

Ask HN: Best Linux Netbook? - francoisdevlin

Hey folks,
I'm looking for recommendations on a "netbook" that I can use to get some work done while spending 2hrs a day on a commuter train.  Here's a rough idea of what I'm looking for, in order of importance<p>* Comfortable to use vim for an hour+.  Something with enough screen real estate so that I can use NERDTree
* Wifi
* SSD drive (or upgradeable)
* Enough horsepower to use the gmail web interface, no problem.<p>Also, and recommendations for a lightweight distribution to use would be great too.<p>Thanks!
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dulakian
I have had an acer d150 netbook for over a year now. I initially picked it
because the keyboard was the best one I could find on a netbook. It has been
awesome, and I won't go back to a laptop ever again. I run ubuntu 10.04, and
everything worked out of the box. I actually use gnome2, so not that
lightweight, but with a single panel and the docbarX app, it's still very
nice. Even after a year of heavy use I am still getting 5+ hours of battery
from the 6 cell battery.

The screen is just a tad small at 10.1" but the battery life on the slightly
bigger, more powerful 11"+ screen netbook/ultrabook is significantly less than
what I am able to get.

When I replace this netbook later in the year I will be trying to stay with
the acer brand. I will probably move to a 9 cell battery and an ssd to extend
the battery to 8+ hours...

Acer seems to consistently have the biggest keyboards in the netbook class. As
a fellow vim user I know just how important the keyboard is to the usability,
and I think that really should be one of the main factors you use in choosing
your netbook. I went to the store and tried out various netbook keyboards to
see which was best. I have coded 4+ hours on this netbook with no issues on
many occasions.

~~~
SamReidHughes
I have only typed on Acers in Fry's. You should take a look at the X120e or
its successors if you're thinking of a replacement. It has the best keyboard
of netbooks and at worst the second-best of laptops in general. It's arguably
as good as standard Thinkpad keyboards (except for the small arrow keys).

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SamReidHughes
The obvious answer is Lenovo X120e. The only other worthy competitor right now
is the HP dm1z. Go on any forum with a netbook megathread and you'll receive
that as the answer. Yes, it has wifi. Don't worry about lightweight
distributions, it can handle Ubuntu or the gmail web interface just fine. So
pick whichever Linux distribution you prefer. Netbooks are not that slow any
more. Yes, you can install an SSD on it (or get it configured with one). (You
can also install an auxiliary SSD in the mSATA slot.) Ignore complaints you
read online about the trackpad, it works wonderfully under Linux, that is (or
was) a Windows driver problem.

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cylinder714
The reviews I've seen for the Lenovo ThinkPad X120e have been pretty good.
Better-than-Atom performance and high build quality are the highlights. It's
not in the same ballpark as a Core-based machine, but PC World's reviewer
wrote, "Given the choice between characterizing the X120e as an underpowered
ultraportable or as a wonderful netbook, I'm going with the latter." Here's
the review: <http://bit.ly/flRyih>

If you can swing the price, the X220 splits the difference between netbooks
and regular notebooks, and uses Core (i3-i5-i7) processors.

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lmm
I have a Vye S18 that I was very happy with at the time, but have hardly
touched since I got an asus transformer. It's beautiful, powerful and the
battery life is worth far more than you would imagine. Might be more expensive
than you're looking for though.

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pkamb
ThinkPad X60 or X61 (non-tablet) off craigslist.

Why? Trackpoint, great keyboard, 4:3 screen.

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a_a_r_o_n
Lightweight distribution: I'm liking Lubuntu (official Ubuntu with LXDE
desktop).

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arb99
macbook air would fit your needs. not exactly a netbook but still pretty tiny

