Netbook

[Julius Caesar]

I see that Asus has all but abandoned Linux, and Acer seems to have done so too.

Thing is, once you have Windows you need a hard disk, so it costs more even on top of the Windows licence, and it draws more power. So you don't really have a netbook any more.

So, is there a netbook still on the market that satisfies these?
small but big enough to use (1)
allows "real" surfing etc (2)
linux pre-installed
no hard disk (flash memory)
either many hours battery life, or voltage < 12v
reads USB memory
Wifi (with adapter would do)
low cost, pref < £200 (3)

(1) i.e. bigger than a phone or PDA. smaller than a 13" laptop, A5 would be my ideal.
(2) i.e. resolution good enough, and able to render all pages. My Palm for example is too small and its browser will just not show all pages.

[Moscow Mule]

Do you need a new one?

Ebay has quite a few examples of the (still perfectly serviceable) first round of netbooks with SSDs.

[N42]

NC10 seems to be very popular

[Julius Caesar]

NC10 seems to be very popular

But with Windows, a hard disk, and costing over £200, it kind of fails the original request by 1760 yards.

Why is it called a "netbook"? It looks like a PC to me.

[thunderlizard]

Jeff Atwood is all about netbooks this week:
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001318.html
Hopefully interesting even if it doesn't help.

[Julius Caesar]

Jeff Atwood is all about netbooks this week:
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001318.html
Hopefully interesting even if it doesn't help.

Thanks, it is interesting.

[LazyFan]

how about this instead

Hi,
This refurb model does:
Acer Aspire ONE A150

However I would recommend that you buy a 10" netbook say the Asus 1000. Here is another refurb:
Asus 1000

Then I suggest you buy some cheap 2GB ram, should be around £30. Slot that in and then install proper Linux netbook software as in Ubuntu NBR. Here is what the latest version looks like:
Ubuntu NBR Images

This extra work is really easy to do and I promise it won't kill you. In return you will have a decent netbook that should service all your needs.

Lazy

[Julius Caesar]

Hi,
This refurb model does:
Acer Aspire ONE A150

However I would recommend that you buy a 10" netbook say the Asus 1000. Here is another refurb:
Asus 1000

Then I suggest you buy some cheap 2GB ram, should be around £30. Slot that in and then install proper Linux netbook software as in Ubuntu NBR. Here is what the latest version looks like:
Ubuntu NBR Images

This extra work is really easy to do and I promise it won't kill you. In return you will have a decent netbook that should service all your needs.

Lazy

Thanks for the thought. But they both have a hard disk. If I want a laptop with linux I can do that, what I want is something smaller, with no hard disk and longer battery life. Indeed though a second-hand Asus EEE might do.

[Durbs]

I see that Asus has all but abandoned Linux, and Acer seems to have done so too.

Having owned a netbook with Linux installed (and tried to give it a go and like it) i can confirm this is because Linux is pretty much rubbish.

What about the new Mac tablets i'd heard about running OSX and big enough for proper work - sounds sweet to me!

low cost, pref < £200 (3)

Ah

eBay for a used Eee then.

[LazyFan]

Having owned a netbook with Linux installed (and tried to give it a go and like it) i can confirm this is because Linux is pretty much rubbish.

What about the new Mac tablets i'd heard about running OSX and big enough for proper work - sounds sweet to me!



Ah

eBay for a used Eee then.

I am afraid your very wrong. It isn't Linux that's rubbish, it is the home grown versions of Linux that these silly companies put on their netbooks that is rubbish. If you use Ubuntu NBR then no problems.

Also you can get refubs for that price as I have shown in my links above.
Simples.