5 ms·

I don't know, but I still like the idea behind the "netbook": small, portable form factor with real keyboard, cheap machine, decent battery life, GNU/Linux. To

by kleiba 9y ago

I don't know, but I still like the idea behind the "netbook": small, portable form factor with real keyboard, cheap machine, decent battery life, GNU/Linux. To me, it's too bad that the netbook was pretty much been pushed off the market by the advent of the tablet PC, but as this fact suggest, I'm obviously part of a minority here.

on_and_off 9y ago
I am not sure I understand your comment regarding this article. Aren't chromebooks (except for the pixelbook which is very nice but not cheap) the direct successors of netbooks ?
- maxxxxx 9y ago
  I think the problem with Chromebook is that they are too reliant on connectivity. The disk are too small and I would like to run real desktop apps.
  - tonfa 9y ago
    Even if they run Android apps?
    - superobserver 9y ago
      Obviously not. And the exceptional cases like those where the SSD can be swapped out for larger-than-stock SSD's make the point of connectivity pretty moot. And how hard is it to get connectivity nowadays?
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
  - stewbrew 9y ago
    _net_books usually have small disks too and rely on connectivity -- hence the name.
    - khedoros1 9y ago
      Netbooks run the same OSes as more powerful PCs do. Sure, the concept was that they'd be good for lightweight web browsing, but that was kind of a stretch even when they were popular. The way that I used it never really relied on the net. I installed the software locally. Netbooks are just small laptops.
  - moondance 9y ago
    Chromebooks have a fair bit of offline capability in Docs, and some 3rd party apps take advantage of that as well. Still mostly useless without wifi.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
    I have a HP Stream 11 with Xubuntu. Works well for my needs.
  - jacksmith21006 9y ago
    Most CB support Android now so offline use. Ironically you are getting more offline support for things than Windows or OS X because there is more and more an Android app and for Win and OS x web use is expected. Was flying United not long ago and the entertainment system supported on iOS and Android so you could use with a CB but not Windows or Mac laptops. Confused the heck out of the person sitting next to my son. Finally explained to him why it was working on my son's laptop.
- kleiba 9y ago
  You're right, they're probably the closest thing these days. However, I'd still prefer a proper GNU/Linux distribution for my operating system, but there are efforts to get some of them to boot and run on Chromebooks, too.
  - bpye 9y ago
    It's not that hard. For the most part things work but on at least Skylake and newer, maybe also Braswell, audio is not 100% working. I really like my HP Chromebook 13 G1 running Linux and at the moment I'm trying to get it working with FreeBSD too.
shp0ngle 9y ago
Have you looked at GPD Pocket? It's a fun and useful device.
- softrock 9y ago
  I could buy 3 old Thinkpads for the price of one of those.
  - Hextinium 9y ago
    Ebay has totally changed how I view cheap electronics for this reason, why buy a crappy chinese knockoff when i can buy a top of the line thinkpad or dell from 4-5 years ago
    - GuiA 9y ago
      Buying used is fantastic. Even setting a few Craigslist alerts can lead to wonderful things happening. I had a friend shopping around for a professional level digital camera recently, and he didn’t realize until I told him that he could buy a 1-2 year old model with near identical specs and save some cash to buy lenses/accessories/etc or just save it.
  - fpoling 9y ago
    One cannot get 7" Thinkpad with full HD screen, weight slightly above a pound and 8GB of RAM. GDP pocket is rather unique and its success is a clear indicator that there is a demand for such form-factor.
- LeoPanthera 9y ago
  I have one and I'm looking to sell it, because the keyboard layout is so non-standard I just can't get used to it. Touch typing is virtually impossible.
  - fpoling 9y ago
    What about the screen? From various videos I got impression that it is rather reflective.
moondance 9y ago
It seems like the netbook space was unfortunately so plagued by bad hardware that it lost all credibility as a viable alternative to a laptop-- but there are still very few instances in which I prefer a touchscreen to a keyboard. Even a not-great one.
- digi_owl 9y ago
  The impression i have is that first Intel freaked, as they worried that they would cannibalize the ultra-portable market. Second Microsoft freaked, because Vista could not run on them. End result was that we got a combo of hardware and software that was not fit for anything, along with a bunch of gray-box rebrands (particularly of a certain MSI model).
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
ryan-c 9y ago
> I don't know, but I still like the idea behind the "netbook": small, portable form factor with real keyboard, cheap machine, decent battery life, GNU/Linux. You and I clearly have very different definitions of "real keyboard". I've actually been wanting an Android tablet that I can connect a USB mechanical keyboard to (probably an Atreus[0]) as a Chromebook replacement. Problem is, I want vanilla Android (no bloat), and for it to get updates for at least 3 years. 0. https://atreus.technomancy.us/ https://atreus.technomancy.us/
- bvm 9y ago
  I know I'm a glutton for punishment but the eeepc 701 keyboard is the best I've ever typed on. I miss it to this day.
  - ryan-c 9y ago
    I owned an EeePC 900 which I believe used the same keyboard. I wouldn't even describe it as "good".
- reaperducer 9y ago
  The definition of "netbook" has changed a lot over the years. It used to be ultra-cheap, ultra-small (in all dimensions, not just thickness), underpowered machine running Linux that had just enough oomph to do some basic surfing and e-mail. It was the laptop you brought with you when you didn't want to risk your real laptop. The early eeePC was a perfect example. Now it's a Chromebook which is pretty much a laptop by another name.
  - ryan-c 9y ago
    I had an EeePC 900 back in the day, and used it as you described. I use my Chromebook in much the same way. I want a device with a nice screen that can run a web browser and a mosh client.

by kleiba 9y ago

on_and_off 9y ago

I am not sure I understand your comment regarding this article. Aren't chromebooks (except for the pixelbook which is very nice but not cheap) the direct successors of netbooks ?

maxxxxx 9y ago
I think the problem with Chromebook is that they are too reliant on connectivity. The disk are too small and I would like to run real desktop apps.
- tonfa 9y ago
  Even if they run Android apps?
  - superobserver 9y ago
    Obviously not. And the exceptional cases like those where the SSD can be swapped out for larger-than-stock SSD's make the point of connectivity pretty moot. And how hard is it to get connectivity nowadays?
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
- stewbrew 9y ago
  _net_books usually have small disks too and rely on connectivity -- hence the name.
  - khedoros1 9y ago
    Netbooks run the same OSes as more powerful PCs do. Sure, the concept was that they'd be good for lightweight web browsing, but that was kind of a stretch even when they were popular. The way that I used it never really relied on the net. I installed the software locally. Netbooks are just small laptops.
- moondance 9y ago
  Chromebooks have a fair bit of offline capability in Docs, and some 3rd party apps take advantage of that as well. Still mostly useless without wifi.
- TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
  I have a HP Stream 11 with Xubuntu. Works well for my needs.
- jacksmith21006 9y ago
  Most CB support Android now so offline use. Ironically you are getting more offline support for things than Windows or OS X because there is more and more an Android app and for Win and OS x web use is expected. Was flying United not long ago and the entertainment system supported on iOS and Android so you could use with a CB but not Windows or Mac laptops. Confused the heck out of the person sitting next to my son. Finally explained to him why it was working on my son's laptop.
kleiba 9y ago
You're right, they're probably the closest thing these days. However, I'd still prefer a proper GNU/Linux distribution for my operating system, but there are efforts to get some of them to boot and run on Chromebooks, too.
- bpye 9y ago
  It's not that hard. For the most part things work but on at least Skylake and newer, maybe also Braswell, audio is not 100% working. I really like my HP Chromebook 13 G1 running Linux and at the moment I'm trying to get it working with FreeBSD too.

shp0ngle 9y ago

Have you looked at GPD Pocket? It's a fun and useful device.

softrock 9y ago
I could buy 3 old Thinkpads for the price of one of those.
- Hextinium 9y ago
  Ebay has totally changed how I view cheap electronics for this reason, why buy a crappy chinese knockoff when i can buy a top of the line thinkpad or dell from 4-5 years ago
  - GuiA 9y ago
    Buying used is fantastic. Even setting a few Craigslist alerts can lead to wonderful things happening. I had a friend shopping around for a professional level digital camera recently, and he didn’t realize until I told him that he could buy a 1-2 year old model with near identical specs and save some cash to buy lenses/accessories/etc or just save it.
- fpoling 9y ago
  One cannot get 7" Thinkpad with full HD screen, weight slightly above a pound and 8GB of RAM. GDP pocket is rather unique and its success is a clear indicator that there is a demand for such form-factor.
LeoPanthera 9y ago
I have one and I'm looking to sell it, because the keyboard layout is so non-standard I just can't get used to it. Touch typing is virtually impossible.
- fpoling 9y ago
  What about the screen? From various videos I got impression that it is rather reflective.

moondance 9y ago

It seems like the netbook space was unfortunately so plagued by bad hardware that it lost all credibility as a viable alternative to a laptop-- but there are still very few instances in which I prefer a touchscreen to a keyboard. Even a not-great one.

digi_owl 9y ago
The impression i have is that first Intel freaked, as they worried that they would cannibalize the ultra-portable market. Second Microsoft freaked, because Vista could not run on them. End result was that we got a combo of hardware and software that was not fit for anything, along with a bunch of gray-box rebrands (particularly of a certain MSI model).

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

ryan-c 9y ago

> I don't know, but I still like the idea behind the "netbook": small, portable form factor with real keyboard, cheap machine, decent battery life, GNU/Linux. You and I clearly have very different definitions of "real keyboard". I've actually been wanting an Android tablet that I can connect a USB mechanical keyboard to (probably an Atreus[0]) as a Chromebook replacement. Problem is, I want vanilla Android (no bloat), and for it to get updates for at least 3 years. 0. https://atreus.technomancy.us/ https://atreus.technomancy.us/

bvm 9y ago
I know I'm a glutton for punishment but the eeepc 701 keyboard is the best I've ever typed on. I miss it to this day.
- ryan-c 9y ago
  I owned an EeePC 900 which I believe used the same keyboard. I wouldn't even describe it as "good".
reaperducer 9y ago
The definition of "netbook" has changed a lot over the years. It used to be ultra-cheap, ultra-small (in all dimensions, not just thickness), underpowered machine running Linux that had just enough oomph to do some basic surfing and e-mail. It was the laptop you brought with you when you didn't want to risk your real laptop. The early eeePC was a perfect example. Now it's a Chromebook which is pretty much a laptop by another name.
- ryan-c 9y ago
  I had an EeePC 900 back in the day, and used it as you described. I use my Chromebook in much the same way. I want a device with a nice screen that can run a web browser and a mosh client.