[mouse6nelson]

The lowest spec N10 come pre loaded with windows XP the reason why they didn't want to use it is microsoft only lets manufactures install windows xp on netbooks with 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive and a few other conditions. Obviously this mean that the N10 couldn't be anything more then an standard Eee pc so hence they choose to go for Vista and have no limits bar price. Although i don't like windows Vista very much i can say for sure that it is a better operating system then windows xp. Windows xp you can probably still find for sale online or in a computer store and is simple to install off a DVD via external drive or off a USB thumb drive. Linux is even easier cause you can just download it straight off the website create a bootable USB drive and load it on, Takes like 15mins tops. I have found that Ubuntu does not play too nicely with Windows tho unfortunately manly in regards to the graphic's drivers. Oh yea i think the most expensive model of the N10 comes with a Windows XP downgrade disk but you would want to check up on this. And don't use Ubuntu remix on a N10 it can run Ubuntu full version just fine.

 

[Anouk]

Hello, Well vista can certainly be the better operating system but the fact remains that it is less accessible with my screenreader version 8.0 of hal, here is the link:
www.yourdolphin.com/productdetail.asp?id=5
Although it is not working now for some reason or other.
I am not sure if downgrading is still an option at this moment although that is what i did with my toshiba tecra back in februari, i will look into it because I do not really want vista on my system. I could install windows xp afterwards but it is a hassle and if the store can do it then all the better.
I am very interested in ubuntu because it is quite accessible (even my braile display would work) with gnome and orca. So the n10 can boot from a usb device, thats good tohear, then i could try out ubuntu before installing it. I have tried it on a normal computer but not on a laptop yet.
Do you knowif it works well with the separate nvidea graphics card and if it does not get confused between the two?
A pity asus does not sell these directly from their site because in a sotre its always qa question what configuration they have available.
I am still trying to decide between a macbook pro and this one, both have the potential windows xp issue although i suppose I could get a store to install it for me. I know the macbook is more expensive but i guess it will have a better processor. I would get the 15 inch model, that is the laptop I am using now too (15 inch that is).
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[Anouk]

Hey, anybody know if dell laptops do have optical out?
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[mouse6nelson]

Hi Anouk
Yes you can boot off a USB device as long as you set the USB device up correctly (not hard to do tho) Ubuntu will work fine on the netbook I know there are some issues where somethings don't work properly although I have yet to personally find these yet. I can point you in the right direction to find out more about running Ubuntu on the N10 if you decide to go that way. The graphic chip works fine with Ubuntu and downloading the latest driver from the Nvidia website has Cuda hardware exceleration brand new to Linux. The problem i was refering to was when i dual booted both windows 7 and Ubuntu on the same computer although both worked fine when i went back into windows it would tell me the driver is no longer working correctly, everything still seemed to work tho. Obviously the MacBook would be a better notebook as they are in two completely different price brackets however you will still need to install windows manually on it unless they do it for you at the store..... for me personally 15inch just ain't portable enough hence why i went for 10inch. Quick comment on dell laptops i would be very surprise if they don't have laptops in there range with optical.

 

[Anouk]

Hey, thanks for the help! I am strongly leaning to the n10j, such a small portable is very nice. It would be even nicer with ubuntu. I wouldnt be dual booting, i would remove windows and just use ubuntu (if I can get it to work on my schools network) since i would have another laptop or computer at home I could use omnipage pro (my scanning software to scan books) o nthe windows machine and still experiment with ubunto on the go.
I will have to look into this more and wait a few months to save up the fudns but now at least I know there are options.
I would prefer linux for audio anyway because I have read that windows has a negative influence which you can fix with asio, but i found it difficult to setup asio4all with foobar because it was a rather graphical application.
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[Anouk]

Hello, An update to my search for a new netbook/laptop for on th emove to combine with my ibasso d10 for audio to match my iriver h120.
I was fairly sure to get the n10j by asus after asking some questions on their n10users forum, even though it comes standard with vista. UNTIL I checked out the apple accessibility site this morning and found out that apparenly, unlike windows, apple HAS incorporated a rather useful screenreader into their operating system called apple voiceover. Not only does it support multiple speech synthesizers it also includes plug and play support for many braille displays including mine. While the microsoft included screenreader is barely useful for anything the apple one apparently supports quite a range of applications. This changes things for me! (Although honesty has to dictate that there are a few rathe rgood commercial screenreaders available for windows while apparenlty voicover is the only one available on the mac). I have mailed the manufacturer of my braille display to check if I need any firmware upgrades for it to work on the mac.
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[Anouk]

Hello, I went to a local apple store today to try a macbook pro an dI am VERY glad that I did this before buying. Their built-in speech engine and my braille display immediately worked, but i honestly wonder if they tested the screenreaders practicality at all or if they just threw it in as another marketing hype. I mean the screenreader indeed reads what is on the scfeen BUT apparently os x is very graphical in nature. Windows is too but at least windows has built-n keyboard shortcuts that you can use, not so with osx. You could program shortcuts but that would have taken a very long time, anyway I am a very independant person and dont want to have someone get me through it before I can even use my laptop. I was very disappointed in this but at least it means I will be able to save money. I am still not sure if I will get a laptop or a netbook.
Any other good netbooks/laptops with optical out or very good internal sound chips besides the asus top of the line netbook?
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[ShinyFalcon]

Would anything that uses PCMCIA or ExpressCard work? I'm not aware of any good solutions using those two but it may be helpful to look into that.

How about notebooks from here? They're mostly gaming laptops but a lot of them have optical output, and I was going to turn to them and try to stray away from the mainstream companies.

I shall keep watching this thread with interest...

 

[Anouk]

Hi, unfortunately I am located in the netherlands and I rather dont want to tempt our customs officers with importing a laptop, I can only imagine the fees..... i want to buy something in nl belgium or germany because these use all the seem power cord/voltage. I met someone with a netbook today and it is just so... nice! So small and light. The keyboard is a bit tinier then wha tI am used too from my normal laptop and I type a lot obviously but I guess i will get used to that easily enough.
I muist say though, the macbook pro sure was thin, and they have friendly people in their store.
I guess I will make a final decison (finally!) before I go on holiday the second week of august.
I will let you guys know if I come across anything or hwat my final decision/findings are.
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[friendlyplanet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anouk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey, thanks for the help! I am strongly leaning to the n10j, such a small portable is very nice.

I thought you were lookiing for a notebook with optical out- I don't know how this thread got hijacked to talking about the Asus N10 series, but none of those models have optical out.

The best price/performance I've seen for a notebook with optical out is the Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810TZ ($581 at Amazon). 13.3" screen, fast Intel processor, 4GB of memory, separate graphics processor, S/PDIF out, 3.5lbs- includes free Windows 7 upgrade.

Only problem is no DVD drive, and it's such a new model there are no reports on how the optical out works.

Anyone got suggestions for some older laptop that I might be able to pick up refurbished, etc for cheaper that has optical out? I just want something to play movies and songs from my network on my home theater setup.

Friendly

 

[krabapple]

Quote:

Originally Posted by friendlyplanet /img/forum/go_quote.gif I thought you were lookiing for a notebook with optical out- I don't know how this thread got hijacked to talking about the Asus N10 series, but none of those models have optical out.

according to the Asus USA website, the N10Jh does.