Just Bought A Netbook

[rsmith6621]

I start back traveling regularly for my job and just bought a HP netbook from QVC....


I am looking at buying a USB flash drive so I can burn movies to it to it to watch while flying across this country....I think an 8gb will do the trick..

Anyone have a suggestion what to buy or will this even work.It doesn't have a DVD/CD drive built in.


Thanks

[HopeHoops]

1. I just got a 16GB stick for $75. I think OfficeMax has them for $40 on sale this week.

The ones I saw on sale were the Verbatim slide-out sort. I'm pretty sure the 16GB was $40. I'm happy with the kind I got - cap end with a sturdy housing - holds up better to keys and pocket lint.

You can get an external DVD burner, USB, but it may require its own power supply especially with a netbook.

I just ordered an HP netbook, pretty much loaded, with the 32GB flash drive (no hard drive) and the Linux-based MI operating system. All I want it for is writing, mostly in the middle of the night, so I didn't want a hard drive - I want it to be quiet. HP makes good shit. We've got 5 HP laptops in the house and this will be number six.

[Initech]

3. Check Newegg - you can get up to a 128GB drive now.

I'm heavily considering getting an Acer Aspire Timeline - either that or a refurbished HP to replace my aging Apple laptop. I just got a new desktop so I dont need a heavily powered system - just something mainly for movie watching / light game play while I'm traveling.

[HopeHoops]

4. I've been very happy with the HP laptops.

The one I got for my eldest to take to college is damn near fully loaded. It has 4GB, a 500GB drive, both 6 and 12 cell batteries, bluetooth, modem, etc. The only thing I didn't upgrade was the processor - seemed silly for the cost. Well, I also went with the basic screen because I saw reviews that implied the "upgraded" screen had more glare. The entire price (free shipping) was $1053 and $130 or so of that was for Office 2007 Home & Student. Damn nice machine! You can configure one for much less than that, but I am hoping this will get her through all four years even if it is ancient technology by the end of it.

The only laptop I would say has "FLEE, RUN AWAY" written all over it is Dell, and for two reasons. First, every fucking thing about them is Dell specific. Secondly, tech support is a nightmare - if you can even get away with calling it "support". "Tech abuse" might be a better term. My neighbor waited four weeks to get his laptop back on warranty repair for video problems. It finally came back without warning with a form letter stating that the warranty had been voided because he had upgraded the memory with "non-Dell" memory. He put the old memory back in, called in a new ticket, and a month later it came back repaired.

HP tech support is awesome, at least for the laptops. I've heard the printer support sucks, but that's no shock since they don't make any money on those. My 9000 had some quirky behavior about a year ago I lost the wireless and eventually the video went blank. I knew it was out of warranty, but I called anyway and got through to a human within a few minutes - one who spoke ENGLISH even! He identified it as a known but unusual problem. I called on a Monday, late afternoon. Wednesday morning, a box arrived FedEx with a return label. I took out the hard drive and battery, packed it, and called FedEx Thursday morning and they picked it up. About 7:00 Sunday morning, I got an e-mail saying it had shipped, repaired. Monday morning, it arrived - a few hours shy of a one-week turnaround and it didn't cost me a dime. Now THAT is support.

For the record, I have no affiliation with HP other than as a customer.

[Initech]

5. Oh dont get me started on Dell.

I've owned two Dell laptops - and both were overpriced pieces of shit. Their tech support drove me nuts and I just flat-out will not go back to them. I like to think of myself as an "Ex-Dell customer".

[Initech]

6. Dupe

[Initech]

2. Get a slim CD/DVD burner. Usually doesn't require a power supply.

Should be safe to use on planes. I recommend this one - this company usually makes excellent products:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4312719&CatId=483