3 years, 4 months ago
What is the best netbook to get?
Hi, I have been looking at netbooks for the last few days. This one is not for me, but for my girlfriend. We have a MacBook that we use for a little more heavy lifting, and of course a few home computers for real work. There are a lot of options out there, and wanted opinions.
The netbook will be used for what I think I netbook should be used for, light work. Internet browsing, email, occasional non HD movie, coffee shop activities.
I have asked a friend who is a PC person, whereas we are Mac users, which one to get. He is heavily against the Atom processor. Stating it is a poor performer. I think this is a netbook, and performance is the last thing I am worrying about. I fail to get leaning on CPU performance, this is not a gaming machine, this is not a development machine, this is a glorified iPhone.
In researching, the Eee, Wind, Mini 9 etc, I am finding the Dell Mini 9 has the best build quality. The mouse buttons, trackpad, and keyboard on the Asus stuff is abysmal in my opinion. The Mini 9 seems a solid build.
My friend suggested I get an external mouse and go non Atom CPU. I feel this defeats the purpose of what a netbook was made for, which is ultra portability. I do not want to haul around a mouse, USB GPS receiver etc.
I also plan on putting Linux on it to gain some battery life with some of their optimizations. I may even drop the CPU into a lower power mode to gain more battery life. I will add my own ram and hard drive to save some money on the stock configuration.
So in summary, build quality is at the top of our list. I want a solid keyboard and a set of mouse buttons that do not take Superman strength to press.
What do you all think? The CPU's are all rated at about the same clock speed, so it boils down to architecture. She will use it for web and email at a coffee shop and to take the place of a portable DVD player. There will be no photo editing, or loading of images, no music loaded, it really will be used as a pure netbook.
Can I get some opinions on build quality as well as the differences in the Atom CPU versus the other offerings? As a side note, 9 inches on the screen is about the minimum she would want to go.
Thanks
The netbook will be used for what I think I netbook should be used for, light work. Internet browsing, email, occasional non HD movie, coffee shop activities.
I have asked a friend who is a PC person, whereas we are Mac users, which one to get. He is heavily against the Atom processor. Stating it is a poor performer. I think this is a netbook, and performance is the last thing I am worrying about. I fail to get leaning on CPU performance, this is not a gaming machine, this is not a development machine, this is a glorified iPhone.
In researching, the Eee, Wind, Mini 9 etc, I am finding the Dell Mini 9 has the best build quality. The mouse buttons, trackpad, and keyboard on the Asus stuff is abysmal in my opinion. The Mini 9 seems a solid build.
My friend suggested I get an external mouse and go non Atom CPU. I feel this defeats the purpose of what a netbook was made for, which is ultra portability. I do not want to haul around a mouse, USB GPS receiver etc.
I also plan on putting Linux on it to gain some battery life with some of their optimizations. I may even drop the CPU into a lower power mode to gain more battery life. I will add my own ram and hard drive to save some money on the stock configuration.
So in summary, build quality is at the top of our list. I want a solid keyboard and a set of mouse buttons that do not take Superman strength to press.
What do you all think? The CPU's are all rated at about the same clock speed, so it boils down to architecture. She will use it for web and email at a coffee shop and to take the place of a portable DVD player. There will be no photo editing, or loading of images, no music loaded, it really will be used as a pure netbook.
Can I get some opinions on build quality as well as the differences in the Atom CPU versus the other offerings? As a side note, 9 inches on the screen is about the minimum she would want to go.
Thanks
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M$11 Answers
The Atom isn't a fast CPU, but will fit your specified needs just fine.
I will, however, recommend running Windows if web browsing is important - flash performance in Linux is terrible. Just grab firefox, avoid IE, and keep it patched up and it'll be fine, security wise. You won't gain anything on the battery in linux. The biggest things you'll be able to do to control battery life are turning wireless networking off if you aren't using it, lowering the brightness of the screen, and getting an SSD model as opposed to one using a platter based hard disk (Do note the hard disk models are somewhat faster).
http://www.roytanck.com/2008/11/18/whats-up-with-linux-and-mac-flash-performance/
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081017-benchmarking-flash-player-10.html
The Ars comparison doesn't touch on the Linux performance numbers, but they are anecdotally worse than OSX, which has slow flash performance to begin with.
It doesn't hurt very much with a fast CPU, but if you're watching a fullscreened web video, it will be a significant issue. This has been my experience on my original EEE. The Celeron in it is slower than the Atom, but not by as much as the clockspeeds suggest. I have Ubuntu on the EEE, and it's either going back to the initial Xandros install or going to a nice custom minimal XP installation
I've used a few of the Atom systems running XP and Linux. The Atom is notably snappier than my EEE is, but is still sluggish when dealing with complicated web sites, and is nearly useless for heavier tasks like editing RAW files in Photoshop.
I haven't handled the Mini 9, but have heard good things about it. I have handled the MSI Wind, and it's a very well put together system with a nice little keyboard. The trackpad is a bit quirky, though, and the default battery sucks. The Lenovo systems are very nicely built, but come at a premium price - the hardware is pretty much the same.
On the Atom and power consumption: The Atom, at full load, uses something like 2-3 watts. Underclocking it will just make it slow. The motherboard chipset the Atom uses actually needs more than 5x as much power as the CPU does. In all seriousness, any of the Atom systems will get nearly the same battery life running at full load as compared with a very light load as long as the brightness/wireless things are set the same. In the not so distant future, Intel will have a more integrated solution that has significantly better power consumption, but you might not want to wait, obviously.
The VIA Nano based computers like the Mini Note will likely perform better than the Atom. The mini note systems are very nice, particularly the more expensive model - they even have a significantly higher resolution screen than everything else.
Here's a review that looks at the desktop platforms that these netbooks are based on. Note that the Nano has a significant performance advantage but is still slow:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/cpu-memory/review/2008/08/14/VIA-Nano-vs-Intel-Atom/p3
The best performing netbook for media, though, is probably the Asus N10J. The biggest difference is that it uses a dedicated video chip - a low end one, a GeForce9300GS, but it is expensive, larger than most of the other netbooks, but the dedicated video chip can help decode video for better performance, and it's a fast enough chip to play some older games well. I wouldn't particularly recommend it, but build is a lot better than the cheap EEE pcs, and it might be an option if you want something with a bit more power (and really good battery life). Also note the N10E comes without the 9300GS, is cheaper, and is also a nice, if expensive machine. The expensive S101 also offers significantly improved build.
I will, however, recommend running Windows if web browsing is important - flash performance in Linux is terrible. Just grab firefox, avoid IE, and keep it patched up and it'll be fine, security wise. You won't gain anything on the battery in linux. The biggest things you'll be able to do to control battery life are turning wireless networking off if you aren't using it, lowering the brightness of the screen, and getting an SSD model as opposed to one using a platter based hard disk (Do note the hard disk models are somewhat faster).
http://www.roytanck.com/2008/11/18/whats-up-with-linux-and-mac-flash-performance/
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081017-benchmarking-flash-player-10.html
The Ars comparison doesn't touch on the Linux performance numbers, but they are anecdotally worse than OSX, which has slow flash performance to begin with.
It doesn't hurt very much with a fast CPU, but if you're watching a fullscreened web video, it will be a significant issue. This has been my experience on my original EEE. The Celeron in it is slower than the Atom, but not by as much as the clockspeeds suggest. I have Ubuntu on the EEE, and it's either going back to the initial Xandros install or going to a nice custom minimal XP installation
I've used a few of the Atom systems running XP and Linux. The Atom is notably snappier than my EEE is, but is still sluggish when dealing with complicated web sites, and is nearly useless for heavier tasks like editing RAW files in Photoshop.
I haven't handled the Mini 9, but have heard good things about it. I have handled the MSI Wind, and it's a very well put together system with a nice little keyboard. The trackpad is a bit quirky, though, and the default battery sucks. The Lenovo systems are very nicely built, but come at a premium price - the hardware is pretty much the same.
On the Atom and power consumption: The Atom, at full load, uses something like 2-3 watts. Underclocking it will just make it slow. The motherboard chipset the Atom uses actually needs more than 5x as much power as the CPU does. In all seriousness, any of the Atom systems will get nearly the same battery life running at full load as compared with a very light load as long as the brightness/wireless things are set the same. In the not so distant future, Intel will have a more integrated solution that has significantly better power consumption, but you might not want to wait, obviously.
The VIA Nano based computers like the Mini Note will likely perform better than the Atom. The mini note systems are very nice, particularly the more expensive model - they even have a significantly higher resolution screen than everything else.
Here's a review that looks at the desktop platforms that these netbooks are based on. Note that the Nano has a significant performance advantage but is still slow:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/cpu-memory/review/2008/08/14/VIA-Nano-vs-Intel-Atom/p3
The best performing netbook for media, though, is probably the Asus N10J. The biggest difference is that it uses a dedicated video chip - a low end one, a GeForce9300GS, but it is expensive, larger than most of the other netbooks, but the dedicated video chip can help decode video for better performance, and it's a fast enough chip to play some older games well. I wouldn't particularly recommend it, but build is a lot better than the cheap EEE pcs, and it might be an option if you want something with a bit more power (and really good battery life). Also note the N10E comes without the 9300GS, is cheaper, and is also a nice, if expensive machine. The expensive S101 also offers significantly improved build.
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M$
I think the ASUS ee PC's are the way to go, mostly because they are now up to a 10-inch design. For me the biggest *biggest* annoyance with Netbooks is the keyboard size .. the 1000 series ee PC's are the first ones I've seen where the keyboard isn't awkward to type on. (I'm a touch-typist, and my hands aren't small.) ...if yer a hunt-and-peck typer, this might not matter. :)
The Atom processor isn't bad. Seriously. Sure, it's not a core-2 duo or quad, but it's better than a celeron, and CPU power isn't the critical bottleneck of portable computing like it was a few years ago. IMHO your friend need to stop comparing MIPS and get with the 21st century. :) ..and the Atom processor makes for great battery life ..it sounds like that's something you care about. (also the ee PC's have a decent size battery, and the option of a traditional or flash-based HDD.)
You might not like the idea of a mouse with it, but if your girlfriend is a mouse-er rather than keyboard oriented (and most girls I've met are) it might be a worthwhile investment. Check out the logitech nano range of mice. Not massively cheap, but the USB dongle is so tiny (2mm showing out of the USB-port) that you'll never need to unplug its receiver, and it batteries last a good long time (and won't contribute to drain of the netbook's battery.)
Again, in the interests of not interfering with your g-friend's workflow too much, do you really want to go for a linux install? Sure, if you can get the camera and all the bits working with it, and if she's comfortable with linux, go for it. But for all the technical benefits, if she can't run the stuff she wants to run, she's just gonna grow to be a Linux hater if she's being frustrated for the sake of benefits she can't see. (Don't wanna push you away from Linux, but this is a tool ..make sure it's the right tool for the job you'll both want it to do.)
IMHO XP isn't *bad* for battery life ..sure MacOS and Linux might be able to do it better, but you're already benefitting from the ATOM processor and good battery in the Netbook. And from all the technical info I'm hearing on Windows7, MS have *finally* gone for optimizing and polish ..it's Vista without the crap and with a ton of optimization. So for now you can run XP, and later you can go 7 without having do deal with all that Vista bloatedness and inefficiencies. (seriously: I've heard of Win7 being run in MS on netbooks comfortably with 1GB RAM ..I even heard 512MB, but I'm not gonna rely on a number that low.) :) Note: I am a Mac guy really .. I love to bash MS where I can. But if I were gonna get a netbook, I'd be running Windows on it. (But that suits my needs.) :)
Okay, that's enough advice from me.
The Atom processor isn't bad. Seriously. Sure, it's not a core-2 duo or quad, but it's better than a celeron, and CPU power isn't the critical bottleneck of portable computing like it was a few years ago. IMHO your friend need to stop comparing MIPS and get with the 21st century. :) ..and the Atom processor makes for great battery life ..it sounds like that's something you care about. (also the ee PC's have a decent size battery, and the option of a traditional or flash-based HDD.)
You might not like the idea of a mouse with it, but if your girlfriend is a mouse-er rather than keyboard oriented (and most girls I've met are) it might be a worthwhile investment. Check out the logitech nano range of mice. Not massively cheap, but the USB dongle is so tiny (2mm showing out of the USB-port) that you'll never need to unplug its receiver, and it batteries last a good long time (and won't contribute to drain of the netbook's battery.)
Again, in the interests of not interfering with your g-friend's workflow too much, do you really want to go for a linux install? Sure, if you can get the camera and all the bits working with it, and if she's comfortable with linux, go for it. But for all the technical benefits, if she can't run the stuff she wants to run, she's just gonna grow to be a Linux hater if she's being frustrated for the sake of benefits she can't see. (Don't wanna push you away from Linux, but this is a tool ..make sure it's the right tool for the job you'll both want it to do.)
IMHO XP isn't *bad* for battery life ..sure MacOS and Linux might be able to do it better, but you're already benefitting from the ATOM processor and good battery in the Netbook. And from all the technical info I'm hearing on Windows7, MS have *finally* gone for optimizing and polish ..it's Vista without the crap and with a ton of optimization. So for now you can run XP, and later you can go 7 without having do deal with all that Vista bloatedness and inefficiencies. (seriously: I've heard of Win7 being run in MS on netbooks comfortably with 1GB RAM ..I even heard 512MB, but I'm not gonna rely on a number that low.) :) Note: I am a Mac guy really .. I love to bash MS where I can. But if I were gonna get a netbook, I'd be running Windows on it. (But that suits my needs.) :)
Okay, that's enough advice from me.
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M$
I don't have any personal experience, but the atom should be fine. If you already have another computer for your tasks (even if it is a mac), you don't need very much power on your netbook. Your looking for portability, which I assume means you would like the battery to last a long time. If that is the case, your best bet is an atom processor and a solid state drive. While they don't have the price/performance ratio of hard drives, they use much less power and are more durable thanks to the lack of moving parts. Also, if you plan to put linux on it anyway, buy one with Ubuntu on it, that way you don't have to pay for a Windows XP license. Ubuntu uses Firefox as its built in browser, so most websites should display properly. If you feel compelled to install a Windows app, you can install WINE to allow many Windows apps to run. As a final note, if you are used to macs, the desktop in Ubuntu looks similar to a mac desktop. (no dock, though) Finally, if your looking for a solid keyboard, I recommend skipping past Eee PC's. They tend to have tiny keyboards. With all that said, I don't really know the specifics about the models available, but most of them are customizible with some of the features I recommend.
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M$
The big point for me was price. Dell sells refurbished ones on their outlet store and has had 20% off coupons about 2 to 3 times a month. I got my 16GB SSD, Bluetooth, 1.3 MP camera and 1GB Ram for $287 before taxes and free shipping. The build quality is fine and pretty much all of the netbooks have about the same basic specs.
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M$
I personally use the Lenovo S10 and I enjoy it a lot it easy to upgrade and the build quality is very nice. My brother has the HP mini 1000 and the keyboard is amazing if you type a lot from what I hear it has the best keyboard among the netbooks but the none SSD version has a really slow HDD. The Dell mini 12 which is bigger but has a much larger screen and keyboard. The Acer have been a good all around netbook currently number 1 in sales in the netbook category.
Acer Asire One - $300/$400 with 3g (kind of toyish build but cheap)
Lenovo S10 - $350 with 80gb HDD and 512mb RAM (amazing build quality with a 10" screen)(easy to upgrade I've added 2gigs of RAM and a 500gig HDD very nice pretty much rip some DVDs, a couple of CDs, several podcast and you have your self a nice portable media solution.) It even has an express slot which I use for my sprint mobile broadband giving me internet everywhere I can get a cell signal. Or a TV turner the atom processor is not that good for recording but as for as watching its pretty good. I'm currently running vista on it in it runs fine.
Lenovo S10 - $400 with 160gb HDD and 1gig RAM (amazing build quality 10" screen) (If your going to upgrade just get the cheaper model)
HP 1000 - $400/$500 with 10" screen (my brother loves it for the keyboard he does a lot of typing and ocationally video watching) (RAM was easy to upgrade but the HDD is a little more difficult not including it uses a 1.8" pata drive which is hard to find a size worth upgrading)
Dell Mini 12 - $500 and up depends on options (haven't seen it yet but if its like the Mini 9 which shares the same chassis as the Lenovo S9(not available in the USA) it should be just as easy to upgrade as the Lenovo S10 just with a larger screen kind of takes away from portability.
Acer Asire One - $300/$400 with 3g (kind of toyish build but cheap)
Lenovo S10 - $350 with 80gb HDD and 512mb RAM (amazing build quality with a 10" screen)(easy to upgrade I've added 2gigs of RAM and a 500gig HDD very nice pretty much rip some DVDs, a couple of CDs, several podcast and you have your self a nice portable media solution.) It even has an express slot which I use for my sprint mobile broadband giving me internet everywhere I can get a cell signal. Or a TV turner the atom processor is not that good for recording but as for as watching its pretty good. I'm currently running vista on it in it runs fine.
Lenovo S10 - $400 with 160gb HDD and 1gig RAM (amazing build quality 10" screen) (If your going to upgrade just get the cheaper model)
HP 1000 - $400/$500 with 10" screen (my brother loves it for the keyboard he does a lot of typing and ocationally video watching) (RAM was easy to upgrade but the HDD is a little more difficult not including it uses a 1.8" pata drive which is hard to find a size worth upgrading)
Dell Mini 12 - $500 and up depends on options (haven't seen it yet but if its like the Mini 9 which shares the same chassis as the Lenovo S9(not available in the USA) it should be just as easy to upgrade as the Lenovo S10 just with a larger screen kind of takes away from portability.
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M$
I have a Mini 9 with 2 gigs of RAM that runs Vista like a champ, as well as another certain non-Linux OS that's been mentioned already. The Atom is not slow at all. I mean, it's not amazing, but I was very impressed.
The only, and I mean only thing I don't like about it is the placement of the quote/apostrophe key. There is a US International keyboard you can order and self-install for $20 that places the key back where it belongs, but then that keyboard has one of those backspace keys that's only one key big instead of a little longer.
The only, and I mean only thing I don't like about it is the placement of the quote/apostrophe key. There is a US International keyboard you can order and self-install for $20 that places the key back where it belongs, but then that keyboard has one of those backspace keys that's only one key big instead of a little longer.
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M$
I just got the Dell Mini 12 with Ubuntu. $499 out the door, well worth it.
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M$
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M$
There are freelance opportunities available which are genuine, but u have to bid for them and compete with the wages and hourly rates. Also there are few home based transcription work, where in you get the data in images or audio form and u need to convert them back in text form and upload. Here also you'd be competing against people from countries where the hourly rate of pay is a lot lower, so don't expect huge wages for such jobs, but still it might be good enough to start with.
Also there are sites that pay you to do specific tasks like posting something on a forum or writing comments on some blogs, finding a logo or pic for a particular brand and uploading on some site... or similar stuff, and there are amount specified for each tasks. tasks are easy, small and simple but the payout is not very huge per task, so you might have to perform multiple tasks to get some substantial income.
http://homejobsblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/work-at-home-using-typing-skills.html
http://outsource-guru.blogspot.com/2008/09/translation-jobs.html
http://start-blogging-for-money.blogspot.com/2008/09/get-paid-for-blogging.html
Also there are sites that pay you to do specific tasks like posting something on a forum or writing comments on some blogs, finding a logo or pic for a particular brand and uploading on some site... or similar stuff, and there are amount specified for each tasks. tasks are easy, small and simple but the payout is not very huge per task, so you might have to perform multiple tasks to get some substantial income.
http://homejobsblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/work-at-home-using-typing-skills.html
http://outsource-guru.blogspot.com/2008/09/translation-jobs.html
http://start-blogging-for-money.blogspot.com/2008/09/get-paid-for-blogging.html
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M$
Check out these:
Compaq Presario CQ42-462TU with : Processor: Intel Core i5-450m mobile Processor (2.53 GHz), Memory: 3GB DDR3 RAM, 320 GB HDD, 14.1 inch screen display for Rs 30,790(INR)
HP Pavilion G42-478 TX with: Processor: Intel Core i5-480M mobile Processor (2.53 GHz), Memory: 4GB DDR RAM, Storage: 500GB HDD, Display: 14.0 inch screen display for Rs. 39,850(INR)
Compaq Presario CQ42-462TU with : Processor: Intel Core i5-450m mobile Processor (2.53 GHz), Memory: 3GB DDR3 RAM, 320 GB HDD, 14.1 inch screen display for Rs 30,790(INR)
HP Pavilion G42-478 TX with: Processor: Intel Core i5-480M mobile Processor (2.53 GHz), Memory: 4GB DDR RAM, Storage: 500GB HDD, Display: 14.0 inch screen display for Rs. 39,850(INR)
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is what I've heard is the best one out there, and it has an 8.9 inch screen. With a brand like Dell you can be assured it's a quality netbook, and it will have the warranty.
Here's more info on it at this link: http://bit.ly/DellNetbook
Dell Inspiron Mini 9
Complete with connectivity features, you have the freedom to live without ever losing touch.
- Connect with advanced wireless options
- Light and compact for an on-the-go lifestyle
- Dynamic & Customizable user interface
- 4 hours battery life & just 2.28 lbs
Here's more info on it at this link: http://bit.ly/DellNetbook
Dell Inspiron Mini 9
Complete with connectivity features, you have the freedom to live without ever losing touch.
- Connect with advanced wireless options
- Light and compact for an on-the-go lifestyle
- Dynamic & Customizable user interface
- 4 hours battery life & just 2.28 lbs
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
OSX on the mini 9 wouldn't be something I'd do, but from all accounts I have heard, it is a good idea. It runs well, and if you like OSX, and all of the not-working parts have been made to run, it's worth giving a whirl to.
http://netbooks.modaco.com/content/msi/270099/pauls-complete-guide-to-installing-osx-leopard-on-your-msi-wind-advent-4211/
Here's someone that put OSX on their MSI Wind. As it's the same hardware, it'll run about the same. I'm not sure about specific minor differences between the Mini 9 and the Wind on these issues, but I doubt there'd be much.
Keep in mind, OSX only takes a bit more power to run than XP. My main concern with it would be getting all of the functions of the computer running.
If you have experience dealing with Unix, and don't mind the poor flash performance, Linux will probably be fine for you.
I've never really understood why some people think Windows is "designed to confuse" someone. It really depends what you know and use. I sit down at a Mac and have no idea how to accomplish things without poking around (I've used Macs plenty, have used them for work in the past, and have an ex that has needed help figuring out how to use her new Mac, which I did - note - she wasn't an ex at the time), have years of experience with Windows, and can do anything I need with ease. Keeping Windows secure is a matter of installing firefox, not using IE6 at all, keeping it updated - a virus scanner is a good idea but isn't necessary unless she likes to download things from questionable places. Vista solves the vast majority of XP security issues, but won't run acceptably on the Atom.
Given what you'd told me, I'd keep with the Linux install. I liked Ubuntu on my EEE (they make a prepackaged distro set up for it), but will note that some things were far from intuitive - using the SD reader on the EEE required editing a text file to give myself permission to do it. I got it working, but it took far too long.
I'll still say that Windows will probably offer the best overall user experience from a performance/usability standpoint, but Ubuntu is nice, and will be fine if it does what you need it to do, and clearly you've got plenty of experience dealing with it. OSX might be a fun option, and if you can find someone that has it running with all the functions of the computer, would probably be the best option for you guys.
As soon as I have some free time, I will try to install gOS 3 Gadgets. I haven't tried out yet. I just don't know if I like Google Gadgets. But it might be a nice alternative.
gOS 3.1 Gadgets (SP1): http://thinkgos.com/gos.php
http://p.beni.tv/gOS31.jpg
See - I hated Xandros on my EEE. It didn't come with everything I needed. It would have been great if it did, though. Asus has a download site up with packages to install, but they don't work on the Xandros distribution included on the original model. It may or may not work on newer systems. Ubuntu uses Synaptic, which is, from my experience the easiest to use package installer of all the ones on different versions of Linux, as it automatically installs associated libraries when you need them to run something. In Xandros, ended up using apt-get to try to pull things down, but inevitably I would run in to errors where I didn't have necessary libraries installed to run what I was trying to run. This is the kind of thing a Unix/BSD/Linux guy would have less issues with, particularly if he's run Debian, but I'm not terribly knowledgeable with that stuff, so I have to fight things to make them work for far longer then it is work. On Xandros, I didn't like that installing things was a complete crap shoot. Ubuntu was far better in that regard, but performance on it is kind of lacking. It boots up quickly enough, the interface is good for a netbook environment, but the performance isn't there, and the automatic updates filled up the SSD very quickly when combined with a couple of programs. I ended up inadvertently filling the entire SSD up (my fault, but there were no warnings), and then it wouldn't boot up, I needed to reinstall it. That part was easy, at least!
great answer, @teff torbes!
btw, @cometbus, for the intended use of that netbook by your girlfriend, you might even use the pre-installed Linux that comes with some of the netbooks. I bought the very first eeePC just when it came out in Asia and it had Xandros Linux installed. I have spent quite some time installing various OS... but in the end, I went back to the proprietary Xandros Linux because it was just so easy and fast. I found everything running perfectly as long you're just using e-mail, browsing, skype, IM, watching movies etc.
Thanks teff torbes, just what I was looking for. What if flash is not that important? She get's by on her iPhone with little to no complaints, so if we were to run Linux, and even go through the trouble of making Flash work, knowing it will be used in very rare cases, do you still feel Windows is the way to go?
I am a *nix system admin, and very familiar with the command line and configuring tools manually. While my main area is in the BSD's, I am pretty comfortable in Linux as well.
I am concerned that with Windows, I will need to install Anti Virus, which in my experience, as an app that runs as a scanner all the time, kills battery even more. There is also the entire process of training my girlfriend in an OS that is in my opinion designed to confuse her and cause her issues.
Would it be a terrible idea to drop OS X on the Mini 9? I have a feeling aesthetically, since the screens are not entirely tested at these new resolutions, that alone will make it a little strange, but I also have a feeling even with some tuning, and turning off as many daemons and services as I can find, OS X will still be too heavy.