The numbers of online articles which showcase the shortcomings of NetBooks versus any garden variety laptop are legion…but NetBooks have some real advantages which laptop can’t replicate. My NetBook is certainly capable of running for nearly 10 hours, and I can actually ‘use’ it for well past 7… It is much smaller than the majority of laptops and with just these two advantages there are a number of ‘alternative’ uses which I’ve found online.
Because NetBooks are much cheaper than laptops, there are more people who are willing to experiment with them. First you have OS hackers, who clean of whatever was on the NetBook and load up any number of Linux variations (from Ubuntu to Slack ware, and a number of NetBook specific designs…).
There are experimenters who have tried to interface a standard NetBook into any nook or cranny which would hold it; to come up with any variety of power sources to keep it going…I’ve even seen a treadle powered NetBook online…
Going another direction, there are some ways to change how you use the NetBook, there are ways which you could turn it into a reasonable recording studio, or to get it to work tipped at 90° to become a serviceable eReader…
Netbooks: Best Practical Uses
http://techcaddie.com/best-use-netbooks/
Five (Useful) Things to do With a Netbook
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/03/five-useful-thi
Top 10 Most Unusual Netbook Mods
http://www.netbookreviews.com/top-10-most-unusual-netbook-mods
Living with a NetBook: Toy or tiny notebook?
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/computers/living-with-a-netbook-toy-or-tiny-notebook/681
Recording music with Linux on an EEE PC
http://www.ouistiti.info/linux-music-production/linux-music-recording-with-an-eee-pc
Five ways to put your NetBook to good use around the house
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/03/five-ways-to-put-your-netbook-to-good-use-around-the-house.ars
Kindle, schmindle…I’ve got your $350 e-book reader right here
http://www.cnet.com/8301-18603_1-10188221-73.html
And if you are interested in the 90° rotation:
EeeRotate
http://sites.google.com/site/vkedwardli/eeerotate
