Netbook recommendations

[andymorton]

Hi,

I'm planning on buying a netbook within the next few months and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations,i.e. manufacturer and model. Of if there are any which I should avoid.

I'll be using it almost exclusively for taking notes in lectures and doing research in the net. So it doesn't have to be top of the range or be particularly powerful.

Although, of course, it goes without saying that it should have Ubuntu pre-installed rather than dirty, old Windows.

Thanks
andy :)

[Mateo]

I'd wait for the first Chrome OS netbooks. Should be within the next few months.

[SofaSmarties]

I'd wait for the first Chrome OS netbooks. Should be within the next few months.
according to here (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/08/google_operating_system/) it says middle of 2010.

[andymorton]

Everything I've read about Chrome OS says the same thing as the link above, i.e. that it won't be with us until the middle of next year.

I may try it out at some point but I can't really imagine myself using any operating system other than Ubuntu.

:)

[Mateo]

Everything I've read about Chrome OS says the same thing as the link above, i.e. that it won't be with us until the middle of next year.

I may try it out at some point but I can't really imagine myself using any operating system other than Ubuntu.

:)

if you like ubuntu you should check out moblin. here's a good intro video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsCpIeLLoT8&feature=player_embedded

It's really, really cool in my opinion. Not sure if any current netbooks come with it, but I sure if you do the research then there are many that are compatible.

[andymorton]

if you like ubuntu you should check out moblin. here's a good intro video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsCpIeLLoT8&feature=player_embedded

It's really, really cool in my opinion. Not sure if any current netbooks come with it, but I sure if you do the research then there are many that are compatible.

Thank for the link, Mateo.

I'll check it out

andy
:)

[NormanFLinux]

Dell Mini or System 76 Starling come with Ubuntu preinstalled.

[sloggerkhan]

I have an aspire one that came with linpus but now has karmic netbook beta and it works really well.

[Daveski]

I wanted a decent battery life, so I considered the ASUS 901 and the Dell Mini 10v with the bigger battery. Obviously you'd have to remove the cripled ASUS offering and install Ubuntu yourself :-)

The Mini 10v is slightly larger, but if you are taking notes, the ASUS keyboard will drive you nuts unless you have tiny hands. I'd vote for the Dell right now, but I am looking forward to the ARM based machines which should have a much better battery life.

[joey-elijah]

Without meaning to sound unhelpful most netbooks these days are the same spec wise save for slightly different hard-drive sizes and/or RAM. So it's mainly down to your preference in aesthetics.

If you can afford to you might want to look at the new CULV ultra-thin "notebooks" (they're still bloody netbooks).

You might also want to hold off for another month or two to allow the Nvidia 9400m to filter down; this is the same integrated graphics card as found in macbooks and will give you MUCH MUCH MUCH better graphics power than the current sub-par Intel GMA945/950 in most. It can even play HD back without much sweat. Being Nvidia, too, you'll find less "issues" than with Intel; Jaunty had HORRIBLE borderline-useless intel drivers for netbooks.

If you're sticking with Ubuntu you might also be happy to hear that at around xmas we'll be seeing the first super-cheap ($150) ARM netbooks. These will (oddly) boast far greater graphics power than current netbooks and will be Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 INCOMPATIBLE - so take that into consideration if you're a fly-by-night. They will ALL likely ship with Android as their OS, and then ChromeOS once that's out of the stable. Of course, there is now an official ARM version of Ubuntu, so you wouldn't be left out.

[jakarta31]

It might be to late for this.
I favour ASUS EeePC never had any trouble with the NETBOOK-REMIX from the Ubuntu folks. ASUS does have plans for a really nice dual screen that was in development planning about six months ago.

[fancy_ninja]

Well, this won't have ubuntu pre-installed...but my friend (GSF1200S on this site) got an Asus Eee PC 1005 HA...he's really pleased with it. Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-1005HA-PU1X-BK-10-1-Inch-Black-Netbook/dp/B002DYIXMI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256101986&sr=8-1 You should PM him and ask him about it...good luck, and let us know what you choose!

[mivo]

The HP/Compaq Mini 2140 has a surprisingly nice keyboard, with the main keys being 92% the size of a normal keyboard. It makes typing comfortabler than on most netbooks I have looked at. It also has an optionally larger battery and 2 GB RAM (I find that 1 GB is perfectly fine for your purpose, though, so I'd recommend only the battery update for 6 hours.)

[andymorton]

Thanks for the replies everyone. You've all been really helpful!!

andy
:)

[shane2peru]

I don't know myself as I too have been researching this, and stumbled across this thread. I had read elsewhere about these guys: www.zareason.com May be worth looking into. Ubuntu pre-installed. I'm interested in this arm stuff? Anyone got a link? Do we really have to wait that long for ARM to come out? And can ARM run Ubuntu? I think someone mentioned a ARM Ubuntu or something, just want it to be clear for me.

Shane

[andymorton]

I don't know myself as I too have been researching this, and stumbled across this thread. I had read elsewhere about these guys: www.zareason.com May be worth looking into. Ubuntu pre-installed. I'm interested in this arm stuff? Anyone got a link? Do we really have to wait that long for ARM to come out? And can ARM run Ubuntu? I think someone mentioned a ARM Ubuntu or something, just want it to be clear for me.

Shane

Here's a link to the ARM section of the Ubuntu website. :)

http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/arm

[shane2peru]

Here's a link to the ARM section of the Ubuntu website. :)

http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/arm

Thanks! I did happen to find a thread on the forums too:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1080484&highlight=netbook+arm

Now I'm wondering if they are out yet, or when they will be out.

Shane

[sgosnell]

I like the Asus EEE 900. It's small, light, and easy to carry. I've quit carrying my PDA because it's so easy to carry my 900. The keyboard took a day or two to get used to, but now I can type faster on it than on a standard keyboard, and I have comparatively large hands. Ubuntu 9.04 runs well on it, especially with the 2.6.30 kernel, and everything works out of the box. Get the Linux version, and repartition it and remove the Xandros that comes on it and install Ubuntu, and you won't look back.

[shane2peru]

I like the Asus EEE 900. It's small, light, and easy to carry. I've quit carrying my PDA because it's so easy to carry my 900. The keyboard took a day or two to get used to, but now I can type faster on it than on a standard keyboard, and I have comparatively large hands. Ubuntu 9.04 runs well on it, especially with the 2.6.30 kernel, and everything works out of the box. Get the Linux version, and repartition it and remove the Xandros that comes on it and install Ubuntu, and you won't look back.

From what I see these only come with 20GB drives, max. I think that is going to be a problem. :) I somewhat favor the 160GB drives, understanding the addition of weight, and power consumption.

Shane

[sgosnell]

What problem? If you have to store huge amounts of video, music, pictures, etc, then you can get an external drive. I don't need to store that on my EEE, and I have an external HDD for huge amounts of extraneous stuff. I have replaced my SSD with a 32GB model, and it's only about 1/4 full, with all sorts of extras added on. But if you absolutely have to store lots of stuff, then you can either get a full laptop, or at least a netbook with a HDD, or an external HDD, lots of options available. I specifically do not want a HDD in my laptop, so I'm happy with what I have, but there is a reason they sell all sorts of computers.

[drawkcab]

I am writing this on an ASUS 900a refurb that only cost me $165 shipped. It rocks.

[shane2peru]

What problem? If you have to store huge amounts of video, music, pictures, etc, then you can get an external drive. I don't need to store that on my EEE, and I have an external HDD for huge amounts of extraneous stuff. I have replaced my SSD with a 32GB model, and it's only about 1/4 full, with all sorts of extras added on. But if you absolutely have to store lots of stuff, then you can either get a full laptop, or at least a netbook with a HDD, or an external HDD, lots of options available. I specifically do not want a HDD in my laptop, so I'm happy with what I have, but there is a reason they sell all sorts of computers.

You do make a good point, I tend to forget about the external HDD option, especially since they have become so common. That makes the SSD look more tempting.

Shane