Do you own a NETBOOK?

[jut703]

I say it's best to learn with a real computer, whether desktop or notebook. For me parang sobrang bitin talaga yung netbook. An N270/N280 really can't suffice for my computing needs, and the small screen and keyboard is annoying. You don't need portability when simply learning, pwede namang gawin sa bahay yun eh. :P

[_Cathy_]

My Mom was thinking of a netbook because it is way cheaper than a notebook. She saw a netbook on sale for $200 daw. Desktop is not a consideration because she needs something that she could bring abroad.

I've never used a netbook and since I will be the one to teach my Mom, does it function like a notebook? (windows xp, ms office and internet) because I don't want to have to learn and teach at the same time. hehe.

[ghosthunter]

My Mom needs to learn Windows, MS applications and the internet. Would a netbook suffice or does she need a real laptop?

If you want to "learn" computers. Best to start with a desktop PC if available.

Also, with a netbook, it might be an issue if your mom has some eye-sight issues.

For someone who is just going to learn to use a computer, it might be wise not to invest so much money into expensive hardware that the end-user might not even want to use after a month.

Hence the question, why is your mom suddenly wants to learn to use a PC?

[ghosthunter]

My Mom was thinking of a netbook because it is way cheaper than a notebook. She saw a netbook on sale for $200 daw. Desktop is not a consideration because she needs something that she could bring abroad.

I've never used a netbook and since I will be the one to teach my Mom, does it function like a notebook? (windows xp, ms office and internet) because I don't want to have to learn and teach at the same time. hehe.

Cathy, I suggest you bring your mom to a shop that have a lot of netbooks and notebook PCs on display and running.

Frankly netbooks and notebooks are just the same except that netbooks are meant to be cheap and low cost at expensive of performance and some conveniences like a DVD or CDROM drive.

Notebooks are fine but they weigh more and have shorter battery life.

Ask your mom to try out the netbooks and notebooks and explain to her the pro and con of either type. It would be good if your mom has no eye-sight issues.

Personally, I love my 10 inch netbook. It's small and lightweight. Battery life is over five hours. The smallish screen doesn't really give me a problem. But I do have a full desktop computer at the office and at home for my usual tasks. My netbook's primary task is connectivity and entertainment when I am out of the office or traveling local or abroad.

[woohoo]

I'm waiting for the CULV notebooks. Best of both worlds!

[Lucius]

Pwede kaya Windows7 sa netbook? Looking at this 8" Vaio netbook kaso Vista nakapackage, although mukhang pencil case, un na pinaka okay para saken sobrang liit. Sa Singapore ko balak bumili, may dvd kasi unlike ung dito ang nakita ko wala. Just in case ireformat ko to reinstall a new OS.

Anyway, okay kaya magdesign dun? 1240x768 and 1240x1024 kasi ang resolutions ng mga laptop na gamit ko. Walang problem sa Photoshop pag nagswitch ako.

[ghosthunter]

Pwede kaya Windows7 sa netbook? Looking at this 8" Vaio netbook kaso Vista nakapackage, although mukhang pencil case, un na pinaka okay para saken sobrang liit. Sa Singapore ko balak bumili, may dvd kasi unlike ung dito ang nakita ko wala. Just in case ireformat ko to reinstall a new OS.

Anyway, okay kaya magdesign dun? 1240x768 and 1240x1024 kasi ang resolutions ng mga laptop na gamit ko. Walang problem sa Photoshop pag nagswitch ako.

There are many people already running Windows 7 on their netbooks and so far the news is good since it seems to be running fine, better than Vista.

BTW, the Sony Vaio netbook is a POOR netbook. The 8 inch screen might be high res but the aspect ratio makes it difficult to use even viewing documents and web-pages, you'll always need to scroll up and down just to see the whole page. Battery life is too short and the pointer thingie (mouse) is hard to use regularly. It is also over priced as a netbook. HDD is only 60gb as well.

For your money, you would be better off buying a LENOVO S10-2 with specified with six cell battery and 2gb ram.

[Lucius]

The only reason I like it is because it's Sony. Lenovo and the others maybe okay in terms of specs but I'm after the brand name.

Another for consideration is the Compaq laptop na glossy carbon fiber ung top nya, not sure if late model na un or they just keep updating its series. It's screen I believe is 13"

EDIT: The new Vaio X. World's lightest 11" is actually a netbook pala

[ssaloon]

For PS, I think it'll be a bit of a chore on a netbook. Even if you bump up the RAM to 2GB, you still can't compensate for the lack of a stand-alone graphics card.

This is based on experience. LR palang, gapang na sa A0751h, pano pa kaya CS4?

[Jun aka Pekto]

My Mom needs to learn Windows, MS applications and the internet. Would a netbook suffice or does she need a real laptop?

If you insist on a netbook, buy an external lcd monitor as well. The netbook can push higher resolutions with an external lcd monitor. Your eyes would thank you for it.

For training, there's low-cost software such as the one I bought for my 13-year old daughter:

Learn2's Training Complete which covers Office 2003, Office 2007, Windows XP, Vista, and bonus stuff for other MS apps and Adobe:



System requirements aren't very high:
Windows 95 or newer
32mb ram
cd drive 4x or better
200mhz processor
svga monitor

You don't need to have the actual MS Office suite. But, it's nice to have it.
Actual screen:


Take the netbook on the go. When you get home, plug an external monitor to it. I do that even with my 15.4" laptop. I also plug in a USB keyboard and mouse. An external keyboard and mouse minimizes wear and tear on the laptop's built-in ones. Sometimes in "clone" screen mode, I even close the lid on the laptop which turns off the screen (and use the one on the external monitor).