Netbook for travel?
Feb 7, 2009, 7:44 pm
#31
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: TX, USA
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I now have one in my living room for things like spontaneous google searches during contentious rounds of game playing, allowing visitors a convenient way for them to check their e-mail, effective way to pull up recipe searches while making dinner, etc. Really comes in handy for things that require more than my iPhone, but less than a full desktop.
Feb 8, 2009, 1:43 am
#32
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: LAX
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I pulled the trigger on a used X60s off craigslist today for $400. Basically the same spec as my new work issue T61 and 2.5lbs lighter. Came with a 4 and 8 cell battery and 1 year of warranty left. Now I need to find a reasonably priced lightweight bag that will carry more than just the X60.
Feb 8, 2009, 9:09 am
#34
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I bought a Samsung NC-10 in January -- which I really like. However, it lasted about a week before the hard drive started sprouting bad blocks. I had to send it in for warranty repair, it returns tomorrow.
Feb 8, 2009, 10:12 am
#36
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Del Ray, Alexandria, Virginia
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Feb 8, 2009, 11:28 am
#37
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: TX, USA
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Posts: 121
+1. Sitting next to my Samsung flat screen TV, which I also really nice. They make some nice stuff.
Yikes! That's disappointing. No sign of that from mine yet (bought in in Dec).
Yikes! That's disappointing. No sign of that from mine yet (bought in in Dec).
Feb 8, 2009, 12:01 pm
#38
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Feb 8, 2009, 12:54 pm
#39
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 46
Instead of dumping money on portable DVD players, I've thought about sending Mrs. Swede and the kids off with a netbook for watching movies on the plane. I have about 30 movies on a portable USB hard drive.
Has anyone have a similar setup for watching movies? What kind of battery life do you get out of it?
Has anyone have a similar setup for watching movies? What kind of battery life do you get out of it?
The 6-cell normally gets 5-6 hours but since the external hard drive is powered off of the USB port, the useable time is just about cut in half to between 2 and 3 hours.
For that reason, I carry a Lenmar Universal Notebook battery pack.
Feb 8, 2009, 1:13 pm
#40
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: YVR
Programs: AC E75, SPG Plat, HH peon-by-choice (ex Gold)
Posts: 8,090
I pulled the trigger on a used X60s off craigslist today for $400. Basically the same spec as my new work issue T61 and 2.5lbs lighter. Came with a 4 and 8 cell battery and 1 year of warranty left. Now I need to find a reasonably priced lightweight bag that will carry more than just the X60.
The way I understand it, if you want to upgrade the memory on the ASUS you replace the 1GB with a 2 GB module.
Feb 8, 2009, 3:20 pm
#41
Join Date: Jul 2007
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I'm typing this from a Lenovo S10. I've bumped it up to 2GB of RAM total (.5GB onboard, 2GB chip, but total is 2.0GB addressable). I've also bumped it up from 160GB to 500GB. So... who needs a DVD? I can load as many DVD's as I want on it, via the Ethernet port (or Wifi if I'm lazy).
I'm quite pleased with it. Only things I'd change would be to make it 1024x768 instead if 1024x600, and I'd up the run time which is at 3 hours right now.
It plays "DVD's" from the hard drive just fine.
HTSC
I'm quite pleased with it. Only things I'd change would be to make it 1024x768 instead if 1024x600, and I'd up the run time which is at 3 hours right now.
It plays "DVD's" from the hard drive just fine.
HTSC
Feb 8, 2009, 3:55 pm
#42
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Feb 8, 2009, 9:03 pm
#43
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Scott, are you seeking/getting/interested in a Eee PC 1000HE for reviewing on your blog?
From that source, the linked articles showed the case is essentially the same, aside from the bottom now being flat, and the higher capacity battery.
It will be fun to see what becomes available from the respective vendors, especially if the new versions have a better battery life and potentially faster/bumped resolution graphics.
All for the purpose of better movie watching while traveling.
From that source, the linked articles showed the case is essentially the same, aside from the bottom now being flat, and the higher capacity battery.
It will be fun to see what becomes available from the respective vendors, especially if the new versions have a better battery life and potentially faster/bumped resolution graphics.
All for the purpose of better movie watching while traveling.
Feb 9, 2009, 6:26 am
#44
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: New York City
Programs: AA,BNV,HIL
Posts: 879
For those contemplating the Wind, ZipZoomfly currently has it for $330 + shipping. I was sorely tempted, but have opted to put in a preorder with Amazon for the ASUS Eee PC 1000HE.
The way I understand it, if you want to upgrade the memory on the ASUS you replace the 1GB with a 2 GB module.
The way I understand it, if you want to upgrade the memory on the ASUS you replace the 1GB with a 2 GB module.
Feb 9, 2009, 7:47 am
#45
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: AZ, USA
Posts: 287
I have an Acer Aspire One that I've been using the last 3 months or so. I love this thing. It has a 160 gb drive, instead of an SSD, and gets 5 hours to a charge. I also have a Sony Vaio SZ440, which is a terrific, powerful notebook and I use that as my daily computer -- it's a full desktop replacement and only weighs 4 pounds. However, now I take my Acer for travel instead of the Vaio. The Acer is a bit more rugged, weighs only 2 pounds or so, and is considerably smaller. I got a small USB BlueTooth adapter that I leave in one of the USB ports all the time, letting me use the Acer with a BlueTooth mouse. The smaller keyboard doesn't bother me, and the screen size is fine.
These netbooks are a really interesting development -- a step backward in power consumption, CPU power and hard-drive size, yet more and more people are finding them to be more than enough for casual use, particularly when traveling. Buy.com has that Acer Aspire One on sale this week for $329 with free shipping -- if I had some extra money, I'd pick up a second one just as backup.
These netbooks are a really interesting development -- a step backward in power consumption, CPU power and hard-drive size, yet more and more people are finding them to be more than enough for casual use, particularly when traveling. Buy.com has that Acer Aspire One on sale this week for $329 with free shipping -- if I had some extra money, I'd pick up a second one just as backup.
One aspect some might find worth considering, and key in my decision to get an Acer, is the issue of security. I take frequent relatively short trips to what are considered dicey areas with a lot of theft, robbery, etc. When I used to carry my laptop, I had a significant concern about losing not just the material I was working on, but everything in the HD- both personal and professional.
While I used good personal and tech security, the loss of the laptop would be devastating and I did not like taking into every pit stop restroom, restaurant, etc. With the Acer, I only load it with what I need on my short trips along with generally non-sensitive apps for e-mail, etc. A few things I put on a thumb drive which is easy to secure on my person.
I now feel a lot more relaxed knowing that anyone who takes the netbook will not get much of value (other than the computer itself).