Ask HN: Hacker's netbook recommendations below $250 shipped?

The Dell Mini 10n comes with Ubuntu out of the box, which may be a consideration.

I'd recommend getting something with a near-full-size keyboard, which means at least 10" screen. I picked up a used Acer Aspire One a year ago. It was cheap, and still runs great, but the small keyboard is a pain.

Can't speak for the Dell or Aspire, but I have used ubuntu on the eeepc, classmate pc, hp mini(~6.5 hrs on battery) and the samsung nc210. Among these atleast I prefer the samsung, which im using currently(int warranty, good keyboard, ~5 hrs on battery, no driver probs and incedibly cute to boot). You might have to run a few scripts, but driver support is generally pretty good on any netbook(consider ubuntu unr). Also, some IDEs dont display as well on smaller screens, so do keep that in mind.

I got my wife an eeePC a while back. It's stock windows of course, but the machine itself seems well made and hasn't had any issues.

I'd recommend it.