Hmm. I think if you want a netbook you should buy one. Seriously, there's no better answer. You can have a quick play with them at Dickie's or Noel Leeming, and some of them are available with Linux pre-installed (but not from there). Having said that, the Linux on the Aspire One is Linpus, which is perhaps not the greatest. Does it bother you to replace one distro with another, or just not to get XP and replace it?
I bought the Aspire One because it is small and light. It is literally half the size and weight of the old ThinkPad 600X I happily hacked on. Indeed, the old ThinkPad was totally adequate to most tasks I wanted it for, not just surfing and word processing. It was a bit slow, but I'll use the netbook for the same things (i.e. everything), and it will be so much faster, i.e. I am not conditioning myself to believe "it's a netbook, it's only good for basic stuff". As to which make and model, well, the specifications are all pretty much the same. Have a go on the keyboard to see if you (or your customer/friend/mark) can deal with it. The Aspire One keyboard is small but good. Some of the smaller models are a bit cramped (such as the Toshiba NB100, but it's really cute). The HP offering has more pixels on its display (I think). Watch out for the 8.9"/10" dichotomy. In the case of the Aspire One the 10" model has the same resolution as the 8.9", but the physically bigger screen may be more readable. Best wishes, Andrew On Mon, March 2, 2009 22:22, Aidan Gauland wrote: > First: thanks for the quick responses. > > > I'm begining to think that a netbook would be better than a full blown > laptop (intended usage == intended usage of netbook). I've been reading > the threads on this list about netbooks; I'm uncertain as to whether it > really matters which one, when it's for someone who just wants to use it > for very basic tasks (E-mail, web browsing, word processing, etc.). Can > anyone help me there, or are the only CLUG people who've bought one the > ones who know too much? ;) > > Being a hard-core computer geek becomes a problem when you need to think > like a typical end-user. :) > > -Aidan > > > wgsil...@ihug.co.nz wrote: >> Could anyone here recommend a place in (or around) Christchurch that >> sells laptops WITHOUT Windows (it doesn't matter if it comes with Linux >> or not). I'm asking on behalf of someone who doesn't know what to look >> for when shopping for a computer (I'm helping with that), and doesn't >> want to pay for software that will never be used (i.e. Windows). >
