Poll: Most Useful Computer Device

[Cramulus]

So I'm toying with the idea of getting myself a more portable computer. I have a desktop right now, and it does the job nicely, but sometimes I want to use the net when I'm not sitting in my bedroom or work cubicle.

So which of the options would serve me best?

I don't intent on doing high level gaming, but it'd be nice to be able to read a PDF or the forums and listen to music at the same time.


I'm leaning away from a smartphone, because I'd probably need to get a new carrier. (does verizon have a Droid package?)


For those of you with netbooks - do you find the lower specs prohibitive? Like is it slow, crashes often, that sort of thing? Where is the best place these days to buy a netbook or laptop?

[Elder Iptuous]

I've got the 12" Eee PC from Asus and i like it.
It gets the job done for fucking around on the intarwebs....
its light and slim.  isn't too darned expensive....

just one datapoint

[Richter]

Verizon does have a few Droid type things, IIRC.  They all force your bill into $80 a month country though.  I agree they are tempting, but the small form factor and remaing gap in capability hasn't sold me on them yet.  


Laptops are great, but are almost too big, compared to the netbook portability.  I take a netbook for hours or one or two days.  It's only a corner of my bag, and give my a real computer at my fingertips.  I only take the laptop for serious long trips (Which are rarely to places I want to bring a computer anyways.), and it always requires it's own bag.  

[Juana]

I have an Acer I picked up for under $400, which has done a surprisingly good job. Sturdy as hell, which is good because I've dropped it a few times while it was on, including on the plug Mine doesn't require its own bag (I just stick it in my back pack with everything else when I go on debate trips and such), but its still bigger than you might like. I have Vista, so I have issues with stability, but 7 is supposed to be better and that's what's being put on laptops being sold atm so you don't need to worry and the sound quality is probably much better on new ones.

[Vene]

All I can really offer is that I have a laptop, and it is my main (well, only) computer. It most definitely has the performance capabilities that you listed. But, yeah, I'm not sure it's quite as portable as what you're wanting. What kind of portability are you looking for, where else do you plan on using it?

And Richter is right, I can confirm that a laptop does require its own bag if you want to carry it from point A to point B.

[AFK]

My work laptop is a Thinkpad.  Lenovo SL510.  I dunno how much it cost, the feds paid for it, but it seems pretty basic.  Seems to do well with the basics.  It's pretty small and light for a laptop and it fits nicely in a little bag. 

We have some ASUS deal at home.  That one is pretty nice too and it only cost me something like $500.  Tons of storage space and built in webcam, not that I have any use for that.

If it were me, I'd definitely need something with a normal keyboard.  I can't deal with little keys. 

[LMNO]

GET... AN... iPAD....
   \

[NWC]

I like my laptop because I use it at home most of the time, but I also need to take it with sometimes. If you already have a desktop, I'd say go for a netbook.

And install Ubuntu. Either dual boot(where you choose the OS at startup), wipe windows and install it, or buy a netbook with it pre-installed.

I don't intent on doing high level gaming, but it'd be nice to be able to read a PDF or the forums and listen to music at the same time.
...
For those of you with netbooks - do you find the lower specs prohibitive? Like is it slow, crashes often, that sort of thing? Where is the best place these days to buy a netbook or laptop?

I often have 15+ PDFs open at the same time(yes, I need them all), and I use compiz(I think that's what it's called), which gives me a cube that I can rotate, essentially 4 desktops that have a nice way to go between them, and I use this to sort all of the PDFs. At the same time I'm running OpenOffice and have a couple Chrome windows open, and there's no change in preformance. My specs aren't even all that great. I dual boot, cos I play Age of Empires from time to time.

Honestly I know very little about computers, but Ubuntu made my life so much easier just with the PDF thing alone. It uses some sort of open source software that uses barely any memory.

/prosthelytizing

[Jasper]

The Acer Aspire One is a netbook I've owned for about a half a year, and it's pretty solid so far.  It came with windows, but that was not pleasing so I booted Ubuntu to it with a USB, and since then I've had no complaints at all. 

[the last yatto]

im sure you can find a used droid eris for around a hundred or so
new droid is about two hundred with contract or two droids (one generation back) for the same ammount.
the GPS feature might make your dreaming game more interactive with geotagging



netbooks are great as they handle flash like hulu better, tho most dont come with a cdrom

[Rumckle]

Not sure about Smartphones, but my netbook is a hell of a lot easier to carry around than my laptop.

As for performance, well mine is a first gen EeePC, and it's capabilities are nothing compared to the new ones, but it can run multiple PDFs and Firefox fine, sometimes struggles if I try to add the music player though.

eta: Oh also, my EeePC has a SSD, less space than a hard drive, but boots really quickly

[Faust]

Get an Iphone.

I'm planning on making an Iphone app for this place (browsing it in safari is a little tricky but doable), that way there will be more then one person using it.

[Freeky]

I have an Acer I picked up for under $400, which has done a surprisingly good job. Sturdy as hell, which is good because I've dropped it a few times while it was on, including on the plug Mine doesn't require its own bag (I just stick it in my back pack with everything else when I go on debate trips and such), but its still bigger than you might like. I have Vista, so I have issues with stability, but 7 is supposed to be better and that's what's being put on laptops being sold atm so you don't need to worry and the sound quality is probably much better on new ones.

It's actually Windows 7 starter that comes on new netbooks (don't know about laptops). This is the only problem I have with my netbook, because this 7 Starter stuff is crap.

[Richter]

im sure you can find a used droid eris for around a hundred or so
new droid is about two hundred with contract or two droids (one generation back) for the same ammount.
the GPS feature might make your dreaming game more interactive with geotagging



netbooks are great as they handle flash like hulu better, tho most dont come with a cdrom

DO nevar droid Eris.  Trav the Jedi has one, which the first software push sort of fucked. 

[Chairman Risus]

I've got a Droid and my only problem is that I think it watches me sometimes.

Other than that I'm pretty sure it can crush my enemies, drive them before me and record the lamentations of their women into text form if I download the right application.