Who has a netbook?

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

god no ! those things are just wrong.

Madame Z, I feel the same way about your keyboard as you feel about my querty. I looked at it and literally got queasy!

I guess it all depends on how you were taught typing, and your countrys typing mode.

'sigh. Good luck with your search............

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Madame Z, I feel the same way about your keyboard as you feel about my querty. I looked at it and literally got queasy!

I guess it all depends on how you were taught typing, and your countrys typing mode.

'sigh. Good luck with your search............

it's a question of habit, and also of language (i need accents which you don't use in english). when i was in canada it drove me quite mad trying to type in my usual way on the canadian keyboard ; i finally got used to some of the more common switches (like the "a"), then when i came home i had to get used to typing on my own keyboard again. i think the french keyboard is a pretty good layout, the only think i really dislike is you must use shift for the period "." and the question mark. this is really annoying.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by HarryT

When I want to install something from CD or DVD (as I did when I installed Microsoft Office, for example), I simply "share" the DVD drive on my main machine and access it across the network from the netbook. Works beautifully.

This is one frustration I've had, that I can't figure out how to set up a proper home network with shared folders/drives/etc, which would make a number of things much easier. No trouble getting the netbook to use my router as a WAP, but my attempts to get it on an actual network with my desktop have been fruitless.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You don't want to use one in situations where you're writing large files - writing is just painfully slow. Reading is fine.

Normal use is just fine on my Dell netbook, but installing large apps takes an eternity.

The SSDs that ship with netbooks tend to be very low-end, too; you can get SSDs that match HDD write speeds, but you're going to pay plenty for them.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by taosaur

This is one frustration I've had, that I can't figure out how to set up a proper home network with shared folders/drives/etc, which would make a number of things much easier. No trouble getting the netbook to use my router as a WAP, but my attempts to get it on an actual network with my desktop have been fruitless.

Really? What sort of problems are you experiencing? I've never had a problem setting up simple networks/workgroup using the Network Setup Wizard.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Really? What sort of problems are you experiencing? I've never had a problem setting up simple networks/workgroup using the Network Setup Wizard.

I started a thread in Other Devices so as not to derail--if you have any ideas, I'd appreciate them.

[Tanzaku]

I, too, am thinking about a netbook for an ebook reader, primarily for two reasons: I find my Sony Reader (505) is too dark in too many places; my favorite pastime is reading while simultaneously listening to the audio book. (Yay for Audible!). My Sony Reader can't do audio bookmarks so I end up carrying a separate MP3 player. The Sony light wedge is heavy, gives uneven illumination, and I don't like looking through it to the screen.

Looking for alternatives, I found netbooks and the Mobipocket Reader software. Playing around with the Mobi Reader on my PC, seems great. I did change the background to a light grey and that helped reduce the contrast and ease eye strain. Forcing it to the same screen size as a netbook (1024x600, or 1366x768 -- I'm considering the Dell 10 with this higher screen resolution) and then changing the display to two columns gives me a very "facing page" sort of look which seems quite comfortable for reading in spite of its horizontal format. I love the font, spacing, margins adjustments in the Mobipocket Reader. In fact, I can't seem to find anything about it I don't like. It seems to offer everything I wish my Sony Reader had in terms of software.

So, for those of you who are down on netbooks as readers and prefer your dedicated reader, why? Could you be more specific? Before I buy a netbook, I'd like to learn from your experiences using your netbook as a reader or audio book listening device. At this point all I have is a lot of untested theories and I'd like to hear from some experienced users.

[Greg Anos]

No problem. Plug in a French USB keyboard.... It has 3 USB slots (and it lets you plug in a second SD card in a side slot - up to 32 GB!

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by Tanzaku

I, too, am thinking about a netbook for an ebook reader, primarily for two reasons: I find my Sony Reader (505) is too dark in too many places; my favorite pastime is reading while simultaneously listening to the audio book. (Yay for Audible!). My Sony Reader can't do audio bookmarks so I end up carrying a separate MP3 player. The Sony light wedge is heavy, gives uneven illumination, and I don't like looking through it to the screen.

Looking for alternatives, I found netbooks and the Mobipocket Reader software. Playing around with the Mobi Reader on my PC, seems great. I did change the background to a light grey and that helped reduce the contrast and ease eye strain. Forcing it to the same screen size as a netbook (1024x600, or 1366x768 -- I'm considering the Dell 10 with this higher screen resolution) and then changing the display to two columns gives me a very "facing page" sort of look which seems quite comfortable for reading in spite of its horizontal format. I love the font, spacing, margins adjustments in the Mobipocket Reader. In fact, I can't seem to find anything about it I don't like. It seems to offer everything I wish my Sony Reader had in terms of software.

So, for those of you who are down on netbooks as readers and prefer your dedicated reader, why? Could you be more specific? Before I buy a netbook, I'd like to learn from your experiences using your netbook as a reader or audio book listening device. At this point all I have is a lot of untested theories and I'd like to hear from some experienced users.

Here's my take (having both). It's a matter of 1. eyestrain. and 2. habit. and 3 portability.

I'll speak of habit first. I'm used to a vertically orientated page. That is the way books have been made since Gutenberg. There's nothing special about this orientation, but I've been reading this way for 45 years. I'm used to this orientation. <shrug> (A Roman would want his scroll....)

Eyestrain. When I'm working (I'm currently unemployed) I use a LCD (or shudders, a CRT) 9 hours a day, and have been for 30 years. I find that for me, personally, the non-flickering e-ink is easier on the eyes. Your mileage may differ, and reading in the dark can only be done with a back-lit screen.

An E-ink 6 inch screen e-book weighs less and is smaller than a netbook. As a matter of fact, an E-ink reader with a nice cover feels like a typical small hardback.

Finally, the battery for an e-ink e-book reader lasts 5-8 novels, whereas the netbook last a few hours.

On the other hand, the netbook does all sort of things an e-ink ebook reader can't do, such as surf the net, run programs, games, ect.

It boils down to whether you want one gizmo that does everything, but not that well, or several gizmos, each tuned to be the best at what it does. We mature people tend to prefer the latter, while most younger people prefer the former. you pays you money and takes your choice.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by Tanzaku

I, too, am thinking about a netbook for an ebook reader, primarily for two reasons: I find my Sony Reader (505) is too dark in too many places; my favorite pastime is reading while simultaneously listening to the audio book. (Yay for Audible!). My Sony Reader can't do audio bookmarks so I end up carrying a separate MP3 player. The Sony light wedge is heavy, gives uneven illumination, and I don't like looking through it to the screen.

Depending on how often you buy hardware (and how dissatisfied you are with the Sony), you might want to hold off until next year, when we'll likely see netbooks with displays and form factors geared more directly toward ebook users.

If you do want one sooner, just pay careful attention to the screen and ask questions on the relevant user forum if necessary. The main concern is that you want a matte rather than a glossy screen. Also consider that most of them are 2.5-3.5lbs--it's comfortable for me, but I could see a smaller person having difficulty.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

I'll speak of habit first. I'm used to a vertically orientated page. That is the way books have been made since Gutenberg. There's nothing special about this orientation, but I've been reading this way for 45 years. I'm used to this orientation. <shrug> (A Roman would want his scroll....)

but you see, if you turn a netbook sideways...

I only read in portrait mode. FBReader supports it directly and remembers your settings, whereas other apps will require a secondary program like irotate or eeerotate(hopefully Adobe et al will address this in future versions). I find landscape far too distracting, but FBReader in portrait mode delivers a very book-like experience.

[Tanzaku]

Thanks for the feedback.

One small observation about portrait versus landscape orientation. Sure the page is portrait, but the open book is actually a two-column landscape. I guess in my futzing around with Mobipocket Reader in two-column mode, my brain has just adapted to the "open book" visualization.

Good advice about the matte versus glossy screen. I'll be sure to get specifics before purchasing.

I never thought about "flickering" in an LCD screen, but clearly this is the case. Hmmm . . .

[desertgrandma]

One huge advantage to reading on a netbook...........

When my eyes get tired, I can always just click the "MR" button and check up on your guys!

The K1 is just not designed to be an effective web browser.

I like a previous posters idea of just laying in bed with the netbook on my chest, and reading.

Can't do that with a laptop.........

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by Tanzaku

I never thought about "flickering" in an LCD screen, but clearly this is the case. Hmmm . . .

I remember this from CRT monitors, but I don't think it is the case on an LCD w/ LED backlight, unless you're scrolling.

[RWood]

I borrowed a friends Aspire for a quick business trip and it was great. Prior to that I had always traveled with my old Sony HE-505 laptop (450 MHz P-3, 512 MB RAM, 8 GB HD, Win 98SE.) The Sony had always served me well; however, it will now be retired. The Aspire did everything it did, only better. For a bit more than 2.5x what it would cost for a new battery alone (a new battery that is needed) I can upgrade the performance, reduce the footprint, and have a lot fore faith in the dependability of the machine. Nine years of solid work from one machine was great. It more than paid for itself many times over.

My thanks to all that posted in this thread as they have helped me to make the final decision to replace the old Sony 505 after over 9 years of faithful service.