While we're playing Consumer Reports

[jethrien]

Also considering getting a laptop (we only have a desktop). Requirements - small, light, cheap, runs Word, Excel, and a browser. That's about it. We've got a PC as the main computer, so laptop should match. (I'm not planning to store much on this long-term - basically, I want something I can use to write or do minor chores or check email while traveling. We've done an enormous amount of traveling this fall, which has kind of underscored this desire.)

Opinions?

Comments

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

I second the Eee PC, obviously. You're welcome to test drive mine anytime, but the newer models have bigger screens, more storage, and Windows XP. I've also been eyeing the Dell Inspiron Mini 9. And I've heard good things about the Acer Aspire One. Browse through this site a little and read up on your options.

When someone saw me writing at the coffee shop this morning, I ended up giving a 5-minute sales pitch on how great the Eee is. Spread the word! :)

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

I'd been looking at the Mini 9. How much was the Eee?

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

At the time, I paid about $379 (with tax) for the 7", which is about the price of the 8.9" now. For about $100 more you can get the 10" with XP. There are a crazy number of flavors of Eee, so you have to decide what you really want. XP over Linux? Solid-state drive over traditional hard drive? And so on. The Eee Wiki has details and comparison charts, but shop around for the cheapest price and sales at Amazon, Buy.com, Best Buy, etc.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

Important note: The Inspiron Mini comes with MS Works, not the MS Office suite. (Most of the Eee XP builds appeared to do the same.) Whatever we buy, it's going to need to be able to run Powerpoint. Any idea how to find out if it can other than calling companies?

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Not offhand, but I can hook you up with Office 2003 for XP. And the Open Office products are actually fairly compatible with MS Office and decent, as well as free.

[xannoside.livejournal.com]

The Mini 9 and the Eee get a lot of positive feedback online.

Microsoft claims that Office 2007 will run fine. I'm not so sure, just from observing how my 3 year-old PC does, but OpenOffice should be fine.

Pros to netbooks:
-CHEAP!
-LIGHT!
-runs basic tasks just fine - can play DVDs (with separate drive) and MP3s just fine
-Should be able to run most office programs
-did I mention CHEAP and LIGHT?


Cons to netbooks:
-small screen
-small keyboard
-tend to not be future proof (old RAM standard, slow CPU, most don't support the wi-fi N standard yet), but at that price, not too much to worry about
-public benchmarks show chugging when using more than one app at one time, file compression, or media encoding

Sort of in the middle:
-Netbooks can supposedly run MS Office and basic photo/image editing programs just fine, without crashing or chugging, it will just take a much longer time to do so.