Posted: 5/31/2015 6:03:45 PM EDT
| My Micro Center Windows tablet doesn't work for digital modes (doesn't recognize mic input) so I'm looking for a netbook instead. What should I be looking for? There's a lot of options out there... |
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Quoted: My Micro Center Windows tablet doesn't work for digital modes (doesn't recognize mic input) so I'm looking for a netbook instead. What should I be looking for? There's a lot of options out there... Netbooks are mostly extinct unfortunately. And the ones that are listed as netbooks are more of the size of a laptop now anyways. I still use a windows XP netbook. I can't find anything I would call a netbook for 299 anymore. |
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Asus is pretty much the only remaining supplier of significance. Some chromebooks can
have another OS installed but it's largely a pain. So as others have pointed out, what you really want is a low-end notebook. (The issue with Chromebooks is not all support other OSes, it's a challenge to install a new one, and usually there's no hard drive, but a small fixed flash disk.) Asus usually has better build quality than Acer (the other big cheap notebook supplier.) I'd look for something with windows preinstalled and a decent-ish disk size. I prefer replaceable batteries and disks but that's up to you. A non-replaceable battery and 32 SSD will get you this for under $200. Look on the used market, there are a ton of them. I just dropped three old netbooks off at a local donation center myself. |
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I have had an Acer Aspire One since '08, it was as loaded as they came back in the day. It had and still has XP, and a succession of Linux builds over the years. It is still rock solid.
That said, I have switched to an Android tablet for daily use, also an Acer with Intel Atom CPU. It's doing alright so far, I have only had it a couple months. |
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Quoted:
I have had an Acer Aspire One since '08, it was as loaded as they came back in the day. It had and still has XP, and a succession of Linux builds over the years. It is still rock solid. That said, I have switched to an Android tablet for daily use, also an Acer with Intel Atom CPU. It's doing alright so far, I have only had it a couple months. I still have my Acer Netbook, loaded with Windows XP. It has been a solid performer. I replaced the battery recently. This is what I use for radio and everything else when I travel. You can probably find a used one for cheap. A netbook is way more convenient than a tablet. I only use my Android tablet to watch Netflix and to read books with a Kindle app. It's nearly impossible to type anything on a touchscreen. |
| Main reason for not going Android or Apple is far fewer options for digital mode software. I just stopped by Costco for a few things and saw they have an Acer 10" netbook for $279. I'll have to check out Best Buy or Craigslist for something cheaper & not Acer... have had bad experiences with Acer. |
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Quoted:
Main reason for not going Android or Apple is far fewer options for digital mode software. I just stopped by Costco for a few things and saw they have an Acer 10" netbook for $279. I'll have to check out Best Buy or Craigslist for something cheaper & not Acer... have had bad experiences with Acer. There is fldigi. IDK of a jt65 app yet but surely one is coming. |
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Quoted: My Micro Center Windows tablet doesn't work for digital modes (doesn't recognize mic input) so I'm looking for a netbook instead. What should I be looking for? There's a lot of options out there... |
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Quoted: It is. The TW700. I might have a lemon, but when I plug a combo mic/headphone jack into the plug, it doesn't recognize the mic and defaults to the external mic. |
Decided to get the ASUS X205TA. My local Best Buy had it in stock for $199, and they price matched the Microsoft Store price of $179. Typing this from the new laptop and so far so good. Waaaay easier to navigate and use than the Micro Center TW700. Anybody want to buy my old one?  Will get it hooked up to the radio this afternoon and give digital modes a try.ETA: Installed WSJT-X, FLDIGI, SDR Sharp. All appear to be running fine. I'll give this a thumbs up so far. |
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Quoted:
Decided to get the ASUS X205TA. My local Best Buy had it in stock for $199, and they price matched the Microsoft Store price of $179. Typing this from the new laptop and so far so good. Waaaay easier to navigate and use than the Micro Center TW700. Anybody want to buy my old one? Will get it hooked up to the radio this afternoon and give digital modes a try.
ETA: Installed WSJT-X, FLDIGI, SDR Sharp. All appear to be running fine. I'll give this a thumbs up so far. I bought one last week at Best Buy when they were on sale for $169. Great inexpensive, very small laptop. Upgrade to Windows 10 on July 29th. |
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Quoted: Decided to get the ASUS X205TA. My local Best Buy had it in stock for $199, and they price matched the Microsoft Store price of $179. Typing this from the new laptop and so far so good. Waaaay easier to navigate and use than the Micro Center TW700. Anybody want to buy my old one? Will get it hooked up to the radio this afternoon and give digital modes a try. ETA: Installed WSJT-X, FLDIGI, SDR Sharp. All appear to be running fine. I'll give this a thumbs up so far. With the cheap tablets a no-go now, I'm looking for something small and light. |
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I can type normally on it without any problem, and I have a big hands. Digital is anything and everything from WSPR to FSK441 to MT63 to Olivia to Winlink to PSK31 to __insert mode here__, so I think I understand what it's all about... You could attach a full size keyboard to the netbook through the USB port, but that pretty much negates the whole purpose of a netbook, which is small, light, and portable. |
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Quoted:
Ya'll give us a review on these after you use them for a while. With the cheap tablets a no-go now, I'm looking for something small and light. Quoted:
Quoted:
Decided to get the ASUS X205TA. My local Best Buy had it in stock for $199, and they price matched the Microsoft Store price of $179. Typing this from the new laptop and so far so good. Waaaay easier to navigate and use than the Micro Center TW700. Anybody want to buy my old one? Will get it hooked up to the radio this afternoon and give digital modes a try.
ETA: Installed WSJT-X, FLDIGI, SDR Sharp. All appear to be running fine. I'll give this a thumbs up so far. With the cheap tablets a no-go now, I'm looking for something small and light. I like mine so far. I had previous netbooks, and this is a big step up in performance, yet the size and weight are just as small, and even thinner. The X205TA comes with a one-year subscription for 1TB of cloud storage on OneDrive, and if that's not enough, Asus supplies another 500GB of storage via its WebStorage service. The OneDrive storage alone is worth $84. Here is a review: http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/asus-eeebook-x205ta If you want to wait a few more months, the new Braswell Intel processors will be out in the fall, and you will get even better battery life and better graphics performance. |
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Quoted: Decided to get the ASUS X205TA. My local Best Buy had it in stock for $199, and they price matched the Microsoft Store price of $179. Typing this from the new laptop and so far so good. Waaaay easier to navigate and use than the Micro Center TW700. Anybody want to buy my old one? Will get it hooked up to the radio this afternoon and give digital modes a try. ETA: Installed WSJT-X, FLDIGI, SDR Sharp. All appear to be running fine. I'll give this a thumbs up so far. Good score! Gotta link to the exact one at bestbuy? |
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http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-11-6-laptop-intel-atom-2gb-memory-32gb-flash-storage-blue/3953761.p?id=1219610986272&skuId=3953761 The only thing I kind of dislike about this computer is the combo headphone/mic plug, which means I have to carry a splitter with me. Not a deal breaker though... |
