netbooks

I'm looking for a new computer. Netbooks are cheap, light, and small. All good things. The keyboard seems workable at bestbuy, but what works for a few minutes doesn't always work out for a few hours. Anyone have any luck with a netbook? I'm only considering 10-inchers because of the keyboards.

 

Sometimes that "extra $150" could take three months to save.

 

I have a laptop that works, but it's a 15 inch hp with extended battery, and schlepping on public transit and walking distances with it is killing my back. I can get an open box MSI wind (10 inch) for $230 on ebay (no tax, free ship). A used macbook in the 400 to 600 range is an option, but more than I'd like to spend these days, plus you never know what you're getting when you buy a used anything.

 

Point well taken. It's the reason I chose a PC over a Mac when I needed a new computer two years ago. $450 > $1,000 in my math world.

But $300 for some of these mini machines I've seen* is a waste of money. If you're going to make that kind of investment, no matter your financial situation, make the investment in something that's worth your while. ESPECIALLY if money's tight.

* Not necessarily what Tucson's looking at, but I think we've had these threads before.

 

Don't know who you are, newb, but that's a rockin' avatar you've got yourself, there. Props.

 

i bought one of the HP 1100 series a couple months ago.
excellent in size and weight, of course. keyboard a mite small. whole thing perfect for writing on airplanes or any cramped space.
wifi is okay -- no more, no less; seems laggy to me sometimes.

for what i spent -- $350 -- i'm happy with the purchase. it's just so much more convenient than a laptop. but if you do any kind of multimedia editing/gaming, the netbook probably isn't for you because it cant handle the demand..

 

They bought us two HP minis at work to replace our clamshell Macs that we had, and for what I need to do on it, it couldn't be better.

The word processing is fine. The screen size (10 inch) doesn't bother me at all. And I think the keyboard size is pretty much the same, just doesn't have all the extraneous space around it.

I couldn't be happier with it.

 

The biggest setback of these things, to me, is the lack of a CD/DVD drive. Just one less way to put info in.

But I've got one, and I'm happy with it because it fits my situation. I've got good desktops at home and work, so all I need a laptop for is word processing and e-mail.

 

The only thing that I have heard negative about the netbooks is how slow they operate.

 

Slooooooooooooow.

But remarkably portable.

 

Waylon and Irish, Most netbooks come standard with 1 gb of ram, and these days it's cheap to add more (like $10 for many on eBay). What do you think of the keyboards? Could you live with typing on them for several hours, or not?

 

I could and have. I spent three and a half hours typing away this weekend on a practice test for one of my classes, and the fact that it was on a little netbook didn't even phase me.