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Advice on Netbooks

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40hz:

Seems like in the end, they still picked XP by default.  :huh:
-wraith808 (July 02, 2009, 11:28 AM)
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Like I said, some of their findings might surprise you. ;D

(I went into it thinking they'd end up putting Windows 7 on top. Nope. Surprise! :P)

Not that it would matter all that much in my case. What I'm looking for is something small and inexpensive that I can throw in my pack for when I'm out troubleshooting a network somewhere. Regular laptops are too heavy and bulky to be used comfortably in most hub rooms. And also too power hungry. Battery life is a big issue because it's not always possible to find an open AC plug (or be allowed to use one) in that environment.

All I'd want in a Netbook is:


* wireless and wired network connections
* a keyboard big enough to "tech type" on
* a sufficiently bright screen to use in the darkest reaches of a server closet
* enough SSD or disk space to load about 6Gb worth of service packs and tech utility software - plus a browser, a terminal emulator, a text editor, and a pdf reader.
* two or more USB ports
* 4-6 hr minimum battery runtime
Don't care what OS it runs. They could even load SugarOS on it as long as it could give me the above.

I'd also really love it if they could include an RS232 serial port going out to a DB9 plug - but I doubt we'll see one of those anytime soon. <*sigh*>

 8)

4wd:
I'm not a gamer and I wouldn't want to use my Acer as my main computer, but like I said previously, it's fast enough for most things when using a combination of XP with a hard drive.-mrainey (July 02, 2009, 11:58 AM)
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It's fast enough for Delta Force 1, 2, Land Warrior and Task Force Dagger :D

We could try a laptop, but I think they are likely to be too heavy & battery life too short for the main need; the size of a laptop is both a + (bigger screen and keyboard) and a - (leaves little room on a small table/desk).-Dormouse (July 02, 2009, 09:30 AM)
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Before the AAO came along at the right price, I was seriously looking at the Benq Joybook S33W: C2D P8400, X4500, 13.3", Gb LAN, modem, BT, etc, etc.  It was the best all-round small notebook I could find at a competitive price, (quite a lot don't have modems these days), weighed ~2kg and had a reported battery life of 4 hours in power-saving mode.

And they provided XP drivers which is what it would have been running about 60 minutes after I got it home if I'd bought it.

steeladept:
I got my wife a NC10 Lenovo S10 for Valentines Day.   She loves it!  It is her primary computer for everything from gaming, to email/internet to business applications.  There is nothing she would do on a "full sized" system that she can not do on that thing.  There are only two minor drawbacks to it in her eyes (for me they are a little more than minor, but not show stoppers):

1)  The keys are of the European standard (where the Control and the Function keys are reversed on the left side).  As a computer tech, that slows down my typing much more than anything else which is a surprise, because the shift keys are minute (but I almost always get them right anyway, go figure).

2)  The screen resolution is non-standard.  This means in some programs where the resolution is predefined, you end up not being able to see the entire screen at once.  Sort of like the issue with wide-screens in the early days of their distribution.  Like the wide-screens, I expect this to get resolved as they proliferate and more programs offer the option or patch accordingly.

I was looking to get her the AAO since I saw one from a fellow soldier during our deployment for the presidential inaugeration.  It was great, but the screen is quite small.  She wanted the larger screen and almost full size keyboard since she would use it as her primary machine.  That really seems to be the deciding factor between the AAO and Lenovo machines for those who shortlist these two machines.  Now that AAO comes in a 10 inch screen, I am wondering if that won't crush the small advantage Lenovo had.

Dormouse:
atm, I'm considering a Dell 10v with 6 cell battery, 8BG SSD, Ubuntu & mouse.
Ubuntu is, apparently, very much preferred so incompatible hardware (Samsung) won't be considered. 9" probably big enough with decently designed keyboard (therefore better), but all current models seem to be 10".

4wd:
Ubuntu is, apparently, very much preferred so incompatible hardware (Samsung) won't be considered.-Dormouse (July 07, 2009, 06:38 PM)
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You might want to look at Moblin, I remember seeing somewhere that Intel have given it their stamp of approval recently and it does use Intel open technologies and has "Atom specific technologies".

I'm surprised that the Samsung is incompatible since up until fairly recently they've all been basically the same hardware: Atom N270 + GMA950, variations only seeming to be storage, webcam, WiFi, BT and ancillary stuff.

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