Netbooks?

[auld argonian]

Since I'm thinking about looking for one of these, do any of the members have any experience with netbooks? These are those mini-laptop computers that have solid state memory instead of a hard drive (though some do have a modest hard drive) and are made basically to do very basic functions like word processing and browsing the internet when in a location where there's wireless.

The Apple iPhone and iPod touch as well as several other new cell phone type things fufill the same function as far as the internet browsing are concerned but the netbooks have keyboards...small but still not as tiny as those on the phones. They come in Windows and Linux versions...Linux sounds more practical and are made by Asus, Acer and few other companies.

They had a couple of the Asus models at a Target store near me and I got a look at them but they were strapped into a display and I couldn't tell if they were the real item or display dummies. I'm more concerned about durability in something like this than most anything else.

An example would be:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-8-...8577795&sr=8-9

Any experience with 'em?

Best

AA

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

My wife just swapped her Apple Mac Book Pro for an Acer and loves it. This was at the suggestion of Young Rathdown (who may have had a hidden motive as he inherited the Apple Mac) who is a major computer guru in the real world. I, on the other hand, can barely manage to work my i-Phone...

[Rob Wright]

Author John Scalzi has this one which he likes:

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/11/2...nomy/#comments


Some good information in the comments.

Rob

[AL-58]

A friend of mine (IT professional) has one, an Asus Eeeeee-whatever, the first Linux version. She loves it, but it's not to replace her work machine, she got it purely for the portability, good for email, some basic work, diaries, appointments, a book she is writing (for the last 10 years). When she needs access to larger files or storage, an external hard drive gets attached to the USB port.

Good for what it was made for.

Al

[M. A. C. Newsome]

My wife as an Acer Aspire One, with Windows, and really loves it. Now that our kids are old enough to be spending time on the family computer, she wanted a small, portable machine she could use to basically check her email on, browse her knitting forums, and do some basic word processing. She likes the small size, which basically allows her to easily take it anywhere.

These Acers seem to have a good rep, which is why we went with that brand. And the price was reasonable. You can get them with Linux or Windows. Linux seems like the better deal, but my wife didn't want to learn a new OS, so we went with Windows, and she's perfectly happy with it.