<p>I am considering buying a netbook. I am going to visit family in the UK and have an online class to work on. Last year I took my regular laptop and would take it to the pub to do my work (my Mum does not have internet access). But I find my laptop heavy to have to cart around so am seriously contemplating a netbook. The one I am leaning to is a toshiba. (Trying to resist the temptation of the HP with less memory that’s main appeal is it’s cute pink plaid exterior)</p>
<p>I will still have my full size laptop at home for games and non basic stuff. The net book will be for accessing the internet via wifi in the pub or coffee shop in the UK and doing some online work, and for doing some offline work, mostly on word, and submitting it at pub/coffee shop. The netbook comes with Microsoft Office Starter. Anyone ever used that. I have the full microsoft office on my laptop and am wondering if the starter will suffice for just some basic writing (the course is a business communications course so I am guessing heavy on writing).</p>
<p>DH and DD have netbooks with Office starter. The main difference is that you only get Word and Excel with some reduced functionality and they have ads on the side. It is not a trial so you don’t loose it. If that is all you use it is fine. You can ignore the ads. DD actually uses her Google docs more. DH finds it covers everything he needs. Benefit -you are not loading the resource hog of full Office on the small netbook. DD likes her Toshiba. Takes it everywhere instead of the regular notebook.</p>
<p>Just remember the screen can be really small. I have a pair of reader glasses. I needed them EVERY TIME with my netbook if i had real work to do. I have an iphone and I make do. But that involves quick tasks. My eyes tired easily on my netbook, more than I though they would. But you can’t beat the portability.</p>
<p>I am @ Starbucks at this moment, on the HP mini… which my daughter recieved as a graduation gift from the 8th grade last June… she never used it much b/c of the computers we have @ home… she only used it when she was @ the Drs office waiting room, our train rides to the city etc… I am now the sole user of it b/c she got a bigger/fancier laptop last month(another HP with lots bells/whistles)…her old lap top was 3 years old and she was ready for an upgrade to suit all of her powerpoint/microsoft office needs)</p>
<p>This computer size is great… and I too wear readers… but my guess is that the OP will not have that problem… depending on what year she was born(lol)… me, being born during the Vietnam War, I have a tough time with my eyes here of late and find everything to be way too small…</p>
<p>2 issues that you may need to made aware of… no drive for DVD’s/CD-ROM’s… not sure if machines of this size come with it from other manufacterers(sp?)… and not able to buy/load a permanent copy of microsoft office b/c it has no drive! Not that I use this machine for that but not being able to watch a movie on the train can sometimes be a drag! If you do invest, make sure it comes with a regular copy of MS Office… it will serve you well… this computers MS Office has expired and we are not able to get a pernanent copy for it which is fine for me! But you sound like you will be using it to do more than surf the web… which is my sole purpose …</p>
Wrong. I have been blind as a bat for long distance my whole life and now I am at the age where I wear bifocals. (I am an old student and have one child in college and one already out in the workforce - and I was old when I had them).</p>
<p>The current netbooks come with a starter version of Microsoft office that does not expire. I am hoping that it will suffice. If not, it is possible to buy and download the full version. So it is possible to have the full version even without a CD drive (yes I was aware that the netbooks do not have one).</p>
<p>As I am a student I can actually get a free version of microsoft office through my school. But I am hoping this starter version will suffice so I don’t have to use up too much memory loading the full version.</p>
<p>You can download and install Oracle Open Office if you need more than Office Starter (and there are no ads).</p>
<p>I’m considering the Sony Vaio Z when it comes out. It’s supposed to come in two pieces. One is the laptop that you carry around with you at 2.5 pounds and the other is a dock which has an external graphics card, DVD/CD and a bunch of ports and that piece weighs 1.5 pounds.</p>
<p>I have an acer apsire that is about 5 years old. We take with us whenever we travel and I often use it in bed at night to surf the web. I did get an external drive for it and have used it some to load programs. It came in handy when the hard drive crashed and wiped everything out (son had taken it to college while his laptop was in the shop).</p>
<p>The screen size doesn’t bother me but the keyboard does. It’s a little cramped to do a lot of typing on. I’ve got an iPad2 on order right now. We mainly use the netbook to check email and to look things up on the internet (plus son uses it for Facebook and to skype his friends). I’m thinking the iPad will be a tad more portable and has a much better battery life. Having said that - we definitely got our money’s worth out of the netbook and I anticipate continuing to use it.</p>
<p>The toshiba net book I am looking at is supposed to have an almost full size keyboard, which is one of the things that appeals to me about this particular model. I have big hands so a small keyboard would probably bother me a bit.</p>
<p>I had started of thinking about new small laptop. But once I started looking I decided a netbook (the Toshiba netbook is around $270) is more attractive to me right now. If I had the extra $500 to spare I might think differently.</p>
<p>I have EEE Netbook and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It is easy to take when I travel, and it has a built in webcam and mic so I can use Skype on it. The keyboard is 3/4 size and I have no difficulty using it at all. The screen isn’t huge but it’s fine…10 inches. Mine has a 9 hour battery life, and that is something I would definitely check…it’s a PITA to have to recharge frequently and some have much shorter battery charging lives.</p>
<p>I would definitely go for a larger keyboard though you might want to try it out first before you buy it. Netbooks are small by definition, so it’s still going to feel a little cramped depending upon what you’re use to. My keyboard on the aspire is 10" long (side to side) by 5 1/2" width (top to bottom). It’s not tiny but it took me a while to get use to it. Still can’t type as fast on it as my laptop.</p>
<p>I was playing with that one at the store and it’s great. Keyboard doesn’t feel small at all. That probably has a 9 hour battery life too b/c my toshiba laptop has a 9 hour battery.</p>
<p>Yes, that’s the one. I am debating ordering it from Amazon - they have in some different colors and the orange one is slightly cheaper plus I would not have to pay the sales tax (and I have the free 2 day shipping program). So it would save me about $30 compared to Bestbuy.</p>
<p>I bought an HP netbook at Best Buy that is light purple/pink plaid pattern, a Valentine’s Day special. Base price, 300 bucks. My husband added a lot of stuff to it, like virus protection, microsoft office with three downloads, an external disk drive, and maybe more, bringing the price up to about 700 bucks.</p>
<p>I bought it specifically for the light weight and the keyboard. I love the keyboard. I’ve been hesitant to buy a laptop because of the size, weight, and the tiny keyboards. This was just right for me.</p>
<p>I travel with it by plane or car. Easy to pack and tote around. Got a great carry case for less than 30 bucks at Office Depot, with pockets to store the power cord, flash drives, documents. Love to use it at night in the hotel room to plan out my next day’s itinerary, without having to dress to go down to the hotel’s business center.</p>
<p>With the Best Buy purchase, I signed up for a Best Buy account, so I have 18 months to pay it off!</p>