Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yahowho]

Hi,

I'm moving to SK soon and will need to buy a computer before I go. Should I go for a Laptop or a Netbook?

I will need it for pretty basic tasks; internet, skype, powerpoints, general teaching aid..etc. I can buy an external hard drive for a netbook if I get one, so memory isn't a big issue.

Any reason I should forget this and go for a Laptop instead? Thanks for the advice!

[noky]

I went for an in between solution.

ASUS UL30A-X5K - $630 (Amazon.com)

13.3" Lightweight Laptop that doesn't come with a cd/dvd drive. Powerful enough for multimedia and office suites. Plays very light games (World of Goo, Trine, and Half-Life 2). There's probably a better model by now in the category but I'm big on small and light. However, as your main computer those 10" screens wear on my eyesight. Also comes with HDMI and VGA out for projectors/monitors. I do miss the disc drive though, something you might want to consider.

[eamo]

I wouldn't go lower than 14''.................

........... unless I had a daily routine which entailed my walking around for hours all day while needing light computing duties.....that's the only scenario I can imagine where a 10'' netbook makes sense.

[jhicks99]

I think in between is a great solution too.

I have an Acer 1810T (as a second computer) which is now about a year old. I'll get 7-8 hours of the battery (providing I'm just surfing, video cuts that time in half). The keyboard is bigger than what's on a netbook and it's able to power HD video through HDMI quite nicely. It's really small so fits nicely into the back of an airplane seat and you'll barely notice it in your backpack if you decide to go traveling with it (the real reason I bought mine). Also with a computer like that you can always buy an external monitor, mouse and keyboard and have a comfortable ergonomic setup at home and then a terrific travel device for when you hit the road. Using a laptop at home for extended use without plugging it into a monitor is a HORRIBLE idea. It's an ergonomic nightmare and is going to invite you to have all kinds of problems down the road with your neck and back. Your screen should always be at eye level and it's simply not natural to always be hunched over the keyboard which is sitting so close the screen.

I'm using my old laptop as a desktop (plugged into a 24 inch monitor with mouse and KB) and just use the Acer for travling, in bed and... on the can lol. But I'd have no problems being able to use it as a primary computer should my full size laptop crap out. For traveling a 15"+ laptop is simply too heavy if you're like me and like to travel with just a backpack and they usually have poor battery life... So something in the 11-13 inch range would be a great solution providing you're gonna plug it into a monitor when at home. If all you're doing is surfing the web and using msn you might as well just get a cheap ass notebook since you can still plug it in via VGA, but for the odd time I like to run photoshop or output an HD video file I need to have the extra power on tap.

[crossmr]

Yes. The general price of a low-end laptop is on par with a netbook and frankly the laptop is 2 or 3x the computer the netbook is. Unless you envision yourself needing to tote it everywhere all the bloody time, there isn't much need to get a netbook.

Netbooks are underpowered. My friend's netbook, brand new out of the box had issues playing HD video streams, it was just too much for it.

if all you're really doing is carrying it on the plane and maybe taking it out the odd time (or not at all) get a laptop.