Writing on a NetBook

[exscentric]

I started on a hand held pc with two finger typing then graduated to a folding keyboard for an HP jornada pocket pc. When the netbooks came out EEE 701 I got one and was totally liberated with that big keyboard though my big fat fingers struggled some to get used to it. When the ten inchers came out I was in good shape.

Sony has a 12 incher that is nice all around, and a little faster but the walmart ones will do you well.

Most of my serious work is done on net-books. I use a Bible program for my work and find it to be very slow getting started (It has over 2000 books in it) but after it is running it and Word are my two staples and seldom know I'm on a small unit especially now that I have new glasses and can see clearly 8-)

[teh603]

Originally Posted by exscentric

Sony has a 12 incher that is nice all around, and a little faster but the walmart ones will do you well.

Y'know, 12" used to be a full-sized PowerBook.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by teh603

Y'know, 12" used to be a full-sized PowerBook.

Yep! I love my Dell 14z, love my son's Macbook Air (he replaced apple ios with Linux )

[Penforhire]

One of my favorite mobile tools is a Lenovo X120E (a business class 11.7" netbook, with a step up in CPU versus Atoms) that has a SSD drive in place of the usual hard drive. For writing it tends to be as snappy as a regular laptop and has 7-odd hour battery life with screen brightness as low as I can use. I have never been happy with 10" Atom-CPU netbooks (I used a MSI Wind series before the Lenovo).

I'm experimenting with an iPad and Logitech "ultraslim keyboard cover." That cover has really nice key action, the combined package is maybe a pound lighter than the Lenovo, and battery life is over 10 hours. Screen space is tight though. Fine for just writing (e.g. in Pages or Outline+) but would not be so good for anything using concurrent multi-windows like Scrivener (which has no date for iPad yet) or my usual desktop combination of Word & OneNote.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

but would not be so good for anything using concurrent multi-windows like Scrivener (which has no date for iPad yet) or my usual desktop combination of Word & OneNote.

Well on the positive side MS announced an iPad version of Word (and all of office). So that might help you at.

[Penforhire]

The iPad still won't have the docked-window mode of being simultaneously open (and location-synchronized) in both Word and OneNote. Part of it is how small the display is. The rest is iOS doesn't multi-task excepting some core apps (e.g. phone). It just task-switches near instantly. Outline+ really is a decent simulation of OneNote by itself in iOS.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by teh603

Y'know, I learned on some fairly un-tactile Mac keyboards back in the day? A too- clackey keyboard doesn't work for me. I guess it would matter to someone who started using the old pre-PS2 keyboards or on an actual typewriter, though. The parents learned on (and still have) their mechanical typewriters, and have had a difficult time moving to an actual keyboard.

There's times when I wonder if they're looking for the fraction keys.

Edit: Course there's sometimes when I *wish* they still had fraction keys.

I took a typing course in high shool on a LC Smith mechanical. 40 words a minute on a 10 minute writing, switching sheets of paper when the first ran out. 3 errors. I was very proud. Course that girl over there on the machine that they brought in the typewriter guy to tune, did over 80. Didn't much like her at the time.

Clicky, clacky, curvy, good travel is for me!

[jhempel24]

I'm on the fence between an Acer 11.6" with C70 processor and Windows 8, or something with an N2600 Processor. It's a $30 difference between the two...but the benefits are so much better I think with the AMD C70 (4GB Ram, 2GB DDR3 Video, HD) I think I'll be picking that up, and a little sleeve.

Here they are on sale in store for $278, online they seem to be $335.

[randyflycaster]

I bought a netbook so I could take it with me and write. The problem was/is that, because of the smaller keyboard, I make a lot of typing mistakes. I still use my netbook, but only when I'm working on drafts.

Randy

[SeaKing]

I travel and sometimes with just a duffel or a backpack so I need a small computer to write up things. I have used net books just about since they first came out.

My hands were too big for the 10.1 at Best Buy so I went with a 12.1 which is about normal size without some keys. That worked.

I noticed also that the Mac Air at 11.6 seemed ok too so I may try the Chromebook with a 11.6. Still I have to say that I don't completely understand what that would mean.

[VydorScope]

Be careful of the Chrome book, it is much more limited then a normal Netbook. I had one for a while and traded it for a Nook Color. I got the better side of that deal.

[jhempel24]

yeah. im trying to decide if i need the power of a c70 or go $50 cheaper with an N2600. there is alot more ram in the $50 more one though

[VydorScope]

You do not really really need much with processing power these days ... BUT RAM and DISK SPEED are critical. Even the fastest CPU will be slow as molasses in dead of winter if you toss 2gb ram and a slow laptop hard drive at it.

I do not know anything about the machines your looking at, but keep in mind for writing graphics/sound are meaningless. Total Drive space - unimportant once you cross 60 or 80 gb (pending OS - Windows need 20 or so for itself to operate well). 3G / 4G/ LTE/ etc for cell networks - waste of money. Any standard wireless NIC will do fine. CDROM/DVD Drive - worthless after initial install (even then I would not bother - use thumb drive with ISO and mount the ISO ad a virtual drive in a pinch).

So.. that leaves you with disk speed and ram as key. I would suggest you focus your $$ there. For example a 80 GB SSD drive is preferable to a standard 520gb 5400 RPM laptop drive.

Other then that - Screen / keyboard are both personal preference.

That is my opinion, and it probable worth exactly as much as you paid for it.

[jhempel24]

yeah. Im looking for it to run Open office, sigil, and calibre, and maybe play videos. So Im thinking the 4gb will be what I need. it has an ssd 320gb I think

[teh603]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

3G / 4G/ LTE/ etc for cell networks - waste of money. Any standard wireless NIC will do fine.

That works unless you like to hang out in small to medium- sized towns with no Starbucks. Sometimes the nearest wifi is 50+ miles away, and that's when even having 2G is nice.