Netbook Computers

[CaroleLee]

Hi to all the techies out there need your help. There is an entire new generation of netbook (10" screen & less)computers with prices in the $250-$600.00 range. Dell, HP, Acer etc.

I just need a mini for e-mail, word processing and surfing. Any suggestions? I have to stay in touch with the office.

Thanks

Carole

[megr1125]

most of them do not have disc drives so you can't install other software...i spoke with someone who used one, and (he is a techie) he said it's good for web surfing, email and stuff like that.....he didn't have to do too much work on it-most of what he does is web-based anyway.

 

BUT..any time he needed something sent, it had to come to one of us, with desktop PCs.....

 

not sure if that will help or not.

[barbels]

I just bought an Asus netbook today to take with me on trips. It got very good reviews online. So far I like it but I've hardly used it.

[CaroleLee]

I just bought an Asus netbook today to take with me on trips. It got very good reviews online. So far I like it but I've hardly used it.

 

Which model? I just need it for trips.

Carole

[CaroleLee]

most of them do not have disc drives so you can't install other software...i spoke with someone who used one, and (he is a techie) he said it's good for web surfing, email and stuff like that.....he didn't have to do too much work on it-most of what he does is web-based anyway.

 

BUT..any time he needed something sent, it had to come to one of us, with desktop PCs.....

 

not sure if that will help or not.

 

Do you mean when he had to send something or when he need to rec. something?

[greeneg]

I have an eeePC by ASUS. Weighs a little over 2lbs, runs WINXP, does just fine for internet, email and photos. I do carry a usb 320G hard drive with me for photo storage and back up.

[CaroleLee]

I have an eeePC by ASUS. Weighs a little over 2lbs, runs WINXP, does just fine for internet, email and photos. I do carry a usb 320G hard drive with me for photo storage and back up.

 

 

Thanks for the info. I just need it for e-mails,internet . Is there anywhere I can actually see it? I hate to purchase things that I haven't actually seen/used. May I ask the approx price you paid? Did you need to add a wifi card or anything similar for internet usuage?

Thanks

carole

[Denny01]

These mini-computers are great. I got mine for abot $325 on Amazon.com. A local computer store may have some of these types. This one is 7.5", uses Linus and is Win compatible. It has a very quick and very easy internet and email linkup. It uses OpenOffice with is a MS Word, Excell and Powerpoint compatible programs. I'm using the Eee right now. the Word doc's are saved as *.doc documents so they are compatible with full MS Word and so on. Not sure what someone earlier meant by someone with one of these had to get with someone with a PC to 'send something'. Not true. I use this thing at meeting to take notes and so on. great for cruises. It hooks to the ship internet easily, I write my messages in the Word program and then paste them into an email. I transfer my photos (this Eee has a SD slot) from my camera to a memory disc. And manage my photos. I use the Word program to journal during the cruise.

 

this is the cheapet and the smallest one. it doesn't have a lot of internal memory, so I used a SD or one of my memory sticks (Eee has three USB ports).

 

For typing I use a portable rubber keyboard that I add via the USB.

 

Yes, you don't add programs to it. But it has everything I need for cruising and for travel.

 

It is great! Others such as Dell build a very similar computer. There are larger ones for about $600 that have more memory and larger screen, but the ASUS Eee PC 4g meets my needs. using it now.

 

Denny

[Denny01]

For Internet, the ASUS (and most others) are internet compatible. You don't need any external additions. It is standaone.

 

Denny

[ab0si]

most of them do not have disc drives so you can't install other software...i spoke with someone who used one, and (he is a techie) he said it's good for web surfing, email and stuff like that.....he didn't have to do too much work on it-most of what he does is web-based anyway.

 

BUT..any time he needed something sent, it had to come to one of us, with desktop PCs.....

 

not sure if that will help or not.

 

the ones without hard drives have non-volatile flash memory. Faster, weighs less and uses less power; it works, from the users point of view, like a disk drive -- just costs more and therefore there is less of it.

 

Some of the netbooks use a flavor of linux for the operating system. These come with Open Office -- a freeware office suite which can read and write Word and Excel flies. They come with FireFox as the web browser.

 

The others use Windows XP (Vista takes up too much room and is too slow with limited ram).

 

You might have a problem connecting to your company's VPN but if that is a not an issue, there will not be a problem, there usually will not be a problem connecting to most anything (mail, browsing, etc). However, it is quite possible to write code that is specific to a particular browser; either on purpose, ignorance, or bad programming.

 

My problem with netbooks is simply that they are too small. Some of the kyboards are very cramped

[gregjm]

I have an Acer One netbook. I have taken it on two cruises and several other trips and I love it. It fits in a small backpack and has been very dependable. I did buy a wireless usb mouse that makes it easy more user friendly. I bought the one with the 6 cell (vs. 3 cell) battery, which gives it great battery life. I went for 7 hours on a single charge a few weeks ago.

[jldumm]

Asus 1000HA or 1000HE(newest) from Amazon.com is the way to go. Does everything a regular laptop does,except for the CD Drive. If you are networked, this is not an issue and most software these days can be downloaded from the internet anyway, plus it has a sd card slot.

 

Great for traveling.

[greeneg]

Thanks for the info. I just need it for e-mails,internet . Is there anywhere I can actually see it? I hate to purchase things that I haven't actually seen/used. May I ask the approx price you paid? Did you need to add a wifi card or anything similar for internet usuage?

Thanks

carole

 

Hi Carol. Networks right out of the box with no additional add-ons needed. I paid less than $300 for mine about a year ago ( there was a rebate on my particular model) and then added the USB drive ( which was about another $100 at Cosco but gives me all the storage that I need.

 

Here's a link to the Asus eeePC Product site for more information.

 

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=24

 

Oh, by the way, look around on the Internet, there are a lot of places to buy them and a lot of different prices. Also, BJ's carries them. The only real liability is the small keyboard which means you do have to pay attention to what you're typing.

 

Good luck with it.

 

Ed

[taxatty]

Netbooks are cute, but a lot of them are all plastic and may not hold up well in travel if you do a lot of it--try to find one with a metal case if you're a road warrior. The plastic ones are fine for an occasional trip if you take care of them. My problem with netbooks is no CD/DVD drive, since I use a laptop a lot for watching movies on flights. Netbooks don't come with one--you'll need to buy a USB external drive, and by the time you do that with the added cost and weight you might as well have bought a laptop with an integrated CD/DVD drive.

 

Les

[greeneg]

I would argue that the most significant advantage of the small laptop is in its significantly lighter weight and size rather than being a primary laptop.As I noted, I do carry a usb drive with mine because I use it to edit and back up photos when I travel.

 

I would stress that you sort of want to configure this thing more for the individual's specific needs rather than a one size fits all sort of machine.

 

Just my thinking.

 

Ed

[lisiamc]

I bought my Acer Aspire One netbook on eBay - it was an unloved present, so it was pretty cheap. It has the sd card slot and runs Linux. I have relatively small hands, and have no problems with the keyboard. It starts up from cold in 8 seconds. I was a geekette in a past life, so I can download and install other software, although it comes out of the box with a really good selection of programs already. It's also a nice, pearly white - great for girly girls like me, and it comes in a more sedate blue, brown and (not very pretty IMO) pink as well. It barely weighs anything and it will fit in my handbag - no need for a huge laptop case. I bought a little neoprene slip case to protect it from scratches. I absolutely love it.

 

Lisa

[ev8876]

Just bought the Acer Aspire One. 8.9 inch screen. 2 lbs. 160 GB hard drive. Windows XP. 1GB RAM. Media card reader for SD, XD, plus 3 other types of cards, web cam, 3 USB ports, wireless b/g and ethernet port. It rocks. $299 at BJ's. Because of the big hard drive, it has capacity to hold lots of photos and software (Microsoft office loaded on it). No CD Rom drive, but not generally a big issue as any software can be downloaded.

[TourDeCruise]

We have the Dell Mini 9 and love it. It has a 16gb solid state drive. It is ideal for travel being around 2.28lbs. In fact, we're on our Galaxy cruise now and I am posting from Grenada in the Caribbean right now via free wifi in the mall at the cruise terminal. Not for you if you want to load a lot of software or retain pictures on drive, but great for travel and Internet.

 

Kathy