Best NON-Windows laptop solution?

[Skiz]

I'm looking for a laptop for basic functions. Internet, email, MS Office and not much more.

I don't want to spend more than $500 (and shouldn't have to for basic needs).

Must be non-Windows. I've had it up to my eyeballs with Windows. I'm open to any other suggestions, tho' I'm leaning toward the Mac route. What's the best option? Linux?

[iLOVENZB]

Linux :)

MS Office - Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/)

If you lean towards Mac you have to buy Apple hardware - and that's pricey.

What specs are you looking for? Might be worth getting a Netbook.

[Skiz]

I figure will be the obvious choice but wanted to hear some opinions.

I'm not going the netbook route tho; it's just too small.

[j2k4]

I'm gonna watch this, I think.

I've looked around for a basic machine that'll do what Skiz wants but with a bit of HDD size for some GPS/mapping apps & storage.

I don't need to hew to the Windows-free and no-netbooks-need-apply requirements, but.

I've looked at basic netbooks with the idea that, being small, they kinda get on the other side of the need of light-weight as a consideration - I always figured I'd have to get something like this-

http://www.buytough.com/tb_30.asp?cpao=111&cpca=tbs&cpag=SKU&kw=CF-30&gclid=CI6Ry4zKxJwCFSUMDQodPXK9nA

-'cuz it'll have to go in the rough with me sometimes, but the netbook can ride on my leg if I'm mobile or I could even walk with it open in my hand - big win, there.

[ploopsy]

get a netbook. tonnes of linux options.

[QPD]

Whatever you buy, make sure it has SSD ;)

[iLOVENZB]

get a netbook. tonnes of linux options.

He said before that they're too small, Linux runs on anything - Mobiles, PC, Mac etc (beauty of open source :))


Whatever you buy, make sure it has SSD ;)

SSD is too expensive atm

[QPD]

Whatever you buy, make sure it has SSD ;)

SSD is too expensive atm

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141419
I find it acceptable.

[vivitron 15]

I know you said netbooks are out, but i just got a samsung n110, and its great. its small (10" screen), but ive quickly got used to that. the flip side of the size is that it is light (can easily be carried on the train without putting my back out), and the battery is amazing (about 5-7 hours of "proper" usage)

in terms of an os, i went with ubuntu netbook remix, which has just worked out of the box - been a long time since i played with linux, but this was unbelievably simple.

so, what to go for? im sure if you just grab any laptop, you'll get a linux distro working - depends what you can pick up for your $500. i also would avoid macs - well, if i had the money i may consider, but i dont think you do.


oh, and i have a 160gb hdd in this machine which is bloody good for a laptop, and the weight is still very light. i realise that ssd would be better, but then it would have cost more than the £400ish i spent on it.

[Skiz]

I have the money for whatever I want to buy, but I'm not going to spend a lot of money for a laptop to just check email and whatnot.

I've been looking around a lot and am now actually considering the netbook route (:shutup:). The Dell Mini 10v looks like the one I'll likely go for. I've been looking on Craigslist as well but they really aren't any cheaper on there so I'd rather go for a new one.

Intel® Atom Processor® N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K cache)
32GB SSD
6-cell battery
10.1" Widescreen Display (1024x600)
Ubuntu 8.4
1GB RAM

$374 new

[vivitron 15]

I have the money for whatever I want to buy, but I'm not going to spend a lot of money for a laptop to just check email and whatnot.

apologies for my phrasing, but you know what I meant. In a similar fashion, a friend of mine was looking to upgrade his 1 year old pc (not sure the specs), as it was "out of date" (his words). when i asked what he uses it for, he checks facebook and reads the bbc news...i convinced him that, for £200, i could get him a pc that would easily manage this task.

when i turned up to collect the money, he wasnt too impressed when i just pointed at his current pc! and no, i didnt take his money


anyway, i think youll be surprised at how much you get used to a netbook - feels wierd at first, but soon get used to it. there's loads of apps you can get to make the most of the small screen space.

i use ubuntu netbook remix, which helps, along with firefox and the following extensions:

adblock plus (reduce network traffic when im using my 3g dongle)
all in one sidebar
hide menu bar
stop or reload button
webfav
webmailadblocker
fission

all in all, ive gained a good chunk of screen real estate

[mbucari1]

Dos 6.2

[Snee]

There are a couple of 11-12" screen netbooks.

The Mini 11 and Mini 12 comes to mind. There should be a mini 12 with Linux pre-installed.

You should probably look into switching whatever OS they ship it with to Mint or similar, though.



Ideally I'd go with something with a built in 3g modem as well, if I were you. I use an acer one ( the old one with 9" screen and 160GB hd) and the 3g modem + the hd space for tv and movies makes it really nice when on trips.

And remember that when at home, you can always connect it to a monitor, and usb keyboard/mouse. Netbooks usually come with a vga plug and a fair few other connectors.

[kooftspc11]

how is driver support for windows machines turned into linux machines?

with the popularity of netbooks, i've noticed the price for a fully capable laptop has gone down significantly. I can't name any specific vendors as i haven't been actively looking for a laptop myself but they are all over the place for cheap (back to school time of year).

hell, you could even drop by walmart, they have a good amount of shit for you to look at. But like i said, i'm not sure how well linux drivers support OEM windows machines

[Skiz]

Apparently the Dell Minis are the most versatile. I know they sell all their Minis with the XP/Vista/Ubuntu option. The 9's also appear to be able to run OSX flawlessly (http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/12/17/osx-netbook-compatib.html) as well and the 10's are almost the same.

@snee - The 3G thing always looks tempting but with the Dell's it would increase the price of the laptop by $125 and would require a 2 year contract. :dabs:

I think I've decided on the Dell Mini 10v. I'd like to get the 10 with 2GB of RAM but it'll cost me almost $200 more after all is said and done. The 10v I want has the following:


1Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service
16GB Solid State Drive - I really want the SSD as I'll be taking the laptop all over the place. I could actually get a 160GB HHD and it would take $30 off the final price, I won't need anywhere near that amount of drive space, and I don't like the idea of a SATA drive bouncing around in my man purse attache everywhere I go. I wonder if I could put a 32GB SSD?
56WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (6-cell)
Wireless 802.11g (1397) Mini Card
Alpine White
Intel® Atom Processor® N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K cache)
UBUNTU 8.04 (Standard Edition)
10.1" Widescreen Display (1024x600)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 950
1GB DDR2 SDRAM
Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam

Total price - $404

[Skiz]

Just ordered that laptop over the phone with a Dell rep. After the entire order is complete he says the anticipated delivery date is Sept 28th. That's three weeks! I was all like... no thanks.

I get a 10% discount with UPS on all Dell stuff but screw that for 3 weeks wait. I'm gonna walk across the street to Best Buy. :dabs:

EDIT: Best Buy didn't have the SSD option. Came back home and called Dell again. Now the ETA is the 29th. :dry:

[Skiz]

Update

I decided to buy a brand new netbook in lieu of a used one. I pretty much got "the works". :smilie4:

10.1" screen
Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz)
1GB DDR2 SDRAM
16 GB SSD (I had the option of getting up to 160GB SATA but I figured with as much as I'll be mobile with the netbook, an SSD was the way to go)
White exterior
802.11n wireless internal mini card
1.3mp webcam
6 cell battery (the big one)

Went with the Dell Mini 10v for it's ability to have OS X installed almost seamlessly. Bought a 2GB stick of RAM at the same time from Newegg and went through the arduous and nerve-racking task of installing it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DGxwGUdOsw&feature=related).

I bought it with Ubuntu installed but I wasn't too keen on the netbook version of Ubuntu. I didn't find it to be nearly as fast as the desktop version. Then I put Windows XP Pro on it and didn't need to do much more than look at the new desktop to remember how much I disliked the look of XP. I figured, fuck it - OS X, here I come!

I formatted the drive while downloading a "retail" copy of OS X 10.5.6 from Usenet. By far, the easiest method I found for creating a bootable USB stick was with a Mac, so I packed up and went to a friends house. One botched install attempt and two hours later, I have a fully operational Hackintosh. I have also gone through and removed a bunch of bloat files. Chinese fonts, demo videos, thousands of drivers, etc. I've also run something called "xslimmer" which goes through each app automatically and removes all the unneeded junk like language packs and whatnot. By doing so, I was able free up another 3.71GB of space, and that's right after a clean install! Considering that my 16GB SSD was reduced to 14.59 after formatting, that 3.71 that I've saved is quite a chunk.

I think I'll be buying a new SSD soon. I just can't bring myself to spend $200+ on 64GB right now. :ermm:

[iLOVENZB]

Have you had a look at Jolicloud. It's a netbook opt OS.

Currently in BETA, you can request an invite code to download it or get it from another source. I do believe it's on public trackers.

Here's some links...

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/07/hands-on-review-of-jolicloud-the-iphonesque-os-for-netbooks/

http://hackaday.com/2009/09/19/jolicloud-os-seeks-to-move-past-browsers/