

Netbooks' achilles heel isn't processing power, it's screen size - ilamont
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/10/07/netbooks-popularity-highlight-short-comings-small-screens

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zhyder
I'm waiting for a 14/15" notebook with a Netbook-class processor. It would be
light, have great battery life, and be cool.

If they can put those processors in desktops ("Nettops"), they should be able
to put them in standard-sized notebooks. Altho I'm not sure MS will still
allow XP on them, and -barring Linux- XP is needed for battery life and
performance.

It's well established that larger screen sizes increase productivity. A 9/10"
screen may be _sufficient_ for web-browsing, but I'd like to use the device
for many other things, and I'd like it to be more than barely sufficient
anyway.

There isn't much difference in the portability of a 15" laptop and a 10" one.
Neither can be pocketed; both need a laptop case.

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jonknee
> There isn't much difference in the portability of a 15" laptop and a 10"
> one. Neither can be pocketed; both need a laptop case.

I own a Mac Book Pro and bought an Aspire One primarily because I was tired of
lugging around the MBP. There is a huge difference. It's hard to realize until
you have both, but the MBP feels giant and I hardly move it now.

One thing I bet they will do in future revs is up the video power so you can
hook it into larger external screens--the VGA out to my 24" doesn't look so
hot.

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zhyder
What bothers you abt the MBP, size or weight?

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jonknee
Size, weight and expense of replacement. It's a great computer, don't get me
wrong, but netbooks are a whole other level of portability.

Low replacement cost is a really good feature for a mobile and helps me
appreciate the small size and weight more. For example, if I go somewhere with
my MBP it stays with me at all times. That's a huge pain in the ass sometimes,
the last time I was in Vegas I had the MBP on my shoulder for 4 days straight.
But if I go somewhere with my Aspire One I don't feel bad about leaving it in
the glove box or whatever.

I wouldn't make a netbook my main computer until they get a bit more power
(especially VRAM), but it makes a great accessory. I have used it a _lot_ more
than I thought I would. It's quite popular when I have people over too, which
is nice because I don't have to worry about what's running on my main computer
(shell sessions and what not). If someone wants to drink and YouTube there's
now a laptop sitting on the coffee table at all times.

Probably not for everyone, but a very high percentage of people who have used
mine expressed interest in getting one. Wouldn't be surprised if a few already
bought one.

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speek
I totally agree that the screen real-estate is the biggest drawback of
netbooks. Projectors might help (or foldable OLED screens)...

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carterschonwald
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the day when laptops have mini projectors
associated screens for active lighting and hence high contrast awesomeness for
reading. And considering the current trends in relevant technology, I think
thats going to happen in the next decade or so (oled's would be nice too)

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Zev
I would argue that its not processing or screen size, but rather battery
life.. Which the article touched on briefly at the end.

With my MacBook Pro (15.4"), I can get a good 4-5 hours per battery (I've got
two batteries, one a year old and one 2-3 months old) if all I'm doing is
surfing the net or reading an ebook/watching a non-HD show. And it takes
maybe, 10 seconds to switch my battery and a minute to boot back up and back
to what I was previously doing.

Until there's a netbook that gets an average battery life longer then my
current setup, I've got no reason to switch - or even recommend a netbook to
someone over a regular laptop. This way has a nice screen size, good wifi
range, same battery life, etc. And I'd carry the same bag around either way.

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jonknee
I don't get close to that battery life with my MPB ( _maybe_ 3 when the
batteries were new), but even then there are plenty of netbooks in that range.
Some Eee PCs are rated up to 7. Same with some Aspire Ones. Basically any that
advertise a 6-cell battery will have plenty of juice.

Fun facts: the MBP battery is about half the size of my [whole] netbook, not
far from the weight and most amazingly a replacement MBP battery costs 40% of
the price of the netbook.

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jonknee
I'm reading this on an Aspire One. The screen is plenty for most sites
(1024x600). Even with its small size there is space in the case to make the
screen quite a bit larger and I expect that will happen in the future.

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wmeredith
I couldn't agree more. My favorite computer I've owned is still my G4 12"
Powerbook. It's the perfect size. Sure, I wish the screen was bigger, but I
also wish it had no mass. In other words, Speek's projector comment was right
on the money in my book.

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brandong
I'm fine with my eeepc's 7" screen, it's the small keyboard I can't get used
to.

This isn't any better on the 9" versions either...

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zitterbewegung
Maybe a browser that has a zoom in function like the iPhone could be devised
for these netbooks?

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th0ma5
i thought i saw compiz running on these things? it has a very nice zoom
feature i use all the time... like win key + scroll wheel... very handy

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LogicHoleFlaw
The Atom-based netbooks generally have the Intel 915 video processor onboard,
which runs Compiz quite nicely.

