StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Just to be sure, netbooks are the smaller-sized portable computers. wikipedia's wisdom

I have some specific requirements:
-screen that is CLEAR and PERFECTLY READABLE even in a sunny day. Lots of laptops and my desktop have lcd screens that suck in this regard.
-enough processing power to use media players for audio or movies, basic video editing software, Open Office and image manipulation software (I need to use photoshop sometimes) I don't give a damn about gaming performance since I have a desktop specifically rigged for that (and would be crazy to ask so much out of a so tiny gimmick anyway)
-battery life that doesn't suck horribly, at least 6 hours of actual use, all producers tend to say crazy two digit durations that aren't real (for laptops)
-price should be less than 500 euros, but tell me even more expensive ones if you think they satisfy all requirements.
-decent speakers, although this is less important

New or (relatively) old isn't a particluar requirement, since being fashionable isn't my goal .

I also tend to hate windows 7 due to idiotic options that don't let me have things my way like with XP. Since this isn't a gaming computer, I was thinking about apple/mac netbooks since I already use programs that have mac versions too. Is apple a better choice for what I'm looking for?

Please note, I'm mostly asking for your personal experience with computers, since I'm perfectly able to use google and find producer's specs.

You won't find an Apple netbook for under €500.

Right now I'm using an Acer Aspire One 533 and it's served me well so far. The screen suffers from a bit of glare, but not cripplingly so; I can use it in daylight if I angle it right. .It has no trouble with Office, video, audio and simple image editing, but keep in mind you'll always be stuck with a processor built for low power consumption at the cost of raw performance. I can run the GIMP well but I wouldn't dare try advanced video editing.

Under light load (browsing, text editing, simple programming) it'll do seven hours on a full charge with Wifi on.

Speakers are good quality but not very powerful.

I'm running Ubuntu and it's served me well. XP should run like a charm.

Wait wait, since when did Apple have a netbook?

Hawkwings wrote:Wait wait, since when did Apple have a netbook?

Yeah, they announced it early in the year. It's called an iPad, and they left off the keyboard.

Hawkwings wrote:Wait wait, since when did Apple have a netbook?

There's an 11-odd inch Macbook Air.

I just installed Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.10 on an old ASUS Eee 700, and it works like a charm, other than the fact that the computer itself is old and slow.

In the US, most netbooks you buy at retailers are gonna have some version of Windows 7 on them, I think its a major improvement over XP, but I'd also investigate Ubuntu if you're fine with Linux.

FYI, the netbook remix runs just fine with Gnome, so if you don't like the left-hand app launcher (I didn't) or the auto-maximized windows (I didn't) you can switch easily.

Some early Aspire Ones did ship with a Linux distro... of a sort. In the unlikely event that they're still selling these, you're significantly better off with the Windows one.

Acer Aspire One D255 Review

Its got dual cores and decent battery and screen. I got it for £270. Personally I nuked it and put Ubuntu on but it comes with Windows 7 Starter and some Android/Linux monstrosity.

It is a 10.1 inch netbook so will probably chug if you plan to do lots of image and video editing though.

They're all about the same if they're 'proper' netbooks, preferably you would go to the store and figure out which has the best ergonomics and build quality. Pay special attention to the input devices too, one reason why the MBA is good to use is that it has a large, responsive trackpad. Eyeball the screen, though if notebookcheck or some other website has masurements that beats an subjective analysis. No LCD is going to be great in sunlight, best you can do is get a matte display of sufficient brightness so you can kind of use it outside (not sure about those transflective sccreens). But in the US retail is apparently so-so, though Best Buy isn't half bad really, just maybe not the best deal. The other differiator is whether they have some kind of graphics accelation, Broadcom, nvidia or otherwise.

If you're expanding it to include CULV, Macbook Airs and other non-netbook type machines that's a whole different game altogether. There are good ones with decent battery life, you just have to pay more. I don't actually know about the dual cores, I'm using a i3-370M HP 5220M and I haven't looked back since.

someone_else wrote:-screen that is CLEAR and PERFECTLY READABLE even in a sunny day. Lots of laptops and my desktop have lcd screens that suck in this regard.

Buy a netbook that works with this screen (compatibility list). This is your only option.

-enough processing power to use media players for audio or movies, basic video editing software, Open Office and image manipulation software (I need to use photoshop sometimes) I don't give a damn about gaming performance since I have a desktop specifically rigged for that (and would be crazy to ask so much out of a so tiny gimmick anyway)

On a netbook? You'll run into all sorts of limitations like slow-as-molasses hard drives and weak CPU for doing video editing or image editing - not to mention the tiny screens.

battery life that doesn't suck horribly, at least 6 hours of actual use, all producers tend to say crazy two digit durations that aren't real (for laptops)

Most netbooks should get you 6-8 hours of life. Some might actually get you 10. Present-generation Atom is pretty efficient and bigger batteries = longer life.

I also tend to hate windows 7 due to idiotic options that don't let me have things my way like with XP.

Get over it and use Windows 7.

Since this isn't a gaming computer, I was thinking about apple/mac netbooks since I already use programs that have mac versions too. Is apple a better choice for what I'm looking for?

Not in your budget.