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Just a CPUJust a CPUPosted Nov 25, 2009 22:20 UTC (Wed) by man_ls (subscriber, #15091)Parent article: The Grumpy Editor's Moblin review The netbook concept is wonderful, but as our editor has discovered it requires some external peripherals: a big screen and external keyboard and mouse are a must. Then he will probably need external speakers, a backup USB disk and maybe the occasional DVD drive, so a USB hub will not be out of place. Finally, an Ethernet cable is always nicer than wifi if the router is nearby. All in all, what you get for about $300 is a small silent CPU with integrated UPS, plus a small backup screen and integrated keyboard and mice for emergencies. So that in a pinch this little beast can be hauled around if necessary! Although the screen and most peripherals will probably stay behind. Not a bad proposition, even though it will not be the most powerful machine owned by most people. Therefore the ability to SSH to that noisy 8-core monster in the basement will probably be appreciated. Me, I just do light Python development here and browse the web; the occasional GIMP usage does not justify more power, so this little piece of silicon delivers everything needed. Moore's law rules!
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Just a CPU Posted Nov 26, 2009 1:46 UTC (Thu) by tshow (subscriber, #6411) [Link]
Actually, there's another target audience for these things. People who take public transit. I'm on the train for a couple of hours each day (an hour into the city, and hour to get back out), and it's nice to have a lightweight little laptop I can chuck in my bag. All it needs to be able to do is run a text editor (emacs, for me) and I can do useful work.
"Why not a full laptop?" you might ask. I tried a full laptop, but I have fairly powerful desktop machines at home and at the office. Netbooks are significantly lighter, smaller and cheaper than full laptops. Lighter is important (as is smaller) because it fits in my bag nicely and doesn't weigh me down.
Cheaper is *very* important. A little rain in my bag, falling on some ice, or being bumped by someone could wreck either a notebook or a laptop with equal ease. If it happens to a $300 netbook, I'll be annoyed, but I can replace it easily. If it happens to a $3000 laptop machine, a small random event has just cost me significantly.
To me, at least, the netbook is a semi-disposable computer, something I can use on the train without worrying too much if it gets lost, stolen or wrecked, and something which doesn't feel like my bag has a brick in it.
Just a CPU Posted Nov 26, 2009 6:01 UTC (Thu) by eru (subscriber, #2753) [Link] The netbook concept is wonderful, but as our editor has discovered it requires some external peripherals: a big screen [...]I suspect both you and our esteemed editor have missed the point of these devices: They really are netbooks: their purpose in life is make web browsing and other internet activities easily portable. The small keyboard is there mainly because often you need to enter some text into browser windows, not for writing kernel code or epic novels.
Just a CPU Posted Nov 26, 2009 13:43 UTC (Thu) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]
And you can connect to people with it!
(does anyone more twittered-up know what that means? It sounds decidedly
Just a CPU Posted Nov 26, 2009 7:50 UTC (Thu) by Los__D (guest, #15263) [Link]
It seems like your usage of a netbook is the alternative one.
The main purpose is probably for keeping online, or doing a bit of work on the go.
Just a CPU Posted Nov 26, 2009 10:38 UTC (Thu) by NRArnot (subscriber, #3033) [Link]
The low screen resolution of netbooks is their weak spot. Technically there's no reason I can think of why they couldn't ship with higher-res screens. I believe most of the problem is that Microsoft refuses to allow the XP "netbook" license to ship with any device having a higher-resolution screen. This means that any manufacturer shipping such, would be shipping a Linux-only device (or at least, would have been until Windows 7 launched). Vista on an Atom CPU is a bad joke. On the limps/walks/runs scale, it's somewhere less than crawl. Ooze, maybe.
Anyway, Asus are soon to ship a Netbook with a 2-core "desktop" Atom CPU, NVidia graphics, and a screen with a decent resolution. Provided the weight hasn't bloated too much (to support a less frugal CPU), that'll be close to perfection. The mass market will probably take to it running (or more likely walking) Windows 7.
In the meantime I find standard Gnome quite usable on a 1024x600 screen, though the apps need a bit more scrolling than would be ideal. Wonder why MS hasn't filched the idea of virtual desktops yet?
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