Although it seems a bit underpowered, I'm already collecting bottles to save for one.
Posted on 03/05/2009 10:49:51 AM PST by martin_fierro
Netbooks are a relative newcomer to the world of portable computers. They sit comfortably at the opposite end of the spectrum from the "desktop replacement" notebooks, those laptops with big screens, beefy specs and full-sized keyboards.
Netbooks sacrifice optical drives (CD/DVD drives) and have generally modest hardware specifications, smaller screen sizes and shrunken keyboards. They also tend toward smaller hard drive sizes ... oftentimes much, much smaller. What you get in return is a small PC that is truly ultra-portable, weighing less than two pounds in some cases. In other words, a netbook is an ideal travel companion.
Is a netbook right for you?
This is the first question you have to ask yourself, and it's a big one. If you already have a desktop PC or a desktop replacement notebook at home or in the office, and you want something small and light to take to the coffee shop or to use while sitting on the couch, the answer is an emphatic "yes." On the other hand, if you're looking for a primary machine, you may want to step up to a full notebook with a bigger screen, full-size keyboard, an optical drive, more hard drive space, and so on, at a sacrifice to portability.
Acer Aspire One Windows or Linux?
In keeping the price down — in some cases, at or below the $300 mark — netbooks don't just make sacrifices to the hardware specs. Often, they use an open-source operating system in lieu of the more familiar Windows environment. While netbooks that run a version of Linux don't generally require you to be a Linux guru to use them (though to get the most out of a Linux netbook it can't hurt), it's a bit of a departure from the ...
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(Excerpt) Read more at shopping.yahoo.com ...
(btw, I heard that Psion is now claiming to have a Trademark on the "Netbook" term and may be suing to prevent its "genericazation.")
I have 25 Acer Aspire One with XP sitting on my desk right now waiting to be issued to field agents next week. Gotta get a “gold” unit and clone it 24 times first. Neat little guys. It’s a wall of netbooks still in the box, and no I didn’t order any pink.
I didn’t realize they don’t have optical drives - that would be a pain.
It can be, but you can get external, USB ones for occasional use (USB floppy drives too).
Otherwise, just copy stuff to SD memory cards or USB flash devices. You could fit a number of CDs on a pretty cheap memory stick and keep it with your netbook.
Netbooks are great, easy to haul around when your busy.
Like the Acer Aspire One, and the Asus, nice working netbooks.
My experiences with the T.I.’s OMAP processors haven’t been the greatest.
How about “Webbook”? I think I’ll sell my wireless web-book under the brand name “NoISP” and see if they figure it out. ;’)
Interestingly a class 6 sdhc card is faster than the internal SSD drives on most netbooks. 8gb runs about 20 dollars.
You can add an external CD-ROM drive but a better bet is a USB flash drive. They’re cheap enough that you can copy almost anything to a netbook providing the hard drive had the room to accept it. An 8.9” screen is good but a 10” sounds about right for the ideal netbook configuration.
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