Netbooks?

So my 4 year old gateway laptop pooped the bed a few months back and i've just been using the family desktop for whatever computer needs i have. ive been out of the loop when it comes to new computers and i stumbled upon dell's mini 9 netbook. All i really need a computer  for is web/email/word and these little laptops are pretty cheap and seem practical. anyone have one or any expierence using one? any cons besides the smaller screen size / keyboard layout / lack of an internal cdrom drive?

anyone?

There have been a ton of posts about them in the last week or two.

I just bought one. I like it. But I wouldn't want it for my primary computer...mine makes a nice compact portable when I need a PC at work.

The keyboard is smaller than a real keyboard, even a regular notebook keyboard...I'm getting used to it, but it's still a little difficult. I tent to accidently bump the mouse touchpad when I'm typing, and move the typing cursor to where ever the mouse cursor is located. It can be an annoyance.

No experience with one myself but my friend and his girlfriend just got the MSI wind for that kind of stuff and they like them so far.

carl_the_sniper wrote: Almost bought one but i'm glad I didn't. For slightly more money and a slightly bigger size, you can get a much better laptop.

Absolutely but the purpose of the netbook isn't processing power. The selling point is the size and portability. The Atom is a good processor though, it's great for netbooks. I'm pretty sure they're working on dual-core versions too so if you wanted a netbook with a little more power, that would be a decent option.

It's more than that.

They just don't have even close to the same functionality as most computers do.

carl_the_sniper wrote: It's more than that. They just don't have even close to the same functionality as most computers do.

Not sure what you mean by that to be honest. I mean, the only real difference between a netbook and a standard laptop is size, lack of a cd-drive (no big deal considering what a netbook is meant for), and less processing power. It can still run windows and load your apps just fine, it's just that it won't have the processing power to do something like 3D rendering quickly and stuff like that. My friend put the Windows 7 beta on his Wind and it runs very nicely. He hasn't tried any sort of gaming on there though. I would expect it to fail miserably at gaming without turning settings way down. If by functionality you mean performance then I'd agree but functionality may not be the word you're looking for. I define functionality as the ability to do something (well or not) and netbooks are very capable there unless I missed something.

EE, you play WoW? I never knew.

But can you put up 8-10 poker tables at once without squinting, hm?

Edited by Bruce Banner - 01 February 2009 at 10:22pm

MacBook Air?