Top 10 Netbook Questions Answered

[Jason Dunn]

<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="600" height="360" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9zuVG5_F08M&amp;fmt=18" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9zuVG5_F08M&amp;fmt=18"></embed></object></p><p>This video is a bit different than my normal videos - it's designed more for you to pass it along to others interested in netbooks, because if you're reading this site you probably know all the answers I give. In this video, I tackle the ten most frequently-asked questions that I see in YouTube comments. Rather than endlessly answering the same questions over and over again, I thought I'd make a video that handles the most common questions and then point people to it to have their questions answered. I hope you find it helpful!</p>

[Ed Hansberry]

Great review.

Side note on Win7 and netbooks - Microsoft may be selling Home Basic and/or Starter Edition on USB keys further obviating the need for an optical drive on your netbook if you want to upgrade from XP.

I have the Acer Asprie One D150, have upgraded it to 2GB of RAM and have a 2GB SD card in the SD slot for Readyboost and am running Win7 build 7100. Love it. Will DEFINTELY upgrade to final build of Win7 when MS ships it.

[Jason Dunn]

Side note on Win7 and netbooks - Microsoft may be selling Home Basic and/or Starter Edition on USB keys further obviating the need for an optical drive on your netbook if you want to upgrade from XP.

Quite interesting! That would indeed make it much easier for people to upgrade.

[randalllewis]

Question 11: Will people notice my netbook and want to talk to me about it?

Answer: Yes. I've had my HP Mini since February and still get asked about it each time I use it in public. I don't see people with laptops around me getting asked about their hardware very often, but netbook=attention.

If you just want to be left alone when using a mobile device in a coffee shop or ir cafe you probably don't want a netbook. But if you are that unsocial, I'd ask why you are working in such a public place?

One more thing I learned the hard way. If you buy a netbook be sure to try out all of its features right away to see if they work. I knew the camera on my Mini worked because I wanted to see if its images were as dark as I read about from someone here on DHT. They are. But it wasn't until last week that I actually tried to do a video call using Messenger that I discovered that the microphone on my Mini does not function. (I have done the setup and all that.) The Mini is still under warranty and is going in for repair but it seems somehow strange to me to send it in for a feature I've tried to use once in 5 months.

[NeilE]

Do they come with optical drives?

Neil

[tregnier]

I liked the video (Actually an audio presentation with a picture to look at) :-)

I have an MSI Wind and your questions/responses were right on. Something I've noticed is how the specs on almost all netbooks are so close to each other i.e. same processor, 2 screen sizes, same RAM (1-2gb), same drive choices, 2 battery choices, etc. (Not considering aftermarket).

[Ed Hansberry]

Do they come with optical drives?

Neil

Yes! But they are cleverly concealed. Just keep looking for the secret eject button. It is there, I promise!

[Jason Dunn]

I liked the video (Actually an audio presentation with a picture to look at) :-)

Haha...yeah, I tried to move my hands a bit, but it's really more of a monologue with a backdrop. :D

Something I've noticed is how the specs on almost all netbooks are so close to each other i.e. same processor, 2 screen sizes, same RAM (1-2gb), same drive choices, 2 battery choices, etc.

Indeed - there are only so many ways to build a cheap laptop, and other than the Atom CPU, pretty much all the other parts are off-the-shelf stuff not really designed for ultra low power computing. Over the next 12 months we'll see chip designs come to market that address the needs of a netbook better.

[EscapePod]

Like many folks, I found that I could share the optical drive on my desktop, via my network, to install software. However, I would imagine its not likely to work readily for installing a new OS.

[Jason Dunn]

Like many folks, I found that I could share the optical drive on my desktop, via my network, to install software

Yes, a good option - though the steps required to accomplish that are, frankly, beyond the skills of the average YouTube commenter...which is why I'm more inclined to reccomend people get an external drive.

[Ed Hansberry]

Yes, a good option - though the steps required to accomplish that are, frankly, beyond the skills of the average YouTube commenter...which is why I'm more inclined to reccomend people get an external drive.

Can be brutally slow too. I did this a few years ago to install Encarta on an older laptop with no DVD drive (CD only) and it took several hours to install.

[randalllewis]

BTW Jason, where did you find that nice looking HP portable drive you show during the video? I don't see anything that looks like that on the HP website.

[Jason Dunn]

BTW Jason, where did you find that nice looking HP portable drive you show during the video? I don't see anything that looks like that on the HP website.

It came with the HP dv2 that HP sent me, so they definitely sell it...