Need help buying a netbook

[Run BJM]

As you might remember I was in the market for a laptop before I started college last september. I eventually opted to just use my dad's somewhat-aged-but-still-solid laptop and its been perfect. It never leaves my desk though. Its just too big (its not even that big though, probably a 16' screen I would guess), and when i leave for class I usually dont come back to my dorm until 1 AM- I just don't want to be lugging it around all day in my backpack. And aside from that, I really don't ask much of my computers. All I need is ability to surf the web, watch movies, type word documents, and listen to music. I love my several years old desktop that is home and I've become fond of this also aging computer that I use at my dorm, they are more than capable of doing my daily tasks. I really don't wanna spend ~1500 on a laptop that won't leave my desk and has all the bells and whistles that I don't require.

That being said, I'd like to be able to surf the web during class and around campus. I spend most of my time in class or in my g/f or friend's dorms which are right across from each other. A netbook would be great because it is capable of doing everything I need and I can use it in class (I have fridays off this quarter which means 2 hour lectures, I need something to do!) and I can use it in other dorms and I won't have to bum other peoples computers which they usually need to use. Plus they're nice and cheap, very portable, and seemingly more durable/

My questions are

1) are they capable of listening to music, surfing the web, going on AIM, watching movies, etc.? I'd like it to be able to multitask without much slowdown.

2) Should I get a harddrive or flash memory? FWIW it seems like most of them come with a SD card reader and I havev an 8 GB SD card in my phone at all times plus I have a 8 GB flash drive on my keychain. So I'm carrying 16 GB of memory with me at all times. Add that to the 8-16 GB that it already comes with pplus I'll be using a regular desktop at home and I think it'll be fine. But are the hardrives really that much less durable? Will the flash memory really withstand a good beating? Is the flash memory slower or faster than a hardrive and is it enough to be an annoyance?

3) what are the differences jni screen size from 8.9-10 inch?

4) what do you guys recommend? I'm not looking for anything too fancy btw. Good value is key.

 

[Trip]

1) are they capable of listening to music, surfing the web, going on AIM, watching movies, etc.? I'd like it to be able to multitask without much slowdown.

2) Should I get a harddrive or flash memory? FWIW it seems like most of them come with a SD card reader and I havev an 8 GB SD card in my phone at all times plus I have a 8 GB flash drive on my keychain. So I'm carrying 16 GB of memory with me at all times. Add that to the 8-16 GB that it already comes with pplus I'll be using a regular desktop at home and I think it'll be fine. But are the hardrives really that much less durable? Will the flash memory really withstand a good beating? Is the flash memory slower or faster than a hardrive and is it enough to be an annoyance?

3) what are the differences jni screen size from 8.9-10 inch?

4) what do you guys recommend? I'm not looking for anything too fancy btw. Good value is key.

I'm thinking of buying a netbook this summer too so I've been doing some research. This is what I've found:

1) They can handle all that fairly well. Get one with at least 1GB system memory and you should be able to have several applications running at the same time.

2) I don't know about the SSD drives because I think I'll be getting one with as much storage space as possible, but yeah, SSD's are a fairly new technology and there could be some unforeseen problems.

3) Screen size is just screen size. The bigger the screen is, the more expensive it is. One thing to keep in mind though is that for many of these netbooks, keyboard size is an issue if you have somewhat big hands. Also, some netbooks have keyboards that slightly vary from traditional ones in key placement etc. Look for one that is as natural as possible.

4) I'm thinking I'll get this one. http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/...&subtype=mininotebook&model_cd=NP-NC10-KA01US

It looks nice, has excellent battery life and the reviews have been good.

 

[Denny Crane]

I'm thinking of buying a netbook this summer too so I've been doing some research. This is what I've found:

1) They can handle all that fairly well. Get one with at least 1GB system memory and you should be able to have several applications running at the same time.

2) I don't know about the SSD drives because I think I'll be getting one with as much storage space as possible, but yeah, SSD's are a fairly new technology and there could be some unforeseen problems.

3) Screen size is just screen size. The bigger the screen is, the more expensive it is. One thing to keep in mind though is that for many of these netbooks, keyboard size is an issue if you have somewhat big hands. Also, some netbooks have keyboards that slightly vary from traditional ones in key placement etc. Look for one that is as natural as possible.

4) I'm thinking I'll get this one. http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/...&subtype=mininotebook&model_cd=NP-NC10-KA01US

It looks nice, has excellent battery life and the reviews have been good.

SSDs are great. I'd be looking for as big a one as I can afford. Zero seek time, near instant transfer time. A 32G drive won't hold my whole MP3 collection, but it's plenty to run windows or linux and have a few apps installed.

2G RAM minimum if you're running windows. You'll use it all and then some just running Firefox.

I don't like that samsung one at all. Slow 5400 RPM hard disk drive. You can buy a real laptop for the price with bigger screen and faster/bigger hard drive. It is worth the price for a small netbook sized thing with SSD tho.

 

[Run BJM]

SSDs are great. I'd be looking for as big a one as I can afford. Zero seek time, near instant transfer time. A 32G drive won't hold my whole MP3 collection, but it's plenty to run windows or linux and have a few apps installed.

2G RAM minimum if you're running windows. You'll use it all and then some just running Firefox.

I don't like that samsung one at all. Slow 5400 RPM hard disk drive. You can buy a real laptop for the price with bigger screen and faster/bigger hard drive. It is worth the price for a small netbook sized thing with SSD tho.

Yeah the SSDs are quite attractive because of durability but it kind of sucks because you can get like 8 or maybe 16 GB SSD or a 160 GB HDD for the same price. I did a bit of research and learned that the SSDs that manufacturers use in netbooks are very poor quality and virtually the same speed as the HDs. Not sure how true that is though.

I don't see any netbooks with 2 G RAM. There's 1 GB DDR2. Yeah I was looking at that samsung one too. HP has a couple really good looking ones but they only have 3 cell batteries.

I've been looking a lot at the MSI wind. Not familiar with MSI's quality in general but people seem to like this net book a lot and it has a lot of the things I want in a Netbook- 1.6 GHz Intel processor, 6 cell battery, 160 GB HD (its not available with a SSD), 4-in-1 card reader, 3 USB ports.

Acer Aspire One's also look good. But how about the Asus Eee 901?
http://www.amazon.com/8-9-Inch-Netb...ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1238699275&sr=1-2

ITs pretty cheap there, has a 20 GB SSD, 1.6 GHZ Intel Atom, 1 GB Ram. That version is Linux tohugh which I have no experience using. Would anyone recommend Linux? My vague understanding of it is that its somewhat complicated if you're a novice. Is it compatible with Windows programs? What are the pros and cons and what should beginners know about it?

 

[Denny Crane]

Yeah the SSDs are quite attractive because of durability but it kind of sucks because you can get like 8 or maybe 16 GB SSD or a 160 GB HDD for the same price. I did a bit of research and learned that the SSDs that manufacturers use in netbooks are very poor quality and virtually the same speed as the HDs. Not sure how true that is though.

I don't see any netbooks with 2 G RAM. There's 1 GB DDR2. Yeah I was looking at that samsung one too. HP has a couple really good looking ones but they only have 3 cell batteries.

I've been looking a lot at the MSI wind. Not familiar with MSI's quality in general but people seem to like this net book a lot and it has a lot of the things I want in a Netbook- 1.6 GHz Intel processor, 6 cell battery, 160 GB HD (its not available with a SSD), 4-in-1 card reader, 3 USB ports.

Acer Aspire One's also look good. But how about the Asus Eee 901?
http://www.amazon.com/8-9-Inch-Netb...ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1238699275&sr=1-2

ITs pretty cheap there, has a 20 GB SSD, 1.6 GHZ Intel Atom, 1 GB Ram. That version is Linux tohugh which I have no experience using. Would anyone recommend Linux? My vague understanding of it is that its somewhat complicated if you're a novice. Is it compatible with Windows programs? What are the pros and cons and what should beginners know about it?

The SSD drives are way faster. The IDE connection to the motherboard is the same speed. With a good hard disk, you won't saturate the IDE (SATA, whatever). You should with the SSD drives. They simply don't have to seek with a mechanical head to find the data, nor does fragmentation of the disk make any difference at all like with a regular hard drive.

The cheapest/lowest end netbook I looked at on Dell's site can take 2G of RAM.

If this is going to be your main machine, then the size of the SSD matters. If not, you can move files to/from it and a desktop, or use an external hard drive for offline kind of storage.

I expect the linux to work quite well for you. It runs thunderbird (email) and firefox (both mozilla products) and openoffice which does pretty much what MS Office does (can read/write office files, too). The desktop is superior to Vista, IMO.

 

[Run BJM]

I expect the linux to work quite well for you. It runs thunderbird (email) and firefox (both mozilla products) and openoffice which does pretty much what MS Office does (can read/write office files, too). The desktop is superior to Vista, IMO.

Just put Ubuntu on my comp in the dorm. I'm liking it so far. Installing things is somewhat confusing. I'm especially having trouble getting certain codecs to work in the rhythmbox music player. I think I'll use this as my main OS for a few weeks and see how I like it.

 

[bbwMax]

As you might remember I was in the market for a laptop before I started college last september. I eventually opted to just use my dad's somewhat-aged-but-still-solid laptop and its been perfect. It never leaves my desk though. Its just too big (its not even that big though, probably a 16' screen I would guess), and when i leave for class I usually dont come back to my dorm until 1 AM- I just don't want to be lugging it around all day in my backpack. And aside from that, I really don't ask much of my computers. All I need is ability to surf the web, watch movies, type word documents, and listen to music. I love my several years old desktop that is home and I've become fond of this also aging computer that I use at my dorm, they are more than capable of doing my daily tasks. I really don't wanna spend ~1500 on a laptop that won't leave my desk and has all the bells and whistles that I don't require.

That being said, I'd like to be able to surf the web during class and around campus. I spend most of my time in class or in my g/f or friend's dorms which are right across from each other. A netbook would be great because it is capable of doing everything I need and I can use it in class (I have fridays off this quarter which means 2 hour lectures, I need something to do!) and I can use it in other dorms and I won't have to bum other peoples computers which they usually need to use. Plus they're nice and cheap, very portable, and seemingly more durable/

My questions are

1) are they capable of listening to music, surfing the web, going on AIM, watching movies, etc.? I'd like it to be able to multitask without much slowdown.

2) Should I get a harddrive or flash memory? FWIW it seems like most of them come with a SD card reader and I havev an 8 GB SD card in my phone at all times plus I have a 8 GB flash drive on my keychain. So I'm carrying 16 GB of memory with me at all times. Add that to the 8-16 GB that it already comes with pplus I'll be using a regular desktop at home and I think it'll be fine. But are the hardrives really that much less durable? Will the flash memory really withstand a good beating? Is the flash memory slower or faster than a hardrive and is it enough to be an annoyance?

3) what are the differences jni screen size from 8.9-10 inch?

4) what do you guys recommend? I'm not looking for anything too fancy btw. Good value is key.

I have the Acer Aspire One so I'll answer your questions using that

1) It can play music, you can surf the web and AIM all at the same time , and movies but most netbooks don't have a CD Drive to save weight and size.

2) Mine has a 120gb HDD and 2 SD slots, one is a memory expansion, which, sort of bolts onto the HDD and becomes part of it. Thats useful if you have the 20gb model and need more but I don't need it with the 120gb model. The additional SD slot is simply for external use, music, documents etc

3) The screen size on the AAO is 8.9 inches so pretty good, I believe there are newer models which have a 10.1 inch screen but obviously the whole netbook is a little bigger. the screen quality is amazing, so clear.

4)I would definitely recommend the AAO, does everything a laptop does except have the CD drive, if you can't live without windows then that is a little pricier then the Linux Linpus one. The 20gb Windows is the about the same price as the 120gb Linux, I took space over size. Looking

Oh an Extra note, if your taking a netbook to classes then I'd get an extra battery if your there for over 2-3 hours, the battery life can sap pretty quickly.

Prices and Links

Acer Aspire one, 120gb, Windows XP
Aspire one, 160gb, Linux Linpus

 

[Denny Crane]

Hmmm... I use Amarok as my music player and it seemed to have all the codecs or at least installed them automatically.

Which ubuntu? There's ubunu (gnome desktop), kubuntu (kde desktop), and a couple of other variants.

Also, which version? 8.10 is what I'm running.

 

[Anima]

Just put Ubuntu on my comp in the dorm. I'm liking it so far. Installing things is somewhat confusing. I'm especially having trouble getting certain codecs to work in the rhythmbox music player. I think I'll use this as my main OS for a few weeks and see how I like it.

Did you download the DVD or LiveCD? Also, if you are using Xine or mPlayer you will have to download codecs because they are not included due to copyrights. Either way, you may have to go into add/remove and download all the Gstreamer plugins.