<p>Before you post links, know that I have searched about this topic on this forum.</p>
<p>I'm pursuing a com sci minor. I'm a engineering major. I realize that a laptop is too big and expensive as well as unnecessary. So I'm trying to decide between a notebook and a netbook. In com sci, we use Eclipse in Java, and eventually C++ in later courses. Even though a netbook is less expensive, I'm not sure if it'll fit my needs throughout my college career. I won't be playing video games beyond board games and poker.</p>
<p>suggestions?</p>
<p>P.S. I'm poor, so I'm looking for used computers. price is my #1 priority, followed by lightweight, battery life, proceeor/RAM etc.</p>
<p>Also, I realize that the newer OS like W7 or Vista take a lot of RAM. With my desired price range to be under $250, I imagine that I can only get about 1.6Ghz 2Gb (at best) out of the used market. Is it smart to just stay with XP and Microsoft Office 2003? Would there be compatibility issues?</p>
<p>I’m sure you’d be fine. You have computer labs(hopefully) at your school, so you can do some work there. Programs like Microsoft Office '03 would be fine too because Microsoft Office '07 allows you to save your documents as .doc and not just .docx The 1.6ghz for a XP is pretty low but the 2GB RAM helps. There are some great netbooks out there for a good price, w00t seems to have a lot of netbooks as deals nowadays too.</p>
<p>It sucks to work in a public lab, especially when it’s late and there’s only you and that weird lady who practically lives there. I’ve grown sick of it, which is why I want a portable. Even though I can use remote connection, I hate to have to stay in one place for a long period of time. It’d be really nice to be able to work on my homework or write code in a nice, warm cafe or something. </p>
<p>You say 1.6 ghz is slow? what would be a comfortable speed for a processor if I want to run XP? I’m probably going to get 1Gb RAM, since I’m not going to do a lot of multitask. I mean a couple of wikipedia pages in the background at most.</p>
<p>Hawkwings… there are differences in various laptops. (small, specialized, long battery) : (big, can do everything, short battery) :: (notebook) : (laptop). Make sense?</p>
<p>Seems like you’ve already made your decision.</p>
<p>There’s only two things you need to worry about with a netbook considering your uses and what you consider sufficient:
1.) Will it be a pain to work with the keyboard?
2.) Will the screen be too small?</p>
<p>Both can easily be addressed with a $50 LCD monitor and a $10 external keyboard. The issue is that you won’t be able to carry those around, so if you plan to work away from home often, you might want to find a cheaper 14" or larger notebook instead.</p>
<p>I currently own a very nice laptop, but I’m thinking about getting a netbook because I find my laptop to be so heavy to carry around. For reference, it’s only 6lb.</p>
<p>Besides the screen size, the quality of netbook screens is kind of sucky. Look at some of them next to good laptops. Screen quality matters to me but each to his or her own.</p>