NetBooks

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How many of you own netbooks? Like them ? I was considering buying a Dell Mini 9, if you own this particular model please comment about anything that you really like or dont like. Thanks,
 
I've had an MSI Wind 10" netbook for about half a year now. I use it all the time and love that thing. Because it's so portable and light, I can take it practically anywhere with me. Build quality is excellent, and with the latest BIOS, MSI lets you overclock it, too.
 
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I just got an Eee PC 900A/Linux refurb from Ebay. Price was right, but right out of the box the hard drive is almost full, with 18 updates pending. (Now I know why it was a refurb). Other then that I like it. The newer models seem to be getting better. I knew I would not be using it alot, so the refurb made more sense. NewEgg has a lot of helpful reviews. From some reviews I read in magazines Dell was not as good as others, but that can or could have changed. I am finding it seems to be about the hard drive. Some are fast, some are not. That can make the difference. My solid state hard drive is adequate for me, but slow in comparison to others. I like it being lightweight and portable. OK for reading web pages, but I have a hard time typing on the small keyboard. I think the 10" ones may be easier to use the keyboard. Oh, and my cats like it. One jumped in the empty box and I caught the other one in mid-air using the keyboard as a springboard.
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Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
netbooks don't have a dvd drive?


Correct. Most of the ones I looked at have 3 usb ports, lan, VGA to connect to an external monitor, microphone speaker jacks, and ssd slot. I have an external DVD player so I a set.
 
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Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
I am finding it seems to be about the hard drive. Some are fast, some are not. That can make the difference.

Mine has an 80 GB 5400 rpm drive. It's actually pretty easy and not that expensive to replace it with a larger 7200 rpm one, but when you consider that a netbook's main purposes are basic tasks such as email and web-browsing, or watching a movie, it seems unnecessary.
 
I could get an new 16 gb Solid State drive at New Egg that is smoking fast in comparison to what I have. But that is $50. Not worth it. I just switched to my Eee PC for this post since one of the cats decided to lay on top of my Toshiba laptop. I prefer Linux since boot times are minimal and I can use it without tinkering much (the Windows ritual).
 
Originally Posted By: adam123
How many of you own netbooks? Like them ? I was considering buying a Dell Mini 9, if you own this particular model please comment about anything that you really like or dont like. Thanks,


Dell Mini 9 was just on sale for $199! Overall, I think they pretty nice. I played around with one with the small 8.9-inch screen around Christmas time and it wasn't much fun. The screen was just too darn small! I'd have to get the bigger 10-inch models,so I can actually see whats goin on
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I kinda missed the boat on that deal then. If I get one though, I'll definitely go for the 8GB SSD. Any more and I'm prob not gonna use it, anything that might be over that I'll just store on a SD card and load it in. Will definitly go for the Linux version tho, I'm an Electrical engineering/Computer Engineering double major, so I'm using linux for 99.9% of what I do anyway.
 
After the fact I found that based on model and year the SSD will be slower or faster. Reviews like at NewEgg will bring up some of that info. Unfortunately for me I did not go to the Eee Forum until I purchased my laptop. Most posts are for people who update the computer and it crashes. I am using mine now with 148 mb remaining and is doing as well as my dual core Vista computers online (except for typing). If you pick a model you like, I would recommend going to forums for that model. Gave me a lot of helpfull info. With the Eee PC there are other versions of Linux out there. Here are some Eee forums. Second one has a drop down menu from "All" for a specific model and Eee Family.

http://forum.eeeuser.com/index.php

http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?board_id=3&SLanguage=en-us
 
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Originally Posted By: DragRace
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4578

A video review of the Dell Mini 9. When the site opens,there will be an advertisement,just close it out,and then video will load 'n play with the review.


Cool. I like the bigger hard. I would miss F11. I like a non-glossy screen since I may be using it in areas where light may reflect. My Eee PC is very cool, especially where I rest my hands. It has a little fan, but is wiper quiet. The newer Eee PC's have a 8 hour battery life, but with a higher price tag.
 
After factoring in my university's discount program with dell I can get a Mini 9 with a 16GB SSD, 512Mb Ram( Should be easy enough to upgrade later should it be needed) and Ubuntu, for about $230.00. Any thought's ?
 
My laptop was due for replacement, so about five weeks ago I got one of the $400 HP Netbooks from Best Buy.

The idea of a Netbook sounds pretty lame, but mine is such a complete replacement for a normal laptop, that I dropped its predecessor off at the local charity and didn't look back. I like carrying around less than one third the weight and volume.

This one has XP, a 10" screen, 16GB solid state drive, 1 meg system memory, and a 3 cell battery. It also came with a 2 GB deep socket SD card to give some extra memory. There is no optical drive, so unless you already have an external USB or firewire drive, that will be an additional expense.

I am NOT a power user. I use word processing, quicken, and the internet, and that's about it. My 16 GB SSD still has at least 10 GB free. The Atom processor is weak, and a power user would likely be disappointed.

I have a program for my PDA phone that turns it into an ad hoc wifi hotspot, and I am posting this from the Netbook through the PDA phone.
 
Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
$230 for a mobile computer sounds like a good deal.

Does anyone use a PDA anymore??


It does sound like a good deal. Better then what I got, since my hard drive is already full.

I use a PDA every day. Print out my date book, write notes on it, and update daily. Also, I have tons of phone numbers for my clients and doctors. Last,I have Documents to Go on my PDA with my Saturn Service Records and other word documents.
 
Originally Posted By: adam123
After factoring in my university's discount program with dell I can get a Mini 9 with a 16GB SSD, 512Mb Ram( Should be easy enough to upgrade later should it be needed) and Ubuntu, for about $230.00. Any thought's ?


If you KNOW your goin to be happy with it after the purchase has been made,buy it.

But,with computers,it's always a good idea to go overkill alil bit,in case you want more / demand more from it later. Having said that, for me personally,I'd want a bigger screen,plus a 160gb hardrive like this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001QTXL8C
 
That is a great point. If I were using my Netbook more it would make more sense to buy the newer ones with bigger screens, better battery life, bigger hard drive, and more RAM. Once you upgrade things it close to a newer one, but with a smaller screen and less features.
 
We'll Bought one, after everything it came to 260.00 It's got Ubuntu, a 16GB SSD, 512MB ram (Probably upgrade this later), 1.3MP web cam (For my video presentations), and I guess thats about it. They must be selling a ton of these thou, My ship date isn't until april 1st.
 
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