netbooks

[Lost Canadian]

Nobody's said they don't fail and it's wrong to say that.

Go back a few posts and look for the post with "I KNOW won't fail." :ylsmoke:

Edit: ...and I'm not disputing the benefit of SSD's. I just don't buy into this mindset that HDD's are frail like a flower and SSD's are somehow the tanks modern memory storage. Also, as far as value is concerned HDD's provide a far greater advantage, at least for now. A 500 gig LaCie Rugged hard disk can be purchased for under $150. What would 500 gigs in a SSD run?

 

[Outdoorsben]

Go back a few posts and look for the post with "I KNOW won't fail." :ylsmoke:

Edit: ...and I'm not disputing the benefit of SSD's. I just don't buy into this mindset that HDD's are frail like a flower and SSD's are somehow the tanks modern memory storage. Also, as far as value is concerned HDD's provide a far greater advantage, at least for now. A 500 gig LaCie Rugged hard disk can be purchased for under $150. What would 500 gigs in a SSD run?

You took "won't fail" out of context. It won't fail BECAUSE of extreme vibration. Every computer part fails over time, I wouldn't have a job if it didn't.

 

[Root Moose]

If you are really worried about HDD failure set up a pair of drives in RAID 1 configuration or have a ghosted image handy and ready to go. Becomes analogous to having a spare axle shaft in the back at that point. HDDs are cheap enough to have extras.

JAT

 

[off-roader]

Yes... HDD's can more easily fail when shaken versus SSD's

Go back a few posts and look for the post with "I KNOW won't fail." :ylsmoke:

Edit: ...and I'm not disputing the benefit of SSD's. I just don't buy into this mindset that HDD's are frail like a flower and SSD's are somehow the tanks modern memory storage. Also, as far as value is concerned HDD's provide a far greater advantage, at least for now. A 500 gig LaCie Rugged hard disk can be purchased for under $150. What would 500 gigs in a SSD run?

I see what your saying. Didn't say HDD's are frail either. I am saying they are not designed to be shaken while in use whereas SSD's are and effectively experience no ill effects from it.

Also the reason HDD's don't immediately fail when the heads to hit the platter (they're only ~2 millions of an inch from one that's spinning at 5400 or 7200 rpm) is that usually the OS can recover fine and it simply maps that area as a bad sector. But if you have enough bad sectors especially important in a critical area of the drive (say the boot sector) you may as well break out your map & compass or a regular old gps 'cause the disk in that laptop will likely be fried (at least for that trip).

Anyways, I'll be happy to go into more technical detail if you'd like to learn more about this. Although I'm no longer working on PC's. I did for just under 10yrs and have quite a bit of formal technical training on them.

Alternatively, yahoo or google are other 'independent' sources you can check out more info on this in case some of you still don't believe it can also happen to you.

 

[off-roader]

If you are really worried about HDD failure set up a pair of drives in RAID 1 configuration or have a ghosted image handy and ready to go. Becomes analogous to having a spare axle shaft in the back at that point. HDDs are cheap enough to have extras.

JAT

JAT,

That won't fit in my netbook.:sombrero:

 

[haven]

Here's a snapshot of the netbook market in March 2009: 19 netbooks for $350 or less.

http://www.liliputing.com/2009/03/19-netbooks-for-350-or-less.html

These are base configurations in many cases, so it's pretty easy to add memory or a disc upgrade that will bring the total to more than $350. A similar list in October 2008 by the same author set the ceiling at $399, so some progress has been made.

In six months, I expect prices to fall to less than $250 to clear out today's models. The computer manufacturers will need to make some space for new models running the latest low power CPUs and improved graphics processors (faster, longer battery life, better able to handle HD video). The new machines will be noticeably superior to today's netbooks.

Looking into the crystal ball, I see a showdown coming between Windows 7, Google's Android and Palm's WebOS on small portable devices. (I don't see unix/linux distros gaining much more market share than they have now.) Netbooks are not the place to run Word and Excel, so Windows 7's major advantage is reduced. Android and WebOS will be faster, quicker to start up, better linked to telephony features, and better linked to the Web than Windows 7. Oh, and a lot cheaper than Windows 7. If people have to pay more than a $50 premium to run Windows 7, then I think Android and WebOS have a good shot.

Chip Haven

 

[Maximus Ram]

Thanks for the info, Chip.
It seems just as I am ready to pull the trigger on one of these, they are getting ready to upgrade them and I should wait again:yikes:

 

[sundaypunch]

Thanks for the info, Chip.
It seems just as I am ready to pull the trigger on one of these, they are getting ready to upgrade them and I should wait again:yikes:

I'm in the same boat. I really want the ASUS 1000HE but I know as soon as I pay $389 they will be blowing them out for $329 and have a cooler one available. That's how it always seems to work with computers.

 

[craig]

I'd encourage you to look at it from a different angle.

Buy a computer that is powerful enough to do the task you want it to do, then don't look at them anymore. It's like any tool, as long as it's able to do the job you'll be happy with it. If there isn't a computer available right now that is capable (in your price range), then hold off on the purchase.

 

[off-roader]

I'd encourage you to look at it from a different angle.

Buy a computer that is powerful enough to do the task you want it to do, then don't look at them anymore. It's like any tool, as long as it's able to do the job you'll be happy with it. If there isn't a computer available right now that is capable (in your price range), then hold off on the purchase.

What he said!

I was in the same boat earlier last year with the Asus eePC's which were too expensive for the configuration I wanted/needed. I hoped (& felt) that others would be offering alternatives soon enough which were less expensive.

Then out came the Acer Aspire One's (9" models) which fit my needs perfectly and were reasonably priced (for me anyway) to boot.

FWIW, I've found if pricing is an issue, then I probably didn't really need it as badly as I thought.

:safari-rig:

 

[Outdoorsben]

I'd encourage you to look at it from a different angle.

Buy a computer that is powerful enough to do the task you want it to do, then don't look at them anymore. It's like any tool, as long as it's able to do the job you'll be happy with it. If there isn't a computer available right now that is capable (in your price range), then hold off on the purchase.

100% true. Once I bought my HP I pretty much ignored all netbook announcements, and it's been tough will all my RSS feeds and since I'm in the IT field.

 

[haven]

The Asus EEE 1000 HE is the top pick of many web sites that cover netbooks. Here's a 14 minute video that takes you through the features and capabilities of this machine. The video also has a quick comparison in size with the HP Mini 1000, another netbook with 10 inch screen. The HP is considerably smaller and lighter.

http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2009/03/asus-eee-pc-1000he-review-video.html

Speaking of 10 inch displays, most manufacturers use an LCD screen that measures 1024 x 600 pixels. A few use the 1024 x 576 screen, which is a perfect 16x9 ratio, which is used by high definition TV. 600 pixels vertically is very small already, so I don't find the screens with 576 pixels attractive.

Dell's Mini 10 is one that uses the 1024x576 screen. Now Dell has announced the availability of an optional 10 inch display that contains 1366 x 768 pixels for the Mini 10 netbook. That's 78 percent more dots on the screen than the 1024x576 provides. Best of all, the upgrade costs only $35 more.

HP is supposed to offer a 1366 x 768 screen soon for the HP Mini 2140. No word on the price delta for the bigger screen.

Chip Haven

 

[AndrewP]

I am typing this on an Asus Eee 100 HE.


It's a good machine, runs Topo USA well. Operates the Open Office word processor with no problems. Not bad for $340. I added a $20 2GB memory card which speeds up Topo a bit.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

I ordered up an Asus Eee 1000HE, which just showed up today. Also added the 2GB stick of RAM, and so far I am impressed with this little machine

 

[haven]

Netbook makers continue to lower prices to find buyers for models with 8.9 inch displays. The ASUS Eee PC 900A Mini Notebook with 8.9″ Display, Intel Atom Mobile CPU, 1 GB RAM, 4GB Solid State Drive and Linux is particularly cheap:

$150 (one day only, 5.5.2009)
http://www.froobi.com/category/deal-of-the-day

$169, free shipping
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=211039408&adid=17992&dcaid=17992

Linux and a 4GB drive works OK if you're primarily interested in web browsing and email.

Chip Haven