Netbook recommendations?

[mamakash]

It's been a while since I've posted(a really really long time yikes! )so I hope you'll forgive me. Hello everyone! How've you been? Oh, and I have a off topic question that might tie in a bit to whistle playing.
I'm thinking of getting a (computer) notebook but don't know where to start. I've searched on this board and found some information but I'm looking for some updated posts. For starters . . . I'm currently typing this on an Imac(a few years old) and I love my Imac. But I'm not thinking of getting an Ibook(too expensive and redundant). I've never owned an Ipod, an Itouch, a portable MP3player. I don't want an Ipad . . . I have a wireless internet connection that I use for the Imac and I could use that wireless router with either a laptop or netbook. I also don't think I'll need a laptop over a netbook. I don't plan on using large memory draining applications. I can probably impute most information through thumbdrives rather than CD or DVDs. I don't need a CD/DVD drive as I don't plan on watching movies or listening to CD . . . the computers we have do that.
So, what do I want to do? Well, I'd like to be able to view the internet where ever I'm sitting in the house. In the future, when we do get a new TV, I'd like to hook up a netbook/laptop to the TV for internet viewing and possibly movie downloads. I like to journal on a computer and I like to do so in a relaxed manner . . . sometimes sitting at a computer is uninspiring. I understand the speaker quality of a netbook is less than stellar . . . but how is it hooked up to a stereo? I'd love to have a small music collection at my fingertips and play it through my stereo. I'd also like to be able to play and practice my whistle and have the tunes on the netbook so I could play/replay/slow down.
However, the second question is . . . netbook vs. notebook? Would a netbook have enough power/ versatility to allow me to accomplish these tasks? I like the fact that the netbook has a longer battery life(no optical drive) and is significantly cheaper. I don't mind Windows operating system. My mom needs to replace her PC(circa 1998) so I'll have a computer to allow me to put applications to a thumb drive. I'm not sure I need the higher priced notebook. What are your thoughts?

[emmline]

I have a 15" MacBook Pro and a Toshiba netbook (running Windows 7)

Things that are best on the Mac:
Viewing videos or photos. The resolution, brightness and size of the screen make the experience vastly more satisfying.
Anything with sound. You're right about netbook speakers...they're cruddy. If I want to listen to something on my netbook I use earbuds. They make a world of difference. I suppose one could plug pc speakers in as well.
Any kind of graphic or layout task. Besides the aforementioned screen difference, the size of the netbook screen requires lots of scrolling for viewing something large-scale.
Obviously, anything for which I require the optical drive. However, plug-in external drives are not necessarily expensive.

Things I'm more apt to do on the Toshiba netbook:
Carry it around for when I'm trying to squeeze in some writing. The keyboard on most netbooks are pretty decent. You adjust to the slightly reduced scale pretty easily.
Travel. I spent the entire last week at the beach using only the netbook and had no trouble. Except with Japanese listening exercises for which the earbuds were essential. I am planning several trips this Fall--one is cross-country by train--and the netbook will stash happily in a tote bag, coming out to play if I'm inspired to blog, write, or email while watching the U.S. go by.
Any time when battery life matters. Having used the Toshiba for several months now I am very conscious of how quickly my Mac battery drains.

It's a convenient and useful little beastie, the netbook. But I will reiterate that--even though it feels normal and I adjust to it when I'm using it--when I return to my Mac and open it up...wow, that screen sure is pretty.


edit: a note about "Windows 7 Starter"...
It's stupid. It's like when you try on flipflops in REI, and they come lashed together with a small nylon tie. So, you can try them on (more or less) but only walk in tiny steps as if you'd just been released from 10 years of Chinese foot bondage. That's what Windows 7 Starter is like.
I think it's a...sshhh...scam. I upgraded within a week, and just lumped the upgrade into the overall cost when I obtained and set-up another Toshiba netbook for my mom.

[avanutria]

In the future, when we do get a new TV, I'd like to hook up a netbook/laptop to the TV for internet viewing and possibly movie downloads.

I was at Best Buy/Frys/Staples the other day (can't say for certain which one it was at) and I saw an accessory which would let you wirelessly transmit your computer video to the TV for viewing. So if whatever computer you get doesn't come with that capability, it may be easy to add aftermarket.

If your TV has an HDMI slot (I think many new ones do) make sure your computer has one too and then you can do the same thing wired, if you prefer, with an HDMI cable.

[Jayhawk]

I'm typing this on an ASUS 904HA (8.9" diagonal monitor wedded to a 10" keyboard...odd combo, but at the time it had by far the best battery life). It has been my sole computer for about, or is it over, 2 years now.

I watch netflix streaming videos (both on the netbook and hooked up to my 32" HDTV), record music using audacity, play digitally recorded music using windows media player at the slow rate to learn tunes, and play music without any additional speakers (it sounds better than either my wife's HP laptop or my son's Toshiba laptop...so not all netbooks have terrible sound quality). I also plug it into a pair of computer speakers when I really want to crank the volume...and it sounds wonderful - as good as an MP3 player plugged into the same speakers if not better.

I also use openoffice 3, take it for work when traveling and it handles all the basic work needs for me (word processing, spreadsheets, etc....I'm not a programmer so I don't need massive processing power).

I can also play slightly older games (Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Elder Scrolls Morrowind, etc.).

Using firefox, I only very rarely have to scroll to the side, and I don't scroll down too much (firefox scales well and you can increase print size only on most pages which is handy).

In short, I love it. Would I buy the same netbook...probably not - I would buy a 10" monitor version or even an 11.2" version. Otherwise, I'm totally happy with this little computer (when I bought it, it was much more powerful than my 5ish year old desktop).

You might also want to consider some of the ultraportables - they're usually 12" monitors and slightly more powerful.

What I really love about my netbook is it's only about 3lbs (that's with the super duper battery I later bought) so I carry it all over and around my house to use. Plus, I get 10 hours with wifi on and 13 hours with wifi off which is incredibly cool. For example, I'm traveling for work. My co-worker with his laptop had to plug in after 2.5 hours of typing...I came back after a full day with 5 hours left on the battery.

Eric

[BigDavy]

H mamakash

I had a look at netbooks, being the geek I am, and worked out that apart from screen size, I could get everything I would want it to do from the smartphone I was planning to get when I renewed my contract.

The increase in functionality, between a netbook and notebook/laptop is such that i would say get one of them instead.

David

[highland-piper]

Everytime I but a computer at work it's a Dell, and it's always a business class machine, and they never have any problems.

Everytime the other guy buys a computer it's not a Dell and it's purchased at a big box store and it's nothing but problems.

It probably doesn't suit your needs, but the iPod touch is pretty nifty. It's definitely good for music, and it's not bad for reading most web pages, and it's good for the webpages that are iPhone smart (like most news outlets, facebook, twitter, etc). It's an iPhone without the phone or the camera. Typing is a drag though.

If you like high quality audio you need to be careful about any portable computer. Most of them don't have high quality sound cards.