My sister wants one for Christmas to replace the 3 year old 15.4" widescreen Acer laptop she inherited as a "hand-me-down" from me. Fair enough, it's suffered from wear'n'tear and the spacebar is broken but other than that it's fine. She's insisting on "One of those small laptops that are cheap and I can fit in my bag to take to uni". But I'm really not sold on them.
First of all, lack of optical drive. She's only just discovered using the DVD drive to watch movies (LOL) so it's not so much a big deal. The bigger problem would be getting Microsoft Office 2007 on it from a DVD. She's been brought up to use Microsoft Office and I don't think she will like Open Office or whatever other suites these netbooks come bundled with. Also printer drivers which are also on a DVD (assuming the O/S hasn't already got built-in drivers).
Secondly, the O/S. Okay sure it's not that big a deal and anything that is more simple is a pro (as she'll only be using it for work and Internet). But having had no experience of Linux/Ubuntu myself, I'd be stepping into a dark room by purchasing a non-Windows Netbook. Anything I should be wary of? She especially makes use of iTunes, Winamp etc. and with regards to the Internet Facebook (and digicam software), YouTube etc.
Finally the battery life isn't too great but I guess a couple hours should suffice until she can find a power source.
Blu-Ray, HD screen etc. don't matter but budget (<£500) does. So can anyone convince me that I should buy a Netbook instead of a Laptop?
First of all, lack of optical drive. She's only just discovered using the DVD drive to watch movies (LOL) so it's not so much a big deal. The bigger problem would be getting Microsoft Office 2007 on it from a DVD. She's been brought up to use Microsoft Office and I don't think she will like Open Office or whatever other suites these netbooks come bundled with. Also printer drivers which are also on a DVD (assuming the O/S hasn't already got built-in drivers).
Secondly, the O/S. Okay sure it's not that big a deal and anything that is more simple is a pro (as she'll only be using it for work and Internet). But having had no experience of Linux/Ubuntu myself, I'd be stepping into a dark room by purchasing a non-Windows Netbook. Anything I should be wary of? She especially makes use of iTunes, Winamp etc. and with regards to the Internet Facebook (and digicam software), YouTube etc.
Finally the battery life isn't too great but I guess a couple hours should suffice until she can find a power source.
Blu-Ray, HD screen etc. don't matter but budget (<£500) does. So can anyone convince me that I should buy a Netbook instead of a Laptop?