kate_nepveu | netbooks?

I may be seeing this through a filter of slightly unreasonable irritation, but the version of Win7 being sold on netbooks, Starter Edition, may actually be a step backwards from XP -- no desktop background customization, no dual-monitor support (which I'm afraid might mean no proper projector support), various other cripplements. That's why I snagged an XP one while I could -- I'm not sure how much longer they'll be available, and I refuse to pay a quarter of the cost of the computer for an upgrade to the fully-functional operating system.

(Also, I'm finding Win7 unusually annoying in general, but that's mostly because I have strong views about file organization that don't mesh very well with Microsoft's.)

That sounds ridiculous. Thanks for the warning.

If your borders for "netbook" are fuzzy, the Acer 1410 (http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-AS1410-2497-11-6-Inch-Laptop/dp/B002SJ38M8/) appears to be a great deal. It's only 3 pounds, has a 6-hour battery life, has an 11" screen with more usable resolution than 10" models (1366x768 instead of 1024x600), comes with vastly better hardware than netbooks (a dual-core Celeron is slow, but way faster than an Atom; and 2GB is better than 1GB), comes with Win7 Home Premium (not Starter), plus all the Wifi-N/webcame/SD stuff that you expect in a modern laptop.

It's $399, which is on the high side for a netbook, but not by much -- there are Atom ones that cost more than that, insanely.

(I meant to include the link to the fairly positive Laptopmag review (http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/acer-aspire-1410.aspx?page=1). It's a bit weird in that they compare it to other ultraportables, most of which are $600+, rather than netbooks, but they do make netbook comparisons, too.)

And they also have a review of the Samsung N140 (http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/samsung-n140.aspx), the replacement to the NC10 that you're probably thinking of.

It's the same price as the Acer, has the same battery life, but: Has a much slower processor (a single core Atom, literally less than half as fast), has Win7 Starter Edition (which really is pretty crippled), has a smaller lower-res screen, doesn't have an HDMI output, and is only a little bit smaller and is only 6 ounces lighter.

It's hard to imagine a scenario in which the Samsung netbook would be the better buy here.

Yesterday I saw a co-worker's N140 and I was astonished at how little the screen looks. Of course I have my work monitor in portrait mode, so I have a distinct preference here, but seriously.

Physically little, or little in terms of resolution? Because I'm not sure how much physically bigger an 11" screen is going to be, but I think resolution-wise, the jump from 1024x600 to 1366x768 is a huge one.

(What do you think of Chad's 12" display on the ThinkPad? That's only 1024x768, I think, right? (Mine is 1440x1050, but I think he chose the lower-res, touch-friendly option.))

Just short, top-to-bottom. I didn't look closely at it.

Ah, okay. Yeah, if that's your thing, modern computers must salt your cocoa. I hadn't thought of it that way, but even a 12" screen would be a lot shorter than my current 12" screen, due to the widescreen thing.

Yeah, I realize in the nature of portables there's not much to be done about it, but it was such a revelation when I turned my work screen into portrait mode, writing-wise.

I'm convinced! (Though I may not purchase right away; it's not a high priority.) Thanks _very_ much.

Now that I've convinced you, I'll add the caveat that there are a lot of people on the internet who swear up and down that Acers are cheap crap and they all break quickly. I have no idea how true this is statistically. And I mean, on the one hand, there's a contingent of people who will say that about any brand; but on the other hand, these are computers designed to be as cheap as possible, so who knows.

Fair enough. I don't intend to carry it around on a day-to-day basis--mostly for travel, and occasionally to retreat to the bedroom where SteelyKid can't see me if I need to do work at home. So that doesn't worry me overmuch.

I have been very happy with my year-old Acer netbook, though I can't speak to the Windows 7 issue. But I've been thrilled with the sturdiness and general lack of problems with Acer.

I don't know about netbooks, but I've been running the Windows 7 Release Candidate for several months now, and have been quite pleased with it. It's essentially Windows Vista cleaned up and made to behave itself properly.

I've never used Vista, see, except to wrestle with the wireless on Chad's tablet. I know XP is old, but it works, so . . .

FWIW, I have never had any problems at all with the wireless on that same tablet with Vista (or with Win7 now).

Probably something quantum.

Chad has a karma theory, which some days I am inclined to--I think it must attach to the machine via the owner, because generally I have good karma with Windows, and I have spent more time than I care to remember getting the wireless on that thing connected to different networks. Ugh.

Here's a bit on netbook battery life (http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/12/windows-7-bested-by-xp-in-netbook-battery-life-tests/) under XP and Win7.

ISTR seeing a reference to an in-between Samsung model, 12" display, at the same site (Engadget), but I can't find it now because they apparently mention the words "Samsung," "laptop," and "netbook" almost daily. It might have been forthcoming rather than available for purchase, anyway, in which case it might not be of use.

Thanks, that's good to know.

The Samsung seems to be a pretty decent machine. My wife's been using one for the past couple of months with no complaints (and a lot of praise for its speed).

Thanks. I've been convinced upthread that a different machine is better, but I appreciate the information in case Acer goes out of business or something.

I've been very pleased with the Samsung. My only complaints are minor ones - the speakers are unnecessarily awful, but since I rarely run any media thing on this and can always plug in earphones this really hasn't been an issue - and weird things happen to my fingers if I try to type on it too long, but I suspect that's a problem with many notebooks.

I upgraded to two gigs of ram and use XP. It works pretty quickly, so I haven't bothered to upgrade to Windows 7.

Yeah, I'm not likely to care much about speakers either. And thanks--I've been convinced upthread that a different machine is better, but I appreciate the information in case Acer goes out of business or something.

Good timing on the question: Tempest just did a best netbooks opinion piece (http://ktbradford.com/best-netbooks/).

Lovely, thanks!

Also, there was a bunch of news today that netbooks with the new Atom processors will be announced/available January 11th at CES. So if you were leaning the Atom way, you'd definitely want to wait until at least then. The new chip should be faster and more energy-efficient, but I'm personally skeptical that it's really going to compete with the CULVs.

Well, I'm not in any great hurry--I do currently have a laptop that works for when I need to hide in the bedroom and do work, it just has literally no battery life whatsoever, and since it's also heavier than I'd like, it seems more appealing to buy a netbook than a new battery.

And an ereader is a higher priority for Christmas, not to mention being half the price and therefore just within my "willing to mention as a goal for gift cards if not an actual single purchase" range.

So I'll keep an eye out and see what the new options are like. Thanks.

So also, Dell is rumoured (http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/08/dell-vostro-v13-is-450-65-inches-thick/) to be shortly releasing a .65" thick laptop with a 13" screen for $450. Grains of salt on rumors, of course, but that's eyebrow-raising if true and if there aren't significant issues with it.

Dunno if/what you decided on, but FWIW I remembered your post when I was forwarded info on an Acer recall: http://www.newyorkinjurynews.com/2010/01/10/Burn-hazard-prompts-Acer-to-recall-notebook-computers_201001102036.html

netbooks?

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