Netbooks - When did this happen? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

nelie · 02-09-2009, 07:14 PM

Ok I guess I'm not very trendy at all. I had heard of Netbooks before and even seen them but I thought they were used by a small group of people, mostly those under 18. I can imagine getting a small computer for your kid thats inexpensive. Apparently they are HUGE. I went to a conference this past weekend and they were the talk of the town and tons of people had them! Before the conference, I actually saw a 13" notebook that I liked and was thinking of giving my husband my computer and getting that.

I think it'll be useful for some projects I want to work on so the past few days I've been researching netbooks. I looked into 13" notebooks and various netbooks. Companies are starting to release them like crazy. There are a variety of versions and features. I priced out some 13" notebooks, various netbooks and decided that I'd get a 10" Asus eee pc 1000h. It was around $350. I also saw that there is a 10" Asus eee pc 1000he that is going to be released soon which was tempting as well. Mine comes with Windows but I'm going to replace it with Linux.

Who has one? Who knows about them? Am I the only one that has been blindsided by the newest trend in small very portable computers?

CountingDown · 02-09-2009, 07:42 PM

I researched them when they first came out, and have been keeping up with the releases. We've tried a few of them at school to see how they will hold up with teens using them.

For myself, I replaced my clunky laptop with a 12" Averatec about 2 years ago. I travel a lot and it has been ideal for dong presentations on the road. I have been extremely happy with it. I considered the 10" model, but since it is the only computer I use, I wanted a larger keyboard.

I'm betting that you will love it!

Heffalump · 02-09-2009, 07:48 PM

My dad has one, and we gave my husband's sister one for Christmas (both Asus Eee, 8.9 inch I think). They love it - my dad is traveling a lot and can't use his company notebook for personal stuff, especially Skype. Now he takes the Eee along so we can talk when he's in China or wherever.

My sister-in-law is crazy about hers and uses it constantly - she says for school projects but well, yeah, mostly for Facebook etc. She has the Windows version, my dad got the one with Linux and replaced it with Windows, I think. Battery life seems to be OK, wireless internet works like a charm, keyboard takes some getting used to. That and the display size are (predictably) the greatest drawbacks - for surfing it's not bad, but I wouldn't be able to actually work on this thingy for more than 30 minutes, I think. Your mileage may vary!

katie m a r i e · 02-09-2009, 08:02 PM

My friend has a 10" one. It runs Linux, but honestly, I think its a piece of crap. The buttons are insanely hard to use. D: I text like crazy on a QWERTY board, and I can type 100 words a minute on a regular keyboard, but I could not write crap on that thing. I am so glad my parents bought me a laptop instead of one of those. I don't recommend them.

kelly315 · 02-09-2009, 08:31 PM

I love my netbook, more than any computer I've every used. It's an Acer Aspire One, and it's wonderful. I kept my old regular laptop for regular activities that you can't do on a netbook (like downloading tons of stuff, burning cds, watching movies), but I've found I never even need it.

I got it because it's nice to have a tiny laptop in my bag so I can whip it out anytime in classes. it's wonderful. and really cheap too (mine was 400 and most are about 300)

kelly315 · 02-09-2009, 08:32 PM

Oh and Katie Marie- You have to take time to get used to the smaller keys. Now, I find it really hard to use a large keyboard on another computer, it feels like the keys are unusually far apart.

kittycat40 · 02-09-2009, 08:41 PM

I know several people who have them and love them.

But I want a laptop. One with a huge screen.

nelie · 02-09-2009, 09:45 PM

kittycat - I have an 18.4" laptop, its huge and it is useful for many things but honestly I think its a bit too big. I should've went with 17" (although in the laptop I bought, it was either 15" or 18.4").

zenor77 · 02-09-2009, 09:52 PM

Until Apple makes one, I won't even think about it.

nelie · 02-09-2009, 09:59 PM

From what I've heard, Apple has said they won't make one. Although I did read somewhere that one of the netbooks can run OsX very well. It might've been the aspire. Also it'd probably be very pricey. Sony just released their latest netbook and its $900 which kind of defeats the overall purpose of a netbook.

nelie · 02-11-2009, 07:27 PM

Ok so it has only been a couple hours since my little netbook arrived but it is awesome! It kind of reminds me of what a computer would be if fisher price made computers. The ASUS eee pcs are built ruggedly because they are meant to be taken with you so it has a pretty sturdy feel. I installed Linux immediately and it was easy. I chose eeebuntu which is an ubuntu distribution specifically for the eee pc. It came with a bunch of pre-installed programs as well programs you can select to install.

Of course one of my fears that typing would be difficult but other than the first few moments figuring out my placement, it has been easy. Funny thing is that I found out today that a coworker of mine also recently ordered a netbook. I'm going to bring my netbook to show her and I'm hoping to see hers when she gets it.

It is a fun little computer that is inexpensive and I do imagine its great for kids but also for anyone that wants a small portable computer that can go anywhere.

Eves · 02-11-2009, 10:21 PM

Nelie - I'm also looking for a netbook. Does your netbook have a camera? And if it does, does it work with eee ubuntu?

I ask this because a major reason that I want one is that I'm starting back up with my monthly Kansas trips and the ones with a camera interest me the most, however I've been reading that you can't use the camera if it's on Linux unless you spend a bunch of time downloading drivers and the like.

nelie · 02-11-2009, 11:18 PM

Well my system came with Windows but I chose to switch to Linux. It does have a webcam but I don't really have any plans to use it. Just doing a quick search, it sounds like you can get the webcam to work but you may have to mess with it a bit to get it working. Xandros is the linux distribution that comes with the Linux version of the eee pc and it appears there shouldn't be an issue using that and the webcam. Although it appears that for some reason, the webcam is turned off in the bios? Very odd.