Aspie Computer Guys: Recommend A Netbook for me please.

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Boston_MA
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16 Feb 2010, 2:36 am

Hi,

I am looking for a netbook with good battery life and wireless range so I can post on wrongplanet from coffee shops that have hot spots. Any recommendations? I'd hope that it would not lag with AOL instant messenger and facebook too.

Thanks aspies,

Steve



curtis122
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16 Feb 2010, 5:00 am

I dont really recommend you get a Netbook however for the purpose of surfing the web I recommend you get a laptop.

This is the minnimum you want:

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/produ ... 1&ref=lthp

However if money is a bit of an issue:

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/produ ... 1&ref=lthp

However id recommend you go for this one :
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/produ ... 1&ref=lthp

I recommend that you sue a desktop at home and a laptop for when your out and about :-)



nodice1996
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16 Feb 2010, 7:35 am

The Acer Aspires are nice. The have good keyboards but the touchpad is sticky,and the mouse buttons are off to the side. Considering that my laptop doesn't lag on facebook or IM clients, and it has less RAM than a netbook you should be fine with any netbook in that area. Try for XP if you don't want to be a Microsoft beta tester.


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pandd
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16 Feb 2010, 8:47 am

I have an Asus 1001ha netbook running windows xp; it's a little bit buggy (something to do with the live update, it happens every 20 or 30 minutes, notifiying me that some exception or other occured and offering to let me debug, although selecting this option simply re-displays the same error message), and I often have trouble when trying to shut down (it hangs while installing an update; this problem is very probably linked to the error/error message that appears while operating the machine).

It is very light. The keyboard seems a bit small (although I am very clumsy even with a full size keyboard), but is otherwise quite nice to type on. It is quite nice to look at, and the screen does not have the problem of needing to look at it from a particular angle (on my notebook, if I am not looking at the screen from the right angle, the colours all look darker and there is much less contrast). The screen has a matt finish, and this actually does seem to be superior in that it apparently gets much less dusty and seems to get less smudges (or at least less visible smudges) than the "slick finish" screen on my notebook.

I have not used the netbook very much yet. I understand it boasts a long battery life, but I have yet to unpack and use the battery (I figure since batteries are consumables there is no need to use it until I actually need it, so I just operate using the power-cord).

I did think it was a bit "cheap" of Asus to supply an optical rom media for recovery. They could have charged a couple more dollars and provided the recovery stuff on a bootable USB instead (although, so far as I know, no one else provides recovery utilities on a bootable USB with their netbooks either; you can make one yourself, but I'd rather have a manufacturer provided one).

I have next to no data on the machine (aside from firefox I have not installed any applications that were not already on the hard drive, and I have not saved any documents/pictures/movies/audio files/etc). It is not the fastest at loading (but no slower than any of my other Windows PCs) and it seems to operate at a reliable speed when accessing email and websites (I have played Runescape on it without any problems or hangups for instance) although it may not cope so well if it were used to store too much data (it has fairly low hard drive and RAM specs). I have not used it to access Facebook. So far as live chat goes, I did use it for a live-chat session with HPCompaq's technical support the other morning (when my 3 month old notebook running Windows 7 decided to pitch a series of fits); it worked well and did not lag at all so far as I noticed.

It seems a nice enough, functional, but non-descript machine.



kc8ufv
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16 Feb 2010, 1:15 pm

I recommend going into a store and trying the keyboard on any netbook you may be considering. This is especially true if you have large hands. Unfortunately, this aspect is something you can only know by feeling it yourself.



richie
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16 Feb 2010, 6:59 pm

Right now I am using an Asus Eee PC 900HD to post this. I bought it at Best Buy last
May and I had it running continuously without any major problems.


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computerlove
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17 Feb 2010, 12:22 am

Image
http://www.apple.com/ipad/


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richie
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17 Feb 2010, 6:13 pm

computerlove wrote:


I would most likely wait a few months before buying an iPad.....When it comes to tech
there are "the haves" and "the have-laters". The have-laters have it better for less money.


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zer0netgain
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17 Feb 2010, 9:24 pm

I like the Eee PC myself. The newer ones with the 10" screen are nice and affordable.



gamefreak
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17 Feb 2010, 9:39 pm

page layout breaking google link packed by lau

My GF got one of these for $325 and she loved it. Has a 10 hour battery life. Windows XP. Atom N270 Processor and 1GB Ram. Along with the 160GB Hard Drive.



Boston_MA
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03 Mar 2010, 10:06 pm

I got a ten inch Samsung Go netbook for $300 shipped from compusa.com with a case for $25. Free shipping. The battery lasts for about 7 hours. The thumb button for clicking like on a mouse is easier to press than the EEE PC (from reports) I type on the keyboard fast without looking even though it is a ten inch screen. It is very convenient to carry around. I use it to message people on facebook from hot spots and to type up homework in the train. I am also using it for google calendar. I am also getting 3G wireless internet for facebook chat on the go for $60 a month. It has a limit on how much internet you browse and the limit runs out after you check your email several times every day - that quick. Still, I do not want a smart phone.



alana
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06 Mar 2010, 3:54 pm

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/To ... rcmndsrc=2

(scroll down for the specs)

I took my mom's compaq laptop out to my cabin today and I only got one bar, apparently you can boost the signal, I only got the one bar by pushing the lan button so I'm wondering if there is any point in even buying a lap top

but anyway, does anyone want to give an opinion on this one and the price, I would be very grateful



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06 Mar 2010, 11:49 pm

I strongly suggest you wait for a netbook with the upcoming NVIDIA ION 2 chipset installed, which will provide discrete graphics combined with excellent battery performance. Currently all netbooks with the Intel Atom run on integrated graphics and struggle especially with flash video content. Unlike regular discrete graphics, the NVIDIA ION 2 is designed for laptops/netbooks and goes into stand by when not actively in use, seamlessly switching between discrete and integrated graphics, saving power.

As far as brands go, I think Gigabyte, Asus and Acer are all good netbook brands.

On a sidenote, the iPad is no more of a netbook/laptop replacement than my iPod Touch.



richie
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08 Mar 2010, 4:35 am

In a few more weeks........

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBV_jLsIJ1g[/youtube]


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08 Mar 2010, 4:57 am

I have bought a MSI U100 2 years ago, which turned out be have been less then useful. I found out I really can't work with Windows, its loud, bossy, buzzy and often it seems purposely counter-intuitive. I'm a more a Unix (FreeBSD/Apple Mac OS X) person I guess...

I'm going to install FreeBSD on it as soon as the network and webcam problems has be resolved (They might be already).

I have high hopes for Apple's iPad, was thinking about the iPod Touch, but the screen is just too small. The iPad should be just right.

Internet for people who don't want a computer? Don't want another computer?

I'm thinking about buying 2 iPads, one for my mother and one for myself. I'm even learning Objective-C to write software for the iPad. :D I suspect that I will have 3 to 4 iPads soon enough.



kip
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08 Mar 2010, 8:23 am

My mum got a Toshiba NB305, she loves it. Even though her vision is pretty bad, she still has no trouble using it. Toshiba Direct


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