<p>I know this topic comes up every year on this forum, and I did do some search on this forum for information. But all I see was a bunch of Apple fanboys posting (lmao).</p>
<p>Do you guys think having a netbook is enough for college? I might buy a HP Mini.</p>
<p>1.6 GHz - Intel Atom
1 GB RAM
60 GB
Windows XP (yay!)
10.2"
Very, very, very light (yay!)</p>
<p>College of Arts and Sciences is the college I was admitted to. I'll probably major in biology or related fields.</p>
<p>It all depends on what you use your computer for. A netbook will word process, instant message, and surf the web just fine. You might want an external keyboard for your room though, since typing a paper on the small keyboard is a drag. You should also consider the MSI Wind, another netbook. It generally scores higher than the HP when reviewed.</p>
<p>FB- I have a very similar laptop, if not the exact same, and I am very satisfied with it. The only drawback is it cannot really run any demanding applications such as games, but for word processing and normal applications, it is wonderfully convenient (also is great for bringing into class).</p>
<p>Yah I don't use it to play games or anything like that. I'll just use it for Microsoft word and FB. That's about it.</p>
<p>If you have no plans on using the netbook for anything other than word processing, light web-browing, email, etc... go for it. Ten inches is very small however, so make sure it doesn't put strain on your eyes. The Atom processor is slow, and quite frankly, 1GB of RAM is barely enough. 60GB minus formatting and the space needed for the OS won't leave you with too much space for music, movies, etc... </p>
<p>I'd recommend something with at least a 12" screen, 2GB of RAM, and a Core 2 Duo processor. If you must go with Windows <em>sigh</em>, get XP of course. </p>
<p>That being said I will add to your complaints and say that the $1299 Macbook is hard to beat. OS X is phenomenally reliable, and you can also run Windows right alongside it. A 13" screen is the sweet spot between portability and screen real estate. The all aluminum construction is very sturdy, and the unit only weighs 4.5 lbs; that is not heavy at all.</p>
<p>The downside of Windows is that if you don't properly maintain it (and even if you do, to a lesser extent), the system begins to slow down over time. If you start off with a slow machine like the one you listed, you may become frustrated often, even when performing non-demanding tasks such as writing a paper (ever typed and then waited a few seconds and it all shows up at once? Yeah, that stinks). OS X does not experience this to that degree thanks to HFS+ Journaling. </p>
<p>So bottom line, if you go Windows (XP), get something a little more powerful than what you listed, regardless of your major, and with a little bigger screen.</p>
<p>Hope that helped!</p>
<p>hahaha, i think buying a netbook will force me to not play any video games.</p>
<p>Haha, mike proved me wrong. I thought it was going to be 8 posts until a Mac advertisement.
Go with the netbook. My friend has an Asus Eee Pc and is extremely happy with it. If you need any other applications, WashU has a lot of available computers, from what I understand. As for the Mac, you can get equivalent laptops for less than $1000, like a block of cheese for $4.99 at any grocery store.</p>
<p>i hear Apple is making a mac netbook, to be released in a few months.</p>
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i hear Apple is making a mac netbook, to be released in a few months.
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<p>Are you serious!? Ok I just checked with Macrumors.com and it seems like that rumor is true. I'm putting my netbook acquisition on-hold.</p>
<p>Mac netbook? Nice... not sure I really know what the difference between a netbook and a very small laptop is though...</p>
<p>If you're going with a laptop that small, I would maybe recommend buying an external monitor (~$120 for a 19" LCD) along with it... You'll probably appreciate it when you're writing papers and such. The computer labs on campus are pretty convenient though, so you could always wait until you get to school and see what's going to work for you. Portability is definitely a great thing, although the new Macbooks are pretty nice, being chiseled from a solid block of adamantium, or so I hear.</p>