I would recommend buying a warranty. I bought an Acer last October and it completely died last week with no warning. I luckily bought a warranty on it and should have the refund in a couple days.

Does anyone know if they play flash media ok? I read that some netbooks have media playing limitations.

Only the eMachine is left. Bummer I wanted an Asus.

furballthecat wrote:On the computer you made powerpoint on save as a presentation and download a powerpoint viewer if you don't want to buy office

Good idea! That will work until I can scrape up the money for Office. Thanks!

Once ready, any thoughts on where to get office cheaply, or are the prices standard and I can just go/surf mostly anywhere?

sela821 wrote:Does anyone know if they play flash media ok? I read that some netbooks have media playing limitations.

I don't know what you read - I wonder if it was referring to the Windows CE machines. My Acer (N270, 1.6GHz, 1 GB RAM) handles Flash fine.

clumsygrace wrote:Do these come with a MANDATORY data plan from some cellular provider like AT&T or Verizon? I want to buy these but I OH GOD, THEY CAN SEE ME! to be locked into a contract with a cell company, I just wanna use the WiFi at my house. Is that possible?

Seriously? No - no mandatory data plan - these are netbooks, not phones.

bryozoan wrote:Good idea! That will work until I can scrape up the money for Office. Thanks!

Once ready, any thoughts on where to get office cheaply, or are the prices standard and I can just go/surf mostly anywhere?

By any chance, are you a student?

NightGhost wrote:By any chance, are you a student?

Public school teacher, actually. Good call!

bryozoan wrote:Public school teacher, actually. Good call!

Well, what I was getting at, is that MS offers a discounted version of Office to students. I don't know the exact requirements - perhaps you need to be enrolled at least half-time or something.

But if you're taking courses, or know a student, perhaps it would be worth looking into.

kselzer wrote:I would recommend buying a warranty. I bought an Acer last October and it completely died last week with no warning. I luckily bought a warranty on it and should have the refund in a couple days.

At today's price of $199.99, you can get a Square Trade extended warranty for $20, IF you are patient and wait for one of their periodic (and often) sale prices.

I bought a Acer D250 w/ W7 starter and am very satisfied with it. It streams Netflix to my TV, plays ripped DVDs and even runs demanding programs like Delorme Topo just fine. You do have to be patient; it is what it is. And with the taskbar on autohide and IE8 set to full screen, it makes the best of the small screen.

NightGhost wrote:Well, what I was getting at, is that MS offers a discounted version of Office to students. I don't know the exact requirements - perhaps you need to be enrolled at least half-time or something.

But if you're taking courses, or know a student, perhaps it would be worth looking into.

*facepalm* I should have known that, I am just scatterbrained today. Thanks a bunch.

Any of these a good pick for a dedicated Magic Jack box? Probably way more efficient than the old desktop running in the basement...

formula99 wrote:Any of these a good pick for a dedicated Magic Jack box? Probably way more efficient than the old desktop running in the basement...

I don't think the system requirements are high at all for Magic Jack, so these should work fine. However, when you say "dedicated...box," you imply that it will be plugged into AC all the time, which tends to deplete the battery (you may not care, though).

edit: I should also mention that my Acer netbook is nearing its second birthday, and even though I leave it plugged in all the time, I still get over 2 hours of life from my dinky 3-cell battery (while watching media).

formula99 wrote:Any of these a good pick for a dedicated Magic Jack box? Probably way more efficient than the old desktop running in the basement...

Sorry if this might be a bit off-topic for the product offered, but if you are willing to spend $200 plus the cost of Magic Jack, maybe you should take a look at OOMA voip hardware. It only needs a always-on internet connection (no computer) and you get free LD calling as well as caller ID and the ability to wire it into your house phone line so every phone in the house acts like it always did.

I've been using it for over a year with complete success.

I bought a blue acer aspire one 10.1 netbook this past July from Woot. I love mine. Very handy, very mobile, I can stick it in my purse. It runs MS Office 2007 and 2010 with no problems. I use Google Chrome for my browser (Firefox too much for it) and Picasa 3. I can run all of these at the same time with no problems. Very glad I bought it! I also did buy a usb mouse (MS Explorer mini--LOVE it!)to use with it. It came with Windows 7 starter.

It runs flash just fine with no problems. The screen is really clear and bright.

I got the Asus 1005HAB a couple weeks ago when it was on Woot! Solid little machine, video can be choppy(Though I've only tried nbc.com) Chrome on this is incredibly zippy, but Zune is okay. Mine currently has XP and still 1gb of ram, but it's perfect for a little lap computer. The keyboard is super, super, super otterific, the main keys seem to all be in the right place. Though the arrows took some getting used to(Up and Down take up the space of one key.) Only complaint is glossy interior and softtouch top. I would have preferred normal plastic like the other non-seashell EEEs, but it's not that big of a deal. You will not be disappointed by the Asus

NightGhost wrote:Well, what I was getting at, is that MS offers a discounted version of Office to students. I don't know the exact requirements - perhaps you need to be enrolled at least half-time or something.

But if you're taking courses, or know a student, perhaps it would be worth looking into.

You can also get MS Office at a discount if you are a teacher. I'm a teacher and bought MS Office 2010 for a really nice discount. Some school districts do sell MS software to their employees at a discount much like universities.

One word of caution: it looks like only the eMachines one is available (the other four are grayed out in the purchase section). Anyone disagree?

snowweasel wrote:Actually one other disadvantage of Win 7 starter is no dual video output- only cloned. You have to have the same screen on the netbook as on the projector (or second monitor), even if the hardware is capable. I discovered this when trying to use a netbook for running projection software (something like powerpoint where you have a display you want to see of what's coming up and notes while the vga output is fed the display you want on the projector).

Right, dual monitor support isn't provided. Windows Media Center also isn't included.

This is a good summary:

It is important to note that Windows 7 Starter still includes only a subset of the features offered in the higher editions of Windows 7 such as Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional and above. Windows 7 Starter does not include:

Aero Glass, meaning you can only use the “Windows Basic” or other opaque themes. It also means you do not get Taskbar Previews or Aero Peek.
Personalization features for changing desktop backgrounds, window colors, or sound schemes.
The ability to switch between users without having to log off.
Multi-monitor support.
DVD playback.
Windows Media Center for watching recorded TV or other media.
Remote Media Streaming for streaming your music, videos, and recorded TV from your home computer.
Domain support for business customers.
XP Mode for those that want the ability to run older Windows XP programs on Windows 7.
http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/windows7/archive/2009/05/29/let-s-talk-about-windows-7-starter.aspx

I'm happy with Windows 7 Starter on my netbook (Toshiba) and passed up an opportunity to upgrade to Home Premium for free as I didn't want services I don't need bogging it down. It does have Windows Media Player which is a part of Windows Media Center so it is possible to playback most media files. I have a portable usb DVD drive which works fine with VLC Player (freeware) for watching movies.

Also replaced my HD with a 64GB SSD. An SSD provides a major performance boost due to much faster read/write times. The hard drive is the biggest bottleneck in today's systems. I use my netbook to do tasks rather than storage so performance was my priority. Now it boots in about 20 secs and the programs I need to use start almost instantly.

So besides upgrading to 2GB RAM, what other accessories do you guys recommend having for these netbooks (or netbooks in general)?

SQUARE TRADE
Can anyone please give me their review of the service. With a discount code I can get two years for 35$ Seem like a good buy so long as they are pretty relaxed.. I am pretty hard on my gadgets. Any advice, suggestions, success stories to be told?

*ahem* http://www.retailmenot.com/view/squaretrade.com

Thanks

cage017 wrote:So besides upgrading to 2GB RAM, what other accessories do you guys recommend having for these netbooks (or netbooks in general)?

It's all about cost vs. benefit, so as I said in an earlier post, it's hard to answer without knowing what you want to do.

The RAM upgrade is the most obvious improvement. But I use my netbook to watch media (especially streamed), surf the web, and occasionally do other low-power tasks (such as MS Word or reading ebooks), so I stuck with 1 GB.

You might want to upgrade the battery (the remaining netbook comes with a 3-cell) if you need to use it for more than 2 or 3 hours at a stretch.

An SSD drive upgrade is the hardest call - definite performance boost, but expensive. And presumably performance isn't a top priority to someone buying a netbook.

Get a mini-mouse though - they're cheap.

cage017 wrote:So besides upgrading to 2GB RAM, what other accessories do you guys recommend having for these netbooks (or netbooks in general)?

I recommend a portable dvd player than can read and write. You'll want to have recovery disks. They don't provide them with netbooks. The cost of a dvd writer isn't much greater than buying the disks from the manufacturer along with a DVD ROM player, or buying the SD/Flash drives. I use this Model from Samsung http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002C1BBU8/
It's nice to have if the dvd drive on your desktop fails too.

edit: I neglected to mention the most important accessory; a carrying case. They come in all varieties and prices. You should make sure it has space to carry whatever other accessories are added (mouse, dvd player etc.) and that it is large enough to hold the netbook if it's upgraded to a 6 cell battery. I use this one shown on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002C1BBU8/
When selecting a case find reviews from people with the same model netbook you get. One size doesn't seem to fit all.

I bought two of the Acers because my wife (who has destroyed several laptops) hasn't been able to do in this one. These laptops take quite a beating but don't fall apart as easily as the Asus ones (the last Asus lasted 3 months).

Replacing destructible components on these is cheap and very easy. Big bonus points for me.

Also, they run Unbuntu netbook remix blazingly fast. Linux might not be for everyone, but if you are doing everything from your browser, it works really well. The wife installed it with about three entries and a few clicks herself.

The main reason I buy netbooks for people is that it is just enough laptop for the average person. Laptops, whether you buy a big one or a little one, are basically disposed of in 3 years anyways, so why spend a lot of money on one unless you HAVE to?

Too bad the Asus is sold out.
I got the Asus 1005HAB-RBLK003X for $180.00 through Woot a few weeks ago for a friend and it's otterific. I really regret not getting one for myself at that price. I hope there is another deal like this soon.

shortcode wrote:Heads up everyone... I worked at the US refurbishing outlet for 3 months; it's a scary place. The test techs they have are fired every 3 months to avoid having to pay them bennies and the repair techs are required to "clear" 40 units in an 8 hour shift, working at breakneck speeds. I'm not sayin' NOT to buy... just let it be known that the place that's fixing these is a craphole and they only pull 1-2 machines out of every 1000 that go out the door for QA checks...

(Company name is Revonate. They are a sister spring-off of a larger company called Seneca Data, located in Syracuse, NY)

I bought the Gateway a few weeks ago; and boy oh boy this guy is right. These machines look like they have been abused - there are scratches, dents, dings, and blemishes all over them.

The first Gateway I received had a screen flicker problem, and Revonate replaced it quickly. But then the replacement had the same problem ! Im waiting for #3.

If I could get my money back from Woot I would !! =(

akirkfoto wrote:Only use 5300 on the gateway. I bought 6400 first, and had to return it, would not boot. 5300 worked perfect - $40 on amazon for 2gb stick

I'm looking to upgrade and max the memory on mine. I saw someone say not to go with the PC5300 DDR2 that is already has. Something about there being an issue and suggesting adding PC6400 instead. Anyone else have that issue?

I originally got the PC5300, which didn't work. Got the PC6400 and everything is running fine. So it seems that some of the systems will only take the PC5300, and others the PC6400. Not sure if it's a result of refurbishing the systems or not... I'd say be prepared to get one of each and return the one you that doesn't work...

netpsych wrote:The Gateway has a better - newer - CPU. It looks like a clone of the newer Acer Netbook - which gets great battery life with the 6 cell battery.

This makes sense, given that Acer owns Gateway at this time.

NightGhost wrote:It's all about cost vs. benefit, so as I said in an earlier post, it's hard to answer without knowing what you want to do.

The RAM upgrade is the most obvious improvement. But I use my netbook to watch media (especially streamed), surf the web, and occasionally do other low-power tasks (such as MS Word or reading ebooks), so I stuck with 1 GB.

You might want to upgrade the battery (the remaining netbook comes with a 3-cell) if you need to use it for more than 2 or 3 hours at a stretch.

An SSD drive upgrade is the hardest call - definite performance boost, but expensive. And presumably performance isn't a top priority to someone buying a netbook.

Get a mini-mouse though - they're cheap.

Thanks for the reply. Your netbook usage sounds very similar to what I want (if it streams Netflix and Youtube without a problem, I'm a happy camper). I actually bought the $2 IHome mouse from last week's Wootoff as I'm not fond of using the pad on my Toshiba netbook.

Are chillmats worth buying? IMO, they look too large for a netbook.

I have a similar ASUS netbook (6 cell battery and Windows XP) that I picked up on Woot a few months back to tide me over until I can afford to replace my Mac and then to be my travel computer. I don't do a lot with it other than surf the web, minor photo editing, etc. It's no Mac, but I did not expect as much as I got for the $229 spent.

Pros: Great battery life; Great durability - it survived a fall from the roof of my car at something approaching 50 mph. It has some artistic road burn on the cover and some of the plastic casing chipped off the battery, but once I had re-booted 3 times, it recovered from the shock and has been fine for 2+ months.

Cons: The track pad is so close to the keyboard I am always "editing" my work in ways I'd rather not.

It is a nightmare transferring music from my Mac iTunes to the PC version: a s-l-o-w work in progress.

the eMachine EM250-1162 Black N270 Netbook suddenly becomes the fat kid in gym class!!!

buffaloed wrote:I recommend a portable dvd player than can read and write. You'll want to have recovery disks. They don't provide them with netbooks. The cost of a dvd writer isn't much greater than buying the disks from the manufacturer along with a DVD ROM player, or buying the SD/Flash drives. I use this Model from Samsung http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002C1BBU8/
It's nice to have if the dvd drive on your desktop fails too.

edit: I neglected to mention the most important accessory; a carrying case. They come in all varieties and prices. You should make sure it has space to carry whatever other accessories are added (mouse, dvd player etc.) and that it is large enough to hold the netbook if it's upgraded to a 6 cell battery. I use this one shown on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002C1BBU8/
When selecting a case find reviews from people with the same model netbook you get. One size doesn't seem to fit all.

Thanks. I actually bought a Toshiba netbook from Best Buy a month ago that came with a portable drive (also from Toshiba). I'm slowly getting use to it as it's my first netbook.

Your link for the case is the same for the Samsung player. Since you said you have a Toshiba, I'm really interested in seeing what you use. Would you recommend a chillmat, sleeves, and/or skins (perferably one that doesn't attract fingerpirnts) for netbooks?

noluv2 wrote:I just got the gateway netbook (Lt20, Red, 250gb, 1gb ram, win 7, and 6cell)two weeks ago and it works like a dream. I still use my 2006 mx3215 gateway for work at home and my 2010 asus (4gb ram and 320gb hddrve) for gaming, but I wanted something I could lug around without a big huge suitcase. This is the answer. My netbook is a six cell so it lasts about 4 hours. It's light and portable. No optical drive so no video games. Don't try streaming video or satiliate radio because video skips and internet radio loads to much. This is great for checking email, logging on to your credit or bank accounts or internet shopping. This little guy is a secondary so don't try using it as a primary. Make sure your hands are not too big because the keybourd is smaller but not by much.

I've looked on google, does any one have a sure fire way to shrink hands. Mine are too big and I really want one of these netbooks.

bryozoan wrote:Good idea! That will work until I can scrape up the money for Office. Thanks!

Once ready, any thoughts on where to get office cheaply, or are the prices standard and I can just go/surf mostly anywhere?

Many school districts (and businesses) have license agreements with Microsoft which will allow employees to install Office on a computer at home. When I worked at our Education Service Center they would just send CDs home with us and we would install the programs then return the CDs. It was O.K. as long as we just used one copy at a time...either the copy on our machine at work or the copy at home. They were not supposed to be used simultaneously.

You might ask your technology department if your district has that agreement. If they don't, ask them if they know of any special offers. I get postcards with good deals for Office on them periodically (Attending the state educational technology conference every year puts your name on many, many mailing lists!).

I pulled the trigger on the Gateway last night (due in part to the CPU & battery spec's) and just now saw the comments about the PC5300 vs PC6400 memory module upgrades.
What I find interesting is that Crucial lists modules of both speeds as "Guaranteed-compatible memory upgrades". http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=LT2104u
I'm not necessarily recommending the Crucial brand, however I have found that quality RAM has made a huge difference in my desktop builds.
Cheers!

kerdav wrote:...I am running: AVG 9.0 free...

You should look into Microsoft Security Essentials. We've seen some better results from it where I work (we formerly recommended AVG).

Aside from being a Ravens fan, can anyone recommend me a reason to buy the purple acer. I bought a white one off sellout back in January and loved it once I installed Ubuntu Netbook remix (9.1 I think).

Is there any reason to own two?


PS: I use this mainly for taking notes and on the go school work. Works great with Skype.

PPS: I have a desktop for all at home usage, and a sick laptop for traveling in case I actually need processing power.

PPPS: Macbook 3 year fail rates SHOCKED me. The little respect I had for those little white monsters is dwindling away

cage017 wrote:Thanks for the reply. Your netbook usage sounds very similar to what I want (if it streams Netflix and Youtube without a problem, I'm a happy camper). I actually bought the $2 IHome mouse from last week's Wootoff as I'm not fond of using the pad on my Toshiba netbook.

Are chillmats worth buying? IMO, they look too large for a netbook.

I've found that, a long as you don't rest your laptop/netbook on a flat surface, they don't get that hot. Of course, that's only with the models I own.

I did pick up a super-cheap cooling fan on ebay, which has worked fine for over a year (I use it to cool my Hava box, which does get really hot otherwise).

kpituley wrote:I've looked on google, does any one have a sure fire way to shrink hands. Mine are too big and I really want one of these netbooks.

I have big hands (but not fat fingers), and I've typed some longish documents on my 8.9" netbook with no problem (YMMV). These 10.1" netbooks should have larger keyboards (around 92% of full size).

If you want the convenience of a netbook, but you also want to use it as your primary computer, buy a USB keyboard for when you're home.

These are via GROUND. Is there any chance that I will receive mine next week? I live in Chicago.