4 ms·

I wish someone made netbooks again.

by luke2m 5y ago

vnxli 5y ago
Same. With a full OS. Chromebooks don’t cut it for me
- maccard 5y ago
  They're not 300 bucks, buy a surface go or a MacBook air ticks all the boxes of what I want in a netbook!
dTal 5y ago
GPD do an impressive line of pocketable x86 computers. Some of them have keyboards designed to be touch-typed on, though I can't comment on their ergonomics. I can comment on the ergonomics of the GPD MicroPC, which I got a few days ago and have been using ever since: it's awesome. I can do about 50 wpm on the thumb keyboard, which I'm sure is as good as I ever got on those tiny EeePC keyboards. It's very satisfying to hold and use, and it comfortably supports a full Plasma desktop. Look no further for a pocket laptop.
- iagovar 5y ago
  What do you do with such PC? I mean, I'm pretty sure it's very difficult to code, use excel, and the like.
  - gumby 5y ago
    Like an iPad: read some web pages, mail, etc; a little light editing. But in a lightweight, long battery life with the benefits of a keyboard rather than the crappy virtual keyboard. I used to have an Apple “MacBook” which at 2 lbs (900 g) was great for carrying around, flying all over the world, etc. As I develop in Emacs, development was great, though complication was slow; I’d often compile in the cloud. It was a great machine. I use an m1 air these days which is half a pound heavier and is a great development machine. Despite what I said about crappy virtual keyboards I am typing this comment on about 450 g of ipad.
  - dTal 5y ago
    You'd be amazed. The screen is high-res, the touchpad is precise, and the keyboard is complete. You occasionally find key combos that are hard to type - switching VTs springs to mind - but otherwise, it's almost as usable as a full size laptop. I haven't tried it yet, but I think (light) coding on it would be quite practical. Actually, let's try it: #include <stdio.h> int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { while(1) { printf("All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!\n"); } } Seems okay.
    - iagovar 5y ago
      IDK man, less than 13" is a struggle for me, specially outdoors. If you need to scroll, or change between stuff and such, I don't how such small device won't get in the way. It looks cool, but a bit casual.
  - Nextgrid 5y ago
    I’ve used a 12-inch MacBook for years as my daily driver for backend web development. It’s perfectly usable if you don’t run any Electron crap or Docker (on Linux it would actually be fine, but Docker for Mac is terrible) and the portability and battery life is amazing.
- aasasd 5y ago
  I had a Samsung NC10, 10-inch, and touch-typed on it just fine. Perhaps 10" is larger than what some people mean by ‘netbook’, but it fit in a shoulder bag and weighed about 1.3 kg, so was pretty light. Guess Macbook Air and copycats snatched this form-factor, so they stopped being called ‘netbooks’.
  - cout 5y ago
    The NC10 was a great device for its time -- lightweight, long battery life, nearly full size keyboard. I used it as my primary computing device for years, and would still be using it had it not suffered the pinched display cable problem, and I broke the hinge trying to fix it. What killed the netbook was the ultrabook -- similar weight and battery life, but with a larger display and full size keyboard.
  - rbanffy 5y ago
    Netbooks had one enormous advantage: they were cheap. That also means they are expendable. I used one (Acre Aspire One) as my mobile workhorse for quite some time and it never felt unusable. Of course, the tests an i5 runs in 30 seconds the Atom runs in 2 minutes, but you can spend that time thinking what to do next. Now you can get a reasonable entry level laptop for more or less the same price, so, even if the name is no longer a thing, the product is still quite available.
GoToRO 5y ago
The only reason I bought a Mac: lightweight, no fans, "full" computer. In general I am not a fan of Apple ecosystem but this one really fits my need.
mfashby 5y ago
Pinebook pro is serving me fairly well in this area. Chromebook like specs but normal desktop Linux.
- ekianjo 5y ago
  A bit short on memory and hardware support is still a gamble.
pjmlp 5y ago
My 1215B is still working for most workloads, except Rust even with cranelift, unless I feel like killing the battery. My Asus S6 is also quite alright (with a keyboard case). If I would be starting from scratch today I would probably get an Air or a Surface.
websites420 5y ago
Really? I recall netbooks being pretty bad. Cramped keyboards, short battery life, weak processors... the worst of all worlds, really. What attracts you to them?
- captainmuon 5y ago
  Not the parent, but back then they had longer battery life than conventional laptops, 93% size keyboard, were really cheap (great for me as a student) and were fine for browsing the net (for about a year, then the websites became suddenly a lot more complex) and remote work. I remember trying to buy an eeePC in a computer store and when I said it is for programming the guy there didn't want to sell me one but tried to sell me a 17" monstrosity. But I needed it for travel and to do office and coding work and most of the time I used SSH to a more powerful PC anyway. The only stupid thing was that Microsoft artificially limited netbooks to low resolution and low RAM. You could apparently either build a netbook, or a fully-featured laptop, but not a small-format laptop without getting some kind of license penalty. Same a couple of years later when Intel and MS mandated that Ultrabooks have glossy touchscreens and motion sensors and could be maxially X mm thick.
- 13415 5y ago
  I'm writing novels outside in my spare time. Unfortunately, for people like me there are no reasonable options, especially since I need Windows (special software). The SunBook were too expensive to me (+tax and international delivery). I've given up by now and just buy the cheapest smallest laptop I can find, plus a power pack. It makes continuous backups so if it explodes in the sun I wouldn't lose too much work. My EePC was better than what I have now, at least it had a matte screen and 12 hours battery life with a replacement battery, but unfortunately was stolen.
cstross 5y ago
A number of Chinese companies have colonized that form factor: GPD: https://www.gpd.hk/product https://www.gpd.hk/product One Netbook: https://1netbook.com/ https://1netbook.com/ Both companies typically launch new products with a kickstarter/promo on Indiegogo, to generate buzz, then sell through retail channels such as DroiX: https://droix.net/ https://droix.net/ and Ali Express. Support is ... well, it's what you'd expect for a smallish Chinese company launching via a kickstarter. On the other hand, their machines are fairly well-designed and well-made (for products from a smallish Chinese etcetera): I'm currently running a One Netbook One Mix 4, a 10" ultrabook (quad-core i7, 16Gb RAM, 1Tb SSD) with about the same footprint as an old Asus Eeee PC 1000, but much much thinner, lighter, and more powerful -- it works fine.
rektide 5y ago
tablets and Bluetooth keyboard have filled the role well for me.

I wish someone made netbooks again.

by luke2m 5y ago

I wish someone made netbooks again.

vnxli 5y ago

Same. With a full OS. Chromebooks don’t cut it for me

maccard 5y ago
They're not 300 bucks, buy a surface go or a MacBook air ticks all the boxes of what I want in a netbook!

dTal 5y ago

GPD do an impressive line of pocketable x86 computers. Some of them have keyboards designed to be touch-typed on, though I can't comment on their ergonomics. I can comment on the ergonomics of the GPD MicroPC, which I got a few days ago and have been using ever since: it's awesome. I can do about 50 wpm on the thumb keyboard, which I'm sure is as good as I ever got on those tiny EeePC keyboards. It's very satisfying to hold and use, and it comfortably supports a full Plasma desktop. Look no further for a pocket laptop.

iagovar 5y ago
What do you do with such PC? I mean, I'm pretty sure it's very difficult to code, use excel, and the like.
- gumby 5y ago
  Like an iPad: read some web pages, mail, etc; a little light editing. But in a lightweight, long battery life with the benefits of a keyboard rather than the crappy virtual keyboard. I used to have an Apple “MacBook” which at 2 lbs (900 g) was great for carrying around, flying all over the world, etc. As I develop in Emacs, development was great, though complication was slow; I’d often compile in the cloud. It was a great machine. I use an m1 air these days which is half a pound heavier and is a great development machine. Despite what I said about crappy virtual keyboards I am typing this comment on about 450 g of ipad.
- dTal 5y ago
  You'd be amazed. The screen is high-res, the touchpad is precise, and the keyboard is complete. You occasionally find key combos that are hard to type - switching VTs springs to mind - but otherwise, it's almost as usable as a full size laptop. I haven't tried it yet, but I think (light) coding on it would be quite practical. Actually, let's try it: #include <stdio.h> int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { while(1) { printf("All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!\n"); } } Seems okay.
  - iagovar 5y ago
    IDK man, less than 13" is a struggle for me, specially outdoors. If you need to scroll, or change between stuff and such, I don't how such small device won't get in the way. It looks cool, but a bit casual.
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  I’ve used a 12-inch MacBook for years as my daily driver for backend web development. It’s perfectly usable if you don’t run any Electron crap or Docker (on Linux it would actually be fine, but Docker for Mac is terrible) and the portability and battery life is amazing.
aasasd 5y ago
I had a Samsung NC10, 10-inch, and touch-typed on it just fine. Perhaps 10" is larger than what some people mean by ‘netbook’, but it fit in a shoulder bag and weighed about 1.3 kg, so was pretty light. Guess Macbook Air and copycats snatched this form-factor, so they stopped being called ‘netbooks’.
- cout 5y ago
  The NC10 was a great device for its time -- lightweight, long battery life, nearly full size keyboard. I used it as my primary computing device for years, and would still be using it had it not suffered the pinched display cable problem, and I broke the hinge trying to fix it. What killed the netbook was the ultrabook -- similar weight and battery life, but with a larger display and full size keyboard.
- rbanffy 5y ago
  Netbooks had one enormous advantage: they were cheap. That also means they are expendable. I used one (Acre Aspire One) as my mobile workhorse for quite some time and it never felt unusable. Of course, the tests an i5 runs in 30 seconds the Atom runs in 2 minutes, but you can spend that time thinking what to do next. Now you can get a reasonable entry level laptop for more or less the same price, so, even if the name is no longer a thing, the product is still quite available.

GoToRO 5y ago

The only reason I bought a Mac: lightweight, no fans, "full" computer. In general I am not a fan of Apple ecosystem but this one really fits my need.

mfashby 5y ago

Pinebook pro is serving me fairly well in this area. Chromebook like specs but normal desktop Linux.

ekianjo 5y ago
A bit short on memory and hardware support is still a gamble.

pjmlp 5y ago

My 1215B is still working for most workloads, except Rust even with cranelift, unless I feel like killing the battery. My Asus S6 is also quite alright (with a keyboard case). If I would be starting from scratch today I would probably get an Air or a Surface.

websites420 5y ago

Really? I recall netbooks being pretty bad. Cramped keyboards, short battery life, weak processors... the worst of all worlds, really. What attracts you to them?

captainmuon 5y ago
Not the parent, but back then they had longer battery life than conventional laptops, 93% size keyboard, were really cheap (great for me as a student) and were fine for browsing the net (for about a year, then the websites became suddenly a lot more complex) and remote work. I remember trying to buy an eeePC in a computer store and when I said it is for programming the guy there didn't want to sell me one but tried to sell me a 17" monstrosity. But I needed it for travel and to do office and coding work and most of the time I used SSH to a more powerful PC anyway. The only stupid thing was that Microsoft artificially limited netbooks to low resolution and low RAM. You could apparently either build a netbook, or a fully-featured laptop, but not a small-format laptop without getting some kind of license penalty. Same a couple of years later when Intel and MS mandated that Ultrabooks have glossy touchscreens and motion sensors and could be maxially X mm thick.
13415 5y ago
I'm writing novels outside in my spare time. Unfortunately, for people like me there are no reasonable options, especially since I need Windows (special software). The SunBook were too expensive to me (+tax and international delivery). I've given up by now and just buy the cheapest smallest laptop I can find, plus a power pack. It makes continuous backups so if it explodes in the sun I wouldn't lose too much work. My EePC was better than what I have now, at least it had a matte screen and 12 hours battery life with a replacement battery, but unfortunately was stolen.

cstross 5y ago

A number of Chinese companies have colonized that form factor: GPD: https://www.gpd.hk/product https://www.gpd.hk/product One Netbook: https://1netbook.com/ https://1netbook.com/ Both companies typically launch new products with a kickstarter/promo on Indiegogo, to generate buzz, then sell through retail channels such as DroiX: https://droix.net/ https://droix.net/ and Ali Express. Support is ... well, it's what you'd expect for a smallish Chinese company launching via a kickstarter. On the other hand, their machines are fairly well-designed and well-made (for products from a smallish Chinese etcetera): I'm currently running a One Netbook One Mix 4, a 10" ultrabook (quad-core i7, 16Gb RAM, 1Tb SSD) with about the same footprint as an old Asus Eeee PC 1000, but much much thinner, lighter, and more powerful -- it works fine.

rektide 5y ago

tablets and Bluetooth keyboard have filled the role well for me.