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PostPosted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 12:39 pm 
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Brother J0sie--What would that new OS you spoke of, be? Windows7 or Google Chrome OS? Or maybe OS's designed for a new non-Intel processor from ARM? Not busting here--you have much greater knowledge than me. The point being that it's good that netbooks are inexpensive because the current type may become obsolete (though not unusable) very soon.
BTW, the size and type of HD is irrelevant--I've mentioned an up-to-500GB pocket-size HD but also here's software that enables you to carry both data AND the application on a USB Flash memory stick. This enables you to use any computer (SL's, an Internet cafe, a borrowed computer) to get stuff done.
http://find.pcworld.com/63246
Also there's a link at the bottom of the article to a tool (Ashampoo's ClipFinder) to help you find and store/organize video clips--very helpful app.

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 12:50 pm 
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I was referring to Windows 7 and on the current build it can only run on a laptop, forget it for a netbook. But I do not think that netbooks will be obsolete. Win XP will be around for a long time and portability is going to be hard to beat for a netbook.

I do not know what you are referring about HD. I did not discuss HD because the current 160 GB is good enough on a netbook. But if you want to discuss flash data, nice option but I would not use it to run applications. Again, it will be a slow process. No matter how you cut it, you cannot beat the bus speed between the internal HD to CPU.

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 8:28 pm 
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J0sie wrote:
Now if you are just buying the netbook for CR travel only, then I would agree that is a better choice.
I'm confused. Isn't that EXACTLY what we've been talking about? I don't think anyone was suggesting that a netbook was a substitute for your home or office desktop computer or even that laptop you lug between home and work.

Also, I don't have any idea what sort of apps you run, HOWEVER, since you say you own not one but TWO netbooks (and I can only guess how many other computing devices) AND you seem to be so heavily into the techspeak, I think it is a pretty fair guess that your computing needs go WAY beyond that of the more typical user. Sure, IF you want to push your system to the max, at that point you DO NEED the more heavy duty processing capabilities and you WILL SEE a marked difference in performance and it WILL RUN circles around the slower processor. HOWEVER, what you're failing to understand is that most guys here DON'T need anywhere near that computing capability (probably not even for their home machines).

For going on line (which is much more heavily influenced/limited by the bandwidth of your connection), running an avi or mpeg movie, working on all but the most absurdly huge xls or doc files, or just playing some game like Warcraft or Call of Duty (ie the sorts of things most guys would be using a computer for during their vacations in CR), I seriously doubt that most people would notice much if any difference in performance (unless they were running ALL those apps at once, but why would anyone need to do that? :? )

Downloading bittorrents? Sure, I suppose even some non-gearheads might be into that and might do that on their PC's at HOME. However, as I said before, that is likely to be as limited or more so by the speed of your internet connection when you're in places like CR (which again is what we've been talking about) as it will be by your "bus speed". More significantly, even IF your downloads got more clogged up on a netbook (to be honest I've never really bothered to try it), why would anyone ever want, need or try to do that on a portable TRAVEL computer for the 1-2 weeks they're in CR? :? I mean, IMHO, you'd have to be an unbelievable d/l junkie not to be able to leave that sort of activity behind on your home machine for the couple of weeks you're in CR. Using a NETBOOK for heavy downloads makes as much sense as packing a DESKTOP PC to take with you on vacation.

So you computer geeks can shoptalk about overclocking, bit-torrent d/l's and esoteric O/S's all you want but it is all so much technical gobbledy-gook to the average would-be netbook buyer seeking advice here (ie MOST CRTers). Like you said Win XP will be around for a long time and works perfectly adequately. More significantly than that, all that tech tweaking and bleeding edge stuff is really completely irrelevant for the more typical users. If you techies think you're impressing each other or anyone else with your talk, I really don't see the point. Those of us who understand what you're referring to, really don't need anyone else's comments here to assess the merits of netbooks for themselves and, more importantly, those who DON'T understand it will only be unnecessarily confused by the blather. You computer freaks should keep that in mind as this is a CR mongering and travel forum not a tech discussion site.


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 8:39 pm 
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I do have to laugh. We do go off track on these discussions. Like I said before I agree that for ONLY to be use in CR, netboks are great choice. At the same time we do have to admit that it would be a heck of a waste to buy a netbook just only for the 7-14 days or less that you might do in CR every 3-4 months. This is why the discussion goes off track, to give other choices.

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 9:05 pm 
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J0sie wrote:
... At the same time we do have to admit that it would be a heck of a waste to buy a netbook just only for the 7-14 days or less that you might do in CR every 3-4 months. .
Now, I have to admit you might really have something there. :oops: Put like that, it does seem like an expensive extravagance. I guess some of us just get seduced by the appeal of these little electronic toys and don't think it through like that. OTOH, if we have the funds (and keep in mind prices on these things are coming down all the time) and we feel we get enough utility and enjoyment out of these things during those 1-2 weeks 3-4 times a year, then maybe they still might be worthwhile even if they collect dust the other 80-90% of the year.

Sure I already had a full-sized laptop that I COULD have used for traveling instead of my netbook without having to spend any extra money, but, for me at least, the practicality of bringing a full-sized laptop on my foreign trips is so much less than it is for the netbook that I sooner just go without for those 1-2 weeks (and rely on lobby PC's and internet cafes instead). IMHO, the increased practicality of the netbook for that sort of usage is that great.

Besides, for my part, I got mine before the recent economic downturn while I was still earning disposible income like there was no tomorrow and looking forward to the prospect of taking an extended multiple month road trip through Latin America. I still hope to do that eventually and figure my netbook will come in really handy for it when I do, but unfortunately I've had to push way back on my potential start date. :cry: :cry: :cry:


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 Post subject: 12" compromise
PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:29 pm 
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I've been seeing a lot of slightly bigger machines advertised recently. They are slightly more expensive but still small. Samsung and Lenovo have come out with some with 12" screens and only a little more weight than an Asus 1000. Have any of you tried these? There are some real limitations with my old eyes and the tiny screen.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:34 pm 
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I have heard good reviews for the Lenovo.

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 Post subject: Re: 12" compromise
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 12:06 am 
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Veelee wrote:
Samsung and Lenovo have come out with some with 12" screens and only a little more weight than an Asus 1000. Have any of you tried these? There are some real limitations with my old eyes and the tiny screen.
My eyes aren't that old yet but I agree. You guys can squint and peck on your cute little netbooks I'll take a 14+" screen and bigger keyboard for under 400 bucks anyday. :)

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 Post subject: Re: 12" compromise
PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:39 pm 
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PacoLoco wrote:
Veelee wrote:
Samsung and Lenovo have come out with some with 12" screens and only a little more weight than an Asus 1000. Have any of you tried these? There are some real limitations with my old eyes and the tiny screen.
My eyes aren't that old yet but I agree. You guys can squint and peck on your cute little netbooks I'll take a 14+" screen and bigger keyboard for under 400 bucks anyday. :)


Me too, I ain't trading my HP 14" AMD Turion X2 with nVidia graphics for any netbook. :D It's quite travel-friendly--use a backpack.


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:32 pm 
I can do CR without a wingman!

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i just bought myself a Toshia NB205-210.

It does exactly what I need it to do while traveling, simple stuff like surfing the web, chatting, looking at my digicam pics, and stuff like that.

It'd be nice to have a normal size laptop but I have yet to see one that can match the 9 hr battery of my netbook.

It has enough juice to last my wait at the airport, the actual flight, and the first few hours at SL. :wink:

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:01 pm 
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Almond wrote:
i just bought myself a Toshia NB205-210.

It does exactly what I need it to do while traveling, simple stuff like surfing the web, chatting, looking at my digicam pics, and stuff like that.

It'd be nice to have a normal size laptop but I have yet to see one that can match the 9 hr battery of my netbook.

It has enough juice to last my wait at the airport, the actual flight, and the first few hours at SL. :wink:


just checked it out...tried the webcam?

sounds like a nice machine.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:53 pm 
I can do CR without a wingman!

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Californicationdude wrote:
Almond wrote:
i just bought myself a Toshia NB205-210.

It does exactly what I need it to do while traveling, simple stuff like surfing the web, chatting, looking at my digicam pics, and stuff like that.

It'd be nice to have a normal size laptop but I have yet to see one that can match the 9 hr battery of my netbook.

It has enough juice to last my wait at the airport, the actual flight, and the first few hours at SL. :wink:


just checked it out...tried the webcam?

sounds like a nice machine.


yea tried the webcam. never actually tried to video chat but it seems sufficient. i know the resolution's not that high, i think just 0.3 MP, but i can't really imagine going over 640x480 anyway.

i highly recommend this thing. i love it.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 2:08 pm 
Ticas ask me for advice!

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Keeping it short but to the point. Last night here at the Doubletree in Puntarenas the WIFI works in the main bar area. I took my Acer down to check some mail and 3 people asked me about it. I was hit on by a middle age gringa who told me she liked it and then said Oh I am here by myself and a little lonely. Can you come up to my room to help me log on . I explained to her the reason she was having the trouble was they seem to work only in the bar area. If I had not been with my long time Tica amiga and her son I would have scored on the spot. Just another reason to buy one. Have a great day Uncle H.

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PostPosted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 7:40 pm 
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J0sie wrote:
Also, you might just want to run a VMware image to play around with bittorrents. Try that on a netbook. To me my two netbooks provide me portability at a very low price and I think that should be the final decision when you buy it. Any other option would be trumped by a laptop.


Actually, not only have I tried that but I do it all the time and it works perfectly. I have a Dell Mini9 hackintoshed to run the latest version of Mac OSX. It has an 8.9" screen, 2GB RAM and a 64GB SSD. I run WinXP in a virtual machine using Suns Virtual Box with no problem. As I need to run Windows for work stuff I regularly do this. It works and works very well on a netbook. It runs at native speed with no lag whatsoever.

The netbook is also great for multiple other things you may not consider. I just got back from a 10 day trip to MDE and used it to watch movies on the plane, music videos with my favorita in the room, for itunes with external speakers for chica music, phone calls via skype, picture viewer, spanish dictionary and tutorials, etc. etc. Let's face it, the vast majority of what we use our computers for requires but a fraction of the horsepower they have. From a hardware standpoint a netbook if fine for most of the things that most of us will do with our computers.

For me the biggest limitation of the netbook is the smaller size keyboard and lower screen resolution. Here's a tip for making web pages more readable with less scrolling on a netbook. It's call Readability and since I started using it, it's made a big difference in comfortably reading web pages on my netbook:

http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/

J0sie wrote:
I was referring to Windows 7 and on the current build it can only run on a laptop, forget it for a netbook.


Actually Windows Vista SP2........err I mean Windows 7 runs perfectly fine on my netbook in a VM under OSX. It would also run fine natively, but I wouldn't even consider doing that. Although I use various flavors of Windows on a daily basis for work, OSX is by far my preferred OS.


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 18, 2009 11:05 pm 
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Skosh – First could you point me to where I can buy the configuration you just mention? Because from my investigations the cost of that netbook with a 64GB SSD, 2GB RAM and Mac OSX to boot I can buy two dual core laptops. Please prove me wrong so I can buy one of those Babi*s.

The configuration that you are referring too is not even close to your typical off the shelve netbook configuration so you probably had to do all modifications yourself, I’m talking about installing the Mac OS. So you are comparing apples to the moon as far as I’m concern. But I’m willing to learn. Show me where I can go to buy the netbook that you just mentioned off the shelved with your configuration and running the Mac OS. TIA.

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