Netbooks

[Ness_du_Frat]

Launching a topic about netbooks, as they seem to be everywhere now :)
Do you own one ? Do you want to own one ? Would you rather die than own (and use) one ?
A friend of mine has the Asus eeepc 700, nice piece, but impossible to use to type text and screen is an eye killer.
I'm tempted to buy one (my choise would most likely be the acer aspire one 150, with 6 cell battery, luckily, it's not arrived in Europe yet, so I haven't rushed to the nearest store to grab one (yet)), as a second notebook (I own a macbook 13").
I know there are plently of forums dedicated to the netbooks, but I was interested to know your feelings towards those machines (many of you are developers or designers).

[NogDog]

Unless they can come up with a display format that is as easy on the eyes as ink-on-paper, I cannot conceive of wanting to own one for "recreational" reading. Plus, there's something that just feels right about reading from a real book rahter than from an electronic device -- maybe just the habit of being a voracious reader for nearly 5 decades. As for technical books, I'd just as soon have them on my computer anyway if I'm going to go electronic, so I still don't see the need for a separate device.

[Fang]

it's not arrived in Europe yetYes it has (http://www.beslist.nl/computers/d0000658938/zpKVo5yZo6RenpySlaSe/Acer_Aspire_ONE_A150-Aw-1GB_(_LUS040A054_)_Atom_N270_-_16_GHz.html)

[wh666-666]

I have the eeepc 4g. Had it since the start of the year.

They're extremely handy machines and cheap for the smaller SSD ones. I dont mind the screen size at all. It has its purpose just like every other machine. It isnt a desktop or a laptop replacement, its a portable computer.

Its made my life alot easier, especially attending on site or travelling. Has a stronger wi-fi card than my 19" laptop. Considering buying an SD card to maybe use windows away from home as well.

[Ness_du_Frat]

@Fang : no, it's the acer aspire one 150 with 3 cells battery and 120Go HD. The one I want is the 6 cells battery and 160Go one. Will arrive around Xmas here.
@NogDog : for reading, I have another device, which is really great : the iLiad. (http://www.irextechnologies.com/products/iliad) It's an e-paper device, and it's almost like reading a book. Moreover, you can read it in bright sun, which is a big improvement comparing to laptops.
@wh666-666 : I don't really have a positive opinion about SSD. It doesn't save battery-life (compared to the new netbooks with HD) and having a notebook which has less space than a USB key kinda feels weird. Somebody talked about a new eee-pc, with dual core, longer battery life, smaller than the eeepc 1000 but with a wider keyboard than the eeepc900. (eeepc 900 is just a bit too small, eeeepc 1000 is just a bit too big. Otherwise, I'd probably go for asus, as I'm not too sure about acer quality)

[keyboardgeek]

I was looking at Netbooks today, I'm going to get one. Probably go for one with a flash drive to help power consumption as I'll use it at cafes and on the train. Someone commented about books and screen quality. I think they are confusing Netbooks with those portable PDF document readers.

[wh666-666]

@wh666-666 : I don't really have a positive opinion about SSD. It doesn't save battery-life (compared to the new netbooks with HD) and having a notebook which has less space than a USB key kinda feels weird. Somebody talked about a new eee-pc, with dual core, longer battery life, smaller than the eeepc 1000 but with a wider keyboard than the eeepc900. (eeepc 900 is just a bit too small, eeeepc 1000 is just a bit too big. Otherwise, I'd probably go for asus, as I'm not too sure about acer quality)

Yea it doesnt save much on battery life and the performance gain is negligible.

However I use it for web browsing while travelling, etc, so really, the smaller and more durable the better ...

[xvszero]

I dunno, I'm poor and the library rents books for free.

Sometimes libraries amaze me, when I stop and think about it. Where else can you get free entertainment in actual physical form? Then again nothing is truly free, it just comes out of our taxes.