Looking at cheap netbooks...

RealityRipple · Mar 11, 2009, 08:34 PM

Ya, I'm back again. My bandwidth restriction finally got dropped this morning after a month of being on dial up... And I've been looking into some new hardware.

First off, I'm going to get one of these for my main PC, since my 400 gig's almost full. I'll probably wait to see if the price drops or if they come out with a more reliable HDD (lots of unhappy reviews, though for the most part, returning the product for a new one and installing firmware seems to turn those frowns into grins....)

Anyway, when I'm done with that, I should have about $300 (waiting for five bucks from google ads on my site so they'll give me my hundred), plus whatever random jobs I do from now until then. I really want to get a laptop so I can work on top of my mountain and maybe pick up a wifi connection. (There's a bunch of them viewable, but the one day I went up, I couldn't connect to a single one. Maybe I need to get an N compatible one?) All I really need to do is have a text editor and a web browser, as for the most part, I'll be using it for improving my knowledge of C. I'd also love to be able to run Win7 on it, though that's not necessary.
I've heard rumors of a ~$200 netbook coming out this month, and better interchangeable laptop parts coming in at the end of this year. Being a PLUM typist (see my old topic), I will of course be using a PLUM keyboard, either plugged in to a USB port or taken apart and manually soldered in somehow.

So here's what I'm looking for in a laptop or netbook:
-Monitor you can read in bright sunlight
-Keyboard >= 12"x5.5"
-Wireless card (N would be nice)
-1GHz CPU/1GB RAM for win 7 (optional)
-Hard drive of any size, perhaps SSD since the read/write speed probably won't be important, and protection against dropping would be a good idea.
-Light. I can't stress this enough, since I'm going to be putting it in my backpack and hiking up a long winding path that's hard enough to go up with nothing on you.

Should I look for one now, or wait? How long should I wait? Are any brands specifically excelling in any of these areas?

Thanks, guys!

Mar 11, 2009, 08:34 PM	#1
RealityRipple Embrace Entropy Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Los Berros Canyon, Nipomo, CA Posts: 195 Rep Power: 27 System Specs	Looking at cheap netbooks... Ya, I'm back again. My bandwidth restriction finally got dropped this morning after a month of being on dial up... And I've been looking into some new hardware. First off, I'm going to get one of these for my main PC, since my 400 gig's almost full. I'll probably wait to see if the price drops or if they come out with a more reliable HDD (lots of unhappy reviews, though for the most part, returning the product for a new one and installing firmware seems to turn those frowns into grins....) Anyway, when I'm done with that, I should have about $300 (waiting for five bucks from google ads on my site so they'll give me my hundred), plus whatever random jobs I do from now until then. I really want to get a laptop so I can work on top of my mountain and maybe pick up a wifi connection. (There's a bunch of them viewable, but the one day I went up, I couldn't connect to a single one. Maybe I need to get an N compatible one?) All I really need to do is have a text editor and a web browser, as for the most part, I'll be using it for improving my knowledge of C. I'd also love to be able to run Win7 on it, though that's not necessary. I've heard rumors of a ~$200 netbook coming out this month, and better interchangeable laptop parts coming in at the end of this year. Being a PLUM typist (see my old topic), I will of course be using a PLUM keyboard, either plugged in to a USB port or taken apart and manually soldered in somehow. So here's what I'm looking for in a laptop or netbook: -Monitor you can read in bright sunlight -Keyboard >= 12"x5.5" -Wireless card (N would be nice) -1GHz CPU/1GB RAM for win 7 (optional) -Hard drive of any size, perhaps SSD since the read/write speed probably won't be important, and protection against dropping would be a good idea. -Light. I can't stress this enough, since I'm going to be putting it in my backpack and hiking up a long winding path that's hard enough to go up with nothing on you. Should I look for one now, or wait? How long should I wait? Are any brands specifically excelling in any of these areas? Thanks, guys! __________________