[Yr7-10it] Re: Netbooks

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Regarding the use of Netbooks, Fred <Fred.Pilcher at act.gov.au> your early 
adopter, now a power user of the netbook computing genre (HDTV? :) notes,
 
> In fact, the lack of grunt might be beneficial in a school 
> context because an inability to play games, watch DVDs or 
> even stream YouTube videos smoothly means children have no 
> choice but to concentrate on work.

I'm curious about the "low-powered" meme. I know that my Eee 901 isn't
as powerful in terms of raw grunt as my dual core laptop with a couple
of GB of RAM, but it runs the Compiz cube and other effects smoothly,
plays video and TV perfectly (though sometimes it has a minor hiccup
with HDTV signals), does complex photo manipulations using Digikam
perfectly well, etc. Games? OK - probably not the latest and greatest,
but "inability to play games, watch DVDs or even stream YouTube videos
smoothly" is absolute balderdash. I've just been through the process of 
replacing Xandros with Eeebuntu, and it's truly amazing. Fred 

--
Cheers Fred :)
Stephen Loosley
Victoria, Australia