Netbooks

[benny!]

Hi ...

just wrote this in another forum thread:

just ran it on eee pc, and it plays as smoothly as it gets !

really nice intro man , once again well done

Ps. lol i still can't believe it plays badly on a P4 pc and plays smoothly on eee pc

And I just wanted to ask for your opinions / experience with
Netbooks. Do you own one - if so - which model - and do you
like it ?

Do you also own an UMTS flatrate ? If so - which contract do
you have / how much do you pay monthly - how good is the
connection and so on ?

I started this thread because I really plan to get one Netbook.
Right now - I am really interested in buying this one:

ASUS Eee PC 1000

[hellfire]

I just wanted to ask for your opinions / experience with Netbooks.
Do you own one - if so - which model - and do you like it ?

Depends on what you want to use them for.
A colleague of mine uses an Asus EEE PC for mail- and organizing stuff; he likes it.
For my tasks (graphic-intensive coding) they're all pretty useless (hardware-, display- and keyboard-wise).
I must admit that I'm used to a dual-screen setup running at 3840x1200 pixels and I feel rather restricted on such small screens.

[bikerboy]

just got it today

and to be more precise it's the eee PC900

as for graphics, dunno maybe in the future a portable version of photoshop

oh and loaded it with freebasic and it plays just fine

so you take it wherever you wand and code

[Shockwave]

I've yet to find one that has a keyboard that feels like it wouldn't break down after anything but light use. They are getting cheaper all the time and okay for checking emails while you're on the move I guess but they are not my cup of tea.

If you're going to get one, you might as well get a decent laptop instead. < / $.02 >

[combatking0]

At work we bought 32 Asus eeePC 4G netbooks.

After getting to grips with Linux, we have abandoned trying to enable the multi-user mode, and instead put together some scripts and modified system files which change the "mode" of each netbook between Admin and Pupil settings.

[benny!]

Thanks for the infos so far.

Of course a netbook would not substitue my normal PC/Laptop.
I just thought about getting one for being on-the-move. E.g.
I spend about 1.5hrs on the train each working day - instead of
wasting my time playing with my mobile phone I though I could
check email (UMTS), update my blog or write some small other
stuffs.

I also doubt that I would develop anything on it - just use it for
what it is for - browsing internet, emails, maybe playing an old-
school game and/or watching a little movie.

Hmmm ... will think about it. Any other feedback is welcome.

[bikerboy]

the eee pc is not for heavy stuff such as 3D graphics and stuff , but you can sure code in it.

If you're going to get one, you might as well get a decent laptop instead

yes that's true, but one must pick the laptop very carefully.

a few years back i bought the ACER Aspire1603LC , after a year it just overheated and turned off.

later i found out that most of that model series had that problem ... 1500 euro to the trashcan

EDIT: forgot to mention i've bought the win version

[benny!]

If you're going to get one, you might as well get a decent laptop instead

yes that's true, but one must pick the laptop very carefully.
...

That's exactly my concern, too. I also thought taking my
current laptop with me when I am travelling - but I dont
do it because:

- it is too heavy
- it is too big (although its only 14")
- I dont want it to be stolen/damaged because it was rather expensive
- the battery sucks

[bikerboy]

plus you can make a BBQ at your feet lol

besides a few years back we had pentium III pc's and thought they were top stuff b/c there was nothing better.

yes the eee pc may be slower than others at heavy progs but if youre looking for a fast laptop to reach the speed of desktop pc's then it's too expensive and not worth it.

[Shockwave]

Main things to make sure are cool (more important than performance imho) are;

The keyboard is robust and nice to use
The screen is clear and easy to read
The battery life is good

Problem of course is that if a keyboard/screen gets broken then the laptop might as well go in the bin, it's uneconomical to repair them.

[combatking0]

Ours came with Open Office.

I've found that many laptops will quite easily operate through an external VGA monitor, so if you're looking for a cheap laptop to use as a desktop, say to introduce a young child or somebody with violent tendancies, it can be cheaper than buying a new machine when they break it.

I do prefer desktops for their upgradability, but it depends on what you want to do with it.

I'd reckon an eeePC would be the machine of choice for those wanting to browse the internets / write documents / create spreadsheets on the move and have the ability to save work easily for printing or transferring to a more powerful machine later.

Our eeePCs will be used in a classroom. We weren't consulted on whether this would be a good idea. I reckon the first one will come back for repair (due to vandalism) in less than 30 minutes.

[warters]

I was in a meeting with our IT manager today and he has got one of these:

http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/pl/27-1160085/Laptop-Computers/Samsung-NC10-Intel-Atom-N270-1.6GHz-1024MB-160GB-TFT10-WinXP-Home-Compare-Prices

He reckons it's amazing, and every online review I can find also scores it highly.

Pretty good price too. I'm thinking of getting one for my daily commute.

[benny!]

@warters:

Thanks for the info. Very interested to hear some personal
recommendation. Just 2 days ago I bought a notebook maga-
zine because there was a test of netbooks in it. And guess
what ? The Samsung NC10 gets the highest rating. I already
had the chance to use it live in a computer store.

Seems to be a very good netbook indeed. I am also thinking
about buying it. Will keep you updated.

[warters]

Be good to get your opinion on it Benny 

Looks like I'm in the market for a new desktop too. Mine is beginning to show it's age now and running even 2 or 3 apps together is causing me all sorts of trouble!

[Shockwave]

Mine is beginning to show it's age now and running even 2 or 3 apps together is causing me all sorts of trouble!

That will be because I removed 2gb of the memory and replaced the processor with a 486dx2 before I sold it to you

[relsoft]

A student of mine just bought an MSI wind notebook which is as big and looks the same as the ASUS eepc. The difference is that.

The MSI wind is a full featured notebook.

80gb HDD
Intel ATOM Dual Core

For like adding another 20 USD.