Netbook Recommendations (OT)

Hi. I know you didn't buy anything...and I couldn't have helped anyway because I don't own a 'netbook' whatever that is....(or an ipod, ipad, iphone, or any of those other little doo-dads that my own kids all have). That being said, I just wanted to mention Macs. We had PC (Dell and others) computers and laptops for years but were always having to get new ones every couple of years because they slowed down so much and started having so much virus trouble (even with a subscription to a virus protection software).

Last year, at our last computer 'crash', I decided to go with Macintoshes (which I used to have in 1984 when they were first invented). We have a MacBook laptop and a MacMini computer. We love them. I bought the Mac Version of Microsoft Office software and it reads/writes/saves in any format (mac or windows and all different versions) without any trouble at all. And no virus problems (cross our fingers) for over 1.5 years. We view the internet with Safari instead of Internet Explorer but that's not too much of a change.

Just wanted to say...(not to mention that going into an Apple Store is so cool)

Teechur,

I agree with you and think that my next laptop will be a Mac. My Windows based operating system crashes and hangs up with a bit too much frequency for my liking.

In the case of this netbook, it's really just a "would be nice to have" type of gift. It's not for us so I need to be cognizant of that as well. I like my little netbook but I appreciate it for what it is....a device that's easy to travel with, play my PowerPoint presentation off of for work, surf and deal with email.

Thanks again everyone!

Dan

Dan: I went with an Asus when I got mine last year and one of the primary reasons was the battery life, which was longer than most of the others. I was totally satisfied with it - I say "was" because it was stolen when my house was burglarized. Not in the market for one now because I'm making do with my work laptop, but if I ever do buy one again, I'll stick with the Asus.

fredo

I usually find declining performance in laptops is related to overheating. I use mine in an almost industrial fashion as they run 24/7 7 days a week. I have had one that got so hot the plastic keys on the keyboard actually softened and fell off. (Compaq) Another one had a built in grill over the exhaust fan, and the grill simply crumbled like a stale cookie one day. (Toshiba) All it really takes is one good overheating of your CPU and other internal componets and you will start seeing a noticeable decline in performance. I also note a lot of people simply don’t realize there is an intake fan on the bottom of a laptop. So if you set the laptop on your lap flush to your pants, your bed, or if you let the little rubber feet fall off and then set it flat on a table or desk it will overheat which damages the CPU, and then it will slow down.

My experience with Apple is I love the OS, but the king’s ransom for the hardware simply isn’t worth it. Nowadays an Apple has the same internal components a windows machine has (Intel CPUs, NVIDIA/ATI GPUs…) and they aren’t any more durable in an Apple. My IMac lasted all of 14 months before it went dead one day. I took it to the Apple store and they informed me the logic board was bad, but they would gladly repair it for $784. I bought a second windows laptop for $600 instead of spending the money to fix that Apple box. Roughly the same spec on a $2000 Apple laptop can be had on a windows laptop for $800 - $900.

And yes as an OS Windows is absolutely horrible IMO.

I agree with Mail about an apple/mac those things run a boatload and now they are almost internally the exact same as a windows box. If you can get the OS cheap, one way might be to get a windows laptop wipe it and put on the mac/apple OS. If you need to go back to windows, there's an easy way to do it.

We have a 6 cell Acer Aspire One. Except for the webcam, it works great. Wife just uses it for light duty, email and Firefox. Fits her perfect but she wants faster wireless internet. She won't let me take with me on business trips. I wish she would. It's a nice size. I'm looking at a tablet for what I want.

malibber - just a quick question/comment.

As far as your laptop overheating, have you tried a chillpad??

If not, they help a lot, get a good one - only about $30.00

Yes, I am using one right now. Not that particular brand though.

Sorry to hear that the chill pad isn't working for you.

I used that term "chill pad" as a generic, didn't even know there was an actual brand name.

I know my college age kids turn their laptops uopside down, to help them cool off. I sure hope their laptops are turned off when they do this.

Maybe that will help - just a thought.

Oh yeah, those kids have the eternal battle of Apple vs. PC!!!

That’s ok I just ordered a new system today. Waiting for it to arrive is going to be the hard part.
•Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
•2nd generation Intel(R) Quad Core(TM) i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
•1GB Radeon(TM) HD 6770M GDDR5 Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
•FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
•640GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
•No Additional Office Software
•FREE Upgrade to Norton Internet Security(TM) 2011 - 15 Month Subscription (activation required)
•6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.25 hours of battery life +++
•17.3" diagonal HD+ HP BrightView LED Display (1600 x 900)
•FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
•HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
•Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN
•Standard Keyboard
•HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Anybody want to tell me what a Mac Book would cost me with these specs?