Netbooks and the evolution towards larger machines...
Aug 10, 2009, 5:49 am
#16
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Time will tell. I just bought a 10 inch Asus with the putative 10.5 hour battery. I am not traveling much this summer but a lot in the fall. My intention is to use it on trips where I will only need to have a computer for email, project management (I do that online) and a presentation. If I am writing a big project or something I will take my MB Air. I will see how it works, but on my one short trip this summer I loved having something that small with that kind of battery life.
Aug 10, 2009, 6:03 am
#17
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It all depends on what "real work" is for folks. I can absolutely do all of my "real work" on my NetBook. There are times where I appreciate having a larger screen available and will hook up to an external monitor, but that is still the exception, not the rule. I wouldn't do CAD/CAM work or even try to render videos on it, but it turns out that the vast majority of my work is things like document production and server management, both readily and easily handled by my netbook.
Aug 10, 2009, 6:47 am
#18
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The only netbook I have used is a 10" netbook. Some pages and google earth are not displayed properly on it. But I am happy with it because of the space and the weight. I could get used to a smaller one too, as long as my fingers get used to the keyboard.
I have a 17" laptop that I use at home. I use it at home in place of a desktop and I take it on a trip only when I am travelling on a trip where I will stay in one place and will not be transiting through many airports.
I have a 17" laptop that I use at home. I use it at home in place of a desktop and I take it on a trip only when I am travelling on a trip where I will stay in one place and will not be transiting through many airports.
Aug 10, 2009, 2:33 pm
#19
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I'm finding all the netbook hype amusing - I've been travelling with Toshiba mini laptops for years and wouldn't swap them for anything. Currently on a R200 which, to me, is what a netbook should be!
Aug 10, 2009, 4:22 pm
#20
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I think the point being missed is that Netbooks were supposed to be cheap, simplistic appliance computers. You can get something that will at least let you browse the web and make a few Skype calls for under $400. Much less than that if you know where to look and/or you're willing to have a refurb. (Woot was selling the original 7" eee's for $150 and recently sold a some 9" ones for about $180.)
Aug 10, 2009, 5:20 pm
#21
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To me, the best thing to come out of the netbook is better power management and lower prices.
Aug 10, 2009, 5:29 pm
#22
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Well, the big difference is the price - 2 years ago, a sub notebook would costs upwards of $2000. The Netbook has pushed that price down a LOT. It has also developed much better battery technology.
To me, the best thing to come out of the netbook is better power management and lower prices.
Yep. That is really the difference. You could get the latest carbon fiber Sony or whatever for years if you were willing to drop 4 grand. My MB Air with SSD was close to 3500 when it came out. That's like 9 times the price of my Asus.
Originally Posted by ScottC
To me, the best thing to come out of the netbook is better power management and lower prices.
Aug 10, 2009, 5:41 pm
#23
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Well, the big difference is the price - 2 years ago, a sub notebook would costs upwards of $2000. The Netbook has pushed that price down a LOT. It has also developed much better battery technology. To me, the best thing to come out of the netbook is better power management and lower prices.
If the ThinkPad 701C were coming out today instead of 10 years ago, it would be called a netbook! (And if was over $4000 when new)
Scott, I'm interested in your response to LIH's question.
Aug 10, 2009, 6:20 pm
#24
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.
What was the issue with the gateway? I thought you liked that one? You raved about it when you got it. I remember you liked the fact that it had a 64-bit processor, but I really didn't see why that mattered if you were just running a 32-bit OS on it. Since physical memory is limited, there isn't a lot of benefit if you install a 64-bit OS on it.
-David
What was the issue with the gateway? I thought you liked that one? You raved about it when you got it. I remember you liked the fact that it had a 64-bit processor, but I really didn't see why that mattered if you were just running a 32-bit OS on it. Since physical memory is limited, there isn't a lot of benefit if you install a 64-bit OS on it.
-David
I love the form factor of the Gateway (and its Acer sister), I loved the high res display, I loved the keyboard. But that crippled AMD processor was too much to deal with.
Aug 10, 2009, 7:27 pm
#25
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It sounds, though, as if one's usual computing routine includes very little web video and no Sling-type stuff, it would be fine for running, say, Firefox with half a dozen tabs open, a word processor, and a pop3 email client?
Aug 10, 2009, 7:47 pm
#26
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I am a fan of small laptops, but am not willing to sacrifice performance. In fact, my 12.1" Dell XPS M1210 does a great job. I use it as a desktop at home (plugged to a monitor, one USB hub that goes to keyboard, mouse, scanner, printer, everything). It has a 256MB NVIDIA video card which I use for editing videos and I have several on YouTube (I am Wiggums1 on YouTube - LINK). It's been a truly remarkable laptop.
I looked at Netbooks and realized they come with a crappy video card, most do not have a DVD/RW which mine does, and most use Windows XP. I prefer a full fledged desktop in the smallest dimension possible and the M1210 XPS fits the bill.
Unfortunately, Dell no longer sells M1210 - it's now 13" which is a little too big for me.
I looked at Netbooks and realized they come with a crappy video card, most do not have a DVD/RW which mine does, and most use Windows XP. I prefer a full fledged desktop in the smallest dimension possible and the M1210 XPS fits the bill.
Unfortunately, Dell no longer sells M1210 - it's now 13" which is a little too big for me.
Aug 10, 2009, 10:28 pm
#27
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-David
Aug 11, 2009, 6:13 am
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Aug 11, 2009, 6:34 am
#30
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No, I don't do video and I have no need for an optical drive. It meets my needs quite well.