Help! I need a netbook/laptop.

[DRT-Maverick]

I just had the worst experience with Asus' new eee PC, the thing is a piece of crap, I can't boot from USB to install a new OS, and this morning when I turned it on, all the USB devices had an exclamation mark near them.

Since i can't get the USB to boot properly I've given up formatting and installing a new OS, so I'm returning it to Amazon. They can **** around with it and have fun.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a decent laptop/netbook that's under 15"? Any recommendations? Asus just turned back into Anus so ...

[Firefly]

This lenevo is pretty good. I've been using this happily since Christmas. 15.6" so just outside but still worth a look.

[DRT-Maverick]

How is Lenovo as far as bloatware goes? Asus has gone OVERBOARD with bloatware apparently. I was looking at the Lenovo thinkpad x130e, which is nearly identical to the eee except it's by lenovo, probably has a different motherboard and such.

[hal]

Your first mistake was buying an EEE PC. Asus makes a great line of laptops... that's just not one of them. My wife has the EEE (works fine for what she does but I wouldn't touch it) and I have one from their Republic of Gamers line (played it hard for 3 years, always on, runs like a top).

Couldn't you use an iPad or something in lieu of an eee machine?

[_Lynx]

My colleague has Lenovo ThinkPad Edge e120 - very nice one, without excessive bloatware.

[DRT-Maverick]

Originally Posted by hal

Your first mistake was buying an EEE PC. Asus makes a great line of laptops... that's just not one of them. My wife has the EEE (works fine for what she does but I wouldn't touch it) and I have one from their Republic of Gamers line (played it hard for 3 years, always on, runs like a top).

Couldn't you use an iPad or something in lieu of an eee machine?

I was hoping I could USB boot and install a new OS, but it won't let me as the BIOS itself is freakin' Lame.

I guess I'll spend an extra 400$. What do you think about this?

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-U46SM-DS5...ords=asus+14.1

It's got an optical drive (dvd) so I can reformat it and install a fresh version of windows along with the bare drivers, so I don't have to f00k around with retarded bloatware.

[[GU]elmur_fud]

What is your needs that you wish such a small device? ...

[DRT-Maverick]

Lightweight and can fit in a backpack. I want to be able to watch HD video, I'm probably not going to use it for gaming however, as I have my 17.2" laptop for gaming, and I want it to not lag when watching video is the main thing.

[DarkED]

Originally Posted by DRT-Maverick

I was hoping I could USB boot and install a new OS, but it won't let me as the BIOS itself is freakin' Lame.

I guess I'll spend an extra 400$. What do you think about this?

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-U46SM-DS5...ords=asus+14.1

It's got an optical drive (dvd) so I can reformat it and install a fresh version of windows along with the bare drivers, so I don't have to f00k around with retarded bloatware.

Originally Posted by DRT-Maverick

Lightweight and can fit in a backpack. I want to be able to watch HD video, I'm probably not going to use it for gaming however, as I have my 17.2" laptop for gaming, and I want it to not lag when watching video is the main thing.

Shouldn't have any issues with that one. Core i5, 8 gigs of RAM and an Nvidia 630m? It's quite a beast given the size and should handle even uncompressed 1080p without a hitch. I bet the battery life isn't too great.

[IronMonkey]

The Register had a roundup of 10 netbooks a couple of days ago:
http://www.reghardware.com/2012/08/2..._ten_netbooks/

UK prices (which include 20% sales tax) but you should be able to find them cheaper online (and rather more locally).

I'll say a word in defence of the eeePC.

I had an eeePC 1000 for three years (and it is still doing fine service as my son's laptop) and had no problem installing an alternative OS. I used an external USB DVD drive to boot the installer.

[Thrash123]

While I personally haven't used any netbooks myself, I do know from experience with friends' that Lenovo's line is pretty damned sweet. As far as crapware goes, I only buy their business line of Thinkpads (the only laptops I'll ever use), but they rarely have much. If they have any netbooks on the business line of things you should be good; the only extra crap you have to deal with is their general control software, and their Thinkvantage junk (which can easily be removed, IIRC).

You might want to consider one of the new tablets coming out with a keyboard combo. I know a number of people who use them with great success; MS's Surface looks interesting. Preliminary reviews of Windows 8 say that the UI is incredible for general use, and very aesthetically pleasing. If you'd rather go with something you could use *Nix on, then go with the Lenovo line.

[Firefly]

There was very little crap ware with mine. Most of it was just install files that you installed yourself if you wanted.

[[GU]elmur_fud]

Originally Posted by DRT-Maverick

Lightweight and can fit in a backpack. I want to be able to watch HD video, I'm probably not going to use it for gaming however, as I have my 17.2" laptop for gaming, and I want it to not lag when watching video is the main thing.

This criteria can be met by allot of devices, even a tablet as Hal suggested could work, though transporting 1 in a backpack...

Originally Posted by DarkED

... I bet the battery life isn't too great...

8-10 hrs from full charge ... depending on what you are doing.

[Gir]

Originally Posted by hal

Your first mistake was buying an EEE PC.

I can't count the number of times I've tried to discourage people from buying them. I seriously wish people would start listening to me on this one.

[Lruce Bee]

I'll check some of these recommendations out myself.
I'm in the same boat - portability and size are top priority for me as well but there is a lot of choice out there - tough to commit to one right now.
I've been playing around with a work IPad recently and it ticks loads of boxes for a lot of things but un-ticks them in equal measure for other stuff.
Great thing to play with when someone else has bought it.

[dragonfliet]

To be honest, the coming Win 8 tablets with keyboard docks (for instance, the new Samsung Series 7 slate) are looking to be pretty much what I've wanted for a few years. Something that I can use as a slate, which is perfect for teaching (set it on podium for notes, but can be plugged into overhead for slides/vids/etc.), but has a keyboard and a full windows environment for, you know, actual work, and is thin enough to not be a bother when hauled with multiple books. Of course, only time will tell if they actually work as I hope...