care and feeding of netbooks
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| tuxchick Oct 07, 2009 10:29 AM EDT |
You should have fed it whiskey and rye. |
| tuxchick Oct 07, 2009 10:38 AM EDT |
Or put the lime in the coconut. |
| alc Oct 07, 2009 10:45 AM EDT |
I bought the same one (g Netbook Meso) for my wife last December.So far,it's been fine. After seeing the problems you've had with Sylvania,I'm not sure I'd want to recommend them anymore.Have you heard or read about any other people having problems? |
| jdixon Oct 07, 2009 10:51 AM EDT |
Since that's a total of three laptops, it does seem appropriate to tie it to American Pie, yes. From an earlier comment, it sounds like you've already chosen an HP for the replacement. I was going to recommend that you take a look at the Terra A20 from ZaReason. It's a bit pricier than I would like ($350), but otherwise looks very good. I still love my Dell Mini 9, which was $225, but it's no longer offered by Dell, and the Mini 10's just aren't as nice, besides being more expensive. The Dell Vostro A90 is comparable, but that's only available from their small business section and doesn't give you the option of upgrading to a 1.3 MP camera. |
| caitlyn Oct 07, 2009 12:59 PM EDT |
@alc: I've heard of lots of problems with the original Sylvania g Netbook but most of the reports I've read about the g Meso have been positive. I may have had a run of bad luck. Three days to respond to a warranty repair claim is also not acceptable. As I noted in the article it appears that Sylvania/Digital Gadgets have dropped out of the netbook market. @jdixon: I looked at ZaReason (and also System 76) and ruled them out because they simply were beyond what I wanted to budget for a new netbook. Also, after my experience with Sylvania I wanted a major name brand machine, not whatever ZaReason is custom importing. I've heard nothing but good reports about ZaReason and their customer service but having been badly bitten by one off brand series of netbooks I wasn't about to turn to another. Dell wanted a long lead time to deliver a netbook. HP said I'd have mine shipped to me, configured to my specs, within six days. So, yes, I chose HP. |
| jdixon Oct 07, 2009 1:09 PM EDT |
> So, yes, I chose HP. WRT HP computers, I think it's best if I follow the old adage my grandmother taught me: "If you can't some something nice..." |
| caitlyn Oct 07, 2009 1:27 PM EDT |
@tuxchick: You have to remember what follows the "drinking whiskey and rye" line: "This will be the day that I die." Apropos but not curative. @jdixon: I've dealt with HP systems from servers down to laptops and desktops for about 15 years. The quality is generally very good and my experience with their customer service has been excellent. I cannot say the same about Dell customer service. |
| dinotrac Oct 07, 2009 3:50 PM EDT |
jdixon - I love my mini-9, too. Linux, of course, No HD, of course. The only way to do a netbook. |
| jdixon Oct 07, 2009 4:11 PM EDT |
> The only way to do a netbook. Agreed. :) Mine came with 512MB of memory and an 8 GB SSD. I'm considering upgrading it to 2 GB of memory and a faster 16GB SSD. I can get both from NewEgg for about $90. |
| Steven_Rosenber Oct 07, 2009 4:13 PM EDT |
Dell killing the Mini 9 was a big mistake IMHO. I'd love for any of these makers to offer a regular-size laptop but with a not-expensive SSD and Linux. I'd like a netbook, sure, but I have more need for a regular size laptop, and I do like the SSD aspect. |
| tracyanne Oct 07, 2009 5:43 PM EDT |
The best netbook I've come across, so far, is the BenQ JoyBook Lite. The unfortunate thing about them is I can't get them without Windows. Of the two that I bought to evaluate, I sold one with Jaunty NBR to a lady who loves it, I kept the other, |
| theboomboomcars Oct 07, 2009 8:41 PM EDT |
I would agree with caitlyn about Dell and HP customer service. I had to schedule a service pickup on a Dell laptop a few years ago and spent over 3 hrs being transfered to the right department to schedule a service pick up.
I bought one of the compaq laptops from walmart for $299 a couple of months ago and the touch pad was having problems, both buttons performed the same action. Despite having installed Linux on it and not ever testing it in Windows they picked it up and fixed it, entire time without the laptop was less than a week. I would definitely say that the HP experience was better. |
| rijelkentaurus Oct 07, 2009 9:11 PM EDT |
You should always buy Dells from the business line, either Vostros, Optiplexes or Latitudes, or above. Their business support is awesome, I've never waited on the phone for more than 5 minutes, and I've also used chat support with great results. Their home line support is little more than a joke. Over the past four years I have dealt with Dell support dozens of times (as have my coworkers), from desktops to laptops to servers to tape drives, etc, and we've never had a bad experience. Haven't dealt with HP enough to say one way or another. IBM support is really, really bad. |
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