Original thread: Thinking of buying Netbook but...

Well so far I have had my netbook for about 10 days or so...

My thoughts:
- Physical appearance
I love the faux carbon fiber. It isn't flashy, it's not glossy but if you look closer at it you can see the diffrence. Not only does it look good, it provides a texture which makes carrying it feel more secure. I have been in the market for a netbook for quite a while and nothing stood out to me, but this model's carbon look is what sold me.

Close up images:
http://imgur.com/kK2YJ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/vsrce.jpg

- Windows 7 Starter is awesome.
It runs well, boots quickly, never hiccups and *looks great*.
*Most people hate the look of Windows Starter but I have been able to mess with backgrounds, icons, schemes and log-in and log out screens with TuneUp Utilities* so I have been able to make it my own. For the record I have never used/owned a regular versions of Windows 7, so maybe that is why.
I love that feature that allows you to have more then one window open of the same program, and it leaves only one icon on your taskbar. I haven't been able to mess with the WMC and it's ability to share files over a network but, I might not ever need to. Also the file setup is different then XP but I probably never try to utilize it, unless there is something I can do with it that is useful. ex) My Libraries



Any one know how to remove the "Asus" image in the middle of my log in screen? Do I have to replace it with another image, or can I remove it completely?




- Keyboard & Trackpad
My first experience with netbooks a few years back wasn't a good one. And my biggest complaint was the size of the keys/keyboard. I don't remember which machine I was using, but man have things changed. I have no issues with the keyboard at all on the 1001-P. My biggest issue is typing surface. When using a netbook I rarely have a table or flat surface to type on outside of that, I'm golden.
As for the trackpad, it's small. I'd go nuts if I had to do any long periods of clicking and scrolling. I don't like the fact that you can't scroll by using the right edge and bottom edge of the track pad. Most pads have that ability, either on high end laptops or one of my friends $200 E-Machine. Any way around this? Any good software?

- Initial Performance & RAM Upgrade
It was nice out of the box, but once I added TuneUp, AVG and a few others things started to SLOW down. At one point I was averaging 70% - 75% ram usage at idle. IDK if that is normal for a computer to run at, but I didn't like it. Opening Foxfire while editing a Word document wasn't very successful. So I opted for the 2GB ram upgrade. Since then avg. usage is 34% - 45% and things are more responsive with less lag in between opening an application and resuming another. This still doesn't happen as fast as I would like but at least it doesn't start lagging. Also battery life with the 2GB stick improved about 1%. Something tells me something was off in one of the tests and I will just assume that the battery life is unchanged.

- Battery Life
It's sweet! I clocked in 7 hour 58 minutes on a full charge using Battery Eater. Amazon's claim was 11 hours but BE simulates the worse possible conditions and I managed 8 hours so I am ecstatic. (Same with 2GB ram installed)

- Wifi
This is my first computer with Wifi. People in my house usually have issues with dropped wifi signals and I am stuck spending about 20 minutes trying to figure it. It get's frustrating especially when it happens once a month or so. Well my netbook hasn't had any issues with any network I connect it too. I have had it running on at least 6 different networks and not one issue. I haven't figured out why but I will just accredit it to the Boingo software on the netbook being awesome.
In fact I saw DL speeds on the netbook's wifi that I have never experienced out of my laptops wired connection. I understand torrent speeds are dependent on the users on the other end but I have DLed hundreds of things on my notebook and the fastest I've ever seen was 1.5MBs but just the other day I hit 1.7MBs on my netbook. Is there something to it or did I hit the Torrent jackpot?

Can come one explain this?
My router is Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH (N-draft and Gigabit).
On the notebook I am using BitTorrent and plugged (my laptop doesn't have gigabit ports). The netbook is 802.11 b/g and was connected to the same router but was wireless.

- Conclusion
Two thumbs up

If any one has any Windows 7 tips to throw at me or any answers to my questions I would appreciate that.
Thank you szh and applebonker for helping me out!

Win 7 tip: When you have a sh*tload of screen open at the same time, grab the first one, shake your mouse, and all but the first disappear. Do the same if you want it to re-appear.

It looks like that image you want to remove/replace is the user icon. As far as I know it can only be replaced using windows settings (possibly removed with the use of a 3rd party app). It's a user icon, and if you created say, 3 user profiles on that PC, each would get its own default windows icon. The setting to change it is somewhere in the users/accounts section of the control panel.

As for W7. It's freaking awesome. I, unlike most people, love vista, and I still would jump at the chance to upgrade to W7. The new taskbar takes some getting used to but once you're used to it, it's definitely more efficient.

damn, that's nice battery life...my ASUS is lucky to get 4 hours...

Mr1der wrote:damn, that's nice battery life...my ASUS is lucky to get 4 hours...

You're battery can be replaced with the larger one (that's what I did). It's expensive, but 10-ish hours of life on it is amazingly useful.

fair enough.

I can't remember the model Eee PC mine is...

I gots the ION graphics though...I need to get some more RAM for it too...

ProudNissanFreak wrote:Win 7 tip: When you have a sh*tload of screen open at the same time, grab the first one, shake your mouse, and all but the first disappear. Do the same if you want it to re-appear.

It didn't work. It probably isn't a feature on Windows 7

Alfador wrote:It looks like that image you want to remove/replace is the user icon.

Yup, I was able to change it to something I like. Thank you!

Mr1der wrote:I can't remember the model Eee PC mine is...

ASUS N10Jc?



If any one else has any tips or things I use go ahead a let me know!

That's one of the nicest ones out there, along with Toshiba. Good choice!

I'm not sure if Starter supports multiple user User Accounts, but if it does, that'd be where you'd change that Asus login icon. Somewhere in the User Accounts control panel, there'll be an option to change it...I just don't remember where as I haven't messed with that in ages.

Also, I found that the new huge taskbar drove me nuts. You can enable small icons in the taskbar settings and it'll shrink it back down to the old size without losing any features.

MinisterofDOOM wrote:I'm not sure if Starter supports multiple user User Accounts...

Also, I found that the new huge taskbar drove me nuts. You can enable small icons in the taskbar settings and it'll shrink it back down to the old size without losing any features.

It does support multiple accounts. Also I have been able to change it.

The task bar is slightly annothing because I only have 600 pixels from top to bottom, so the more avalable the better. I have been using the taskbar in autohide mode and I feel like I still don't have enough room. But I don't use the netbook enough for it to really bug me.

Any one have a solution for "the fact that you can't scroll by using the right edge and bottom edge of the track pad"?

If theres a synaptics control panel, go to the advanced settings buried in there and enable scrolling.

Probably not a feature in 7 Starter, but it works on my end, 7 Pro. :P

Jesda wrote:If theres a synaptics control panel, go to the advanced settings buried in there and enable scrolling.

Hmm, when I get home I am going to look into this

ProudNissanFreak wrote:Probably not a feature in 7 Starter, but it works on my end, 7 Pro. :P

Right, that is what I meant to say...