BARYE

I liked my Wind -- light, fast (for a Netbook), with a responsive keyboard and very bright screen.

My complaints with the Wind were about its very poor ergonomics.

I HATED its reversing the standard control/function key placement -- especially because this can't be rectified through keyboard remapping. I was very bothered by the placement of the USB ports near the front -- instead of toward the back where they'd be out of the way. The Wind's LCD hinge is flimsy -- so weak that I could not mount as I normally do, an external WD Passport (USB powered) drive to the back of the LCD. The standard Wind comes with only a 2 hour battery, insufficient for real use. The touchpad was impossibly twitchy -- regularly jumping unpredictably if I wasn't super careful. The Wind's power adapter sticks out from the side of the notebook by about two inches -- begging to break or be snagged for trouble.

And everytime I plug a headphone in, the Wind requires a series of responses -- EVERYTIME. Worse, The Wind's speaker sound is so soft that not even dogs can hear it -- never mind monkeys.

Incredibly, each of these issues is addressed with my Asus 1000H EEEPC.

The USB ports are in the back where they belong. Mine came with a 4-5 hour battery (though they brag about 7hr). The LCD hinge is sturdy and tight -- strong enough that I can velcro two external WD Passport drives to the LCD back.

The contrl/function keys are in their right place. And with the provided equalizer software the audio can be heard -- and there is no inane prompt when I plug in headphones.

The touchpad is smooth and reliable, the keyboard laid out better than the wind -- except for the small right shift key -- which I really dislike.

The extended battery on the 1000H acts as a stand -- tilting the laptop a 1/2" or so. This makes it at an easier angle to type, and helps with the air flow. The Wind foolishly designs their long life battery so that it extends out from the notebook. Largely because of the 5 hour battery, my 1000H is heavier than the Wind -- though not in a significant way. The 1000H's power adapter terminates intelligently in a small right angled plug -- an obvious design, one that for some reason escaped MSI's engineers.

The 1000H is fast enough to watch HD tv -- not noticably slower than the Wind. Running on AC, the 1000H will overclock the 1.6 Ghz Atom cpu. The Wind did this too -- perhaps by even more.

The 1000H allows easy 2 screw access to adding memory -- unlike the Wind which threatens voiding of your warranty if you open the back.

Aside from the right shift key (and a difficult to see black keyboard) my only complaint with the 1000H are the mouse keys, which require much too much force to operate.

I paid about $360 w/shipping.

(written on the 1000H)

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zelgo

Have you compared it to the HP Mini? Would be interested in hearing your opinion.

john_v

I just saw the new 1000HE is coming out and they moved the right shift key to its proper place.

BARYE

I've seen mention of that.

But for me its not so much the position of the shift key as it is its diminished size that bothers me.

I not quite what I suppose you'd call a touch typist -- typing has always been for BARYE, a bit of an ordeal. I tend to hunt and peck with my shoes off using all four of my thumbs -- so I want the biggest target possible for my massive digits.

The 1000H does have a decent amount of separation between keys -- enough for casual use -- though not as much as the 13 inch Dell I'm writing this from right now.

BTW -- speaking of bad keyboards -- the ABSOLUTELY WORST KEYBOARD EVER has to have been produced by Asus for their new Netops (desktops that are using those same Atom cpus).

I just came from my clients office where I was forced to type a few passwords and short notes, and they were awful!! (I provided them with 5 of the Asus Netops). The customer actually is very happy with the netops btw -- and none of their staff has complained about those keyboards).

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82% of Iraqis want us to leave -- 45% prefer that we'd first be dead --
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BARYE

I'm much less familiar with the HP mini than the Wind or the 1000H.

Except for handling one at a trade show -- (shoved into my hands by an over eager HP rep -- perhaps wanting to impress this once and future crowned head) I literally don't really have a feel for them.

I do know that the early versions used a non-Intel non-Atom cpu -- which made it appreciably slower than its fraternal netbooks.

In reaction to critcism it received, and presumably disappointing sales, HP has largely joined the Atom parade.

Since I often use the netbook for work related tasks (planning coups, insurrections, and planetary conquest) having XP is for me a requirement. And because its always easier to add Linux later, and the cost differential for XP is small, its a no brainer to insist on XP.

Most netbooks speed specs are more or less comparable.

They differ mostly in their hard drive capacity, (tiny flash drives -- up to 160gb hard drives), their battery stamina (up to 7 ?? hrs,), g or n WiFi, whether they include bluetooth, on whether they use XP, and on their screen size.

Most of all though, they differ in their keyboard arrangements -- and their ergonomics.

Asus has produced so many variations of netbooks that they seem to have mostly figured out the best configurations (sort of like the old untrue myth of how a million monkeys would eventually produce the works of Shakesphere -- it only took one, btw).

The HP, especially initially, was under powered and over priced. To be gentle about it, it was really a joke. For nearly $600 HP deigned to let you have a 1.2ghz non-intel cpu running linux on a 8.9" screen. As if.

Even their current line up is miserly in terms of memory, features, and often screen size.

Their "flagship" even now sells for nearly $500 -- but only comes with a 60gb drive. Give me a break.

Some speak well of their keyboards -- but like I said, I have never really used one.

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755P Sprint SERO (upgraded from unlocked GSM 650 on T-Mobile)


82% of Iraqis want us to leave -- 45% prefer that we'd first be dead --
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