The Netbook Thread

[PrinceCaspian]

Ok, I’m starting this thread because I am a big fan of Netbooks. They’re ridiculously efficient and, sure they’re not there for games etc, they’re actually much more useful than your typical notebook for day-to-day use because they’re better on batteries, less expensive (and therefore better for travel use), and less bulky.

I’ve had a chance to play with pretty much all the major ones to have been released so far – the Asus EeePC, the HP Whatever the **** it’s called, the Pioneer and the recent Acer Aspire One. Each of them have their good and poor points, though personally I think the Acer Aspire One is the best of them, and is a beautiful machine.

Anyhow, feel free to ask questions if you’re keen on picking one up etc etc. It’s a booming market area, especially in business and education, and as I said, they’re better value than equivilently priced notebooks (if you’re going to get a notebook, imo, go with a $2000 + model.

[Pai Mel]

I am also a big fan of netbooks.

[mayo]

A friend of mine has a pink EeePC. So annoying trying to type on those things.
She's off to China for a year though, so it'll come in handy.

[Mr Incredible]

From what I've been reading the MSI Wind is shaping up to be all kinds of awesome.

http://apcmag.com/msi_wind.htm

[Pai Mel]

Does MSI have Firewire port? I would have got meself an eepC if it had one, due to my stupid iMac's Firewire port being non-standard.

[PrinceCaspian]

Picking up one of these ASAP:

http://www.acer.com/aspireone/

It is a great, great Netbook.


A friend of mine has a pink EeePC. So annoying trying to type on those things.
She's off to China for a year though, so it'll come in handy.

Yeah they’re not great for extended typing, but what they are good for is being a travel companion. My brother uses his EeePC (which is ok, but far from my favourite Netbook) all the time when at uni. The notebook stays at home because it’s simply too bulky.

[drzaius]

i put in an order for a EeePC 901 today.
i hope it arrives before i leave to europe/USA next friday!

[Supermodified]

I hate netbooks (never heard that term used before). Way too tiny to be of any use to me. I can understand how they could appeal to people, but I'm extremely happy with my MacBook.

[Pai Mel]

I could have got a MacBook but chose a 20" iMac instead. It's not like I go anywhere. :P

[PrinceCaspian]

My Aspire One arrives tomorrow! So excited :D

[StorminNorman]

I hate netbooks (never heard that term used before).

They're usually called UMPCs (Ultra-mobile PCs).

Not sure where the "Netbook" nomenclature comes from, I've never encountered it before either. Perhaps a mod could retitle this thread to the more common term?

[drzaius]

I think 'netbook' is the new name!
it's what i know them as!

[PrinceCaspian]

They're usually called UMPCs (Ultra-mobile PCs).

Not sure where the "Netbook" nomenclature comes from, I've never encountered it before either. Perhaps a mod could retitle this thread to the more common term?

“Netbook” was a term coined by Microsoft to describe low powered, low cost notebooks that M$ would allow Windows XP to be installed on. It’s caught on now that Intel’s Atom chip has become standard for the form, and vendors, such as Acer, are using it to describe a specific line of products. Essentially they’re a distinct, but very new product line, and, assuming their continued success in the market, the use of the word “Netbook” will become more widespread.

UMPCs are a different breed entirely. They’re much higher specced, usually have touch screen capabilities and so on and so forth, and target niche vertical markets.

[drzaius]

eeepc 901 arrived this morning! charging... it's cute!

[PrinceCaspian]

I’m still waiting for the Aspire One :(

[StorminNorman]

UMPCs are a different breed entirely. They’re much higher specced, usually have touch screen capabilities and so on and so forth, and target niche vertical markets.

Everyone I know classes the Eee as a UMPC. Make of that what you will.

[PrinceCaspian]

Everyone I know classes the Eee as a UMPC. Make of that what you will.

All the tech journos I know call them netbooks, because UMPCs really are a whole different thing. *shrugs*

[PrinceCaspian]

The Aspire One is the greatest thing ever.

[Fenrir]

sure they’re not there for games etc
Maybe with the onset of these "Netbooks", it'd be a good idea to target the platform as a low-end game designer. I'll continue to keep scalability in mind for that RTS/RPG experiment.

From what I've been reading the MSI Wind is shaping up to be all kinds of awesome.

http://apcmag.com/msi_wind.htm

Amusingly, the MSI Wind includes built in, one touch, overclocking. With a Fn-F10 keypress, the system overclocks the processor to 1.9GHz. Though this works on mains power only, it’s a cute way to differentiate the product in the market (as well as show off the flexibility of the Atom). As we didn’t have any complaints about the Atom running at its stock 1.6GHz, running it up to 1.9GHz is really the icing on the cake, and we all know extra CPU headroom is always nice to have.
ROFL

[PrinceCaspian]

Some netbooks, such as the Asus EeePCs, can be used as clients for virtualisation. There’s technology out there that lets users stream games through a network/ PC into the EeePC which then can play virtually any game perfectly well.


Why you’d want to is another matter, but if you’re serious about playing games on the thing, you can.

[drzaius]

holy shit.
this battery lasts FOREVER!

[Fenrir]

Why you’d want to is another matter
If school kids are a target audience for the product, you can expect there to be demand for something to keep them distracted in class.

[Gemerald]

holy shit.
this battery lasts FOREVER!

^ I've heard mixed reviews on the battery. It's confusing, are 2 places producing the batteries?

[PrinceCaspian]

If school kids are a target audience for the product, you can expect there to be demand for something to keep them distracted in class.

When it comes to school kids, I imagine the network they’re accessing can, and will be monitored.


That said, I use my Aspire One for Nethack more than anything already, so whatever <_<

[Newell]

When it comes to school kids, I imagine the network they’re accessing can, and will be monitored.

School networks are already monitored and heavily restricted.

[dinopoke]

Depends which school you are in. ;)

[Javer]

and how good you are at, erm.

I don't even know if i can talk about that here >_>

[Fenrir]

When it comes to school kids, I imagine the network they’re accessing can, and will be monitored.


That said, I use my Aspire One for Nethack more than anything already, so whatever <_<
Nah, forget networks, I don't think Rudd is guaranteeing Wi-Fi hotspots for every classroom. I meant addictive and enticing low-end games that can be run on a Netbook's own grunt. The Diablo-Zelda of the Netbook generation, or something.

Actually, maybe I should call it "Diablo-Zelda", starring a Barbarian in green tunic and tights. :p

[drzaius]

^ I've heard mixed reviews on the battery. It's confusing, are 2 places producing the batteries?

not sure - but it's pretty damn good.

[Sir_Psycho]

Amusingly, the MSI Wind includes built in, one touch, overclocking. With a Fn-F10 keypress, the system overclocks the processor to 1.9GHz. Though this works on mains power only, it’s a cute way to differentiate the product in the market (as well as show off the flexibility of the Atom). As we didn’t have any complaints about the Atom running at its stock 1.6GHz, running it up to 1.9GHz is really the icing on the cake, and we all know extra CPU headroom is always nice to have.
Actually, I have a program called eeecontrol, which I can use to do nearly the exact same thing. I've never tried though.

Anyway, yes, I have an eeePC 700. Me and my dad disabled "easy-mode" Linux, found it was a cluster***** of an OS despite it's lofty ideals and n-lighted winXP onto them. Since then, it's been great. It has it's wi-fi capable, so I can use the net from home, tafe, cafes, and random street corners.

I keep all my PnP RPG acrobat reader files on it, a bit of music, a few emulators and the original Deus Ex (which plays perfectly, despite needing to plug in a mouse). I've got Unreal running at a good framerate, but it's been crashing - I'm not sure if it's a problem with the computer or the buggy game.

But I'm not too ambitious. I'm planning to get the original HL on there, but on a forum my dad frequents, there's a guy who got oblivion running on an eeepc. Of course, the framerate was about 6fps, but he posted pics.

[Diablo]

eeePC or the $250 laptop in my thread? Hmmm...

The size factor is the biggest pro for the eeepc correct- so what else makes it good?

I now know how to pep. Keep that in mind. =D

[PrinceCaspian]

The strength of all netbooks is their uncomplicated ease-of-use. I love my regular notebook, which is more powerful, but I find I use my netbook more because it’s far more portable, far more efficient and just generally easier to use.

It’s like owning a DS, and owning a PS3 with attach-on LCD screen and portable battery. Sure you can technically take that PS3 with you and play it on the go, but the DS is far better at that.

[Diablo]

Well yeah, scratch my other post bout the laptop my friend sourced for me as it's been sold. I'll be grabbing a netbook/notebook depending on the best deal i can get from the big boys - jb/harvey/dick smith.

Cheers

[Blue]

Also mate, it seems as if an eeePC would be almost as powerful as that other laptop, so I'd go the eeePC.

[Mr Incredible]

Speaking of eee PC's...I have one for sale!

http://www.hyper.com.au/forums/showthread.php?p=894163#post894163

An absolute bargain too!

How's the Acer going Artemis?

Getting much use?

How are you finding the keyboard?

[Stevorooni]

Harvey Norman have the Acer One with the Intel Atom 1.6Ghz Processor, 1.5gig of RAM, 80gig HD and the 8.9" screen with XP Home for $697 with a $99 cashback (so $598 eventually!)


Those specs are better than my laptop (1.4Ghz celery, 1.25gig of RAM and a 40gig HD) which suits me fine but I'm sick of lugging the damn thing around with it's giant 15.4" screen.

Seriously thinking about getting one now, might go have a look on Monday

EDIT Oh wow I just drew the dimensions up on a piece of paper and it's almost exactly half the size of my laptop

[Araenel]

Harvey Norman have the Acer One with the Intel Atom 1.6Ghz Processor, 1.5gig of RAM, 80gig HD and the 8.9" screen with XP Home for $697 with a $99 cashback (so $598 eventually!)


Those specs are better than my laptop (1.4Ghz celery, 1.25gig of RAM and a 40gig HD) which suits me fine but I'm sick of lugging the damn thing around with it's giant 15.4" screen.

Seriously thinking about getting one now, might go have a look on Monday

EDIT Oh wow I just drew the dimensions up on a piece of paper and it's almost exactly half the size of my laptop

Yeah we have it for the same at Dick Smith, I've had a poke around on one and it's damn fine. I'm really tempted to get one too, but I have a feeling it's more for novelty than utility >_>

[Stevorooni]

Well I'd actually use mine for work (and as a tax deduction) but there's not actually anything wrong with my current laptop except for its physical size and weight. I don't know if it's worth $600 just so I have something less heavy to lug around.
Maybe if I wait a year for my laptop to be completely outdated, then the specs on these netbooks should be better anyway.

[Mr Incredible]

http://www.sizeasy.com/page/image/15785-Apple-Macbook-vs-Acer-Aspire-One-vs-Apple-Macbook-Keyboard?m=s&v=a&h=400&w=495&fmt=.jpg&192727

This a comparison of a Macbook, an Acer Apsire One and the Macbooks keyboard. Considering the keyboard on the Acer takes up pretty much the whole width of the unit, the keyboard is about three centimetres narrower than the Macbook's. Which isn't too bad.

That's really the only thing that I feel would restrict a netbook's productivity, the ability to type as fast as on a standard laptop.

Here's the MSI Wind thrown in for good measure.

http://www.sizeasy.com/page/image/15786-Apple-Macbook-vs-MSI-Wind-vs-Acer-Aspire-One?m=s&v=a&h=400&w=495&fmt=.jpg&516853

Just a tad larger than the Acer!

[Stevorooni]

So if these things don't even have a cd/dvd drive in them, how do you install anything?

[Mr Incredible]

Download programs over wi-fi or use an external USB powered CD/DVD drive.

[Gemerald]

Yeah we have it for the same at Dick Smith, I've had a poke around on one and it's damn fine. I'm really tempted to get one too, but I have a feeling it's more for novelty than utility >_>

^ Never seen any at my store, possibly because we sold out. Unless keyboards and battery life improve for netbooks I can't imagine getting one. Most people buy it for the small form factor even though in terms of performance, it may only last 2-3 years.

[Rambo]

So what store did you pick it up from Mr Incredible?

I might need one later.

[PrinceCaspian]

Speaking of eee PC's...I have one for sale!

http://www.hyper.com.au/forums/showthread.php?p=894163#post894163

An absolute bargain too!

How's the Acer going Artemis?

Getting much use?

How are you finding the keyboard?

Keyboard is fine once you get used to it. I’ve never really been frustrated with it.

And I use my Aspire One more than anything else, because it is so convenient.

[Stevorooni]

I went and checked out Hardly Normal today. They didn't have the Acer one but they did have a couple of Asus ones (one with Linux, the other with XP)

They seemed a bit too small for my ape like fingers, I'd still like to see the Acer one just to see if it's any better. Might have to check out a Dick Smiths or something.

[Sir_Psycho]

I picked up my eee700 at Officeworks, as I couldn't find any ones that weren't sold out anywhere else.

[Cobla]

The Aspire One is the greatest thing ever.Which SKU did you end up getting?

I've been looking for the XP + 1GB RAM + 120 GB HDD one, but so far no luck...

The Linux ones are still pretty tempting though & I'll probably end up buying one before the week's out... if not today! ;)

[PrinceCaspian]

Which SKU did you end up getting?

I've been looking for the XP + 1GB RAM + 120 GB HDD one, but so far no luck...

The Linux ones are still pretty tempting though & I'll probably end up buying one before the week's out... if not today! ;)


Linux, 1 GB Ram, 8 GB SSD


It's ****ing awesome. I went with the SSD for the added durability - less likely to damage due to the fact I carry it everywhere with me (plus I have portable external HDs)

[Sir_Psycho]

I had no patience for Linux. I just installed XP straight away on my eeePC.

[PrinceCaspian]

I’ve yet to have any problems with Linux. Admittedly I just use my Aspire One for word processing, listening to music and other work-related bits and pieces (.pdf viewing etc), but it works fine.

[PrinceCaspian]

BTW guys, there are rumours everywhere that Apple is developing its own Netbook for next year. Now, I’ve got my money on it not being a great device functionally, but the way it will interact with the various iWhatever products will make it a great (and probably fashionable) second netbook.

[Cobla]

So I bought an Aspire One and I have to agree they're pretty darn cool! :)

I'm still running the custom "Linpus" Linux which is very stripped back / simplified out-of-the-box. Amazingly Acer don't provide the user with a way to access some of the installed programs (such as gFTP) let alone provide any real customisation support.

A little tinkering however and I've activated advanced mode (http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=28), installed Thunderbird and Bluefish (an html editor), and customised the desktop icons (http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=739) (which BTW is harder than it should be).

Next up I'm gonna see about deleting the 1GB swap partition on the SSD. Kinda strange they thought it needs one (a hangover from the XP SKU perhaps?), but the removal process seems fairly straight forward.

So this all sounds kinda negative, but the truth is I've enjoyed getting hands on with Linux. So far all the apps I've used have been on the scale of 'good to great' so I might not even bother installing XP (my original intention).

Also the keyboard is great (apparently 95% the size of a laptop keyboard. I'm not sure about this, but it seems noticeably bigger than the Eee PCs to me) and I really appreciate the fact that it's blue. So much so that I wasn't gonna buy one if they only had white or black. How shallow is that! ;)

Oh yeah, plus it was just $399 (after cashback) from Officeworks. Nice!

[Stevorooni]

I still haven't found one to demo

I'm gonna check out a different Harvey Norman and Dick Smith tonight

[Cobla]

You might wanna try an Officeworks too. In my hunt for the XP flavoured one I found most Officeworks around here have the Linux Aspire One in stock.

[Stevorooni]

I found one at Dick Smiths.

Looks nice, keyboard isn't as bad as the Asus ones by the look of it.


But I still can't justify the purchase >_> unless my current laptop has an ... accident... <_<

[Cobla]

Yeah I was umming and ahhing about getting a laptop for work, so it was a way of both 'cheaping out' and actually getting something that will suit my needs. (portability is king for me, especially when I just need a decent browser and FTP client)

Also my HDD multi-track lives upstairs so backing up all my songs and exporting & importing tracks is now really quick and hassle free (Aspire One + USB HDD). Nice.

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

Hey people, does anyone think it would be stupid of me to buy an Acer Aspire One as my only comp?

[drzaius]

hey guys - just came back from a six week holiday with my eeepc 901.

it performed really well with pretty heavy use (word, internet, photo management).

i'd totally recommend it to anyone looking to travel with a computer!

[Sir_Psycho]

Depends what for. With my eeePC 700, I was sitting in my Society and Culture class the other day posting on hyperactive, reading blogs and other sites over my TAFE's wireless. I read Shadowrun and Pixel Hunt PDF files. I play pokemon, Uplink, Knytt stories, Unreal and Deus Ex, I write essays and then email them to the printers at school.

So it really depends what you use. If you want to use the internet? It's pretty good. It's pretty easy to find unprotected wireless nets, but I wouldn't suggest downloading heaps of stuff. Wireless enabled cafes are also pretty sweet, especially if you get friendly with the waitresses to give you the passwords. Also, because of the small screen size, any images at decent resolutions will take up all of or more than your whole screen.

The other problem is HDD space. This can be fixed with a USB hard drive. I don't have one, but I use my desktop hard drive for most of my files, and just keep my pdfs on a USB Stick. If you want to play music on it though, you'll definately want a bigger HDD.

Also, netbooks can be a little slow on the boot, especially if you put XP on. I pulled out the RAM module from mine and put a 1 gig stick in, so it's bearable.

The keyboard is... an acquired sensation. Personally, i've become pretty good at using my tiny eeePC, but I have pretty thin fingers, and it took some practice. One thing you might want to do (My dad did this with his) is tape an old credit card/bus ticket/whatever over the touchpad, because sometimes you'll be tiping and you'll accidentally move the mouse, which sometimes inconveniently means you accidentally just highlighted and deleted what you wrote. Not bad in word processors, as you can ctrl+z, but when posting to hyperactive, it's annoying. So get yourself a little USB mouse. The wireless ones are pretty cool and unobtrusive, and the adapters are usually small enough you can just leave them in the USB ports.

Overall it depends what you need. It's certainly doable, but there are some kinks to work out for it to be anywhere nearly convenient as a more generalized computer.

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

I was thinking of getting the Acer Aspire one that has a 120 gig so HDD space wouldn't be a problem. I barely play any computer games I would mostly just browse (porn), listen to music and write assignments. I really don't know much about computers and the only thing that bothers me is the lack of a disc drive, this could easily be solved by plugging in an external DVD burner though right?

[Ashmaran]

I picked up an EEE PC 1000H a few weeks ago, and it's going well.

Keyboard is good, battery life is nice and it's not too heavy. I keep it in my bag and use it on the train etc to and from work. Bit of home use occasionally.

I think it's a good size and you can do quite a bit with it. Only problems I run into typing is accidentally hitting the trackpad sometimes haha.

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

So would you recommend someone purchase a netbook as there only comp, or do you think they would be better off going with the standard laptop?

Also do you guys think I would be better off going for the 120 gig model, or get the 8 gig model but then used the money saved to get a external hard drive (probably 500gig)?

[Fenrir]

I'm considering buying one of these netbooks towards the end of the year, for my father.

A bit of background: he's over 50 years old, and extremely computer-illiterate; however, for my Software Development major project my group will be developing a software solution for his business (he's a diesel mechanic, btw). The system will be used to catalogue available parts, even going so far as automatically crawling certain websites for info, as well as being used to track jobs, clients etc.
I'm planning on making this program extremely simple to use, infact the web-crawling aspect is an effort to make the system useful before he enters any parts into the database.

Anyway, he travels all over the city for his work, and one thing which is likely to turn him off of learning how to use the system, is if rather than porting it around with him, he has to type it all up when he gets home. Hiring some sort of assistant isn't really an option, either.

So I was thinking about getting a netbook for him. It could connect wirelessly to the home network and automatically update the databases (I'm thinking about setting up a system on the desktop that routinely does the web-crawling), and he could check for parts, make notes etc while out working or talking to clients. The aim would be to keep the OS itself fairly simple, too, so he has minimal issues getting the hang of it.

So, would this be a workable idea at all?

[Gemerald]

So would you recommend someone purchase a netbook as there only comp, or do you think they would be better off going with the standard laptop?

Also do you guys think I would be better off going for the 120 gig model, or get the 8 gig model but then used the money saved to get a external hard drive (probably 500gig)?

^ As it's your only computer, I'd recommend something more flexible and versatile. Furthermore, although you can pick up an external storage device, plugging it in, unplugging, transferring files back and forth, it's a hassle. I think in your case, it might be wiser to buy a more practical and versatile notebook.

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

Any recommendations?

[SOX]

http://lightdev.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/macbook-pro.jpg

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

What is? How much?

[Gemerald]

What is? How much?

^ It's a Macbook Pro. Best premium notebook ever made, unfortunately commands a high price. Have you tried just a normal Macbook, try like the apple store online for a refurb or something?

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

It seems as though the cheapest ones are $1500, I want to spend under $600.

[Gemerald]

Toshiba Satellite L300/C02 Notebook - http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/en/product/XC4069
Only $599 after $150 cashback
* 2.06GHz Processor
* 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD
* 15.4" Wide Display

Toshiba brand is generally strong, reasonable pricepoint though if you shop around you can find it cheaper (probably?) and it's not hard to whack an extra gig of ram in there.

Acer ASPIRE ONE 8.9" Netbook - http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/en/product/XC4472
$599 after cashback
* 1.60GHz Processor
* 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD
* 8.9" Display, 3 hours battery life

Smaller size and smaller display, slower processor but easier to carry due to size. Reaonable size HDD as an 8GB SSD is still relatively small.

There are others ranging from Compaq to other ACERs but those seem best value for money, especially the Toshiba. Good luck.

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

Ended up getting the Acer Aspire One, I like it, it's a great little unit. Went for the xp version.

[Fenrir]

http://lightdev.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/macbook-pro.jpg
Are my eye deceiving me, or is that the first not-ugly piece of Apple hardware I've ever seen? Now all we've gotta do is get Windows on there, and Mac OS off, and we're set.

[SOX]

Are my eye deceiving me, or is that the first not-ugly piece of Apple hardware I've ever seen? Now all we've gotta do is get Windows on there, and Mac OS off, and we're set.

It's only been around for like... years.
And yes my MacBook Pro has both OS X and Vista.
THE FUTURE IS YESTERDAY!

[Blue]

It's only been around for like... years.
And yes my MacBook Pro has both OS X and Vista.
THE FUTURE IS YESTERDAY!I'm touching one right now.

High five!

[Fenrir]

It's only been around for like... years.
And yes my MacBook Pro has both OS X and Vista.
THE FUTURE IS YESTERDAY!
Seems like secondary storage bloat to include OS X. >_>
Might be worthwhile to include a Linux distro instead for mid-tier platform development, though.
Yes, I'm doing this to push buttons.

[SOX]

Seems like secondary storage bloat to include OS X. >_>
Might be worthwhile to include a Linux distro instead for mid-tier platform development, though.
Yes, I'm doing this to push buttons.

As a *nix OS, OS X is much better than GNOME/KDE currently are.

^I wrote that before I realised you hid some text >_>

[Gemerald]

Downside of using the Macbook is going to be replacing the battery which is pretty pricey, anyone found any cheap generic batteries out there? Macbook 13"

[Pai Mel]

Someone should invent a battery shell that houses, like, 10 AA rechargeable batteries, and so you don't have to use the proprietary Apple battery pack.

[Mr Incredible]

Downside of using the Macbook is going to be replacing the battery which is pretty pricey, anyone found any cheap generic batteries out there? Macbook 13"

I bought a genuine replacement battery for my Macbook of Macfixit_Australia on Ebay a few months ago.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280236205556

It was $119 plus $10 for postage, which is $70 less than buying it through Apple.

My old battery was only lasting ten minutes before I replaced it. Now I'm back to over four hours!

That $130 was well worth it in my opinion

[Fenrir]

As a *nix OS, OS X is much better than GNOME/KDE currently are.

^I wrote that before I realised you hid some text >_>
lawkc3jH3ws

[SOX]

The wobbly windows annoy the **** out of me so I turn that shit off.
But in the end it's personal preference I guess.

[Sir_Psycho]

Just posting from the "NSIradio" wireless net at my TAFE from an uninteresting english advanced class. Netbooks; is there anything they can't do?

[etnlIcarus]

lawkc3jH3ws
Not exactly a good example of the OSS Desktop. By the time Compiz becomes sensible and polished, I'll have a social life. The latest version of Kwin; Openbox and even Xfwm4; these are examples of good, modern WMs, which have effectively connected their functionality with usability and are just generally polished.

And yes; if someone gave me a Mac, I'd install linux on there in a heartbeat. I'd only keep OSX as long as I didn't need the HDD space.

As a *nix OS, OS X is much better than GNOME/KDE currently are.I'm sure you meant the OSX desktop, since Gnome/KDE aren't OSes. Honestly though; there are so many conflicting ideas on what the desktop model should be (with fringe proposals that the desktop metaphor be replaced entirely), it's difficult to rank the various desktops. I think the only thing people can agree on is that it's unacceptable for the end user to have to deal with a CLI and that MS need to forget about the last 20 years of OS and write a completely new OS.

[PrinceCaspian]

So the NEC one is officially awesome.

The Netbook industry is booming. What I can't wait for is the inevitable Apple. That's going to be superb I think.

[etnlIcarus]

What I can't wait for is the inevitable Apple. That's going to be superb I think.
I thought Jobs adamantly stated that he doesn't want Apple to under-cut their own sales on the more expensive Macs?

[PrinceCaspian]

I thought Jobs adamantly stated that he doesn't want Apple to under-cut their own sales on the more expensive Macs?

He doesn't. Luckily the netbooks don't compete with the more expensive macs, thus allowing Jobs to throw his company's hat into a very lucrative market.


It seems pretty inevitable that there will be a Apple Netbook. The form it takes remains to be seen.

[etnlIcarus]

Luckily the netbooks don't compete with the more expensive macs Considering everyone's eager to experience the prestige of owning a Mac, I (and Jobs himself) am willing to bet a super-cheap Mac which gives people the wanking power, minus the wallet hurt, would erode sales of their traditional PCs and notebooks.

The only way they're going to make a netbook is if the economic crisis erodes their main market too much, anyway.

[StorminNorman]

Well, look at Apple's current lineup, ordered more-or-less by "power" segment (not actual power, note).

iPhone/iPod Touch
Mac Mini
MacBook Air
MacBook
iMac
MacBook Pro
Mac Pro

The Mac Mini and the MacBook Air are the two machines that a MacBook Net would replace. The Mini is the Apple product most likely to be killed off soon. It simply hasn't been as successful as Apple has hoped, and is in dire need of a significant revision.

The MBA, on the other hand, is the G4 Cube of the current line-up. It fills no real market segment that another Mac doesn't already fill, and its price is ridiculous for what it is. I can't see it lasting another year without being significantly redesigned, probably into a sub-MacBook system.

One other thing to consider: Apple may actually use the "netbook" concept to create a scaled up iPhone-like device. There's a lot to be said for a larger iPhone with a full keyboard. This would run the iPhone OS instead of the Mac OS, and could prove to be quite a good device.

They can even call it iMate! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMate)

[etnlIcarus]

To answer Clarky's question:
- Over the net.
- Via thumbdrive.
- By removing the internal drive and putting it in something which does have access to an optical drive.

Still, I think it's pretty stupid to exclude a DVD drive from most of these devices.

[clarky]

Well, look at Apple's current lineup, ordered more-or-less by "power" segment (not actual power, note).

iPhone/iPod Touch
Mac Mini
MacBook Air
MacBook
iMac
MacBook Pro
Mac Pro

The Mac Mini and the MacBook Air are the two machines that a MacBook Net would replace. The Mini is the Apple product most likely to be killed off soon. It simply hasn't been as successful as Apple has hoped, and is in dire need of a significant revision.

The MBA, on the other hand, is the G4 Cube of the current line-up. It fills no real market segment that another Mac doesn't already fill, and its price is ridiculous for what it is. I can't see it lasting another year without being significantly redesigned, probably into a sub-MacBook system.

One other thing to consider: Apple may actually use the "netbook" concept to create a scaled up iPhone-like device. There's a lot to be said for a larger iPhone with a full keyboard. This would run the iPhone OS instead of the Mac OS, and could prove to be quite a good device.

They can even call it iMate! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMate)

Sorry if you were kidding and I missed the joke. Isn't Blackberry's main competitor iMate?

[StorminNorman]

I honestly know nothing about BlackBerry.

[clarky]

I honestly know nothing about BlackBerry.

i-mate (http://www.imate.com/)

[StorminNorman]

I've never heard of them, to be honest. Ah well, perhaps eMate is the better name anyway.

[Italian Stallion]

I've got an Acer Aspire One. It's a pretty great little unit, nice and handy, great for portability. Selling it off though, since I've ended up buying a HP Pavilion.. wanted something with a bit of a bigger screen more than anything. Looking at an Asus with a 12" screen now. >.> One downside of the Aspire One was lack of DVD drive - it's to keep the size/weight down, I suppose, but it would've been a nice addition. The second generation will be a bit of an improvement, with the 6 cell battery. If they up the screen size, I might even consider going back to one.

[Dr Skinnybones]

I also am now rocking an Aspire One. The form is nice, but frustrating in that I'm regularly activating shortcuts unintentionally (the open prompt just now grr) but I'm getting accustomed.

It's a nice stop gap between my 10 year old desktop and the macbook pro I will get next year. Definitely need to get an external DVD drive. Any recommendations?


One other thing to consider: Apple may actually use the "netbook" concept to create a scaled up iPhone-like device. There's a lot to be said for a larger iPhone with a full keyboard. This would run the iPhone OS instead of the Mac OS, and could prove to be quite a good device

I expect to see the Macbook Air evolve into a souped up iPhone/tablet device sans keyboard. Small form factor, multitouch screen, paired with App store and you have one compelling mobile computing device.

Pairing the App store with a computer (as opposed to a multimedia device) would be a major boon. Mainstream consumers would love the ease of sourcing programs and Apple surely couldn't refuse the royalties.

[Cobla]

Awesome. Today I got an Optus 3G wireless broadband dongle working with my Linux Aspire One.

Was surprisingly very easy in the end! :D

If anyone's interested here's the steps:

1) do a Live Update and make sure you tick the box for the Huawei support (right at the bottom). This actually downloads and installs a program called "Mobile Partner"
2) went and bought an Huawei E169 Optus pre-paid starter kit - $199 including 1GB of data
3) installed and activated the dongle on my Windows PC
4) once it was working fine on the Windows side I just needed to plug it into the Aspire One and run Mobile Partner from the Connect screen
5) Create a new profile with the APN set to "static" and called "preconnect", then put the mobile number Optus give you into the account name field. The PIN should be left blank and the other fields left as-is.

And that was it, it worked straight away. :)

[TheWhiteComet]

Been playing around with the Dell Mini 9 for awhile and I'm fairly impressed. Upgraded 2gig ram almost as soon as I loaded up and reformatted (infamous Dell bloatware), runs extremely well. I installed Vista lite and Office 07 and still have 8gigs SSD left. Use this mostly for lecture notes and doing documenting on the go. I manage files between this and my desktop-replacement via USB stick daily and it's been fine. Since I can't be bothered installing games on the thing (even if they'd run), it removes the temptation of playing a couple hours of WoW or whatnot while I'm bored and on campus.

Like many previous users of the Mini 9, I found the re-positioned " key a huge annoyance for the first week but after reading some guides, swapped the key (physically too) and typing is back to normal.

One of my friends has the Aspire One, but I've personally found the trackpad extremely frustrating (vertical buttons? really? plus they're super clicky). and the unit itself, although being 8.9 incher is noticeably larger than the Dell due to larger bands around the screen etc.

[etnlIcarus]

I installed Vista lite Is that an official thing or one of those illegal remastered ISOs?

[Pai Mel]

On the topic of Vista, how the hell do I configure it so I can just right click to create a new folder in the Explorer? I can't even find it as a menu item.

[TheWhiteComet]

Is that an official thing or one of those illegal remastered ISOs?

Unofficial, it's technically legal if you have Vista already. I used a Vista business that I got free with an older laptop, they had a promotion where if you bought a comp from select manufacturers X date before Vista's release, you can apply to get a free version. Vista lite essentially lets you choose components to not include in the installation (guides online). I trimmed stuff that I'll never use like games, a few other accessories etc and it works fine, even have the Aero UI.

On the topic of Vista, how the hell do I configure it so I can just right click to create a new folder in the Explorer? I can't even find it as a menu item.

The icon is in the top left under "Organize" not sure if there's a right-click ability.

[ThePhotoshop]

Upgraded 2gig ram almost as soon as I loaded up and reformatted (infamous Dell bloatware), runs extremely well.
How easy is it to format and reinstall Windows on the Mini 9? I was thinking of getting a Mini 12 when they come out (they ship with Vista but I want to use XP for speed) and I just wanna know if there are any problems getting drivers and everything back up and running on the Mini 9.

[TheWhiteComet]

How easy is it to format and reinstall Windows on the Mini 9? I was thinking of getting a Mini 12 when they come out (they ship with Vista but I want to use XP for speed) and I just wanna know if there are any problems getting drivers and everything back up and running on the Mini 9.

When I reformated, the Dell Drivers CD which came with the system (for XP) installed the vast majority of the drivers, which were still compatible with Vista. I had a few more problems with one or two (the webcam and 'Base system' - which later turned into MMC reader) but the Webcam driver came automatically via Windows update, the last 'Base system' one I had to manually download. The whole reformatting + driver hunting + installing regularly used programs took around 3 hours in all.

[Richie]

Hey guys, looking of buying one of these to help with my study at uni so I can access a computer when I want without having to leave my desk.

Just wondering what the best ones are right now, and if they've fixed a few issues that you guys mentioned before, namely being brushing the trackpad accidentally.

Also please mention any you know that have good battery life when just browsing the net/listening to music/typing in word and are there any with a cd/dvd drive now that are still small/light?

[Gemerald]

I want to buy a Lenovo S10 but am having trouble finding it from a bricks and mortar retailer. Anyone seen one?

http://laptops.techfresh.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/lenovo-s10-ideapad1.jpg

I absolutely love the fit and finish. My only setbacks are price, the fact that there is no Linux option to save costs on OS, the battery is apparently a bit tacky, there is no SSD option as standard.

[Gemerald]

Turns out all grade 9 to 12 students will be receiving the Lenovo S10e as part of some Laptop rollout program (at least in NSW) which is great as it's the netbook I was after. Fairly favourable reviews too. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a second hand unit quite cheap as I only need a very cheap basic netbook.

[Fenrir]

Whoa there, the laptop initiative the government went on about is just netbooks?

[Gemerald]

Whoa there, the laptop initiative the government went on about is just netbooks?

Well yeah it seems as the Lenovo S10e seems to be more Netbook than anything else. Having said that it's one of the better ones, I really *LOVE* the design. Nice keyboard (exception of the right shift key).

[Cobla]

Whoa there, the laptop initiative the government went on about is just netbooks?Exactly what I was gonna say.

Sad (if somewhat unsurprising) if true.

I hope they at least are shelling out for Windows models!

[Gemerald]

Exactly what I was gonna say.

Sad (if somewhat unsurprising) if true.

I hope they at least are shelling out for Windows models!

They are IIRC and they will have the Microsoft Office suite with decent Abode software as well. Personally, I'd have preferred the Linux option. Perhaps they could've saved money on the software and spent more on hardware in this case?

[Lazlow]

Can't imagine the full creative suite running very well on one of these. But you know kids are rarely going to use these for any actual school work.

[Gemerald]

Can't imagine the full creative suite running very well on one of these. But you know kids are rarely going to use these for any actual school work.

That's what I thought as well. I'm thinking it's probably going to be a stripped down version in any case developed for the netbook market (Atom w/ 1GB ram). Still I'd very much prefer the Linux version as it's free yet still often great software.

[Lazlow]

Photoshop Essentials probably, but that would have some process hungry effects.

[JONO RANDOM H3RO]

Do kids even use creative suite in High school? I know i never did inside of school.The point of these is probably just for word processing and internet 'research' so i guess a netbook wont be too bad for them.. Shouldn be complaining at all i finished year 12 two years ago and would have loved a free netbook :(

[Lazlow]

I know Cairns State High has a fully kitted out Design Studio; CS3 on Intel iMacs.

[Stevorooni]

We got an Acer Aspire One netbook at work today. It's pretty cool but my ape like fingers keep mashing the wrong keys and missing the mouse buttons. Pehaps I need to obtain a special dialling wand.

Currently uninstalling most of the pre-installed crap we don't need then putting on useful programs.

[Gemerald]

We got an Acer Aspire One netbook at work today. It's pretty cool but my ape like fingers keep mashing the wrong keys and missing the mouse buttons. Pehaps I need to obtain a special dialling wand.

Currently uninstalling most of the pre-installed crap we don't need then putting on useful programs.

One of the main reasons I'm after the Lenovo S10e is due to the larger keyboard and attractive design. Give it a try perhaps?

I also had the same issues you had on the smaller ASUS eeepc.

[Stevorooni]

I'd think I'd get used to the keyboard after a while, but I'd like to see what the 10" models are like and buy one for myself.

[Gemerald]

I'd think I'd get used to the keyboard after a while, but I'd like to see what the 10" models are like and buy one for myself.

That was my initial thought but any keyboard smaller than 9" was awkward after a great length of time. I find the Lenovo S10e very comfortable but I'm not willing to dish out 529 bucks to buy one.

Firstly unlike most people I don't need the 6 cell battery that sticks out, I'd rather the 3 cell battery which sits flush with the notebook. Probably also lower the price as well which is what I'm mainly after.

Secondly I do NOT require Windows XP. Has anyone ever wondered how much Windows costs in factoring in to a notebook. I'd rather pay 50+ bucks less and use Ubuntu. Cheaper and it's a decent OS.

Thirdly, as I'm using Ubuntu, I wouldn't need 1GB of RAM. I could get away with 512MB so they could lower the cost there.

Finally, although a 160GB HDD would be great for storage, I wouldn't need it. That's more than I originally had in my Macbook (80GB). Chances are I would probably put this drive into my PS3 which would tale advantage of the higher capacity. I'd really prefer a SSD hence my signature. In fact I'd rather a 32GB SSD over the 160GB drive, is that a fair compromise in terms of price? It'd be great cause no moving parts, can chuck it around too.

Given the fact that it is a Lenovo which is generally seen as a more premium brand, 520 isn't a bad price, but it's just too much for me to spend on a netbook. Given the above points, if there was an option for me to customise my Lenovo and save on costs (similar to Dell) and save 100+, I'd take it.

[StorminNorman]

I'm considering getting a Netbook, although It probably won't be until after Apple announces theirs at WWDC. That's not to say I'll necessarily get their model, but that it's one that I'll be looking at when it arrives.

For now, my big question is: Which Netbooks have the NVidia Ion (Atom+9400M) platform inside them? I'm completely uninterested in getting a netbook with Intel ShittyGraphics, however the vast majority of current Netbooks still seem to have this, despite Ion being around for at least the past three or four months.

While I fully expect Apple's unit to be based on Ion, I need to be ready to find another unit if it's not.

So, if Apple's Netbook turns out to be based on Intel ShittyGraphics, what other Netbooks should I look at that have the Ion platform in them?

[Gemerald]

I'm considering getting a Netbook, although It probably won't be until after Apple announces theirs at WWDC. That's not to say I'll necessarily get their model, but that it's one that I'll be looking at when it arrives.

For now, my big question is: Which Netbooks have the NVidia Ion (Atom+9400M) platform inside them? I'm completely uninterested in getting a netbook with Intel ShittyGraphics, however the vast majority of current Netbooks still seem to have this, despite Ion being around for at least the past three or four months.

While I fully expect Apple's unit to be based on Ion, I need to be ready to find another unit if it's not.

So, if Apple's Netbook turns out to be based on Intel ShittyGraphics, what other Netbooks should I look at that have the Ion platform in them?

Why would you need nVidia graphics in a netbook? There was an EEEPC model with this right and you have a switch to disable it and extend battery life? What gaming or video could you get on a netbook anyways? I can't help but imagine if Apple were to go down the netbook line it would be incredibly overpriced.

[Blue]

Why would you need nVidia graphics in a netbook? There was an EEEPC model with this right and you have a switch to disable it and extend battery life? What gaming or video could you get on a netbook anyways? I can't help but imagine if Apple were to go down the netbook line it would be incredibly overpriced.Yet good.

[Italian Stallion]

I'm considering getting a Netbook, although It probably won't be until after Apple announces theirs at WWDC. That's not to say I'll necessarily get their model, but that it's one that I'll be looking at when it arrives.

For now, my big question is: Which Netbooks have the NVidia Ion (Atom+9400M) platform inside them? I'm completely uninterested in getting a netbook with Intel ShittyGraphics, however the vast majority of current Netbooks still seem to have this, despite Ion being around for at least the past three or four months.

While I fully expect Apple's unit to be based on Ion, I need to be ready to find another unit if it's not.

So, if Apple's Netbook turns out to be based on Intel ShittyGraphics, what other Netbooks should I look at that have the Ion platform in them?
There aren't any netbooks with Ion in them just yet, as far as I know. A number of them are expected to be announced in the next month or two, with them becoming available within a few months of that.

Why would you need nVidia graphics in a netbook? There was an EEEPC model with this right and you have a switch to disable it and extend battery life? What gaming or video could you get on a netbook anyways? I can't help but imagine if Apple were to go down the netbook line it would be incredibly overpriced.
I don't think it was an EEEPC model with the nVidia graphics, it was the Asus N10. They're somewhere between netbook & notebook. The N10s quite comfortably played games like CoD4, WoW etc as well, despite the Atom CPU. I think it can output video at 720p as well. Not bad for something so small. I'd have bought one if it had a built in DVD drive. :D ...and perhaps been a tad cheaper. Though I'm not sure what they're going for now.

As for Apple making a netbook, you're right, it'd be ridiculously overpriced and they'd probably make it even harder to upgrade than other netbooks... which certainly says a lot!

[Stevorooni]

Anyone know anything about the MSI (http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodpage2&maincat_no=135&cat2_no=582) netbooks?

Googling around the prices seem to be a little nicer than ASUS but I've never heard of them before so it could be cheap shit for all I know...

[StorminNorman]

Why would you need nVidia graphics in a netbook?

Most modern operating systems use a GPU to render their GUI.

What gaming or video could you get on a netbook anyways?
Video playback would actually be a pretty important factor for me getting one. My friends have some at the moment and they all have terrible playback quality.

Also, being able to run World of Warcraft on a Netbook would be extremely useful to me.

I can't help but imagine if Apple were to go down the netbook line it would be incredibly overpriced.

The price isn't really a problem for me. An Apple Netbook will run Mac OS X, which is a far more important factor for me in considering them. I know that there are some non-Apple Netbooks that can run the OS, but I don't want to run the risk of Apple disabling that at some point in the future.

As for "overpriced", you seem to have confused Apple with Sony.

There aren't any netbooks with Ion in them just yet, as far as I know. A number of them are expected to be announced in the next month or two, with them becoming available within a few months of that.

That's disappointing to hear. Looks like I'll be waiting until the end of the year, by which time I may as well have just saved up for a new Macbook.

Anyone know anything about the MSI (http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodpage2&maincat_no=135&cat2_no=582) netbooks?

Two of my friends own them, and think they're the best on the market. They use the same reference platform as the Eee, but are about $100 cheaper for the same spec.

If I was going to go with a non-Apple netbook, I'd probably install moblin (http://moblin.org/) on it.

[Fenrir]

Most modern operating systems use a GPU to render their GUI.
Intel GMA has advanced sufficiently for this purpose.

The price isn't really a problem for me. An Apple Netbook will run Mac OS X, which is a far more important factor for me in considering them.
May I ask why?

As for "overpriced", you seem to have confused Apple with Sony.
I'm not buying this - I've never known Apple products to come with anything less than a premium price tag.

[Italian Stallion]

As for "overpriced", you seem to have confused Apple with Sony.
Dunno about that one. When I was recently looking for a small-medium sized laptop, looking over a number of different brands, Apple's MacBook was one of the most expensive for what you got. Sony's equivalent was a few hundred bucks less, and was actually better (slightly better gfx card, more RAM, bigger HDD).

If I was going to go with a non-Apple netbook, I'd probably install moblin (http://moblin.org/) on it.
I was actually looking at this a few days ago. It looks pretty nifty. I'd probably use that as well if I had a netbook - but I think I might download it and play around with it just for the sake of it anyway. :D

[StorminNorman]

Intel GMA has advanced sufficiently for this purpose.

You've clearly never used an Intel ShittyGraphics™ GMA945. I've got two friends with Netbooks that can't run either Windows Aero or Compiz because they have 945s in them.

May I ask why?

Uh, because I happen to like Mac OS X?

I'm not buying this - I've never known Apple products to come with anything less than a premium price tag.

To be fair, when you factor in all the stuff that comes in the box, they're not that much more expensive than a Dell or a HP or a Lenovo. Also, people like me are happy to pay a little extra for Mac OS X.

That said, I was mostly having a dig at the Vaio P.

Anyway, Intel have announced the next-generation Atom. (http://arstechnica.com/hardware/news/2009/05/intel-announces-next-gen-atom-with-on-die-gpu.ars) There's some... curious features on this, including an integrated GPU, which is problematic for people like me who want an Ion-based Netbook.

I guess I'll have to hold off for the ARM-based Netbooks that are coming later this year.

[Fenrir]

You've clearly never used an Intel ShittyGraphics™ GMA945. I've got two friends with Netbooks that can't run either Windows Aero or Compiz because they have 945s in them.
Sister's using a ~$1000 Dell laptop, recently purchased, which uses GMA - I can get the exact spec later if you're interested. Aero runs flawlessly on it.

Also, come to think of it, why the hell would you want to run Compiz on any permanent basis?

Uh, because I happen to like Mac OS X?
Oh, I thought you were implying functional necessity, which pretty much caused my brain to have a segfault.

To be fair, when you factor in all the stuff that comes in the box, they're not that much more expensive than a Dell or a HP or a Lenovo.
I'm not sure what stuff you're talking about, or why I (or anyone) would want it.

I guess I'll have to hold off for the ARM-based Netbooks that are coming later this year.
There're ARM-based Netbooks on the way? Kinda shits on the whole ultra-portable-that's-compatible-with-desktop-apps idea the x86-based models seem to be going for, but I'm sick of compatibility tantrums getting in the way of progress (by which I mean, dumping x86).

[Gemerald]

I'm amazed you'd want to play WoW on a netbook? Comfortable much? I eagerly await this Apple Netbook (if it does happen) but don't forget if it is priced decently, will this be reflected in Australia???

Anyone know anything about the MSI (http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodpage2&maincat_no=135&cat2_no=582) netbooks?

Googling around the prices seem to be a little nicer than ASUS but I've never heard of them before so it could be cheap shit for all I know...

Yeah the MSI Wind is fairly decent. IIRC Aldi's sold a rebranded model. I still prefer the Lenovo S10e over it though. Hopefully some school kid will pawn it to Cash Converters or something.

[StorminNorman]

Sister's using a ~$1000 Dell laptop, recently purchased, which uses GMA - I can get the exact spec later if you're interested. Aero runs flawlessly on it.

My Macbook has a GMA3400, which is the "improved" version (144MB VRAM vs 64MB, higher clock speed and somewhat better 3D performance). Compared to the Girl With Whom I Live's GMA950-based Macbook, it's a surprisingly large performance jump. (That said, her CPU is also only 1.8Ghz versus my 2.2Ghz.)

Also, come to think of it, why the hell would you want to run Compiz on any permanent basis?

Honestly, I'd rather eat a small kitten than run anything that involves the X Windows System, but it's pretty impossible if you're running Linux to do that. NeWS for lyfe, yo.

Moblin uses the Clutter library, which seems to do a much nicer job than Compiz.


Oh, I thought you were implying functional necessity, which pretty much caused my brain to have a segfault.

Ah, no. I can see how you might have implied that from the way I wrote that sentence. I've been using Macs for fifteen years now, so I'm just much more used to the way they work than any other operating system. Given a choice between something that runs Mac OS X and something that doesn't, I'll always choose the Mac OS X thing for that reason.

I have a friend who recently started studying design and printing at TAFE. It's been something of a shock to him because all the TAFE computers run Windows, and he's never, in his life, had a computer that runs Windows (he learned on some old Unix workstations, and all his home PCs have been Linux boxes, and he did computer science with a bunch of Sun and SGI boxes).

Interestingly, he hates Windows less than he hates Adobe Flash (the program, not the file format).


I'm not sure what stuff you're talking about, or why I (or anyone) would want it.

I'm talking about the iApps. You'd want it because it does stuff like play MP3s, videos, movies, let's you author DVDs, write documents, presentations and spreadsheets and that kind of stuff. It's pretty much a fully-functional productivity and media suite in the box.

We bought a Toshiba laptop a couple of years back, and it didn't even come with Office packed-in!


There're ARM-based Netbooks on the way? Kinda shits on the whole ultra-portable-that's-compatible-with-desktop-apps idea the x86-based models seem to be going for, but I'm sick of compatibility tantrums getting in the way of progress (by which I mean, dumping x86).

The thing this, my understanding of it was that the original idea of the Netbooks was that they wouldn't even run Windows. When I first heard of the Eee, I heard of it because Asus were basically saying "stuff you" to Microsoft and putting their own Linux system on it. Then they decided to offer Windows XP as an alternative if you paid a bit more, and that kind of opened the floodgates to everyone else offering XP.

If Moblin takes off (and I hope it does), then the CPU architecture won't matter. The Netbook makers actually don't want to be locked into x86, because they can make more money fabbing cheaper ARM chips themselves and putting them inside the system. With the changes coming to Atom later this year, NVidia would also benefit from using an ARM platform in Ion.

As for x86, my friend also thinks that Intel's insistence on it is quite ridiculous.

[Stevorooni]

So after much pondering I reckon I'm going to get the MSI Wind U100+ (http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=135&cat2_no=582&prod_no=1784).

I can get it for $627. I want the black model, black like my heart!

[Ashmaran]

Yeah I think the tipping point between the ASUS EEEPC and the MSI Wind for me was that I could walk into JB Hifi and get a good price on the EEEPC. Otherwise they are both of a good standard.

This could be you stevo:

http://www.msi.com/uploads/Image/product_img/other/nb/u100p/u100+_004.jpg

[ThePhotoshop]

Are Samsung NC10's available here yet? :(

[Stevorooni]

This could be you stevo:

http://www.msi.com/uploads/Image/product_img/other/nb/u100p/u100+_004.jpg

I can only hope.

I ordered mine today so it should be in my hot little hands in the near future.

Now to decide what to name it on the network...

[Blue]

Yeah I think the tipping point between the ASUS EEEPC and the MSI Wind for me was that I could walk into JB Hifi and get a good price on the EEEPC. Otherwise they are both of a good standard.

This could be you stevo:

http://www.msi.com/uploads/Image/product_img/other/nb/u100p/u100+_004.jpgHm.

You, er... You doing anything this Friday, Stevo?

[Stevorooni]

Hm.

You, er... You doing anything this Friday, Stevo?

Playing with my netbook.









Naked, with the webcam on

[Stevorooni]

woohoo my netbook has arrived! It's pretty nifty

EDIT: ... and now to uninstall all the preinstalled crap I don't want.

[Fenrir]

Always happens, eh? I ultimately stripped away all the crap Toshiba preinstalled in my laptop by doing a fresh install of Vista; I'm still digging for drivers for unknown devices to this very day.

[Stevorooni]

muahaha

Still have 4:18 hours remaining of battery life.

* hugs 6 cell battery *

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

So thinking about a netbook. What's the cheapest and the best?

[Stevorooni]

I'm a big fan of the MSI Wind Plus! (http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=135&cat2_no=582&prod_no=1784)

Either that or the Asus equivalent. Get a 10" model.

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

What's the power like in them? I see the linked one is running XP.

[Stevorooni]

They've got the Atom processor, most models have the N270 which runs at 1.6GHz but mine has the N280 with pwns it at 1.67GHz.
With a gig of RAM and on board video you'll be playing the latest and greatest games of the mid 1990's!

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

Could they run vista?

[Stevorooni]

You could try but they probably all come with XP for a reason...

[StorminNorman]

Could they run vista?

Ones based on NVidia's Ion platform can, and Intel are releasing a new Atom chipset later this year that will allow them to run Vista.

Apparently Windows 7 runs a lot better on most current Netbooks than Vista does.

In unrelated news, the announcement of the 13" Macbook Pro the other day has entirely killed my desire for a Netbook. Gonna save up and get one of those instead.

[Cobla]

My dad bought one of the Sony Netbooks, the VAIO P (http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2009/01/sony_vaio_p_review-2/), which runs Vista pretty well.

Overpriced though of course.

[Stevorooni]

I might nerd up and see if I can dual boot with linux or something on mine.

[Vicious]

I got a netbook two days ago. EEEPC 900A for $180 USD and I must say it's solid as all get out. Something I wanted to address though from earlier:


Video playback would actually be a pretty important factor for me getting one. My friends have some at the moment and they all have terrible playback quality.

If you're streaming through flash that's the largest problem as Linux and Mac OS suffer with it heavily. With the latest Bios and WinXP I can now stream 480P fullscreen via Flash with no hassle whatsoever. If you go for directly playing off the netbook and have a more efficient codec I'm sure 720P could squeeze by fine.

Of course this only applies to ones that share the same video chipset (with 256mb video memory allocated) as the 900A and running Windows XP.


I'm going to probably end up upgrading the SSD before school starts in and set it up for dual booting as I've decided to finish my networking & admin degree. Now I just need a roll-out keyboard for extended Linux scripting sessions :p

[Italian Stallion]

Could they run vista?
I know of at least one netbook that comes with Vista pre-installed. I think it's HP's netbook. It runs a little sluggish, but it's not terrible. Win 7 is meant to be great for netbooks though.

As for gaming, if you purchase one of the new netbooks with NVidia's Ion platform, they're meant to be able to run games like CoD4 etc without too much trouble, as well as output 1080p video. Pretty swanky for a netbook, but it'll probably cost!

[Gemerald]

The Atom processor in terms of power seems similar to the Celeron M I have at the moment in an old notebook. I was thinking, how long would I have to wait for a Lenovo S10 to have a dual core. Even the 1.6GHz Celeron Dual Core would be all right providing power consumption isn't dramatically reduced.

[Vicious]

The Atom processor in terms of power seems similar to the Celeron M I have at the moment in an old notebook. I was thinking, how long would I have to wait for a Lenovo S10 to have a dual core. Even the 1.6GHz Celeron Dual Core would be all right providing power consumption isn't dramatically reduced.

Depends. If they stick to Atom the only dual core is the N330.

Maybe you'll consider this (http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/portable-computing/netbooks-2-0-what-you-ll-be-buying-in-2009-496737) an interesting read of things to come.

[Stevorooni]

Installed Doom, Doom II and Final Doom (all part of a collection disc) on my netbook :D It's awesome.

Gonna dig out some of my older PC games and see what I can get to run on it. Oh yes, people will be sitting on the train playing their fancy ds, psp or iphone, I'll be the guy playing Doom!

[dinopoke]

So I'm thinking of getting a netbook to use at uni.

I'm not sure if I really need one but my parents are insisting. I'm intending to carry it around with me a lot so I guess portability and battery life are a portability. I have a budget of around $500. I am willing to go over it but prefer to stay under.

What I plan to do with my netbook is basically just use the net from the uni's wireless and possibly type stuff up on the go. It's a bit difficult to find a free PC to use at times so having a netbook with me means that I can access resources and do some last minute work on assignments anywhere I want on the campus. I'm not sure how useful a netbook is when it comes to taking down notes in lectures. I'll probably need to use it to program stuff as I'm a Computer Science student so some processing grunt may be important. I'll probably play some casual games or watch movies on the train. However, I already have a two year old desktop at home that serves as my gaming PC but I don't have access to the internet.

I don't really know what models are good at the moment but looking around, it seems that most models have the same specs (Atom 1.66Ghz, 1G RAM, GMA 3150) so I guess it's the design, noise and battery life that separates the models apart. I'd like a decent battery length (6+ hours) as well as a non-crampy keyboard. HDD is also pretty important since I run out of space easily. I know I'm probably asking too much since I don't really no what to expect from a netbook but essentially what I really want to know is the best netbook I can get within my price range.

The Asus Eee PC 1005PE, Samsung N150 and HP Mini 311 are currently on my mind but there are probably newer netbooks that have come out that now surpass them. Is Nvidia ION still worth looking into? Also, tablet notebooks sound like a neat idea but the reviews of ones I've found aren't really positive.

I'm guessing most netbooks don't come with DVD drives? Would a 4G USB drive suffice in transferring data and software or should I consider a external HDD or DVD drive? What other things would I need with a netbook aside from a mouse?

Well that was a scattershot of questions. I hope you guys can answer them.

[adam_91vn]

You should definitely be able to get something for under $500.

I bought a lenovo s10-2 for $348 about six months ago and it does the job.

Atom 1.66Ghz, 1G RAM
100gb HD

The majority don't come with a DVD drive. The battery life for the one I got was at least 6 hours

[dinopoke]

I had a look at the Asus 1005P today and realised that the screen is glossy. What's the point of glossy screens? I'd imagine they would be terrible to look at under the sun.

[texta]

You might want to pick up one running an Atom N550 as it's dual core.

I've got a HP mini (forget the number but they're all the same) which I'm pretty happy with. The main thing I'd look for in a new one would be better battery life. For just typing I get maybe 4-5 hours.

It's also hopeless for gaming, HD videos and even some streaming videos. But for surfing the web, listening to lectures and general typing it's excellent. The portability is well worth it (I write essays on a PC though because I need to look at more than one window at once).

[dinopoke]

What do you guys think of the Dell Mini 10?

[Pan]

Anyone had any experience buying these online, from America to save money? How do i power buy one of these things, any helpful links to stores etc?

I'm thinking about purchasing when the new Asus with HDMI out and the Atom N550 dual core processor is released .

[dinopoke]

Asus Tablet Netbook for $566 (http://www.ht.com.au/part/X9581-ASUS-Eee-PC-T91-Atom-Z520-1.33-GHz-8.9-TFT/detail.hts). Should I get this?