Netbook OS help

[Zephyriel]

I'm planning on buying a netbook, specifically this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834220678

Thing is, I've heard nothing but horrible things about Win7 Starter, so I've pretty much decided on getting rid of it and replacing it with either just Win7 or XP, but not really sure which to go with. I'm also thinking about upgrading the ram to 2gb, but still kinda iffy on it.

So should I go with 7 or XP? Also, should I bother with the ram or just leave it be?

Thanks :D

[Pikarya]

Some people will suggest XP for better battery life. As for me, I'm usually 5 feet away from an outlet. Whether it be a car or building. So I decided to go with 7 Ultimate/64-bit.

http://forums.mydigitallife.info/thr...s-7-Repository

Its your decision really, as for upgrading the ram. I'd definitely go for it. I noticed that netbook doesn't have a SSD. If you have any high speed USB drives, you can pop one in and take advantage of ReadyBoost to help your slower HDD out.

[Agito]

Find a Linux that's specifically made for Netbooks such as Ubuntu Netbook Remix. http://www.canonical.com/projects/ubuntu/unr

Download here: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download-netbook
Enjoy!

[Sonomaa]

I use win7 ult on my netbook with a lot of the extra shit disabled. battery life is better than XP.

There is a tiny7 out there as well, about a CD in ISO size and very optimized for netbook shinys, I havent loaded it on mine but I bet it would be quite good.

Win7ftw

[Isiolia]

You should upgrade the RAM without a doubt.

OS would depend some on what you intend to do with it I suppose. The only major hangup with Win7 Starter for most typical Netbook use is that you can't change the wallpaper...but ASUS includes a tool that lets you do it anyway, so it's not really a problem on that one.

[Zephyriel]

After bugging some friends for opinions as well, I've decided to just suck it up and spend the extra money to upgrade ram.

If it helps, I'm pretty much just using the netbook for school; taking notes in classes, surfing the net, IMing, and small stuff like that. Battery life I'm not TOO worried about, but I would like to last a good 6-8 hours since I'm in class all day (from about 9 am until 6 pm ). Also, I'm kind of an interface snob so the fact that Win7 Starter doesn't have Aero Glass bugs me a lot. ;_;

@Pikarya: Definitely going to use that guide if I decide to go Win7, thanks! :D

I've never used a Linux OS before, but Ubuntu Netbook Remix does look interesting though. Probably going to look into both that and Tiny7. I'm super indecisive though, so more input on either OS would be great! Thanks again!

[Minions]

After bugging some friends for opinions as well, I've decided to just suck it up and spend the extra money to upgrade ram.

If it helps, I'm pretty much just using the netbook for school; taking notes in classes, surfing the net, IMing, and small stuff like that. Battery life I'm not TOO worried about, but I would like to last a good 6-8 hours since I'm in class all day (from about 9 am until 6 pm ). Also, I'm kind of an interface snob so the fact that Win7 Starter doesn't have Aero Glass bugs me a lot. ;_;

@Pikarya: Definitely going to use that guide if I decide to go Win7, thanks! :D

I've never used a Linux OS before, but Ubuntu Netbook Remix does look interesting though. Probably going to look into both that and Tiny7. I'm super indecisive though, so more input on either OS would be great! Thanks again!

Rams cheap, should be able to get a 2gig stick for under 25 shipped tbh.

[Isiolia]

Eh, IMO, the netbook screen/res is just too small to really worry about Aero Glass. If you want a cheap Linux laptop though, might look at the base config of the Vostro v13. It's a Celeron, sure, but that's still quite a bit stronger than an Atom.

If you're attached to Windows apps, I'd say to stick with Windows though. Linux has a lot of options, but once you need something that isn't either preinstalled or available via the package manager, it can prove to be annoying if you don't -want- to be tinkering with it.

I have a few of the 1001Ps in my office though (well, used as loaners, so in n' out), they're nice as far as netbooks go.

[Zephyriel]

@Minions: 1001P's only got one slot for ram, so I gotta get a 2gb. Cheapest one I've found online is around 50, but maybe I'm just not looking hard enough?

But yeah, thought about it for a while and figured, like Isiolia says, I might end up needing to install other stuff for whatever reason, and may find that it's incompatible with Linux. That being said, I'll be sticking with Win7.

Thanks for all the input! Much appreciated :D

[nitsuj]

Win7 is amazing on my netbook. I put Ubuntu Netbook Remix on my sisters, which is also quite nice.

[gfrommy]

I have only ever used netbooks with XP on them. From my personal usage experience, I can say Im not fan. I have used them a lot for school work and doing research for papers. I found that the screen res is just not high enough to multitask even with alt+tab usage. Running Word 2007, 2 or 3 PDF files and Firefox with a few tabs open is enough to lag things down. If your just using Word to take notes it should be fine, but you will have to get used to the compressed keyboard. I know at my university a lot of professors have a no laptop in class policy, because of people not doing school work and computers causing a distraction to others. Using it for entertainment isnt all that great, youtube videos lag or look funny sometimes, and depending on the site, you will be doing a lot of side scrolling to see the entire site. If your looking for something really basic a netbook would be alright. I know they are not for me.

As for the RAM always upgrade, that netbook only has a 2 gig max so it would be best to have the 2 gigs over 1 gig stock. The worst feeling is to be working on something and then shit fails or goes crazy because there is a lack or RAM. If you do it when you get the netbook you dont have to worry about it ever again, its only takes a few mins to do. The kind of RAM that netbook uses shouldnt be more then 30 bucks for a gig.

[viperlasson]

Is there a guide for removing extra stuff in win7 for laptops? I wanna slim this thing down a tad

[Zephyriel]

Win7 is amazing on my netbook. I put Ubuntu Netbook Remix on my sisters, which is also quite nice.

Which netbook do you have? I'm pretty much set on the 1001P but if I can find something better at around the same price, that'd be cool. And is there anything in particular that Ubuntu Netbook Remix has that would be worth using it over Win7? I highly doubt I'll be using the netbook for much else other than what I've said, so I'm not -too- worried about compatibility issues with programs, but if there's nothing too special about the OS I think I'd stick to Win7.

Like I said before, 1001P's only got one slot for ram so if I wanna upgrade the ram, I gotta get a 2gb :T But I figure whatever, upgrade's worth the money.

@viperlasson: What extra stuff are you talking about? Is it the trial programs/other crap that's preinstalled from your laptop's manufacturer? o.O