I agree with Andrew's comments. I have an eee PC 900 and I'm happy with it. It came with Linux native and all the drivers etc just work. Loading anything other than the default distro can be a bit of a mission, but frankly I have found it best just to leave well alone and use the custom/optimised distro they give you.
The biggest issue in the real world is the keyboard - I think Asus have made theirs just a little too small and others may be easier to use; I havent tried. My Asus is fine, but not for long periods of typing. Hardware support isn't a big deal - there's almost no moving parts and not much can go wrong once its working. - D On Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 3:20 PM, Andrew Errington < [email protected]> wrote: > There's also the HP MiniNote (or something like that), the MSI Wind, and > something from Toshiba, just to muddy the waters a little. > > They're all very similar, since they're all based on the Intel Atom > reference platform. > > Your choice is guided by > > a) How they look (size, shape, screen) > b) How they feel (keyboard, weight, touchpad) > c) How much they cost > > Fortunately you can find most of them on display at Noel Leeming, Harvey > Norman or Dick Smith. This means you can have a good look and try out the > keyboard and touchpad. > > Asus started the trend with the Eee, but IMHO they dropped the ball and > their later models missed the sweet spot in terms of capability and price. > Not only that, but Microsoft stuck their oar in and decided that XP's > death could be prolonged for long enough to make buyers in this niche > suffer as much as others before them. > > There seems to be a good support network for Linux on almost any one of > these units, but often for the best price you have to buy XP and then > upgrade to Linux, since although some models have Linux versions available > they are often not easily found in NZ. > > I like my Aspire One. I think I will like it more with Linux, but that > entails investing some effort into the process, plus outlaying cash for an > external DVD drive. Oh, and an external hard drive for backups (Noel's > has one for $90 160Gb. I swear I am not on commission!) > > Have fun shopping! > > Andrew > > On Thu, February 5, 2009 13:33, John Carter wrote: > > Hmm. Googling some more... (sigh! this is becoming a bigger question > > than I have time for at work....) > > > > There seems to be three linux netbooks on the market. > > > > > > Dell inspiron mini > > Asus ee pc > > Acer inspire one > > > > > > INSPIRON, INSPIRe ONe, is someone trying to tell me something? > > > > > > Being hardware, which can go wron, rong, wrung, I prefer local > > suppliers I can waltz up to on a saturday morning and say "fix / > replace". > > > > Anyone compared the three and come to any useful conclusions? > > > > > > John Carter Phone : (64)(3) 358 6639 > > Tait Electronics Fax : (64)(3) 359 4632 > > PO Box 1645 Christchurch Email : [email protected] > > New Zealand > > > > > > > > >
