Should I get a netbook?! (2 Viewers)

[tjhunt11]

This only happens if you're a noob.

true true.

 

[myst1fy]

Everyone complains about netbooks running slowly, that's because most people are stupid enough to be running Windows on them. Ubuntu netbook will work so much more efficiently than Windows.

+ infinity

 

[silentdreamer]

They're convenient to take everywhere and type up notes on at school etc. but they really tire out your eyes so consider how long you'd be spending on one if you got it.

 

[mirakon]

dude just write them up on paper

 

[annabackwards]

Laptop.

 

[iSplicer]

Everyone complains about netbooks running slowly, that's because most people are stupid enough to be running Windows on them. Ubuntu netbook will work so much more efficiently than Windows.

That's if you want to use open office and GIMP which have serious compatibility issues compared to the industry standards. Sure, GNOME has come a long way, but in my opinion linux will never, and should never, attempt to take over the GUI market. Leave linux for the servers =). Besides, win7 has pretty decent resource management anyway, following the restructure of the windows kernel.

 

[ohexploitable]

That's if you want to use open office and GIMP which have serious compatibility issues compared to the industry standards. Sure, GNOME has come a long way, but in my opinion linux will never, and should never, attempt to take over the GUI market. Leave linux for the servers =). Besides, win7 has pretty decent resource management anyway, following the restructure of the windows kernel.

What compatibility issues? The open standard image and office document formats are PNG and OpenDocument respectively, both are fully compatible with GIMP and OpenOffice, OpenDocument is actually the native file format of OpenOffice. Just because Microsoft uses their own proprietary file formats does not mean they are standard. Anyway, OpenOffice can handle Microsoft Office file formats just fine, and if for some strange reason you would want to use Microsoft Office it runs via WINE very well.

Never take over the GUI market? Pretty much every new smartphone runs on Android and many embedded devices run some sort of Linux. If you're referring to desktops, I can't see why you think a GNOME/KDE desktop environment is inferior to the Windows shell, Linux shells offer so much more possibilities and user customisation than the Windows shell.

Windows 7 has relatively decent resource management but compare it to a Linux distro running Xfce or LXDE. The topic is about netbooks anyway, Windows 7 running on an Atom with 2GB RAM is not very fun and almost unusable for someone accustomed to a high-end desktop.

 

[S4Saustralia]

my computer is located in the lounge room (parents don't trust me)

wtf is with this ultra-conservativism? How can this kind of treatment not spark resentment towards the parent?

OP, I managed to find a 13" macbook air (old version) on ebay for $400...battery kinda sucks though.

 

[XTsquared]

I just bought a new netbook for note making and to not have to print vast amounts of past papers etc (and to take with me wherever I go). The person who said running win7 on an atom with 2gb ram is unusable (when being used to a high end desktop), I disagree. I'm currently running an atom N550 with 1gb ram on win7 and it runs well. I uninstalled all the microsoft bs and installed only open office, chrome, 7zip and adobe pdf viewer. It runs p.well. I agree with your statement on gnome based systems. I'm only running win7 because it came with the system. I will soon be swapping to ubuntu netbook remix (however I want something a little more stable).

I forgot what I'm posting about so I'll leave it at that

 

[Arcorn]

I've got my netbook dual-booted in case I want something I can't run through WINE. And seriously, Windows is fucking shit on it. The Unity desktop environment runs so much more effectively than Windows 7 and battery life is twice as long, I'm dead fucking serious, I can get 12 hours on Ubuntu Netbook.

OpenOffice and Gimp aren't compatible with standards? What....the....fuck? OpenOffice uses the standard as its file type and it is fine with Microsoft's proprietary shit. The desktop environments for Linux systems all use good GUIs, they still have nothing on using the terminal but they are still as good, if not better, than the Windows GUI. It's just people expect Linux to be Windows.

Boot times are shit into Windows no matter what, seriously takes half the time for me to boot into any of my Linux distros than it does into Windows, no matter how much I optimise it. The hibernate function is poorly done in Windows, it takes almost as long to boot up from it than it does when it is shut down on my i7 laptop. My P4 when suspended with OpenSuse pretty much boots straight away.

Windows is shit, realise that. Other than games and Windows itself I try to use open-source where I can just because it doesn't break for no reason, you need to do something for it to break.

 

[erespall]

im normally a pc user but i decided to buy a 15" macbook pro a couple of months ago for my final year, ive had to carry considerably less weight around because most of my text books exept for my economics text is on my laptop, plus the battery lasts for ages and even if i spam the shit out of it all day my school has those white macbooks in cages everywhere so i can just leech power when no ones looking

 

[ClockworkSoldier]

Personally I can't stand NetBooks.

The screen's way too small for any functionality past typing, music and YouTube. The frankly pathetic (though understandable due to size) specs often nearly make even this impossible and are no-where near what I or alot of people need... And most don't even have a CD/DVD drive, so count burning discs/watching DVD's out (unless you have movies via USB etc), but then again, who would want to watch movies on those horrible low resolution tiny screens.

And yes, they are slow. You basically need to keep it empty and spotless to get any real speed out of it.

The keyboards are too small, and just creates irritation.

If you're going to be doing heavy typing and not much else other than listening to music and net surfing as most people do, I'd actually reccommend a cheaper full-size laptop. You can get them for as close to $100 more than a netbook price in some cases, and that's not much considering how much better a real laptop is to use etc.

 

[Arcorn]

A netbook should never be considered as a primary computer, it should always be a secondary. I used mine while I was reformatting for the intrewebz and I use it when I get up because Ubuntu netbook boots faster.

Keeping them empty isn't going to keep them from getting slow, stopping stupid useless processes from running is though. My netbook will also act as a second machine when I go to uni for notes since I went for an i7 laptop so battery life is shit.

 

[red-butterfly]

I guess if you're only using it for notes and nothing too challenging then it's worth investing. eg looking at notes during lectures instead of wasting your money on paper that you're going to lose anyway.

Problem is my eyes have gotten worse since getting this netbook. Sure it's great because of it's mobility but shit because you can't use it other than it being a personal typewriter.

 

[SeCKSiiMiNh]

i don't know what some of you guys are all whining about.
Sure, it's considerably smaller, but I've personally had no problem whatsoever with regards to function, typing, or whatever.
If you're planning on getting a netbook, I'd say go with eeepc. I bought one for about $500 a few months ago, and I'm completely happy with it. It's also alot lighter than a standard notebook, and that's a huge plus for me personally as my tiny asian arms aren't strong enough to cope with dragging a fucking laptop back and forth at uni. and the battery life is also great as well, as unlike laptops, I do not need to bring my charger with me to uni.

 

[ClockworkSoldier]

i don't know what some of you guys are all whining about.
Sure, it's considerably smaller, but I've personally had no problem whatsoever with regards to function, typing, or whatever.
If you're planning on getting a netbook, I'd say go with eeepc. I bought one for about $500 a few months ago, and I'm completely happy with it. It's also alot lighter than a standard notebook, and that's a huge plus for me personally as my tiny asian arms aren't strong enough to cope with dragging a fucking laptop back and forth at uni. and the battery life is also great as well, as unlike laptops, I do not need to bring my charger with me to uni.

Not being a fanboy or anything, but 6 hour battery life on a 2009 MBP after a years solid use... FTW.

Keeping them empty isn't going to keep them from getting slow, stopping stupid useless processes from running is though.

- This is what I meant by 'spotless' .

I guess it entirely depends on your personal needs, but personally I don't see the use of them. It's better to point out the bad points in a NetBook than to simply supply the good.

I couldn't stand a computer without a CD drive/good screen lol.