Laptop for school/robotics team programming

[jamesman32]

I need a notebook for programming and design for my robotics team at school as I cant bring my desktop. Obviously its not going to need to be able to play games, i have a desktop for that, and the main use of the notebook will be for school, other than that I wont use it much. Also, I don't have much money (I'm saving for Nehalem). Any recommendations? There's just a ton of stuff out there and I've never bought a laptop, so I'm a bit lost as to what to considering, and what to stay away from.

 

[aaaaaaaaaa]

Did your school / degree program recommend that you have any specific specs?

 

[jamesman32]

Not really, I mean the programs we run aren't to graphics intensive.

 

[nightelph]

I would buy a subnote. Dell just came out with a very inexpensive one. Link

 

[jamesman32]

Thanks! I've decided on this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8967335&type=product&id=1216425209738

Looks pretty nice. 9 inch screen, webcam, 120 gb hdd, 1 gig ram (ill replace with a 2 gig stick), and its a nice blue color. Not too expensive either. Just gotta wait for the next shipment

 

[curtis1552]

If you didn't get it before they sold out you could also look for one of the cheaper ASUS eeePCs. Once you get classies access here (you're only 51 posts away) you could check there as quite a few have been sold recently for <300$.

 

[jamesman32]

Yeah I didn't get it in time. Idk, I may wait for the Atom 330 dual core in quarter four. Who knows.

 

[curtis1552]

Really, as netbooks are new in popularity you could just hold out for 3-4 months then get an 'older' model or a used one fairly cheap.

 

[jamesman32]

I just ordered this one
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10008958

Acer Aspire One. I got the version with the 120gb HDD, 1gb RAM, and WinXP. I'll swap out the RAM for a 2gb stick when I see the need. I wanted the blue colored one with the 160gb HDD and a 6-cell battery instead of the 3, but they were out of stock and I will never use all that space on a simple netbook, and I really wont ever be using it in a situation where it needs to be unplugged so this is just fine. Should arrive this week. I'll post some pics if anyone wants

 

[nightelph]

Good choice, thats one of the better options atm.