netbook: 1gb WinXP vs. 2gb Vista Home Basic

[bakubo]

I am looking at a couple of 11.6" netbooks. Price is similar. One has 1gb, WinXP, 160gb hd. The other has 2gb, Vista Home Basic, 250gb hd. Which would you go for? I have Vista Home Premium on my 17" notebook and generally prefer WinXP because it seems faster, uses less memory, and seems to not be so fussy. But, how about Vista Home Basic? Is that pretty much the same thing as WinXP?

By the way, I already have an 8.9" WinXP netbook that I bought about 16 months ago, but I want something with a bit larger screen. The 10.1" models would probably be just about right, but the screen resolution (1024x600) is not enough for some programs (e.g. ACR). That is one annoying problem with my 8.9" model because it is also 1024x600.

[Dusty]

Henry, Even Vista Home Basic is a pig. Service Pack 2 helped, and SP3 on XP hurt it a bit, but I would go for the XP and up the RAM to 2 or more G.

My notebook came with Vista Premium, and when I partitioned it to also run XP Pro, it was like I had doubled the processor speed and memory size! I'm waiting until I have to go with Win 7 before I'll use it. Normally a customer has me install new machines with the new versions before I ever buy one. I just wish more programs were available for Linux.

Dusty

[Mike]

The amount of RAM should not be the decision driver as it can be upgraded inexpensively. More importantly, how about the things that cannot be inexpensively upgraded:
What are the processors? (example - Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, 2.13GHz, 1066Mhz, 3M L2 Cache)
What is the RAM type and bus speed? (example - DDR2, 800MHz)
What are the video processors? (example - Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD)
What is the native resolution of the display? (example - 15.6 WLED display (1366x768))

An important issue to consider with operating systems is how long are peripheral manufactures (i.e. printers) going to develop and support drivers for that operating system.


Mike

[bakubo]

The two 11.6" netbooks I am looking at are:

Gateway LT3103u (AMD Athlon 64 L110, 2gb, Vista Home Basic, 250gb hd)
Acer AO751H-1948 (Atom Z520, 1gb, WinXP, 160gb hd)

I have been reading this afternoon that the Acer with the Atom Z520 and the graphics chip it uses is pretty underpowered -- slower than Atom N270). The Gateway is a bit better in this regard. I have a WinXP Pro CD and after some searching it looks like I may be able to put an installable version on a USB flash drive and then install it on the Gateway. I found a web page that also shows where to find the WinXP drivers that would be needed. A lot of trouble, but I also read that this Gateway definitely runs better with WinXP than the included Vista. No surprise. If I get one of these two then I am leaning to the Gateway at the moment. It is a bit bigger/heavier than I want to have to carry in a backpack while travelling, but the greater screen and keyboard size is nice when actually using it. I found a photo of the back of the Gateway with battery installed and it sticks way out the back. Not good.

[Javelin]

A couple weeks ago lots of people at work got MSI Winds all 2gb ram 320gb hard drives. not sure which processor but they were plenty quick with XP on them. seem like nicely made machines (i'm glad they will bring them to me to fix). Also we haven't had 3 dells in a row come in that all worked without issuesand theres 6 of these floating around (glad of that too). the battery life is amazing on them. I picked up one first but a cheap disontinued one for 200 bucks and it's 1/2 the machine the others are. the screens are too small for me to do any photo editing on but there clear and bright when plugged in. and small. mine looks like a tupperware dish compared to theirs though (theirs are black)

[Mike]

I'm not sure how much you are looking to pay, but I wouldn't buy either of those processors. They are both ultra low performance, only used in the race for the bottom systems. You can get a brand new Dell Inspiration 13 with a Dual Core T4300 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache) and 2G RAM for only $399.

[bakubo]

I went to Best Buy today to see if they had any 11.6" netbooks so I could get an idea of how big they really are when seen in the flesh. All they had were 10.1" models. I then checked Fry's Electronics and they had several of both sizes. Actually seeing the 11.6" models has made me reconsider the whole idea. A bit big for carrying around on backpack travels. For just email and internet my current 8.9" netbook is adequate and the size is good. I used it for 2 months recently in Japan and Egypt. A few times I wanted to work on a photo to put on my blog or email (but never on my website) and it was a pain using it for that so that is why I got this idea to get an 11.6" model. A bigger screen would have been welcome. But, that was just on a few rare occasions. For my website I always wait until I have my other computer with a larger screen to work with. I think I will put this idea on the backburner for now.

[Javelin]

this is one of the reasons I got the wind in the first place. when I travel I hated carrying a laptop all all I was usig it for was e-mail and browsing. smartphones don't interest me at all. now I carry my N810 and wind and the wind stays at the hotel.

[pakodominguez]

this is one of the reasons I got the wind in the first place. when I travel I hated carrying a laptop all all I was usig it for was e-mail and browsing. smartphones don't interest me at all. now I carry my N810 and wind and the wind stays at the hotel.

By 2015, all the phones will be smartphones...
I like the Archos 9 http://www.archos.com/products/nb/archo ... us&lang=en but it is a little bit expensive for the use I'll give it: Alas, I don't travel that much. And I'm not sure CS4 will run properly on a tablet

Regards

[bakubo]

Ideally, when I am not using it something the size of an itouch would be great and then when I turn it on it magically expands to the size of a 17" notebook pc.

[Javelin]

There is a lot happening now with miniature projectors. If we can keep Darwins rejects from burning their retinas out with them we should soon have these little devices with built in ability to project the screen onto a wall. we might see portable reflectors to project on that roll up or something or maybe in a plane the back of the seat in front of you will have a nice flat spot with reflective paint. It's the only way I can see the devices being anything more than a bridge to get you by until your at your work machine. Or maybe we will all have VR helmets to wear..... barbers could go broke if nobody ever sees anyones head again

[David Kilpatrick]

Barbers? Honestly, if I look at most of my friends who are 5 years younger than me (or a bit more - even 30s-40s) they simply shave their heads. No-one has hair any more. I'm a bauldie but it hardly matters, I can look younger by just shaving off all of what's left!

Roman Empire - shaved head = slave
British Empire - shaved head = convict, even pressed recruits had short but not shaved heads
Jacobean to Georgian - shaved head = you'd taken your wig off and shaken out the lice...
1976 - shaved head = skinhead neo-nazi

Today - shaved head = bloke who does not want to be clearly identifiable as of any age, between about 20 and 70...

Portable projectors - I tried the first ones at photokina 2008 and they were capable of a bright sharp image no bigger than A4. But they will get there, until we have 30" or 40" daylight images.

However, 3D will get there first. One of the first uses of portable projector technology will be 3D projection, where the screen is constructed in such a way that you see 3D without needing any kind of specs/filters. When you see that patented, please remember I published the concept here. That should make any patent of a screen material capable of reflecting this way invalid and free for all to use!

David

David

[Javelin]

Here shaved heads mean your touque won't stay on in the wind.

[Dusty]

However, 3D will get there first. One of the first uses of portable projector technology will be 3D projection, where the screen is constructed in such a way that you see 3D without needing any kind of specs/filters. When you see that patented, please remember I published the concept here. That should make any patent of a screen material capable of reflecting this way invalid and free for all to use!

David

David

I see you've already got it working. Your sig is in 3-d!

Dusty