Netbooks are the new Razor Scooter | Hacker News Reader

Netbooks are the new Razor Scooter

manyniches.com

10 pointsBrandonWatson26 comments

I love my netbook for web apps - running FF in fullscreen mode gives you a solid extra inch of screen real estate and when I'm chilling on the couch after work The tiny form factor is actually pretty handy. Plus, the price is such that I don't feel like I need to think twice about taking it with my everywhere on the off chance that it might get dropped/stolen.

It's also the ideal device for streaming Hulu or Netflix before bed.

I bought my laptop for $90 from Free Geek (50% off for volunteering there) and use it much the same way you're using your netbook, albeit with a larger screen and (more importantly IMHO) a larger keyboard.

I've actually adapted pretty well to the keyboard. I'll be honest, I hated the computer for the first 3 months, but now I've found a lot of uses for it that I'd never use a larger, more expensive laptop for.

Tethered to, my treo I've got a really trouble free and reliable internet connection at the drop of a hat anywhere in the country which is also pretty great, but I guess you could really do that with any laptop.

well, i disagree with some of the points of the article as a netbook owner ($350 1000HE)

the battery life issue is dubious. my netbook with default battery lasts for about 6 hours. its advertised at about 9, but thats at low settings, i need a brighter screen. but the point is, 6 hours is still long, much longer than the reported "at most 2".

talking about how netbooks have problems running a lot of programs or powerful programs is obvious. of course an atom processor and 512 of ram is going to have problems with outlook and eclipse open. netbooks aren't designed to replace full powered computers. they're designed to run simple stuff and web apps. if you need more, don't buy a netbook. don't try and roll your razor scooter down the interstate.

screen res and quality is valid, but you kind of get used to it.

My netbook has 2GB of RAM. The proc is limiting, and I suspect the network throughput (and associated proc hit) are constraints as well.

I found myself want the small form factor more than the experience. A refurbed MBP was a nice price point, though more expensive, but a much, much better experience for day to day use. But that's just me.

i agree. i wanted what the netbook was selling. my priorities at the time were for a smaller laptop that is easy to travel with and something that was cheap. i love MBPs, but it didn't meet my price point i didn't care that much about the power.

I like my netbook and didn't encounter the issues you are describing. Battery life is 4.5 hours, which is quite ok-ish, and the new EEE netbooks have 8+ hours.

The cpu speed is also ok, although i don't play games or process very large files. And, Atom dual core is comming...

Regarding the screen real estate, 1024x600 on 10" is enough for me. I did some customizations in apps, for example in Firefox I use Tiny Menu extension, so all my navigation buttons, menu, and URL box is nicely placed in just one toolbar, and statusbar is switched off. Or in Microsoft Word (my second most used program), I usually write in full-screen mode. So you are right, no ribon for netbooks. ;-)

I think it comes down to personal preference. I've been a "desktop guy" and never owned "normal" laptop...I just consider it too heavy to carry. I also don't own a smartphone, since I don't find it necessary. The combo powerfull desktop + netbook does it for me.

Many of the author's problems can be solved with a minimalistic linux distro and a lightweight window manager.

From my own experience, an MSI wind has great battery life running Arch (around 5 hours, minimum). And xmonad allows one to make good use of the display (no annoying toolbars, ect...)

I love this answer. Yes, it is true that you can solve the problem with light weight linux distro, but the mass consumer market has rejected linux on netbooks.

Don't you at least fancy yourself cleverer than the mass consumer?

EDIT: Oh duh, you work for Microsoft!

I love that answer even more! :) My profile makes it pretty clear I work for MSFT. I spent 9 of the last 10 years doing LAMP development. My home machine is a MBP 13". So yes, I am more clever than a mass consumer. However, I am not a fan of Linux for desktop. I will take free-bsd based OS X over any linux distro, but that's a personal preference.

What about tiling window managers?

I doubt the GP wanted to insult your intelligence, he just noted that your opinion was in line with your employer's position ("Linux is a cancer" a few years ago, iirc?).

If it was just a consumer choice that Linux died on the netbooks, then I should be able to at least order a new (not used) one with Linux from Amazon.co.uk. I had problems finding one a few weeks ago.

Edit: It was in 2001 Linux was named a cancer.

Edit 2: The last few years, articles/blogs have been discussing pressure on netbook manufacturers to not ship Linux.

A random Google: http://blogs.computerworld.com/microsoft_strikes_back_at_lin...

>> ... PC World, Britain's self-professed largest specialist chain of computing superstores, announced that, regardless of what was coming with Linux netbooks, it would only be selling Windows netbooks.

You're right, "rejected linux on netbooks" was one of Microsoft's PR pushes, and I was simply noting that Brandon did not internalize that opinion in a vacuum.

It used to be that Linux netbook models cost less and/or had higher specs than the XP versions. Then Microsoft offered deep discounts for XP licenses, and added draconian restrictions on what specs you can ship. Why the hell else do you think every goddamn netbook ships with a 1.6ghz Atom, 160gb HD, and 1gb ram?

>>I was simply noting that Brandon did not internalize that opinion in a vacuum.

Ah, you are right. Brandon wouldn't quote marketing that would get his wrist slapped on HN. That means he really believed the quite obvious company propaganda. Fascinating.

I will take free-bsd based OS X over any linux distro, but that's a personal preference.

Are you saying you don't like Linux on the desktop because you don't like the GNU userland (coreutils, et. al.), and prefer OS X's hybrid bsd-forked set?

What do you mean by calling OS X 'freebsd-based'?

I think the OP fails to understand what a netbook is for. It's not your primary PC, it really does do a lousy job for that. And when trying to do so, it is going to have poor battery life, and performance problems executing demanding software.

But as a highly-portable tool for note-taking, i.e, "book" and quick access to webmail and calendar, i.e., "net", it's satisfactory.

Not that it's great, but I don't think the items cited are the faults. My biggest complaint is that note-taking can be tough because of the cramped keyboard.

I dont use it as a primary PC. I use it for travel and meetings. Nothing more. I couldn't get used to all of the issues I laid out. It was a very painful experience. The most common apps open on my netbook were Outlook and IE/FF.

You make it sound like a heavy, cumbersome, iPhone that can't make calls.

"It's not your primary PC"

Based on my observation, most netbook buyers are buying them for precisely this purpose.

Most lay, non-technical-lifestyled people are not interested in owning multiple computers for the sake of mobility/convenience, etc.

The problem with the netbook is that laptop manufacturers have been cannibalizing sales from "real" laptops, and are hurting real bad. Content producers are also now tied up in terms of what they can do - owing to the pathetically anemic performance (as well as screen size) of these netbooks.

Yes, it's over-hyped as much as the Razor was but these days every kid on our block has a Razor and plays with it and I'm sure the netbook will become just as ubiquitous.

No, it doesn't solve your problem but it's perfectly suitable in others; I have a 1005HA and love it! I use it primarily to write and when bored I can play Diablo II or even World of Warcraft. No, it's not going to play the latest FPS but I didn't buy it for that.

You plat WoW on a netbook? For real? Screenshot! What res and fps?

WoW runs on almost anything... I have a refurb T43 (X300 + 2.0Ghz Pentium M + 512 MB RAM) and with settings dialed down, at 1024x768, I get at least 20 fps - haven't installed fraps here so I don't know the exact fps. RAM gets tight, but XP Pro uses max 160MB right now :)

I use my netbook whenever I travel - I can write articles and do moderate amounts of software development

It is also cheap enough that I am not too concerned with it getting lost or broken

I get a legitimate 4-5 hours of battery life (tested - I fly Hawaii to Los Angeles)

Genius headline though. Caught my attention. sigh

Screen res is not an issue for me. I always plug into a desktop monitor when I'm at home or the office (usually with a KVM switch). When I'm on the road, I'll gladly trade off the size and weight for screen size.

Netbooks rule on airplanes. That's why I got mine.

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