I have an EeePC 900, and oddly enough I find it easier to program on that than I do on the school computers. There is just something about going all the way down to such a tiny screen that just makes shrug my shoulders and accept the small screen space, where as when I just simply drop one of my 17"crts to use a single 18" LCD, I'm always looking around for more space. With the small screen I accept that I can't have everything open at once and I don't mind anymore.

I also mainly work in the console on my EeePC, as I don't have any IDEs installed on it currently.


About the biggest limiting factor is if you can actually use the keyboard. It took me a few hours to get my hands adjusted to typing on the smaller keyboard layout, but after that it wasn't too bad. Now I can switch between the two. Other people just can't make the adjustment and struggle with it, and others beyond them can't even function with them.

I don't have small hands by the way, they're fairly average size, and are often put to use in wood, stone, or metal working.


As for the build quality, I've been very happy with the EeePCs. Just get one with an Atom processor, you won't regret it. It does get a little warm (oddly enough my 900 feels got cooler when I took the underclocking off,... I haven't really found any advantage to underclocking it while not plugged in. Some sites suggest it, but I would ignore it.) but the heat isn't that bad, and is cooler than many laptops I've used. It feels strong, and because of its size, I'm not overly worried about dropping it or breaking it. Light enough to not have issues with it.

I've been thinking about buying a couple of these, some USB hard drives, and using them as servers around the house.

Quote:Original post by capn_midnight
I've been thinking about buying a couple of these, some USB hard drives, and using them as servers around the house.

Don't bother with the netbooks then. ASUS has a similarly priced Eee Box that comes with mounting options, and a little more storage space for the cost. There are also other options for small, standard box systems anyway.

Yes, I program netbooks for a living.

Nobody in their right minds develops on a netbook. Okay, nobody with full-grown man-size hands and over-40 eyes develops on a netbook.

All our netbook development is done on regular workstations and then installed on a netbook for final testing. Since a netbook runs a regular desktop operating system, this isn't a problem.

That said, I do use netbooks for development. Since they're all running Linux, I just start an ssh server and ssh in from my workstation (Linux or Windows) and work with a full-sized keyboard and large display. I wouldn't use one as a portable development device. A netbook is not a laptop. If you want a laptop, get a laptop.

Quote:Original post by capn_midnight
I've been thinking about buying a couple of these, some USB hard drives, and using them as servers around the house.

www.mini-box.com has the M200 and M300 which i use for servers (and cheap workstations).

i don't think you can get new hw for less than that (<200$ depending on config).

Quote:Original post by davepermen

Quote:Original post by capn_midnight
I've been thinking about buying a couple of these, some USB hard drives, and using them as servers around the house.

www.mini-box.com has the M200 and M300 which i use for servers (and cheap workstations).

i don't think you can get new hw for less than that (<200$ depending on config).

Holy crap those are awesome.

Quote:Original post by Bregma
Yes, I program netbooks for a living.

Nobody in their right minds develops on a netbook. Okay, nobody with full-grown man-size hands and over-40 eyes develops on a netbook.

All our netbook development is done on regular workstations and then installed on a netbook for final testing. Since a netbook runs a regular desktop operating system, this isn't a problem.

That said, I do use netbooks for development. Since they're all running Linux, I just start an ssh server and ssh in from my workstation (Linux or Windows) and work with a full-sized keyboard and large display. I wouldn't use one as a portable development device. A netbook is not a laptop. If you want a laptop, get a laptop.

Three cheers for completely missing the point of the thread! :P

Basically the only person that can answer the OP's question of if it is worth it to get a netbook to program on is the OP himself. Can you type on a keyboard that small? As the store clerk if you can spend half an hour or so typing on it, and check the return policy to make sure you can still take it back after a week if it isn't working out for you.

Expect to make more use of paper if you are using a system as small as a netbook. It can be easier to take notes on a pad than trying to switch back and forth between things and finding your focus on the small screen all the time.