Which netbook/laptop

[Scrummy Mummy]

I have an old slow laptop and an old slow netbook. I use the laptop with an external monitor and keyboard, so screen size isn't an issue.

I need a new one, and ideally would like something lightweight/small enough to cart around if necessary but robust enough to take a daily hammering for work. Since I use the external monitor etc, if I can get a good netbook it'll do everything?

I don't play games, so graphics card not a priority. Want something fast, reliable, with big hard drive. Not Toshiba. It'll be tax deductible so don't want to spend more than I need to, but if it costs a bit more for quality that's OK.

I have an Ipad, but don't really want to go for Mac as I've just bought loads of PC software.

Any recommendations?

[nev]

Work gave me a HP Elitebook, everyone who uses a laptop in my company has the same laptop. A very good workhorse, I just wish it's lighter. A bit of hefty to lug around when I travel but these days I only travel for work 2-3 times a year so it's not a major hassle. It's almost 3 years old now but I've had no problems with it so far. It's still very fast (upgrading to Windows 7 seems to have made it even faster) and I can do everything I need with it. I also use an external monitor and keyboard when I use it at home.

There seem to be a lot of wafer-thin laptops out there these days, like this one. I'm so tempted to get one but I already have two laptops. Sigh. I suppose the only problem with those thin laptops is the hard drive, the largest seems to be 256GB.

[Fat Bob]

I was about to say "Toshiba Z835 looks good" and includes a DVD drive, but you've dismissed them.

So, you have to decide on certain things:

1: How portable does it need to be? Every day portable or once in a blue moon portable? How heavy is portable?
2: What features does it need? DVD drive? Long battery life?
3: Will a netbook really provide the power needed to do what you want? Excel, word and powerpoint are going to be slow on a netbook.
4: If you are using it for portability, why are you not worried about screen size?

My friend had the above mentioned Toshiba and was very impressed with it. I personally would steer well clear of a tablet if you are going to be doing lots of typing. Other than that, it's the above questions (and answers) that matter!

[Joseph27]

I got an Acer a few months ago, damn good computer, 750GB harddrive, I7, 4GB - and for a very reasonable price. A netbook just doesnt cut it - even if you go for a low end notebook with an I3, 4gb, 500gb you will be happy and it will be good value. If you can handle it - grab a newspaper on a saturday morning and see what the big 3 have on offer - very often, especially around PC show time, they advertise several loss leaders in the attempt to buy a queue. It's a great way to get a laptop and I can assure you - it is often under cost.

[Scrummy Mummy]

To answer FB's questions:

(1) Once in a blue moon portable. BUT if, say, I'm taking it on a flight I'm not supposed to carry anything heavy and I'll probably also have Mini and his crap to handle, so as light as possible.
(2) Happy to plug in external DVD drive. Battery life not really a big deal, given once in a blue moon status.
(3) Exel, word and powerpoint are what I need it for (for work). I do most non-work surfing on the ipad these days.
(4) Because portability is once in a blue moon.

Hmmn. I guess since I have the ipad for carting round the house, I don't really need a netbook.

So NOW the question is should I buy a laptop that I COULD cart around if I had to, or just buy a desktop tower (since I already have the monitor)? How much better value does a desktop CPU represent?

[Fat Bob]

I would recommend against a netbook altogether. Especially as you need MS Office applications.

OK, so next question: when travelling, do you need access to your MS Office applications? If so, then ultraportable notebook/laptop is what you need.

If not, then you may get away with a desktop/tablet solution, but.....

Top ultraportable laptops are reviewed here and here, though I notice the Toshiba Z830 series I mentioned earlier is not in either review and that has some great reviews.

Re:taking to on flights: stop carrying it, drag it on wheels.

[Morrolan]

the other day i saw the new Asus Zenbook.

this is a truly stunning little machine, that apparently is a few grams lighter than the Mac Air. it's made completely out of aluminium and only between 3mm and 9 mm (at the hinge) thick. i just had to get one and managed to get one of the last 13 inch versions with an i7 processor and a 250 gig SSD.

it starts up in 10 seconds (only 2 when using fast start).

[baloo]

How much you pay ah ?

[Morrolan]

How much you pay ah ?

only $1,998...

[baloo]

Hmmm, sounds nice.

[Morrolan]

it's very fast, and also has a handy SD card slot, which together with the USB 3 and USB 2 ports and micro HDMI ('micro' WTF?) makes for good functionality as a travel or photography laptop.

battery life is a whopping 6 hours...

[Fat Bob]

Hmmm, sounds nice.

What he said!

Current laptop will last at least another year. Shame, eh?

[Tas]

mmmm and I'm in market for new Laptop early this year - Asus a nice brand then you say M?! You had one before didn't you, seem to recall mention on another thread. That sounds rather what I would like too.

[Morrolan]

mmmm and I'm in market for new Laptop early this year - Asus a nice brand then you say M?! You had one before didn't you, seem to recall mention on another thread. That sounds rather what I would like too.

Asus is one of the world's top motherboard makers and they now als own ATI (video cards). their hardware is top notch.

[Scrummy Mummy]

So I went out to buy sausages on Tuesday and ended up buying a notebook too.

It''s an Asus, 2.4Ghz, 8GB RAM, 750GB hard drive so should keep me going for a while. Weighs a ton, but that's OK.

Currently doing the set up and transferring files.

Questions:

(1) For once I've actually bothered to create recovery DVDs, but what are they actually for?

(2) What's an easy way of transferring bookmarks across?

(3) What's the best way of transferring itunes stuff to avoid creating duplicates?

[baloo]

(1) For once I've actually bothered to create recovery DVDs, but what are they actually for?

Giving the user a false sense of security.

(2) What's an easy way of transferring bookmarks across?

I used Windows Easy Transfer (a Windows tool) and it worked fine. Failing that, find them in your profile and copy them across. Though using something like Xmarks makes that very painless especially when you have multiple devices.

(3) What's the best way of transferring itunes stuff to avoid creating duplicates?

Buy a Mac

[Fat Bob]

For iTunes, go to the iTunes folder where your music is, something like:

C:\Users\[your user name]\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media

In there, the files should all be in folders named after the artists. Copy the whole folder to a portable hard drive. Attach the hard drive to the new computer with your iTunes preinstalled.

In iTunes hit "Edit, Preferences" and a box appear. Go to the advance tab, and check the "copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library" box. Click OK.

Go to File, Add folder to library and then go to the copied folder on your portable harddrive.

[Morrolan]

(2) What's an easy way of transferring bookmarks across?

definitely using Xmarks add-in for your browser (any browser nowadays). bookmarks are automagically synched from a central server to any computer that you use with Xmarks active.

grats on the new luggable.