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Post by metshaz on Jan 13, 2009 2:07:48 GMT
Hi All, I'm just looking for any helpful tips or advice for buying one of these little babies. The tiny netbooks with the 10inch screen. I know they all have wifi and a webcam In the early days they had linux and the only storage was on sd cards (guess it's more robust than hdd's)
i really just want something really light, for taking on holiday, or on back of my pushbike or motorbike.
I also need xp on it as i want to use my 3uk usb modem on it min 3xusb ports nice clear spaced keyboard.
Is there anything to be aware of with these, something that a salesmen wouldn't tell me? Anyone recommend a good retailer (probably web based)?
what would £200 - £250 get me? Also i have a genuine copy of xp home, does anyone know if i can just buy a cheaper linux version and install my own xp disc, or is the xp they come with modified specifically for these notebooks?
Lastly, i would give linux a go if i knew for certain that i could use my 3uk modem with it.
In Tottenham Court Rd area for the next two days, are there still any good cheap retailers for one of these down there?
over to you good people
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Post by funkydoodycool on Jan 13, 2009 10:32:35 GMT
The Mrs has an Acer, its not bad for the money, good internal specs. She paid £400 for it a couple years ago, and it has a fairly fast P4 dual core, 2GB RAM. 120GB HDD, Windows Vista Home Premium and a 15.4" screen. The battery lasts fairly well, and the spec make it very good for general PC use (such as hooking your Xbox up to Live at work... tut tut). The cost cutting isn't immediately evident either, The whole thing is robust and whilst the plastic looks cheap compared to, say, a Vaio, its more than you'd expect in the price range. There are only three things that point at the cheapness of the units - the lack of bundled software, the screen is only visible at a fairly acute angle (it quickly loses all contrast as you move your viewpoint from dead on), and also some of the key decals are rubbed off now. Personally I'd say these faults are minor, and expected at the price, and certainly don't stop the computers themselves from being great value, as long as you don't expect it to play any up-to-date games. As for your other questions - If you do find a cheaper Linux version, yes you can install your Windows XP Home. Unless a laptop specifically has a mini-version of Windows (such as CE or whatever) there's no difference to using any version of Windows on a lappie to a desktop. I have XP Pro on mine, its great. Its probably a good idea to do a format and reinstall anyway, to clean off all the garbage its bound to come with. www.fk21.co.uk/cgi-bin/fk21.cgi?sub=tmobile should help you get your modem working on Linux, or at least point you in the right direction. This is for a T-Mobile one, which is what I have, but you should be able to use/find similar instructions for yours. Or just put XP on it Burn Ubuntu onto CD and boot from it, and you can test all your hardware without installing it. You can also install it like any other software within Windows, and it installs a boot loader so you can have Ubuntu and XP dual boot. I'm not sure about web retailers, always bought mine from somewhere I could play with it first. My desktop is from www.ginger6.co.uk and its a blinding bit of kit with quick service from them, so recommended as an option. Just had a quick look and they do have some cheapy cheap Asus laptops.
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Post by skyshadow5 on Jan 13, 2009 13:43:47 GMT
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Post by metshaz on Jan 13, 2009 17:24:59 GMT
Yep, thats what i meant, have changed post title to reflect that. The one in the link looks lovely, hoping to sacrifice hard drive space to bring down cost of it
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Post by metshaz on Jan 13, 2009 18:28:20 GMT
Changing my mind already, looks like great value for money. I've got good eyesight so wouldn't have any problem seeing screen, and these little net books seem so portable. Would probably not use it anywhere near as much as main pc. But for surfing net on the go and in garden or even in bed, would be good as they are supposed to run cool. Cheers for the link. Will probably order this tonight unless anyone can suggest anything better. SkyShadow....do you have one of these?
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Post by CAM3L on Jan 13, 2009 19:41:05 GMT
Hi Metshaz,
I got an Advent 4490 netbook from PC world for my wife and I have to say I'm very impressed.
Small, portable, cheap, 1 gig memory, 120 gig HD, 8.9" screen, Windows XP Home, wireless enabled, ethernet port 3 usb ports, sd card slot. built in web cam & speakers £230. In fact I'm typing this sitting on the couch using it now (I probably use it more than my wife TBH)
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Post by skyshadow5 on Jan 13, 2009 21:24:14 GMT
Changing my mind already, looks like great value for money. I've got good eyesight so wouldn't have any problem seeing screen, and these little net books seem so portable. Would probably not use it anywhere near as much as main pc. But for surfing net on the go and in garden or even in bed, would be good as they are supposed to run cool. Cheers for the link. Will probably order this tonight unless anyone can suggest anything better. SkyShadow....do you have one of these? No I don't have one, but when I buy new PC related stuff I always check the PC-Pro A-List first not only 'cos it's topped reviews to make it to the A-List but if you buy something from a supplier whose product was reviewed in pc-pro the supplier must supply exactly as per the review and not make any [downgrade] changes; it's part of their contract with PC-Pro, they are obliged to provide the same or better at the price stated. I got my gaming rig via this route and the processor in the review was out of stock when I ordered so got an upgrade to the next level up forno extra charge. The one Camel mentions looks good too; a choice from 2 maybe?
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Post by metshaz on Jan 13, 2009 22:57:42 GMT
Bought it from Amazon + Bluetooth mouse + 2gb memory upgrade cheers Skyshadow
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Post by metshaz on Jan 14, 2009 8:11:43 GMT
Just gotta work out how to put vista on it without a drive
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Post by funkydoodycool on Jan 14, 2009 10:42:14 GMT
If you have a Vista disc, make an ISO of it (using Power ISO or similar), copy that to a USB stick, and use Power ISO on the netbook to access the ISO. Not 100% sure that would work, but it should let you access the Vista upgrade from within XP, and copy the required files to the hard drive for installation to continue. You might even find a boot from USB option in the BIOS.
EDIT: Failing that, find someone with a USB DVD ROM drive, or just stick with XP - Vista won't bring much benefit to that little PC.
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Post by starbuck251 on Jan 14, 2009 16:21:27 GMT
Yes, I think vista would only suck up more memory and RAM, so you're probably best sticking with XP, I much perfer it to vista personally, but then I do spend all day testing software on every single OS's MS have got going! XP is certainly still my favorite. Is there any particular reason why you want to put vista on it?
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Post by metshaz on Jan 14, 2009 17:33:27 GMT
Well.......I just like the fact that, you don't need to worry about drivers for anything, just plug the componant in and Vista knows what it is. Plus i have a vista disc knocking about. It would appear that the xbox 360 hd dvd drive will work just fine, happen to have one of those knocking about too!
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Post by funkydoodycool on Jan 14, 2009 22:34:39 GMT
Well.......I just like the fact that, you don't need to worry about drivers for anything, just plug the componant in and Vista knows what it is. Vista's not much better than XP for Plug n Play. In fact only difference I've noticed is that I had to buy a new printer. But thats cos I went with 64 bit...
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Post by metshaz on Jan 16, 2009 8:10:51 GMT
Just bloody realised that i installed the vista i had on another pc....DOH
Strangely enough my xp disc has been used on two machines at the same time with no worries.
Do reckon i could "get away" with using my Vista on two pc's?
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Post by funkydoodycool on Jan 16, 2009 13:56:59 GMT
Of course. There's no REAL way of them checking. Its only when a key is used on multiples of computers they'd start to worry. Of course I didn't advise you to do that, and it would be in breach of your EULA, but when Vista costs as much as an Xbox, you might as well get some value from it!
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