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  • #1

    Netbook reccommendations?

    I've been considering getting a netbook, and I might be able to afford it in the next couple of weeks. So now I need to figure out which. Does anyone here have one? What brands are good/bad? What options are worth getting? I'll have a budget of about $400. The only things I know I want is a USB port (maybe two?), decent wireless capability and as much HD space as possible. The main things I'll use it for are web browsing, word processing and *maybe* some very minor graphics.

    Also, on a semi-related note, since they all seem to have Windows 7, does Windows 7 have a way to type unicode japanese characters?
    Random Doctor Who quote:
    "I'm sorry about your coccyx, too, Miss Grant."

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  • #2
    As far as performance goes, most netbooks are pretty much identical. The exception is the Asus EeePC 1201N, which has a proper GPU and a dual-core CPU, but that's probably more than you want to pay. By definition, they will all have wireless networking installed, and I haven't yet seen one without at least two USB ports.

    So you will want to look for differentiating factors, which are the display quality, build quality, battery life, and keyboard. The best way to check those is to try them out in the shop, and then look up reviews to find out the battery life.

    You should be able to type in Japanese in Windows 7, it's unlikely that M$ would want to eliminate a large segment of their market in the form of the Japanese.

    However, I would also strongly consider replacing Windows with a copy of Linux. Ubuntu Netbook Remix is a very good choice for doing this, especially as it can be installed using a USB flash drive instead of a CD. You'll get more reliability and performance out of a small machine that way, and all of the software you could ever want will be free.

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    • #3
      Quoth Chromatix View Post
      However, I would also strongly consider replacing Windows with a copy of Linux. Ubuntu Netbook Remix is a very good choice for doing this, especially as it can be installed using a USB flash drive instead of a CD. You'll get more reliability and performance out of a small machine that way, and all of the software you could ever want will be free.
      I use UNR on my ASUS EeePC 1000HE, and it's great. I need a small light laptop I can have with me in the Data center here at work, preferrably one that gets around 8 hours of battery life for those long days I can't seem to sit down at my desk for more than about 2 minutes. Granted, my needs for a netbook are a bit more simple, yet specific than most users need: I need ssh access, and wireless. All my work is done on remote servers, be it the 600 or so servers here in my data center, or the 3 boxen at home I goof with off and on at home.
      Coworker: Distro of choice?
      Me: Gentoo.
      Coworker: Ahh. A Masochist. I thought so.

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      • #4
        I LOVE my MSI Wind. It's light, efficient, and does everything I need it to do.
        "Eventually, everything that you have said becomes everything you will ever say." Eireann

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        • #5
          Quoth Chromatix View Post
          However, I would also strongly consider replacing Windows with a copy of Linux. Ubuntu Netbook Remix is a very good choice for doing this, especially as it can be installed using a USB flash drive instead of a CD. You'll get more reliability and performance out of a small machine that way, and all of the software you could ever want will be free.
          I'll definitely look into that. Can netbooks be set up to dual boot? I'm not sure *replacing* Windows is what I need, but I do prefer Linux.
          Random Doctor Who quote:
          "I'm sorry about your coccyx, too, Miss Grant."

          I has a gallery: deviantART gallery.
          I also has a "funny" blog: Aqu Improves Her Craft

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          • #6
            I don't see why not. Netbooks tend to come with ordinary hard drives these days, which are big enough for the job. I would split it evenly in half, since you don't yet know which one you'll use most heavily.

            Ubuntu's installer includes a repartitioner which, I think, can keep the data on the Windows partition while shrinking it to make room.

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            • #7
              My older HP mini-note came with an 120gb hard drive, which was mostly taken up by Vista and a recovery partition. Vista sucks very hard indeed on my hardware, so I did like Chromatix recommended.

              Deleted the recovery partition. Vista was incredibly slow and clunky, but my mother got an H P mini recently with windows 7, and she finds it quite fast. If Vista gets borked I'm not going to care that much. I only use it for itunes occasionally anyway. I shrank Vista's space and slapped Mandriva on there via live usb. Runs very fast, especially with an Xfce desktop.

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