Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: tigers_gonads on 01 December 2011, 20:58:12
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As above
I am looking at getting my lad one of these for christmas so he can use it for collage next year.
I've got a max of £250 to spend
Anybody got one on here ?
Whats the best one for the price out there ?
Opinions and advise welcome
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Bought one for Miss Vamps a couple of years ago, she wants a lap top this year.... ::) ::)
Can't take a cd, well ours can't so we had to download 'Office' from the internet, has a usb so can use a stick for saving work....You can get them for around £150 I am sure an expert will be along shortly.... :y :y
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Old hat, they wont be around much longer methinks.
Probably 'too small' to be useful for college TBH...
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Bugger, I've just sold SWMBO's netbook 2 hours ago!
Less than a yr old and had about 5mins use in total, as she never used it >:(
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you can pickup laptops for £300 from Tesco much better than the netbooks too be honest and for college work will be able to accept cds as well
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Old hat, they wont be around much longer methinks.
Probably 'too small' to be useful for college TBH...
Must admit, they are small so difficult for typing, or can be, Miss Vamps was only 9 so smaller hands, not mouth ::) ::) at the time.....She has started 'big school' now hence why she 'needs' a lap top.... :)
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The poor resolutin also makes them bad for anything other than occasional use.
If mine has been used for more than 10hrs I'd be surprised ;)
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I got Miss 2112 one last Christmas, but she generally uses my laptop. They're great for portability, if that's an issue, but lack some ease of functionality due to their size. No disc drive may prove to be an issue as well, and I agree with the others that perhaps you should consider a laptop if possible, and it will have greater longevity for you :y
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He is looking for something he can stick in his rucksack so he can take it to school / collage.
The school are always having problems with the computer servers and other systems :-\
Half the time, they don't even have internet ::)
He understands about the limitations of not having a cd/dvd drive.
He uses a 8 gig flash drive on his keyring which he claims he can use to stick software on it.
He also has a old desktop wired into his 24" tv in his bedroom which he has just told me he is upgrading after christmas, with my rather money ::)
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Just found one of this.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5085996/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/2%7C14418968%7CLaptops+and+netbooks%7C14419039/c_3/3%7Ccat_14419039%7CNetbooks+and+mini+laptops%7C14419042.htm
Good / bad :-\
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Sorry, cannot recommend any for regular use :(
The Atom chip is sluggish, the related chipset is sluggish, the keyboard too small for typing, the screen resolution is too small to use for any time, and the things take ages to boot up (not so bad coming out of standby)
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I would say something like this http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.211-8727.aspx
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I have a Samsung N110 for travel - it has been great in 2 years I have had it - used in many countries via my usb broadband, loaded office onto it with external dvd drive.
Wouldn't trust it speed wise on anything higher than XP but for accessing emails and database while travelling has been ideal. Very small and with 8 hours battery life really effective if you travel a lot.
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I picked up a second hand one not long ago for a reasonable £50.
Batt life is reasonable, portability is very good. Upgrade memory to 2 gig and they are quite useable.
Handy for in car diagnostics, a lot easier than carting the lappy out to the car.
Plays music/audiobooks but sounds a lot better through headphones. Watch videos from the HD/Network/Internet.
Browsing is a bit slow/clunky with the smaller screen res but acceptable for occasional use.
The lack of a dvd drive is no problem really as a dvd can be converted into an ISO file aand copied to a usb drive or over the network then mounted using virtual drive software so it appears as a dvd drive on the netbook.
So overall it's a handy little toy but not a complete replacement for my main laptop.
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Please bear with me on this ::)
I'm not that well up on these things anymore :-[
Would it be fair to say that they are ok for basic word processing and t'internet browsing while on the move but if you want to play with photo's or music, use the pc :-\
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i was looking for this one for "sticking on the car seat" size and slightly more zip than a netbook. if size is not an issue, the the 15" laptops with optical drive are better value for money.
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/hp-pavilion-dm1-4027sa-11-6-laptop-silver-11290967-pdt.html
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Please bear with me on this ::)
I'm not that well up on these things anymore :-[
Would it be fair to say that they are ok for basic word processing and t'internet browsing while on the move but if you want to play with photo's or music, use the pc :-\
Netbooks are fine for backing up your photos while travelling and at least you can see your work on a reasonable sized screen. The Samsung has a decent key pitch and wireless and bluetooth.
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Please bear with me on this ::)
I'm not that well up on these things anymore :-[
Would it be fair to say that they are ok for basic word processing and t'internet browsing while on the move but if you want to play with photo's or music, use the pc :-\
Pretty much. They will play music/videos acceptably but editing photos/music would be a long job and editing video pretty much a non starter.
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yup i have a samsung netbook but basically unless you only use it for checking emails and general browsing , or as i do talking to swmbo on messenger when i work away (saving on phonebills), they are pretty useless, best bet is a laptop :y
good deals going on at the moment :y also most students i see have backpacks they could fit a tower in never mind a laptop ;D
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I have an acer aspire one pro which is probably the computer I use most at home and the only one I travel with these days.
It's perfectly adequate for what I'm doing now - surfing the net in front of the TV. Full size laptop is too cumbersome for this, IMHO. No issues with screen size or speed. You don't tend to want to do multiple things at once - that's what my dual head desktop is for, so each application has the whole screen to play with. It's a limitation compared with a laptop or desktop, of course, but it's a tradeoff I'm happy to make make for a smaller machine, especially when I have to lug it through airports, etc.
Plug it into a projector and you can do a presentation just as well as on a full size machine, as the display is no longer a limitation.
However, the first thing I did with it is relegate the XP installation to a small partition for occasional use and install Linux (Ubuntu netbook edition IIRC). I'm not sure how happy I'd be if I were trying to run XP on it. It appears to run reasonably well but I've probably booted into it perhaps half a dozen times in the 2 years I've had the machine, mainly when tech2'ing. Microsoft gives you a "one size fits all" desktop environment and software that tends to assume you're running it on a full blown desktop so, sadly, that's what you have to have crammed into any laptop that's going to be of serious use. ::)
There's no issue with not having optical drives IMO. I can't see why you'd want a CD/DVD drive on any laptop these days when you can get a 32MB USB stick for pennies, and you have a built in SD card slot anyway. Pretty much any other peripheral you might want on the move is USB, and I have 3 USB ports. If you like watching DVDs while away - well, there's a 250 gig disk to fill with those, and it's less still to carry.
I'm a fan of them. They fill the essential gap between a top spec laptop that I would never bother to lug around with me, and a tablet that's as much use as a chocolate kettle because it's got no keyboard. ;)
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Hi Steve,
I've been using an Asus Eee Pc for a couple of years now and use it as my main machine - yes perched up on my knee and wearing my reading specs :y. It only has XP home loaded, and is ok for routine www access and the odd bit of word processing and even iPlayer use. Yes, it can be a bit slow, but its fine for what I use it for. It was £185 from Staples IIRC.
The only thing it be wary of is the battery, which seems to have aged somewhat and now only gives a couple of hours use between charges. It has also recently taken to switching itself off when the battery indicator is about 50% & causes windows a bit of a headache when it gets powered up again.
Cheers
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I have a Samsung N110 for travel - it has been great in 2 years I have had it - used in many countries via my usb broadband, loaded office onto it with external dvd drive.
Wouldn't trust it speed wise on anything higher than XP but for accessing emails and database while travelling has been ideal. Very small and with 8 hours battery life really effective if you travel a lot.
Samsung are pulling out of the Netbook market, so if you want another, be quick ;)
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I have an acer aspire one pro which is probably the computer I use most at home and the only one I travel with these days.
It's perfectly adequate for what I'm doing now - surfing the net in front of the TV. Full size laptop is too cumbersome for this, IMHO. No issues with screen size or speed. You don't tend to want to do multiple things at once - that's what my dual head desktop is for, so each application has the whole screen to play with. It's a limitation compared with a laptop or desktop, of course, but it's a tradeoff I'm happy to make make for a smaller machine, especially when I have to lug it through airports, etc.
Plug it into a projector and you can do a presentation just as well as on a full size machine, as the display is no longer a limitation.
However, the first thing I did with it is relegate the XP installation to a small partition for occasional use and install Linux (Ubuntu netbook edition IIRC). I'm not sure how happy I'd be if I were trying to run XP on it. It appears to run reasonably well but I've probably booted into it perhaps half a dozen times in the 2 years I've had the machine, mainly when tech2'ing. Microsoft gives you a "one size fits all" desktop environment and software that tends to assume you're running it on a full blown desktop so, sadly, that's what you have to have crammed into any laptop that's going to be of serious use. ::)
There's no issue with not having optical drives IMO. I can't see why you'd want a CD/DVD drive on any laptop these days when you can get a 32MB USB stick for pennies, and you have a built in SD card slot anyway. Pretty much any other peripheral you might want on the move is USB, and I have 3 USB ports. If you like watching DVDs while away - well, there's a 250 gig disk to fill with those, and it's less still to carry.
I'm a fan of them. They fill the essential gap between a top spec laptop that I would never bother to lug around with me, and a tablet that's as much use as a chocolate kettle because it's got no keyboard. ;)
They are a niche (shrinking niche as tablets have everyone creaming their jeans). Can't say I use mine much, as the size is unworkable for me. My fat fingers have enough troubles with a proper keyboard :P
What Ubuntu do you use, presumably not a recent bloatware one? I did stick Debian on mine, briefly, but I lent it to someone (not bright enough to tolerate Gnome and OpenOffice), so slapped the HP image back on. Its kinda stayed that way (HP bloat build), except its now Win 7 Ultimate (I was testing Anytime Upgrades), which is far from ideal on a Netbook ;D
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What Ubuntu do you use, presumably not a recent bloatware one?
No. 9.04 IIRC. It's just dropped off support, so I have to think about what goes on next.
I've seen later netbook versions and they've got an awful WM, so that's out. Guess I'll have to go Debian and take some time to configure something reasonably lean.
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I had 'Mint' recommended to me today as a good alternative to Ubuntu - I haven't tried it out yet, though..
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I had 'Mint' recommended to me today as a good alternative to Ubuntu - I haven't tried it out yet, though..
Dunno what the fascination is with Ubuntu. I think its one of the crappier distros. If you're too stupid to use Linux, Microsoft has a great OS for you. If you are capable of using Linux, there are much better options IMHO.
Needless to say, although I have tried it a few times, Ubuntu is not used in the TB household.
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Thanks for all the advise lads :)
In the end, swmbo decieded he was getting the one in the link ;D
No doub't, it will be my fault if it all goes tits up ;D ;D
I know my place you know :-X :-X
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I had 'Mint' recommended to me today as a good alternative to Ubuntu - I haven't tried it out yet, though..
Dunno what the fascination is with Ubuntu. I think its one of the crappier distros. If you're too stupid to use Linux, Microsoft has a great OS for you. If you are capable of using Linux, there are much better options IMHO.
Needless to say, although I have tried it a few times, Ubuntu is not used in the TB household.
I use it where I want easy package managemnt (Aptitude) but don't want a package tree that lags a couple of years behind the real world (i.e. Debian) .. ;D
I used to run Gentoo, before you accuse me of being too stupid to use Linux :P but compiling everything from bleeding-edge source gets old fast (especially when the package maintainers started breaking everything on a weekly basis).. Heck, I started out with Slackware back in '97, when there was no package management. Ah, proper Linux. Everything DIY :)
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I had 'Mint' recommended to me today as a good alternative to Ubuntu - I haven't tried it out yet, though..
Dunno what the fascination is with Ubuntu. I think its one of the crappier distros. If you're too stupid to use Linux, Microsoft has a great OS for you. If you are capable of using Linux, there are much better options IMHO.
Needless to say, although I have tried it a few times, Ubuntu is not used in the TB household.
I use it where I want easy package managemnt (Aptitude) but don't want a package tree that lags a couple of years behind the real world (i.e. Debian) .. ;D
I used to run Gentoo, before you accuse me of being too stupid to use Linux :P but compiling everything from bleeding-edge source gets old fast (especially when the package maintainers started breaking everything on a weekly basis).. Heck, I started out with Slackware back in '97, when there was no package management. Ah, proper Linux. Everything DIY :)
Indeed. You'd be a mug to do everything from first principles these days just for a "web browsing in front of the telly" machine so why not choose something with decent install and maintenance tools? (and, IME, Ubunto and its' derivatives have a better track record of installing and "just working" than Windows these days)
As for not being "too stupid" to use Linux, that comes in when you have to maintain the system, where, unlike with Windows, you will have options other than "wipe it and reinstall".
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Yeah, I've been very impressed with Ubuntu from a 'fire up and go' perspective - although the latest version (10.10) has a very odd desktop experience that I'm not sure I like at all.. then again, my Ubuntu boxes at home are all X-less anyway. Though like any distro it can struggle with esoteric hardware (lots of jiggery pokery getting the LIRC IR drivers working on my HTPC, for example) - but it's no harder to get working than any other distro at that point.
Well, aside from having to remember to apt-get install build-essentials every time..
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Yeah, the new "I know you've got a 24" monitor, but I'm going to force a Gaypad desktop on you anyway" concept will mean this is my last Ubuntu for a while, I suspect. ::)
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As for not being "too stupid" to use Linux, that comes in when you have to maintain the system, where, unlike with Windows, you will have options other than "wipe it and reinstall".
Not a problem I've come across much, considering the number I see :-\
But as this is a Linux debate, not windoze, I still struggle to see how Ubuntu fits in, despite all the kids creaming themselves over it (probably due to the easy install, possibly one of the easiest of the 'free' (in cost) distros out there). But its not its own distro, based on Debian iirc, thus always out of date. And Debian itself isn't exactly the most current edge ;). In Windoze world, its like installing XP. Old, dated, behind the times. Why? :-\
Or am I spoilt with all shit I get to play with? Or naive? :-\
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Though like any distro it can struggle with esoteric hardware (lots of jiggery pokery getting the LIRC IR drivers working on my HTPC, for example)
Hmmm, I don't remember any jiggery pokery getting Windows on my HTPC, except in the MCE2005 days when a bit of a reg tweak to enable 6 tuners. Windoze rulz :P