Author Topic: Hardware/OS Geek Thread  (Read 53049 times)

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Offline Nathan

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Re: Hardware/OS Geek Thread
« Reply #250: October 18, 2009, 09:43:52 PM »
Does anybody have an experience with netbooks?  From what I can tell, they are like a somewhat stripped down version of a laptop.  My wife's been hinting that she'd like one, presumably to make it easier to hold bon-bon's in the other hand while she surfs?    :roll:     :?

I would assume most all computers come with wireless these days, but I don't even know that much about the netbook genre.
Yes, I thought I wanted one, just for surfing as a compliment to my desktop, but when I tried using one, that changed quick.  The screen is smaller than you (and she) may think.  Plus the keyboards are small and cramped not to mention the small trackpad.

The main plusses for a netbook are small size = portability if for some reason a "normal" 13" or 15" is too much to handle.  Also, they are fairly cheap at between ~$250 - $500.  With an extended battery, they also can last a while unplugged.

On the bad side, they are also underpowered.  Pretty much universal is a 1.6 GHz intel Atom N270 which is a single core chip.  They also lack an optical (CD or DVD) drive.

In my opinion, they have become a hyped "fashion" item that everyone wants because they think that it is a "cool" thing to have.  You're better off with a low end normal notebook in most cases in my mind.

Oh, and pretty much everything comes with wifi these days, and you can get netbooks even cheaper from VZW and AT&T if you sign a 2 year data contract and get built in cellular data card.