Netbooks?

Ghost1227 · 2009-01-13 03:17:55

So here's the situation... I need a new laptop. I've been thinking about getting a netbook because of all the moving around I seem to get stuck doing... what can I say, the portability is appealing. And it's not like I use cds often, so losing that's no big deal. My question is... which one? I've seen plenty of posts from users regarding the eee-pc (maybe a bit too small), and the aspire one, but no one's given any feedback regarding their opinions of the netbooks themselves (past the initial troubleshooting, that is). So what's the deal? What netbooks do people like? What are the advantages of the eee-pc over the Aspire One over the IdeaPad over the HP Mini over whatever else is out there?

jo3 · 2009-01-13 04:11:33

I have a Dell Inspiron 910 (mini9) and EeePC 900 so I can only compair the two..
Both run Arch very well, however the Dell's hardware works with stock arch kernel and requires little tweaking to get working %100. (big plus in my book) The keyboard size is the hardest thing to get used to if you ask me, and the Dell sports larger keys but has made a few compromizes to the layout. The EeePC has a full keyboard but smaller keys. Just a little bit of typing and you will be used to either one.
Other than keyboard size the mini9 has a better overall look and feel (IMO) and the touchpad is a lot more smooth and resposive.
I have since restored the EeePC to its default OS and my wife is using it at school with little complaints. For me, I love the mini9, it's taken over as my main box @ home.
My $.02

*woohoo post # 100!!

Last edited by jo3 (2009-01-13 04:18:07)

Ghost1227 · 2009-01-13 04:28:56

lol congrats on your 100th post

kaola_linux · 2009-01-13 08:30:12

I have an Acer Aspire One 110...All I can say that it has a pretty nice keyboard layout (big and proper placement of the keys just like the actual keyboard)...Though AA1 is nice but the ssd version is slow but it has an hd version bigger and heavier, gettting an eee pc would be nice as well...What stands out on the eee pc is there upgradability, the extra memory slot is accesible compared to the AA1 which requires opening the entire machine ...

Last edited by kaola_linux (2009-01-13 08:35:08)

Allan · 2009-01-13 08:49:02

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/12/ask- … ere-redux/

SiC · 2009-01-13 14:36:23

I looked at a lot of the netbooks before committing to the nb100, the eeepc never appealed to me lookswise, and it didn't have enough disk capacity, although that has changed, it still looks, to my eyes, completely and utterly fugly. I did look at the dell and the hp also, but they were a bit too pricey for what I was willing to pay, same with the Wind and the Samsung. Of the latter two, the nc-10 looks nicest in black, but it still doesn't appeal to me a great deal, same with the wind, too many rounded edges. Also the aspire one is pretty damn fugly too.

Which is why I went for the toshiba, it was well priced (200 quid) had a reasonably capacious hard drive, and I can for the most part type reasonably accurately on it. It also looks a lot nicer too. Now it comes down to personal choice (my favourite looking laptop of all time is the thinkpad) but I was quite happy to choose it over the others in the pack on that basis alone.

As for it's functionality, the only complaints I have are that the linux version is short on ram (512MB) but that can be upgraded fairly cheaply, and it doesn't have bluetooth. Apart from that I'm exceptionally happy with it.

Having said that, it isn't exactly heavy duty work friendly, I have my desktop and my other laptop for that, but it runs Matlab comfortably enough, and Arch runs on it like a diamond.

tsv · 2009-01-13 16:45:44

Don't have a massive amount of experience with any other netbooks, but I run Arch on the EeePC 701 (the original Eee) and can't recommend it highly enough. If you only want to run basic apps (I just run Firefox and a bunch of command-line stuff under Ratpoison) then it's lightning fast. And now Asus have moved on model-wise it can be picked up rather cheap.

antis · 2009-01-13 18:32:39

I have never used any other netbook than the AA1 (ssd version) but it does all my daily tasks without any problems. The only thing I miss is bluetooth to be able to use my phone to get connected. Easily fixed with a dongle but I would rather have it built in.

Another thing that I don't really like is the mouse buttons that are located at the side of the mouspad. I would much rather prefer them to sit beneath it.

If I was to buy another netbook now I think I would have chosen the ideapad from ibm...

alex_anthony · 2009-01-13 18:47:15

Want to look really cool? wait and get a Sony Vaio P! I really want to see one of these running Arch - it ships with Vista so it must be quite powerful. And the screen! And the shape!

On a more serious note, Aspire One with SSD and Acerfand still gives me the creeps sometimes: I boot up to silence!
And it looks so nice closed too (or it did till i put a nice long scratch on it)

cdwillis · 2009-01-13 19:22:46

I've been looking at various models lately trying to decide on one. I'd like a 10 inch screen, but a 9 is ok for what it would be used for. The best keyboard layout is the Acer Aspire One, but all the linux version has a SDD and 512mb ram compared to the 160 gig HD and 1gig of ram of the Windows XP version. If I could get a refund for the Windows license I'd buy that one for sure.

Ghost1227 · 2009-01-13 19:41:15

cdwillis wrote:

I've been looking at various models lately trying to decide on one. I'd like a 10 inch screen, but a 9 is ok for what it would be used for. The best keyboard layout is the Acer Aspire One, but all the linux version has a SDD and 512mb ram compared to the 160 gig HD and 1gig of ram of the Windows XP version. If I could get a refund for the Windows license I'd buy that one for sure.

Not true! Check it out here! If you go to the Aspire One website, there's actually quite a few options available. (The first reference is the Linux version, with 1GB RAM and a 160GB HD)

rson451 · 2009-01-13 20:10:03

The sony netbook is damn sexy imo. Pretty penny though: see here

Mogger · 2009-01-13 22:03:16

I'm going for Samsung NC10. The specs are pretty much like any other netbook and the design is decent (the white one isn't glossy - big plus), but it excels in two areas: good keyboard and great battery life. Exactly what I'm looking for.

The only thing I dislike about this netbook is that it comes with Windows XP. Some have complained about the small trackpad, but it's not a deal breaker for me.

I'm going to try Arch (for the first time! ) on it once I get it. Which probably will take some weeks, as it hasn't been released in my country yet.

jo3 · 2009-01-13 22:14:17

rson451 wrote:

The sony netbook is damn sexy imo. Pretty penny though: see here

That does look nice, however I don't want to have to use a dongle for ethernet. I would lose it in a month.

cdwillis · 2009-01-13 23:29:26

Ghost1227 wrote:

cdwillis wrote:
I've been looking at various models lately trying to decide on one. I'd like a 10 inch screen, but a 9 is ok for what it would be used for. The best keyboard layout is the Acer Aspire One, but all the linux version has a SDD and 512mb ram compared to the 160 gig HD and 1gig of ram of the Windows XP version. If I could get a refund for the Windows license I'd buy that one for sure.
Not true! Check it out here! If you go to the Aspire One website, there's actually quite a few options available. (The first reference is the Linux version, with 1GB RAM and a 160GB HD)

Hey hey hey! Thanks for the heads up. I had just been looking at models on newegg.com and every single linux netbook I looked at was slightly inferior specs-wise to the Windows XP version.

rson451 · 2009-01-13 23:36:12

jo3 wrote:

rson451 wrote:
The sony netbook is damn sexy imo. Pretty penny though: see here
That does look nice, however I don't want to have to use a dongle for ethernet. I would lose it in a month.

Chances are if you are going for a netbook, you aren't going to be wiring up that often, meaning you'd lose it even quicker

Ghost1227 · 2009-01-14 00:43:55

Mogger wrote:

I'm going for Samsung NC10. The specs are pretty much like any other netbook and the design is decent (the white one isn't glossy - big plus), but it excels in two areas: good keyboard and great battery life. Exactly what I'm looking for.
The only thing I dislike about this netbook is that it comes with Windows XP. Some have complained about the small trackpad, but it's not a deal breaker for me.
I'm going to try Arch (for the first time! ) on it once I get it. Which probably will take some weeks, as it hasn't been released in my country yet.

The NC10 looks nice! I hadn't seen that one yet, and it does seem promising... Let me know how it is if you get it soon. Oh, and welcome to the Arch community!

Mogger · 2009-01-14 17:39:00

Ghost1227 wrote:

The NC10 looks nice! I hadn't seen that one yet, and it does seem promising... Let me know how it is if you get it soon. Oh, and welcome to the Arch community!

Thanks!

As I said, it'll probably take a while for me to get the NC10 (by that time the new installer should be out (ext4 support) and KDE 4.2 released. Huzzah!). If you want more information, you can look here:

Arch on Samsung NC10 ?
Unofficial Samsung NC10 site
Ubuntu on the NC10 blog
Linux on the NC10 blog
Laptopmag Review
Notebookreview User Review

FaN_OnLy1 · 2009-01-14 18:35:48

What about the toshiba NB100 , it looks hella cool, and so far i've been running linux on a few toshiba's and i've never had any problem, their laptops are top quality , i personnaly have the high end M800-10C portege, and i really like what toshiba does , i also tried an EEEPC and i've never liked them, (keyboard is horrible). I don't know about the price but look at it tho

SiC · 2009-01-14 20:05:09

FaN_OnLy1 wrote:

What about the toshiba NB100 , it looks hella cool, and so far i've been running linux on a few toshiba's and i've never had any problem, their laptops are top quality , i personnaly have the high end M800-10C portege, and i really like what toshiba does , i also tried an EEEPC and i've never liked them, (keyboard is horrible). I don't know about the price but look at it tho

It's a very nice netbook... as I said above I bought it almost entirely on the strength of it's looks, and am pretty happy with it.

soleblaze · 2009-01-14 23:28:44

I have an Aspire One 150. I did a lot of research and to me it was the best option at the time. It's got a great keyboard and is a great size. However some other options are the Dell Mini 9 (Fanless, but missing a row of function keys), and the HP mini 1000 (looks great, I don't like the keyboard but most people who use it do).. In the end, you're pretty much buying form factor and addons (network, bluetooth, usb ports, etc) Since there is only one chipset that these can use.

My aspire one is my main computer (in fact my only one besides the server in my closet). However, my biggest peeve about it is the GMA945 chipset. The X drivers for it are crap, so doing anything with windows can cause it to chew cpu. Just running a basic conky setup causes X to use 20-30%CPU.

I'm personally looking forward to via nano netbooks, as they'll be faster, should have better graphic support, and support the via padlock for aes encryption. There are supposed to be some Atom N280 (2.66ghz, 667mhz fsb) netbooks coming out using the GN40 chipset. Unfortunately there's pretty much no documentation on the GN40 right now. It looks like there is about to be some bigger differences in the marketplace in 3-4 months.

big_gie · 2009-01-16 15:48:54

I have a EeePC 1000 (not the 1000H nor 1000HA) and I am really satisfied with it.

I first bought a EeePC 901: they are cheaper and smaller, but after receiving it, ho boy the keyboard sucks. It is soooo jumpy! How many times I pressed the spacebar but the click was not registered so my sentences were all without spaces! Except from that, it was nice. Yes 9 inches is small. The screen size is not to much of a problem though. It is more for the keyboard. Tiny! But you get used to it. Overall the performance, price, quality of build seemed good.

I had to return it because of a faulty battery. Now I have the 1000, and I can say they really made it right. 10 inch is perfect. Not too big, not to small. The keyboard is orders of magnitude better then on the 901. Not jumpy at all. It is also bigger so easier to use. You don't really need to adapt yourself to it. It has bigger SSD drive to (8+32 GB) compared to the 901 (4+16 GB).

I also found that the 901 was not really "shaped" correctly... I mean, the battery was so thick. Personnaly, I don't really like a laptop that is, when the lid is closed, thin near the mousepad and thick near the battery. For example, look at these pictures: http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=13312 The profile seems thin, but the battery is not shown. Look at this picture: http://www.high-tech-cafe.com/wp-conten … c-9019.jpg The 901 is the one on the top (the bottom one is probably a 900 or 700 I dont know...) The back of it, where the lid connects to the main section, is really thick. On a 9" netbook, it really looks disproportionate. Also the weight is not too well balanced. When you have it on your lap and the screen is open, it has a bad tendency to "fall" on the back of lid, forcing you to open not as much the lid to prevent that. The front of the machine is just too light...

Thats why I opted for the 1000. The keyboard is so much better. The weight is better spread across the machine so it does not feel uneven at all.

I looked at the aspire one in computer stores: the mouse button on the side are disturbing but you probably get used to it. The major down side is the battery: less then 2 hours I hear? On my 1000 I can achieve around 5 hours, even 6 or 7 depending on the use. That is what a netbook is about! Not caring about the adaptor! If you need to keep it with you, then it adds to the bulk. I prefer having something heavier but "standalone" then a lighter with an adaptor.

It was really hard to find the Asus EeePc in store, either in Montreal or Ottawa (Canada). You could find the Acer Aspire One everywhere. It is sad that Asus does not have the same distribution power as Acer, because I think the EeePC is a superior product.

I would not buy an Eee lower then 901 though. All of the models previous to the 901 (70*, 900) uses Celerons and have a major defect: the battery drains _even_ if the computer is turned off! You loose all your juice in only a week. Go with an Atom processor. They all have it now though It is more powerful. It's not dual core, but its hyperthreading.

My 20$

Arch Linux

#1 2009-01-13 03:17:55

Netbooks?

#2 2009-01-13 04:11:33

Re: Netbooks?

#3 2009-01-13 04:28:56

Re: Netbooks?

#4 2009-01-13 08:30:12

Re: Netbooks?

#5 2009-01-13 08:49:02

Re: Netbooks?

#6 2009-01-13 14:36:23

Re: Netbooks?

#7 2009-01-13 16:45:44

Re: Netbooks?

#8 2009-01-13 18:32:39

Re: Netbooks?

#9 2009-01-13 18:47:15

Re: Netbooks?

#10 2009-01-13 19:22:46

Re: Netbooks?

#11 2009-01-13 19:41:15

Re: Netbooks?

#12 2009-01-13 20:10:03

Re: Netbooks?

#13 2009-01-13 22:03:16

Re: Netbooks?

#14 2009-01-13 22:14:17

Re: Netbooks?

#15 2009-01-13 23:29:26

Re: Netbooks?

#16 2009-01-13 23:36:12

Re: Netbooks?

#17 2009-01-14 00:43:55

Re: Netbooks?

#18 2009-01-14 17:39:00

Re: Netbooks?

#19 2009-01-14 18:35:48

Re: Netbooks?

#20 2009-01-14 20:05:09

Re: Netbooks?

#21 2009-01-14 23:28:44

Re: Netbooks?

#22 2009-01-16 15:48:54

Re: Netbooks?

Board footer