Another Netbook thread

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BrianWC

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I read the other thread and have a few questions of my own. I have a birfday coming up and my wife wants to buy me one of these. The only ones I've seen are the Wal-Mart Acer and the Asus at Best Buy. Will a netbook be able to handle Win 7? Is it really worth the wait?

I just want something for surfing and email while I'm away on business. My laptop at home is my main computer and I'm too scared to surf the net on my guberment laptop.

Oh, and can I get these to work with an aircard? Should I just look into getting one thru AT and T?
 
Aircard? They're all going to have WiFi built in. That's their purpose, to connect to the web wirelessly.

As for Windows 7, I don't know. If it were me, I'd ditch Windows and put linux on it.
 
I think by aircard, he means a wireless card from a cell provider.

Yes, aircards are USB powered, so if it has a USB port, which it will, any aircard will work.

I have At&T mobile data/aircard. Has excellent coverage, but I also have unlimited roaming.
 
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Originally Posted By: BrianWC
Will a netbook be able to handle Win 7?

Yes. I recently ran that free Microsoft W7 evaluation utility on mine - it said "go ahead". Just try to get one with at least 1 GB RAM.

As far as if it's worth the wait for W7... not sure. Mine works perfectly fine on XP. For basic web surfing and email duties, I don't feel like I'm missing anything.
 
The Dell Inspiron Mini 1011 10" Netbook my mom ordered came yesterday and it is pretty sweet! It's very light, the battery lasts for 4.5 hours and the Windows XP that came loaded on it runs very fast. I'm impressed. I'm thinking about getting one for the car to use with my USB Wireless Internet-anywhere stick I currently use in my work laptop.
 
Okay, here's another parameter. I don't want to pay much (if any) over maybe $300-400. After all, it's really just a toy. If I can't find anything worth it in that price range, I think I'll just buy a new grill.
 
For $400, you could buy a used USB aircard on E-Bay, get a data plan, use it on your existing laptop, and buy a new grill. That's what I'd do!

If you're away on business and often near Wifi hotspots, you don't really need an aircard. But if you're stuck in the boonies, it is quite nice to have internet access.
 
My daughter has one and it is O.K. But if you can handle the extra weight I would get a cheap regular 15.4 laptop. The keyboards are regular size, they have a large screen for better resolution/size (At least 1024 by 768) and optical drives built in.

The netbooks to me are more a novel toy than a serious laptop alternative.

If you are really hung up on size and weight a 12" screen would be a good compromise.
 
No, look at my OP. I already own a personal laptop AND have a business laptop and both have builtin wifi. My personal stays home and the business one goes on trips. However, being a govt computer, I don't like to speed too much internet time on it b/c half the sites I go to (outside bitog and drudge!)are typically blocked from work anyway, like facebook, youtube, etc. So I just wanted something for surfing, really.

I actually used to own a 12.1 laptop back when that WAS a fullsize, normal screen. I don't want anything that large. I like the netbooks b/c the remind me a lot of the little minis of 8-10 years ago like the Psions and HPs.
 
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
Okay, here's another parameter. I don't want to pay much (if any) over maybe $300-400. After all, it's really just a toy. If I can't find anything worth it in that price range, I think I'll just buy a new grill.

You should be able to find a lot of them in that price range... Lenovo S10, Dell Mini, MSI Wind, HP, Asus... plenty to choose from.
 
Actually...got the Aspire 1 from WalMart today rolled back to $278. Posting on it right now. Works great. Just what I needed.
 
Wow, loving this thing! I don't know whether to be happy for my netbook or sad for my Vista laptop that this seems just as fast. BTW, it's the 1.6 Intel Atom running 1 gb of ram, 160 gb HD, and Windows XP home.
 
Originally Posted By: BrianWC
Wow, loving this thing! I don't know whether to be happy for my netbook or sad for my Vista laptop that this seems just as fast. BTW, it's the 1.6 Intel Atom running 1 gb of ram, 160 gb HD, and Windows XP home.


I got the same thing for my wife a few months ago.

Here is the thread--> Acer Netbook . Pop in a 2 gig stick for $20.
thumbsup2.gif
Well worth it IMO..

She loves it. Been all over with it and Wi-Fi is perfect, does everything so far she has asked of it. LOVE the LONG battery life.

Take care, Bill
 
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