NETBOOKS

[pokorskij]

The question for those who have and use a netbook with Microsoft Office products loaded on the netbook:

How well does the netbook perform?

Which netbook are you using?

 

Does anyone use OpenOffice on a netbook and how well does it perform?

 

Thanks

[KTsRidin]

Have used Office 2003 and 2007 versions on an EeePC by Asus (1000HE). Solid performance and only miss having a larger screen some times. I'm on it right now and used it while posting while camping at the UnRally (even created the short "moose" video on it).

 

Sorry, can't speak to experience with OpenOffice performance.

 

[Hermes]

In preperation for my July trip to the West Cost, I finally broke down and bought the Acer Netbook. I loaded Street and Trips onto it and a few other things. I worked fine, I had it in a protective pouch in the topcase admidst some towels.

The nice thing was to stop at a roadside stop and get onto wireless (most of the time) and check for weather, road conditions and accomodations and to recheck the travel plan and local attractions.

 

Most motels have free Wi Fi, all you need is the network Id from them. That passes the boring Motel room time nicely.

 

Very pleased with the performance (1Gb memory is a little slower then what I am used to at home, but hey).

Not speaking directly for the Acer, I would recommend to travel with a Netbook. (Dell, Acer and HP make pretty well the same unit).

 

btw, I ran into problems with a GXT DVRW-9X external DVD drive, it looked great but I couldn't get the DVD to read, CD were no problem. Spent 4 hours at Future Shock and they couldn't figure it out, either. No biggy, most softwares can be copiesd to SD cards and then installed.

I also bought a wireless mouse, beats working with the puny mousepad.

[marcopolo]

I have MS Office 2003 loaded on my Acer Aspire One (bought fall 08). For the little I've used those applications, they seem to work just fine. I mainly use it for accessing the internet, backing up photos from my camera's memory card and route work with Mapsource. A netbook -- of any brand -- is certainly the way to go on a bike if it will do what you want it to do.

[AZKomet]

Interestingly enough after 2 plus years I dropped my mac not once, but twice within 30 secs last week. Now after 2 yrs bouncing around in my bike, running over it with my truck and dropping it no less than 10 times it quit working.

 

Now that is completely trashed I decided not to spend the $1200 on a new one. I did not reseach and decided on a Toshiba NB 2005 and love it. $400.00 was a fair price and I like the keyboard and XP that is on it.

 

My daughter is a manager @ a box store and she runs the computer section. She said it was the machine to buy. I agreee it is. No offense but the ACER and others are not well built enough for the $$ IMHO.

[eddd]

Interestingly enough after 2 plus years I dropped my mac not once, but twice within 30 secs last week. Now after 2 yrs bouncing around in my bike, running over it with my truck and dropping it no less than 10 times it quit working.

 

Now that is completely trashed I decided not to spend the $1200 on a new one. I did not reseach and decided on a Toshiba NB 2005 and love it. $400.00 was a fair price and I like the keyboard and XP that is on it.

 

My daughter is a manager @ a box store and she runs the computer section. She said it was the machine to buy. I agreee it is. No offense but the ACER and others are not well built enough for the $$ IMHO.

 

I purchased the same Toshiba, and it arrived with a nonfunctioning screen. I returned it after checking with the Toshiba help center. That was a month ago and I'm still waiting to hear from vendor who has had the returned item at their warehouse for 2 weeks.

[pokorskij]

As the original poster, let me add that while the Netbook might get used on the bike on occasion the real purpose is from use by my wife at her place of employment. That is why I am interested in the performance of office suite software, not just the internet.

 

Thanks for the responses, and keep them coming.

[Mike O]

Sitting at a SBUX as I type this. I have the standard off the shelf HP Mini with a 10" screen (model 1033CL). I have installed the following:

 

VLC (video player)

Firefox

Thunderbird (email client)

Open Office

 

It came with MS Works and I tried it once, but settled on Open Office (since we use it at work as well.) For average memos, docs that sort of thing, the netbook behaves quite well. What folks need to recognize is Netbooks are NOT a desktop (or powerful notebook) replacement. They have powersaving Intel Atom processors and lack expandability. For ANYONE buying any netbook, my recommendation is to pay close attention to 3 things:

 

1. Keyboard size (the hp's is 83% of laptop size and doesn't feel cramped at all)

 

2. Screen size (I wouldn't buy anything smaller than 10 inch screen)

 

3. Battery life. Here you need to choose between overall netbook size and battery life. The HP is very thin but it's due to a small (3 cell IIRC) battery and is good for 3 hours tops. There are other laptops that can go 6 hours but they aint thin or small. If you want thin, and you need battery life, get a spare.

 

In the end, they probably handle simple document editing regardless of Microsoft or Open Office.

 

Mike O

[AZKomet]

Really??? Now that stinks!!!

[Couchrocket]

I have MS Office 2003 loaded on my Acer Aspire One (bought fall 08). For the little I've used those applications, they seem to work just fine. I mainly use it for accessing the internet, backing up photos from my camera's memory card and route work with Mapsource. A netbook -- of any brand -- is certainly the way to go on a bike if it will do what you want it to do.

 

My exact setup. +1

[der Wanderer]

I think of netbooks as I think of a 125 cc bike. Can be very useful, less expensive, but less powerful and less roadworthy than an RT...

 

Yes Office and S&T will run on most of them (Office even runs on my PDA), but netbooks are really not designed for extensive use of applications. Editing large spreadsheets will be a stretch.

 

Netbooks are designed primarily for browser use. The occasional Word file is not a problem, but if it's the primary use, a real PC is the way to go.

 

A bit like, 125 cc road bikes are designed for local, short rides; a longer trip might be possible, but not ideal. If the primary purpose is touring, don't buy a 125, buy an RT...

 

On Toshiba - I have used two Toshiba laptops (work laptops). Had all sorts of issues with them... Now I swear by HP (no affiliation). YMMV.