Welcome to a laptop battery specialist of the Compaq Laptop Battery
I recently carried out a personal quest for a netbook computer. Relying on a bit of insider snobbery since I write about computer technology almost daily, I was not expecting a big problem in making a selection.
It's not that I really needed another computer. My home office is well stocked with two desktops running Windows XP and a third former Windows box now running Ubuntu Linux. My HP Pavilion laptop with Windows XP and its very large wide-screen display serves me well as a desktop replacement and a mobile office with all the bells and whistles. A smaller Acer notebook running Windows Vista gives me back-up on the go.
I found that Ubuntu -- my Linux flavor of choice -- does not play well with either laptop with battery like HP WY165AA Battery , HP 619438-001 Battery , HP HSTNN-OB53 Battery , HP KU528AA Battery , HP HSTNN-IB64 Battery , HP Pavilion DV3000 Battery , HP BQ350AA Battery , HP HSTNN-IB82 Battery , HP Pavilion dv3 Battery , HP NB801AA Battery , HP NU089AA Battery , HP HSTNN-OB93 Battery model due to wireless connectivity issues. And decently configured notebooks with Linux pre-installed are not so easy to locate. So when I'm on the road and I want some Linux diversity, I run Puppy Linux in system RAM on either portable after booting from a CD. Even though Puppy Linux is fun to use and is fast as a race horse, I had a hankering to take Ubuntu with me.
The netbook notion started making sense to me for both personal and professional reasons. Why lug either of my larger notebook computers around to run slapped-on Linux? All I really need most times when I'm out of the office is the ability to hop online to update e-mail and connect to several business-related Web sites. I use OpenOffice and Firefox regardless of the OS at hand.
But the netbook I selected had to run Ubuntu Linux unless I found a different distro with a more appealing configuration. That's where my insider snobbery turned into consumer quandary.
I had no idea how many choices there are to consider. Netbooks have taken consumer-level Linux a long way in a short time.
If I wanted Windows XP in a netbook, my only considerations would be storage capacity and processor type. Without any Linux distro preference, the options of available Linux distros on netbooks could become a nightmare for consumers.
I found that selecting a Linux netbook is much like buying a family automobile. The same car dealership offers multiple makes and models. Throw in various engine sizes, feature packages and colors, and selecting easily turns into settling. Do most car buyers know that much about the specific differences in the choices they have?
I suspect that typical consumers do not as much about the Linux distro they get in the netbook they buy as much as they care about actual functionality.
My Hit List
As part of my purchasing preparation, I compiled a list of available products. While my goal was the Ubuntu Linux distro, I also wanted to see if I could find a better alternative configuration.
My shopping list is not ranked in order or priority. Just about all netbook models look like they come with wireless 802.11g and Ethernet 10/100 Mbit connectivity. Most also have at least two USB ports, and some have a VGA port, so attaching external devices such as keyboards, monitors, etc. are fairly standard model to model.
I whittled down the options to a set of useful comparisons. My primary concerns were onboard storage and memory. I was somewhat dubious about a configuration that substituted hard drive storage with flash drive technology. That seemed too limiting. Most of the units came with 512MB of RAM installed. I preferred twice that amount without a noticeable add-on price.
My only other qualifying factor was price. I would not buy a netbook that costs more than US$500.
For just about any laptop small enough to be considered a netbook, forget about the pros and cons of the keyboard. They all are horrendous. Long-time typing ease is not an issue with netbooks. For sustained typing comfort, add an external keyboard. The finger spread and key layout are dysfunctional for all but two-fingered typing on any netbook model.