Looking at getting a NetBook, but need help deciding

[leglez]

I am thinking about picking up a netbook for christmas, but not really sure were to even start. I don't want to pay more than probably around $350. I think I want linux on it, I am not a fan of windows. It also looks like linux will boot a lot faster. Is that correct? I will mostly be using it for music, web browsing, email, possibly video if that is practical. It needs to have wifi, no need for a cd drive. Don't want a huge one, but don't want one that is going to be uncomfortable to use. I also have around 15GBs of music, so it needs a decent drive. Not sure if I should go with SSD or HDD. Also any suggestions on where to look for best price?

Any suggestions?

 

[mpilchfamily]

Well netbooks don't come with optical drives and they generally come with a fairly small HDD. Not exactly meant for playing music and storing allot of music.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

I think you want an HDD (SSD is too small and slow). All of them have wi-fi. None of them are big (10' vs 9' screen?) and you can install linux on them even if they come with windows.

6-cell battery is definitely a big plus in your choice.

My current choices would be Acer Aspire One, MSI Wind, Asus EEE 1000H, etc.

 

[lxskllr]

I like having a SSD. It makes it more shock resistant, and for music and stuff, thumb drives are cheap. SSD is slower of course, but it's a good trade off for me. I really like my Eee 900, and I'd buy it again(at the $228 after cash back anyway)

 

[Emulex]

ssd is quiet. hard drives. man i am tired of the noise

 

[leglez]

I am looking at the MSI Wind. Anyone have any bad experiences with it?

 

[Emulex]

call up tech support/pre sales and ask them how long it takes to exchange it.

let me know what the phone wait times are.

 

[leglez]

Wait what?

 

[IlllI]

here is a good place to start http://forums.anandtech.com/me...ght_key=y&keyword1=eee

 

[Ika]

I got the MSI Wind a couple weeks ago and have been 90% satisfied with it. The only real issue I have with it is in the keyboard layout (CTRL and FN are switched, but this isn't such a big deal - I got a modified BIOS that actually rectifies this) and the crappy touchpad (unfortunately, nothing I can do about this). It even decodes 720p video once you get a good codec (Haali isn't efficient enough, but CoreAVC is). The 6-cell's battery life is awesome, too - I got some serious work done when my flight back to school was delayed from Thanksgiving, and still had time to watch a movie. The 160gb HDD is also awesome.