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The Fate of the Netbook... — Parallax Forums

The Fate of the Netbook...

LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
edited 2012-11-03 10:12 in General Discussion
One of the few things that I might be helpful on is Taiwan news.

ASUS has an article in the local news today saying that they are shifting their production focus away from netbooks and toward pads and other platforms.

So, it may be time to buy one last netbook - like the ASUS Transformer - before they become hard to get.

I switched from an EEEpc 701 to a Toshiba NB250 as I liked Toshiba Satellites and though it might be worthwhile. I regret this and now am thinking of getting one last ASUS netbook. The fact that they have the aluminium base of the keyboard as a giant heatsink and they use a display that are covered with glass are two important features.

ASUS also is one of the few profitable computer companies this year with sustained market share.

The Toshiba NB250 display is covered in soft plastic and I have ruined one by washing it with rubbing alcohol. Also, the battery in the Toshiba is on its last legs. And the machine runs hotter than the ASUS.

I think ASUS has an excellent engineering and design team. They also has a very good relationship with Intel. And they are not afraid to support Linux. Toshiba seems to be a Windows loyalist.

Comments

  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2012-10-31 16:07
    What a bummer!!! I have a eee and love it!
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,516
    edited 2012-11-01 08:33
    So, it may be time to buy one last netbook - like the ASUS Transformer - before they become hard to get.
    I thought the Transformer was a tablet? Can it run Linux?
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-11-01 10:17
    Okay, I guess the ASUS EEEpc notebook series is the one that is the soonest to disappear as the prices are so reasonable.

    The ASUS Transformer is much more expensive and it is indeed a Pad, but it also has a dockable keyboard that makes it a notebook. And there are a few ways to run Linux on it.

    http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/ASUS_Eee_Pad_Transformer
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-11-01 10:27
    My Acer Aspire One netbook is still going strong, I don't forsee ditching it any time soon. Too many Windoze apps. I may never become an iGuy.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-11-01 10:52
    I have my eyes on an ASUS EEEpc 1005HA-P to load up with a dual boot of Windows/Linux. This actually may still be sold with XP of all things. I'd rather have Windows7 on the MS side, but the Ubuntu Linux support is rock solid. This is something to really consider in buy a netbook now as it is rather silly to get stuck with XP. Toshiba has lousy Linux side support.

    The situation in Taiwan is that we tend to get the left-overs in the local shops from whatever is sold for export all over the world. In some cases, very good computers are made here (like HP servers) and the USA doesn't allow them to be sold here. The best I can do with with gamer computers built from scratch as the motherboards and the videocards are all one the shelves of retail stores as so as they come out.

    Ah, now I see the ASUS EEEpc 1015CX has Windows7. That seems to be the goodie.
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2012-11-01 11:09
    I really enjoy my ACER netbook that I've bumped to 2GB and run LINUX on. The Windows Netbook I have with 1GB (it requires major surgery for a memory upgrade) is barely usable - it should have 2GB. In fact, all Netbooks should be sporting 2GB by now.

    The bad part about the EEEpc 1015CX is this pesky little note in the specifications:
    *1 : The memory is fixed on the motherboard and there is no SO-DIMM on the motherboard. The On Board Memory is unable to be removed or replaced for extending.

    I see no reason to accept that in this day and age.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,451
    edited 2012-11-01 15:35
    In the US Microsoft pulled the plug on XP for netbooks over a year ago. They all come with 7 starter now, or at least did before last weekend.
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2012-11-01 16:18
    I have this one ASUS Eee PC X101CH-EU17-BK and am very happy with it after upgrading to 2GB RAM. Although it comes with Windows 7 Starter, I could upgrade to another version but as of yet have not had the need to. It does everything I need including running MSRS and Visual Studio.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2012-11-02 00:09
    I thought netbooks died when the term was moved from ARM based machines running Linux to any old small x86 laptop running Windows.
    They are resurrected with ARM based tablets that can accommodate keyboard/battery attachment and drive HDMI screens.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-11-02 00:36
    The EEEpc 1015ccx that I mentioned is a dual processor machine at 1.6GHz. Asus made an even later one with a Nvidia video processor, but I happen to be a bit conservative. The origianl EEEpc approach was all Intel which is a better fit for Linux.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2012-11-02 02:30
    Yes but that's an EEEpc, A cut down lap top. This thread is about netbooks. From wikipedia "In 1996 Psion started applying for trademarks for a line of netBook products that was later released in 1999".

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_netBook

    By the way, why do you say Intel is a better fit for Linux? Windows is a better fit for Intel given that it and most of it's apps don't run anywhere else. Linux is running on bazillions of smart phones and tablets now that use ARM. It seems to fit very well.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-11-02 05:08
    @Heater
    And so you are saying I should edit all the above discussion or risk the legal wrath of Psion.

    Whatever EEEpc produced, it was exactly what I wanted. It weighed about 1kilo instead of two, was cheap enough to loose in an Asian night market without ruining your holiday, booting lightning quick from solid-state hard disk, and was more fun than a barrel of monkeys. It also was small enough to fit in the compartment under my motor scooter's seat and didn't require a whole backpack to carry.

    I just went along with the crowd and accepted that they were called netbooks or notebooks as they were 'sub-laptop' sized. I had seen computers like the Psion netbook from Sony and HP, but never quite had what I wanted. It seemed that I could not load mainstream software and that the keyboard was no where near reasonable.

    What do I say ALL Intel is a better fit for LInux? It seems that Intel provides Linux with all the info to make everything work and is the first choice of their binary archives. If you had a Nvidia video, they didn't want anybody to know what was in their video driver, you had to load a proprietary driver than didn't work well in Linux. Of course, the Nvidia drivers for Windows and Apple were stable, just not Linux.

    So, is Psion really on the prowl to sue the world for adopting the term many years after its fate was sealed in regions of the globe that it never got a foothold in? I guess there is a hungry lawyer out there somewhere that try.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2012-11-02 05:16
    No idea what Psion is up to today but they did have a trade mark registered for the term "netbook". With trade marks you have to do your best to defend them else you loose them. So their action was fair enough.Try making a phone called an iPhone and see what happens.

    You never know who might sue you for what now a days. Create something with the look and feel of something else, you're sued. Write a program more complex than "Hello World" and you could be in big trouble.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-11-02 05:38
    Apple tried making an iPad and they found that they didn't quite own the trademark. http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/02/apple-pays-60-million-in-ipad-trademark-settlement/

    It is never quite that simple. Trademarks can be only for given localities - you have to have a presence in the market place.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2012-11-02 06:23
    Slippery beasts trademarks.

    Remember Apple (The record label) had a dispute with Apple (The computer company) over the name. As they were in different businesses Apple the computer company was in the clear. Of course now Apple computers owes it's success to its presence in the music business.

    A certain Mr McDonald who had a restaurant bearing his name in Scotland was sue by the McDonald's, property investment, sorry clown entertainment for children, sorry burger company as they wanted his name. Despite the fact he was in that locality first.
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2012-11-02 10:53
    And Victorias secret sued "victors little secret" and Lost !
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2012-11-02 10:57
    yall might hate this but Netbooks Live on as the mac book air 11 ( Yea I wish it was 8 Inch or 9 or 10 )

    not cheap like a EEE but VERY fast .a I3 Netbook .
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-11-02 10:58
    The Toshiba NB250 display is covered in soft plastic and I have ruined one by washing it with rubbing alcohol.

    Are you sure that the "soft plastic" isn't just the piece of cling vinyl used to protect the screen during shipping? If it is, you haven't ruined anything: just peel it off.

    -Phil
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2012-11-02 21:19
    Heater. wrote: »
    Slippery beasts trademarks.

    Remember Apple (The record label) had a dispute with Apple (The computer company) over the name. As they were in different businesses Apple the computer company was in the clear.

    However, Apple Computer did fork over a tidy sum to Apple Records.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2012-11-03 05:17
    As if on cue for this thread Apple gets slapped in the ifone vs iphone case in Mexico. http://bgr.com/2012/11/02/iphone-lawsuit-analysis-mexico/
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2012-11-03 10:12
    It is a big world and when you go for global dominance of a trade marked these days - ala Coca Cola or Disney; there is a much higher chance that somebody beat you to it.

    Actually, I really intended to type 'notebook', but some how 'netbook' ended up on the page instead. In converstation with friends and associates, I use the term 'notebook computer' rather consistently.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2018-07-02 03:00
    Speaking of netbooks, my Acer Aspire One is still mostly chugging along. Based on this article: https://www.techtimes.com/articles/71296/20150723/this-old-acer-aspire-one-can-handle-windows-10-video.htm,
    I gave it the Windows 10 upgrade back when and it works fine about as fast as it ever did... slow by today's standards and wastes tons of power as heat. A nice lap warmer on a cold winter night. I rarely use it, but it's been a loyal dog and I dutifully keep it updated along with the rest of my fleet of PCs. Woe unto him who gets far behind in his monthly Windows 10 updates...

    Anyway, it was noticeably sluggish the last two times I fired it up and I'm 99% sure it's the hard drive (160GB capacity, mostly empty). I found a bunch on (surprise) Ebay China and was pleasantly surprised to nab this new 120GB 2.5" HDD for just $11: https://www.ebay.com/itm/272071892361

    Should be an easy HDD swap after saving data & making a USB recovery drive, as I did on my big Toshiba laptop last year.

    Not a mission-critical or heavy-duty application, so it's likely this Chinese drive will last as long as I need. At that price, what else can we use these heat-generating HDDs for? Mini-boat anchors? Coffee cup warmers? Vibro massage therapy? Gyroscopes?



  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    Hitatchi drives are among the better ones. I've also bought a couple of those on ebay for some old laptops.
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