Lets talk about 'netbooks'
 

I dont know anything about them but here is the situation.

A while back I broke my laptop. Dropped the damn thing in the airport security check and cracked the screen :stare:

I looked into getting a replacement screen but they were running in the 200-300 us dollar range.

Its an old machine and not worth throwing that kind of money at.

I mainly need a machine for ms word and excell games are not really a must.

What concearns me if I understand it right the netbooks would require a 'contract' for internet access. I dont want another monthley bill.

I didn't know about the access fees, I thought that only came with access to the web through a cell network. Access through a wifi spot was free.

I wanted a netbook badly--small, light, capable basics, but ended up with a small Dell because most/all netbooks do not have a built in DVD.

That's what netbooks are about; small, cheap laptops. As a result they do away with stuff like optical drives. ;)

Over time netbooks have become larger while laptops became smaller/lighter, so there's not that much difference anymore anyway.

It should be possible to use a netbook on your home wireless or wired network, though if you want to use it on the road, you probably want to have a "mobile" ISP. Think you just get a USB device with an antenna in that case. :hmmm:

Can't speak from experience though; I keep away from both wireless networks and anything smaller than a desktop PC. :-?

Netbooks don't require any sorts of contracts. My aunt got an Acer a while back. While pink is not my color, I did think it was a cool little computer. :88) Her hard drive messed up on it and it had to be sent in for warranty work. It must have been bad from the factory. She got hers off Amazon. She uses it for all sorts of things, including Word and Excel. She's got an external CD/DVD drive for it. If you've got a drive sittin around you can get an external enclosure for it to turn it into an external drive. I wouldn't mind getting a wireless router and netbook to set up a small wireless network. That's what my aunt did and it is pretty cool. Some netbooks even have solid state drives. I kind of like that idea to not have any moving parts.

Most, if not all, are just like your tabletop PC: How you access the internet is your business.

Personally I opted for a "mobile broadband"-solution. I have a cellphone anyway, so shelling out an additonal 10€/month isn't too bad for an unlimited internet access at 512/512 kbps. One can just use the phone on itself, or plug the phone to a computer and voila, internet anywhere where you have coverage.

Don't buy a netbook from a mobile provider. They will likely require a contract of some sort. I highly recommend newegg, always been happy with the pricing, service, and shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...&name=Netbooks

PD