buying guide « Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook

I’ve had my eye on a netbook for a while. I have no intentions of buying one, not until I am out of debt. It’s a luxury to me, and even though the little gadgets are about as inexpensive as a nice cell phone or PDA, I am forcing myself to wait. Prices are the lowest ever– I saw an Asus Eee Linux model for $249 at Best Buy. But NO NO NO! I cannot afford one right now, not when the kids need new North Face jackets and boots, and when I have an escalating energy bill! I’ll wait, and watch, like I usually do. When the time comes for a great deal, I’ll be ready.

But perhaps you have been looking at some, and are wondering about them. I’ve done a little research, so I’ll share what I’ve found here. One quick clarification: there are many different kinds of netbooks– some have 8.9″ screens, others have 7′; some have flash drives, others have hard disk drives with moveable parts; some have Windows XP, others have Linux Xandros or Ubuntu; etc. I’m going to keep this post simple by discussing the original and most popular netbook– the Asus Eee with Linux installed. Most models have only 4 to 8 GB of disk space, on a flash drive with no moveable parts. These are the most portable and, to me, the real definition of a true netbook.

1.) A netbook is a cross between a laptop and a PDA. It is NOT a tiny laptop. This is a mistake many people make when buying their netbook. They get home to see that these little things have very little hard drive space, tiny keyboards, and a small screen that doesn’t display large websites in the browser. The fonts are small, the keys on the keyboard are small, etc. A netbook is designed for being able to connect to the web and email while being extremely portable. If you are looking for a computer that will enable you to use your Photoshop program, run video-editing programs, and other heavy-usage– a netbook is not for you. Just get a smaller laptop for that.

2.) Most netbooks are under 3 pounds. This makes them extremely portable- you can tuck it in your bookbag or purse. The solid state hard drive (flash drive, just like those USB flash drives, also known as thumb drives or jump drives) has no moving parts, so the netbook can rattle a little and the hard drive information remains intact. Note that on the Specs sheet for netbooks, a lot of them will list the weight as “2.2 pounds” or something like that. This is the weight WITHOUT the battery inside. If weight is extremely important to you, know that the battery will add a good pound or a little less to the weight of the netbook.

3.) Most netbooks have the Linux operating system installed. This is to preserve the speed and reliability of the netbook. It takes a lot of space to contain and run Microsoft Windows. Some netbooks do have Windows installed, but this adds more weight to the netbook and decreases its portability. Windows OS must have a larger hard drive, so the netbook may have a hard drive disk with moving parts– which makes the netbook less durable and less portable.

As to Linux– I’ve tried Xandros (a few years ago) and liked it enough. But for a Linux OS, it’s still pretty big. Most geeks seem to be dumping the Xandros and installing the Linux Ubuntu, which is smaller and more reliable than Xandros. If I get my netbook, I’m going to install Ubuntu. But that’s a story for another post.

4.) The screen is very small. The 7″ monitor size of the Asus supports 800 x 600 resolution, although some can handle a larger resolution. Either way, everything is miniature– the font, the images, the screen, everything. Be sure to test out the netbook at the computer stores before buying, to ensure that you can handle the diminuitive size.

5.) RAM size is often smaller for the netbook. The highest I’ve seen is 1GB RAM for the Asus Eee. This is enough to run the Linux operating system well, but a Windows installation may make it choke.

6.) Hard drive space is very limited. I’ve read complaints that out-of-the box, the netbook only has about 350MB hard drive space available. An Ubuntu OS installation may increase that space to 1GB or so, but that is still not a lot of space for your stuff. The NICE thing about the netbook is that it has an SD reader. There is a slot on the side of the netbook where you can slip in a 4GB or 8GB SD memory card, esssentially doubling or tripling your space. You can store all your photos and documents on this SD card, adding to the portability. All you have to do is eject the SD card and slide it into your desktop PC, and there are your documents and photos.

7.) Most netbooks come with a webcam. I’m not too fond of webcams (I hate them, actually). I’ve heard that most netbooks have the webcam disabled by default. I like that, but most people don’t. You have to get into the BIOS of the computer and enable it manually.

8.) Most Asus netbooks have the Intel Atom processor. From what I have heard so far, this is the best quality processor, designed specifically for the small needs of the netbook. Avoid Celeron processors (for netbooks as well as any PC). Celeron is like the thrift-store version of a processor. Computers are so cheap these days that $40-$50 will get you a much better processor than the budget brand. Cheapo processors are responsible for a good deal of the computer crashes and problems, and newer software programs (especially games and image-editing) won’t work with them at all.

So that’s my research and thoughts about the netbook, in a very small nutshell. I’ll be posting more about the netbook in the future, as I look into it more and as they become more widely available in varying models. As always, if you have questions, feel free to leave a comment.

Tags: Asus Eee, buying guide, netbooks

I am very, VERY fussy about my computer monitors. For one, I spend all day in fron the of computer. Two, I have sensitive eyesight, and dim or unclear monitors cause strain and pain. I had an HP Pavilion laptop (well, I still have it) with a failing monitor and I would go to bed with SUCH eye pain after sitting in front of it all day. So I like my monitors big and I like them very bright and clear. In my younger years, I really didn’t care what kind of monitor I had (I was just so happy to have a computer!!), but now I am quite fussy. I will pay a little extra for the uograded, higher-end “Harley parts” monitor than a cheaper, name-brand monitor. I don’t know if it’s just old age or refining tastes!

Well, anyway, I was very happy with my Toshiba laptop monitor until my daughter got an HP laptop. The HP monitor is SO much nicer! It’s clearer and brighter. I am not too crazy about HP computers, but I was pretty impressed with their monitors. So I decided to check them out at various stores, to see if HP really measured up.

They do! I’ve been keeping my eye on monitors and quality for several months (more like a year now). I’ve seen the Acer, Dell, Gateway, Westinghouse, HP, and Samsung brands. I’ve been to various computer stores, read online reviews, and surfed the Net for specs. Here’s what I found:

HP monitors are consistently high quality. And they aren’t paying me to say that (although I wish they were). They are vivid, crystal-clear, and although they cost more than the “generic” models, I think you get a great deal for your dollars. The HPs often have a glass-like surface. It’s glossy and extremely clear. The Dells and Acers I saw were dull in comparison.

As far as monitors go, there are some qualification you should look for. Most monitors worth their weight in salt have a good refresh rate, 5 milliseconds or so. 5ms is as high as I would go; like I said, I’m fussy. Some monitors have 8 milliseconds and that’s OK if you are not fussy. But once you get in the 10ms or higher, you’re going to have a lower response rate. If you view a lot of videos or do gamng, you really want a 5. I’ve even seen some at 2, which is very good (the one I saw at 2ms was an HP one).

Another important thing to consider is contrast ratio. To me, something like 300:1 or 500:1 is excellent. But you can still get something with 1000:1 and still do well.

LCD monitors now come with speakers, I see. You can probably guess that the speakers aren’t anything to write home about; after all, speakers are extra. The HP monitors get low marks for their speaker quality (I think almost all LCDs do??), but the quality is OK if you’re doing everyday computing. If you want to fill your room with the chordant swells of Beethoven, use your regular speakers. A monitor speaker just isn’t going to cut it.

Finally, size is a big issue when choosing monitors. In my opinion, anything smaller than 17″ isn’t worth getting. LCD monitors re just gorgeous– why get a mini one?? I have a 19″ and I just love it. A 22″ would be nice, too, but anything larger then 22″ is too large, in my opinion. I’ve seen the 24″ and I just can’t imagine sitting in front of it all day– it would be like watching tennis– back and forth, back and forth. It’s probably good for work, when you can use all that real estate for a billion open windows… but a 17″ to 19″ is just right for a personal computer, I think. By the way, here’s a little reminder– if you have a computer desk with immovable shelving, measure the inside of the space and take it with you to the store. This will prevent you from accidentally getting a great, but huge, monitor that won’t fit in your desk!

I hope this information helps somewhat, should you find yourself looking for a new monitor. We sure have come a long way with them! I couldn’t ever imagine going back to a Cathode-Ray-Tuibe monitor!

Tags: buying guide, computers monitors