I don't usually post in forums unless the topic is of special interest or assistance. I couldn't find a way to reply in general in this forum so I'm replying to this first post in hopes of having it
posted in the general public Netbook thread.
(like the Linksys thread I started about two years ago regarding the setup of a problematic product.
See here:
http://forums.linksys.com/linksys/board/message?board.id=Media_Adapters&thread.id=35
Having said that, I have had a special interest in Netbooks in recent weeks so I've been doing some homework/research on them.
I agree with some of the good posts in this thread and thought that I'd my two cents.
It looks like I'll be buying a Netbook right after Christmas or so. The reason I say this because my research has revealed that Netbook developments seem to be ongoing and rolling out on a weekly basis.
It's interesting that the main source of competition to the Netbook market is NOT other netbook developers but PDA cellphones.
The biggest selling point of Netbooks is the fact that they're mini computers used for simple, low overhead tasking. (email, web surfing, You Tube access, etc.)
Well, these functions have pretty much become standard issue in PDAs so for many consumers Netbooks are just another piece of hardware to carry around.
However, for novice techies like myself, I still find typing on my PDA very frustrating. Not that the Netbook keyboards are any blessing (one of the major complaints that I've read about regarding
Netbooks is the small cluttered keyboards) Still, they have to be better than the onscreen touch keyboards that I'm presently using on both of my PDAs!
Also, I should mention that Netbooks are supplemental hardware. They should not be considered primary-use computers. So if you don't already own a laptop or desktop I don't recommend the purchase
of a Netbook as a first computer.
I also agree with many posts here the storage capacity limitations. SSD is a very attractive medium but the price/storage ratio is still prohibitive at this early stage of its infancy. 2009 appears promising as it pertains to the development price/capacity ration of this medium.
I was somewhat stifled in my Netbook interest by the SSD based 12gig XP OS and Linux OS 20gig limitations until I discovered a website by a Netbook expert.
This guy is amazing and you can peruse his mod videos and reviews at:
http://www.jkkmobile.com
(I should note that I have no affiliation with this site so it is not a promotion of this site except for informational and educational purposes) Again this guy is amazing. You can also find some of his
videos on YouTube. (CNET should feature this guy. His knowledge is endless)
It was solely on account of this guy that Netbooks showed promised when I found a mod video on how to replace the SSD storage with a 160 gig mini hard drive on an Asus EEE 900 or 901. That video that rekindled my interest in Netbooks and is the reason why I'm in the market for one in the near future.
Anyhow, that's pretty much my two cents on the topic of Netbooks.
Maybe I'll post something here when I buy one and play with it.
Best to all, fellow techies...
Josephb
New York City
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General discussion
What's the difference between Netbooks and notebooks?
What's the difference between Netbooks and notebooks?
Lately, I've been hearing quite a buzz around Netbooks; maybe you've seen one, but these particular laptops are super tiny and cute! I'm currently shopping around for my first laptop, not for a desktop replacement, but a portable computer I can take along with me on my travels. I'm new to laptops, but aren't these so-called Netbooks like every other laptop out there, but just smaller in size? I'm having a difficult time differentiate the two types. Can you give me run down on the differences between the two types of laptops? I want something small in size, but does size matter when it comes to performance or operation? I sure don't want to buy something that won't meet my needs. Any information you can help me with this Netbook vs. laptop decision will help me out a great deal. Thanks in advance.
--Submitted by Donna S.
Here are some featured member answers to get you started, but
please read up on all the advice and suggestions that our
members have contributed to this member's question.
Difference between notebooks and netbooks --Submitted by 3rdalbum
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7587_102-0.html?forumID=69&threadID=313546&messageID=2890973#2890973
Netbook vs. notebook --Submitted by waytron
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7587_102-0.html?forumID=69&threadID=313546&messageID=2891079#2891079
What's a netbook? --Submitted by Watzman
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7587_102-0.html?forumID=69&threadID=313546&messageID=2895071#2895071
Netbooks are... --Submitted by choosenotebook
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7587_102-0.html?forumID=69&threadID=313546&messageID=28961632896163
If you have any additional recommendations or experience using netbooks to share with Donna, let's hear them. Click on the "Reply" link to post. Please be detailed as possible in your answer and list all options available. Thanks!
Discussion is locked
91 - 120 of 106 Posts
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For traveling and keeping up with email and doing some surfing, I would love a netbook. Before they were available, I bought a Macbook because it is small, the power supply is small and lightweight, and it comes with a lot of software. For me a small keyboard is fine as I am a two-fingered typist. I don't like touch pads so I usually carry a mouse. A small screen isn't a problem unless you do a lot of computer work on the road. One issue is the time to wear out for SSDs. I understand the computer needs to avoid writing to the same areas all the time or the SSD wears out. Apparently the computers are set up to write to different areas as much as possible to avoid premature failure.
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I was wondering whether or not I could install MS Office on a netbooks?
Also can I plug an external HD such as a LACIE HD by USB ?
thank you in advance
have a nice day
gyrocheck777
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Yes, MS Office can be installed. Remember though that space is a consideration and that it does effect performance.
My eeePC came preinstalled with Works and Sun Office.
I really don't use Sun and decisded to strip it off the drive and my performance improved somewhat overall. While installing Office was considered, I took a look at what I'm doing with this netbook.
First, considering Office, I realized I never use the Outlook any more and have made the change to Windows live mail completely.
So even when I do instll MS Office, I install the Word/Excel parts.
However, I am finding that this version of Works translates quite well to my other notebooks using Office 2000 and 2003.
So from the travel perspective, again this is the way to go, since it also includes the calender/project/contacts templates.
As I mentioned before, I use a 200g-7200rpm seagate notebook drive; setup for external use and it works extremely well, but again, I am finding that I am using the Extreme MMC cards more and more, because of travel-ability.
Something to consider here is putting as many of your programs on the logical "D" drive if you are using the SSD partitioned to two.
This gives the "C" drive better head room to run Windows and vastly improves performance.
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I'm a programmer and I have replaced without any kind of problem my Dell Inspiron 1420 (160gb HD, 2Gb RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo) with the so small and portable Acer Aspire One. I use EVERY DAY for more than 12 hours a day Visual Studio 2005, Office 2007, Opera Web Browser and a lot of other programs I need to do my job.
Main advantage: when I'm fed up with the "office environment" I go to some bar near with wifi and keep on working from there for the two and almost a half hour that the battery lasts. And all I carry is the Acer, just like a small book.
And I haven't noticed any major difference in performance with the Dell...
Just my experience...
Bye
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Every PC has the same posibility to receive connected a lot of USB devices, such an external HD or DVD Drive. To do this, the PC's have several USB ports, and Netbook aren't the exception.
Moreover, I don't like MS Office 2007, and my Aspire One was preinstalled this program, so on, I uninstall it, then connect a LG
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My netbook: Acer Inspire ONE w/120GB HDD, 1GB RAM, Windows XP SP3. I assume that you have a similar version.
I already had a licence for MS Office 2007 (Home & Student w/o Outlook) which lets me to instal three instances. As I was only using two, I activated the "trial" that was pre-installed on my ONE. I prefer the 2007 suite over the 2003 version... but that's a personal preference. Performance wise, it works as good as on any other system.
As for external drives, I have a USB-2 based LG Multi-Writer ODD (CD/DVD/DVD-DL) and a USB-2 Maxtor OneTouch4, 750GB HDD. I use the latter for backups. I installed Acronis True Image on the ONE to manage those.
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Among my portable devices I like my netbook very, very much. I have an ACER ONE which I took on a trip to Europe. The videos I wanted to take I put in a small compressed form on the hard disk. Some stuff I wanted to play with I put on a portable hard drive. I use a bluetooth stereo headset as the speakers are a little underpowered.
The netbook does not have the performance of my notebooks but I did not expect it to. It is satisfactory for the purpose. I used it for GPS and internet (in airports and other wifi places plus wireless broadband modem)). As I keep personal data on flash cards that I take out when needed my privacy was not a big issue.
At home I use a wireless mouse as the touchpad is a little tricky to use. I often use it at home for internet music.
One concern is the screen resolution. Though it is good for almost anything Yahoo mail complains and some programs do not show all of oversized dialog boxes.
What I wish that it worked differently is the hibernation mode. When walking in Rome you need a map at all times and waking up from hibernation takes a long time. May be someone comes up with a flash memory solution to speed that up.
Battery life time is big concern. So I bought two external batteries which give me a total run time of about six hours. In the night I would listen to some lectures (from converted DVDs) and play a game or work on my photos of the day while recharging the batteries.
In conclusion: If you can eliminate the need for a CD/DVD and if you are not in rush this netbook is just marvelous because of the handy size and a price that allows this additional computer to be bought. For the purpose I give my toy a five star rating.
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I am seriously considering getting the MSI Wind (it seems to be the choice Netbook, especially since it is now the cheapest 10 inch), but I am curious as to how it holds up streaming videos. Does anyone know how well or poorly it does on sites like Youtube, Netflix and television Web sites? I would think, based on the specs, that it would stream fine, but you never know. Thanks for any comments.
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The posts here have been great. For the traveller I see great benefits for the netbook storing photos and accessing wifi hotspots.
My purpose for buying the ACER aspire one would be mainly to store AVCHD (high definition) video footage. I would be most happy if I cannot even view the files, but I need to be able to use the software on the netbook to successfully download them. I cannot find any mention on the web about the capabilities of the atom processor comapared to normal software system requirements. The stated system requirements for the software program are: Windows XP SP2, Pentium 4 1.6GHz, with 512MB of RAM.
Is anyone absolutely confident that I would be able to use the netbook for this purpose? If so, I'll be buying one this weekend! They are small, light and would be the perfect tool for the job.
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screen that uses the new Atom processor and has 160 gig HD. The reviewer said it has around 6 hours of battery life.
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There is a new Acer Aspire One with 10" TFT, 160 Gb in hard disk, 6 cell batery for 4 hours and same other characteristics as older Aspire One`s, but with HALF OF PRICE than Asus, and in United States of America (only by now), there is a new Aspire One 11.1 ionches in TFT, 160 Gb in hard disk, 6 cell batery for 5 hours and same other characteristics as older Aspire One`s, slightly high priced tahn the 10 inches mentioned above.
The aspire One 11.1 " should be half priced tah HP Tablet Pc`s, so opn, I'll still preffer Acer`s.
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Netbooks are a lot smaller than notebooks and can carry around the same amount of power and some featues as a notebook as long as you are willing to pay for it. Notebooks on the other hand can be easily upgraded unlike netbooks where once you purchase one thats it, no upgrading to any of the internal parts like RAM. Notebooks can handle more like games, video editing...etc. netbooks are more of a websurfing, document editing system.
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I've been thinking bout getting a netbook. I travel a lot for business and do powerpoint presentations. Re: netbooks, I saw some comments & concerns about resolutions. Would a netbook work fine for my presentations? Normally I don't travel with a projector but use the client's projector. Any problem with netbooks and the various projectors I might encounter at clients?
The other uses on the road would be the web access and emails. Not having a DVD/CD drive doesn't seem like a big drawback for me. I would like to lighten my load while traveling.
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The difference between netbook and notebook:
- netbook is smaller
- netbook is cheaper
- netbook is suitable for who goes to outside because it's easy to carry out.
http://netbookblackfridaydeals.com/black-friday-toshiba-netbook/
http://www.blackfridaydealslaptops.com
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