiFi at Borders, and I'm curious... I think I'll take the netbook with me, get a cuppa joe, and see how it feels to surf the net in public. That's not something I've been dreaming of doing, for years, but who knows; it might be entertaining.

[Yoni]

My wife loves her hp mini. If it's just going to be an internet machine there is nothing wrong with them.

[casey2910]

my sister just bought an hp with windows 7 starter, atom n270 1 gig ram and 160 gig harddrive, maybe she will let my use it and get a hands on feel for the direction i need to go. thanks for the info. everyone.

[Al Watsky]

I have an Ascer Aspire 1
Its OK
The Keyboard isn't too small
Its OK for net and e-mail but has
limitations primarily no disk drive
thats sorta serious no way to really
make serious use of the thing
I prefer my Mac
In fact I love my Mac
I tried to give my Acer to my daughter
she refused
I use it when traveling just to cut 2 lbs from my bags
Thats what its good for IMO
If it had a disc port it would rock

[J_Stauffer]

WORST THING IVE EVER USED!!!!.... the keyboard is TINY!!!! every time i trry to hit backspace i end up hitting =....lol but thats the only thing i really dont like.. and i guess you could hook a regular keyboard up to it. lol

[LeeTurner]

Use one a lot and it's one of the smallest (eee-pc). I travel around 3 days a weeks from Manchester to London via train and then spend a fair bit of time walking between meetings. I used to carry a full size HP laptop but it weighs a ton and has very limited battery life. The eee-pc boots up in seconds (running eeebuntu - a Linux distro based on Ubuntu) and gives decent browsing and email capabilities plus the ability to read Office type files using Open Office.
As a browser for a netbook I've found that Opera is very hard to beat. The keyboard can be a little frustrating but much better than a mobile device.

So - weighs next to nothing, a lot more functional and usable than my Blackberry, very good battery life and takes up a very small footprint when travelling. Best thing is that I paid £100 for mine brand new.