Compact Computer

[Paul Bostick]

Found this a Walmart. Good price for a compact computer considering it's memory, processor, WI-FI ready and Window XP yeahh.






Was thinking of picking one up for the egg when we go roll about.

[Bobbie Mayer]

Found this a Walmart. Good price for a compact computer considering it's memory, processor, WI-FI ready and Window XP yeahh.


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Was thinking of picking one up for the egg when we go roll about.

I've had a few students with these little laptops.. they seem pretty good for the price.

[Greg A]

I'm sorry Paul, but if I got caught with a "Pink Laptop" I'd never hear the end of it....

[Chester Taje]

I looked at some today. They seem to be ok.

Greg----Pink is pretty. lol

[Donna D.]

I'm sorry Paul, but if I got caught with a "Pink Laptop" I'd never hear the end of it....

Practice saying this.... it's competition red, (cover it all over with Nascar stickers) ... or better yet, It's not Blue? I'm color-blind.

[Roy in TO]

Consider the pink to be deterent for theft. Which low life in their right mind would want to end up in court charged with stealing a pink computer? They'd be the laughing stock of the underworld.

I can just hear it now ... Hey MadDog, you got any more of those hot pink laptops?

[Palmer M]

My new Asus eee 900HA is black, but has already been referred to as a Barbie computer!



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[peterh]

For my money I'd opt for an Asus Eee PC 904 netbook. They weigh the same (the Acer's weight as listed on the Walmart site does not include the weight of the battery), but the Asus has a better keyboard, longer battery life, and a larger hard drive (160GB vs 120G.

The two things I'd caution anyone considering either of these laptops about are their keyboard size and computing power. Their keyboards are just 75% of the size of a full size laptop keyboard, and that reduced size can make large fingers and touch-typists feel very cramped. Lynne can't stand its cramped little keyboard.

The other thing is these Netbooks don't have a lot of computing power. Not enough to run Windows Vista or the new Office 2007. (Which is why they ship with stripped-down versions of Windows XP or the Linux operating system.) Not enough to run Adobe Photoshop. (Or most other photo editing programs.) Not enough to have several programs running at the same time.

What they are good for -- and what I love my little Asus Eee PC 700 for -- is being an on-the-go tool for Internet access, simple word processing tasks (using OpenOffice.org or Microsoft Works) and sorting through (but not editing) pictures on an SD card.

If all you want, however, is a computer for Internet access, consider hitting Target up for a $300 Linux-based Eee PC without a hard drive. This is basically what I have and use for all my on-the-go Internet access, and I love it!

[Pete Dumbleton]

Some (all?) of the small computers use the Atom power-saving CPU which extends the battery life, plus not having a DVD or CD drive saves on power.

Wait until after Christmas when prices usually drop...

[Palmer M]

My Asus eeePC 900HA is a full-on computer. The 900 refers to the (almost) 9 inch screen, the H is for Hard Drive (160G instead of flash memory, and the A is for the much-faster Atom chipset.

I am having no problem running heavy apps like Corel Draw and PhotoPaint, while streaming music. Google Earth does just fine, too. I used an external optical drive to load my printer drivers and such. Having Windows XP means that the transition from my laptop has been seamless.

Tonight I bought a $20 Logitech USB keyboard to use with both computers, when typing anything more than emails.

See my posts on the similar thread at Casita Club for more info. I could not be more delighted with the little Asus. The key is to do your homework and get the right version.

http://www.casitaclub.com/forums/ind...howtopic=11973

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[peterh]

Some of the 8.9 inch screen and all of the 7 inch screen Asus Eee PCs (like mine) use a much slower Intel Centrino derivative, not the new 1.6 GHz Atom processor. Target sells the Centrino-based Eee PC in their stores. Great for email, Web surfing, basic word processing, etc . . . Not good for heavy photo editing . . .

Asus also has a 10 inch screen version with the Atom processor. It sports a much-closer-to-normal size keyboard and a larger, easier to read screen. It's only real drawback is that touch-typists will hate it. The keyboard is the right size and layout except for one thing: the space normally occupied by the right shift key has two keys in it. So you sometimes find that, all of a sudden for not reason, you're typing on the line just above where you thought you were supposed to be because you hit the up arrow key instead of the shift button. My little Eee PC (same keyboard as the 8.9 inch laptop currently on the market) suffers from the same malady. It's a little infuriating at times, but I'm willing to make that trade for the much more compact form factor.

[Palmer M]

Centrino! Thanks. I've been saying Celeron by mistake.
The narrow "shift" key at the right of the keyboard IS stupid, but I've adapted.
More of an issue to me is that the space bar is flanked on both sides by redundant "Alt" keys, making it hard to hit the space bar with your right thumb.

[Scott S.]

If I got caught with a PC, I'd have to go into hiding... hehe

[Bobbie Mayer]

If I got caught with a PC, I'd have to go into hiding... hehe

My hope is that Apple will join the bandwagon with one of these.

[peterh]

If I got caught with a PC, I'd have to go into hiding... hehe

'T'aint nothing a strategically placed apple rainbow sticker over the name Asus wouldn't fix.

[Monica M]

If I got caught with a PC, I'd have to go into hiding... hehe

Okay, time for me to throw a tantrum!! I WANT A MACBOOK, I WANT A MACBOOK, I WANT A MACBOOK!!!, But they are so expensive, heard they are totally worth it and on the road I really do need something reliable. Think I am going to start asking friends for donations I do consider all you my friends LOL

[Scott S.]

sorry Monica... I also want a new Macbook. just helped a friend do the jump to the dark side. she loaded her old windoze XP to run her accounting software and does everything else on the Mac side. gave her 6 month old HP laptop (Vista) to her kids and doesn't miss it a bit.

[Greg A]

Let's see HP Bus Class laptop with Vista Business I paid $599 for in June and have had zero problems.
Comparable Mac Book with 15" screen at BBuy $1999 up
Difference=$1499
Divided by average camping cost of $20 per nite, that's 75 nights of camping difference to own the MacBook.
Hmmmmm......

Unless the MacBook gets up and makes the best coffee in the morning to boot, I'll stay with the HP....

[Carol Ann in TO]

....Unless the MacBook gets up and makes the best coffee in the morning to boot, I'll stay with the HP....

What's this about booting in the morning? My new MacBook Pro just sleeps while I sleep and wakes when I wake. No booting necessary.
It may not make the coffee, but my coffee is MUCH more enjoyable with a Mac. There are some pleasures that money can buy and this computer is one of them.