how netbooks lost their mojo
12/8/10
I sincerely believe the netbook is the best portable computer ever made to date because it's what I consider a "real" computer. Real keyboard, real touchpad, real monitor, real speakers, real networking, real USB and so on.
However I don't recommend netbooks anymore, and it's only for one reason: Windows 7 "Starter" Edition. Starter is one of the most awful Windows ever released. You can't even change the theme or wallpaper on it - I'm not kidding. When it was first released, you were not allowed to run more than three programs at a time. Even though Microsoft dropped that nonsense, the OS still sucks because I know for a fact a netbook can run Home Premium. How do I know? I did it myself when 7 was still in beta. Ran perfectly, even with Aero running.
Here's the real kicker however: A netbook is $260 brand new. Great price - but with Starter. If you want Home Premium, guess what the price is.
Four hundred frickin' dollars.
And it doesn't matter who makes it.
This is absolutely not the great deal a netbook used to be. At least with XP, you could, y'know, change your wallpaper image.
I sincerely believe Windows 7 Starter will single-handedly kill the netbook market entirely. It sucks that bad. Starter shouldn't even exist. If it was "Basic", which is Win 7 with no Aero more or less, that's acceptable. But Starter? Total junk.
The one I just got has Home Premium...but it did cost more than $400...
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One of the few things I really like about being in college is that I get to have all windows for free.
Although I completely despise netbooks.
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Then you'd really hate the new notebook from Google; it has no caps lock key. Replaced with "search".
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It does have a caps lock key. If you see the shift key it shows it has a "caps lock indicator".
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/03/is-this-the-google-chrome-os-netbooks-keyboard/
Which is fine because how many times you use caps lock?
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That's not a key, it's a light. Not saying there's anything wrong with that other than the fact Google is going against almost 27 years of tenure.
I do use caps lock when programming code. Were I forced to use a Fn+whatever to access it, that would be very annoying.
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Of course Google is going against the flow, it's Google.
Are you actually going to program on a netbook?
And what language do you use the caps key for?
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Yes, I actually write code on a netbook, it's a computer and I use it as such. I routinely edit HTML, CSS and PHP on my Dell mini 10v in Notepad++. When I need to add comments in my code, that's where I need caps lock because in plain text there is no bold or italic. Adding in a keystroke just for caps lock when I code slows things down, and coders don't like slow. We like efficient.
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But on a Google Netbook? Notepad++ isn't on ChromeOS.
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Regardless of which text editor I use, I need caps lock when coding.
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Just found this out, there is a setting to allow Caps Lock to came back. So be happy! :D
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Yay.
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In Java it comes in handy for some functions, and so does in matlab, flash a a few more. Typing a full word with the shift key doesn't help for commodity, or if you type without looking at the keyboard.
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