A netbook enough for freelancing?

19 replies
Hello all, I've been doing some freelancing on the side, ghostwriting only so far, planning to expand to VA and website management, along with creating my own authority site based on my main line of work. The problem is, my desktop is about to die and I'm about to move to another state within 2-3 months, and of course I don't want to buy a new fully fledged desktop till I'm in my new place. I'd rather buy a netbook (which would allow me to resume activities right away); the question is, would it be enough? Any of you my fellow forum members in a similar situation?
#freelancing #netbook
  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Do you need to expand your business before you move? If not, then writing is easily done on a laptop. I can't speak for the other stuff as I am a writer and I do use a pc but I know a laptop could do what I need to do if necessary.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tjpiper
    I have both a netbook and a full sized laptop. The netbook (an Acer Aspire One) does a fine job with just about anything and is especially useful for taking with me anywhere because it is much smaller. It has a slower processor than my laptop but I can still build websites and run several applications simultaneously. I would imagine that you could do everything you need to with a netbook but a better processor than mine has might be something to keep an eye out for.
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  • Profile picture of the author mywebwork
    I've had an Asus netbook for 3 years now, when I first got it I had just returned to Montreal and needed a computer immediately as my Toshiba notebook was on its last legs. The netbook appealed because of its portability, using that 17 inch Toshiba on an airplane was almost comical! And it sure was easier to carry around, and the 9 hour battery life is awesome.

    For a few months the netbook was my main computer and I used it for everything. The keyboard was surprisingly easy to use and didn't feel small, the only restriction was the screen size. Some software doesn't work well on a 10 inch screen.

    I've since accumulated several computers but that netbook is still used every day. If I go out to a meeting I usually take it with me as it's far more versatile than a tablet. And I still use it at home for voice recognition, as it's been "listening" to me for 3 years now it is better trained to understand my voice than all my other computers.

    It really depends upon what you are doing. I certainly wouldn't dream of doing any video processing on the netbook, the Intel Atom processor it uses is not powerful enough. But for word processing, email or working on online applications or websites it's completely capable.

    If you need more power you might look at a 11 or 13 inch ultrabook to get the best of both worlds. But otherwise the netbook is a great idea.

    Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author andr3w84
    Thank you guys (y) Such a great forum, never short of people willing to contribute.

    Yup I was intending on expanding it now as I have the time; I'm moving for work and I reckon I'll be too busy till I get used to it so I'd better start now.

    So basically yes, it's feasible, right? If I may ask, Tjpiper, which processor does your netbook have, how much of RAM? How about voice to txt or other RAM intensive applications? Anyone else in a similar situation?

    Thanks a lot again guys.
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    • Profile picture of the author koolphoto
      I have an Acer One too that I use to carry around. It works great for things like writing working on a blog I even have Photoshop CS3 on it and it works pretty well.

      I have tried to put Photoshop CS4 on it but it is a little too slow. Also, video like a Youtube video is jerky and frustrating. That is the norm for Atom processors. I never tried a netbook with an AMD processor. I am guessing it is going to be similar.

      I do have a Apple Macbook Air which is slowly replacing the netbook for me. Though more expensive I find it is excellent when working with stuff like Photoshop and video.

      So, if you need to use processor intensive applications or ones that require lots of RAM, I would shy away from a netbook. For writing, blogging or even building websites on the go a netbook is perfect.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tjpiper
      Here is a link to the netbook I have on amazon (not an affiliate link): Amazon.com: Acer Aspire One AO722-0473 11.6-Inch...Amazon.com: Acer Aspire One AO722-0473 11.6-Inch...
      Originally Posted by andr3w84 View Post

      Thank you guys (y) Such a great forum, never short of people willing to contribute.

      Yup I was intending on expanding it now as I have the time; I'm moving for work and I reckon I'll be too busy till I get used to it so I'd better start now.

      So basically yes, it's feasible, right? If I may ask, Tjpiper, which processor does your netbook have, how much of RAM? How about voice to txt or other RAM intensive applications? Anyone else in a similar situation?

      Thanks a lot again guys.
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  • Profile picture of the author mywebwork
    Most netbooks come standard with 1GB of RAM and can be expanded to 2 GB - by removing the 1GB chip and replacing it with a 2GB chip (they only have 1 memory slot).

    As I said in my post I use my netbook (with an Intel Atom and 1GB of RAM) to do voice to text and it works perfectly.

    Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author andr3w84
    Great info, Bill, Ken, thank you very much.

    I just thought it'd be convenient to connect the netbook to my 19" monitor; anyone else working regularly with such configuration?

    Long life to the Warrior Forum (y)
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  • Profile picture of the author funmom91
    I am a writer and I also work as a project manager - so I use a lot of different software's and things. I usually go through about a netbook a year but I always have a laptop available as back up. I hope this helps.
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    Check out my writing portfolio and/or ask me about advertising on my lifestyle blog.

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  • Profile picture of the author squadron
    Originally Posted by andr3w84 View Post

    I'd rather buy a netbook (which would allow me to resume activities right away); the question is, would it be enough? Any of you my fellow forum members in a similar situation?
    I have been running our business on a $300 Acer Aspire One for over 3 years. I love it so much I bought another 2 on eBay for $150 each. It has a 160 Gig hard drive and runs Windows XP and Linux Ubuntu (dual boot).

    Because it is running XP rather than Vista or Windows 7 it is fast enough for all the work I have to do (mainly writing, email, spreadsheets, web design and so on). Attached to is is a larger monitor and a wireless keyword and mouse. You could attach your existing keyboard, mouse and monitor to it.

    Have a look on eBay and see what you can find. But make sure it is running XP. Here's the sort of spec available: Acer Aspire One Laptop/Netbook great condition | eBay
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    • Profile picture of the author mywebwork
      Originally Posted by squadron View Post

      But make sure it is running XP.
      Why XP? You seriously want to run an 11 year old OS?

      My Dad has an XP netbook, 160GB hard drive and 1GB RAM.

      My netbook is a year older than his, 250 GB hard drive and 1 GB RAM. It runs Windows 7 Starter Edition.

      Mine boots up twice as fast as his and has voice recognition built into the OS, which XP doesn't have.

      So with Windows 7 being much faster and having more features why on earth would you want to use XP?

      :confused:

      Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author andr3w84
    Well, my desktop runs Win XP too It's better than Vista anyway

    I'm intrigued Squadron, your tip is really good and will check the Acer Aspire One (was thinking about the Asus Eee), still, regarding speed, would you say there's not much difference with other netbooks running Win 7, 8, etc?

    Thank you so much again guys, I'm certainly more enlighted now than a few hours ago.
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    • Profile picture of the author whland
      Originally Posted by andr3w84 View Post

      Well, my desktop runs Win XP too It's better than Vista anyway
      My desktop (Emachines) is running windows xp too. I agree with you it definitely is better than Vista.

      The emachines is about to die too. So I've been looking into other computers. Been wondering how those netbooks are.

      Looks like I might buy one. It'd be great to have something small and portable to take with me.

      Still gonna get me a new desktop later though.

      Chad
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    • Profile picture of the author robestrong
      Might take a while to adapt to the keyboard, but I've done some great work on my Asus eeePC.
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    • Profile picture of the author squadron
      Originally Posted by andr3w84 View Post

      Well, my desktop runs Win XP too It's better than Vista anyway

      I'm intrigued Squadron, your tip is really good and will check the Acer Aspire One (was thinking about the Asus Eee), still, regarding speed, would you say there's not much difference with other netbooks running Win 7, 8, etc?
      I really can't comment on Win 7 and 8 expect to say they are very RAM hungry and a lot of the cheaper netbooks don't come with much RAM. I had an Aspire One with Windows 7 that ran very slowly so I upgraded it to Windows XP. Best thing I ever did.
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    andr3w84,

    The new netbooks are starting to blur the lines a bit. The latest eee 10" PC is almost TWICE the speed of the one I have, with about 50%-100% more disk space. It is still limited to 2GB ram though. Intel has a number of Atom processors and the ONLY real defining features are the base kernel language is the same, they are surface mounted, and low power. Can they multithread? Some can, some can't. Do they have multiple cores? Some do some can't. Etc.... Seriously, intel has maybe 20 characteristics listed that can vary. Just to drive that home:

    ARK | Compare Intel® Products

    Anyway, I have maybe the 2nd or 3rd slowest one(from asus) running XP, and it can do what you want FINE! Newer ones have a slightly slower clock speed, but more cores/threads, and are more likely to run faster. And they tend to run Windows 7 now. Many HATE win 8!

    If you want to run MYSQL, a little HTTP webserver, and some simple office stuff, like word/excel, it should be fine. If you want to run oracle, use tomcat, do compiling, etc... I would say get a beefy laptop or desktop. ALSO, these are NOT made for playing graphics games on.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Dariuszden
    Why not a small laptop? 11' Acer or Lenovo is abour 300-400 dollars.
    Check our newegg.com, IMO best place to buy
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I've got an Acer Inspire One that I bought at Walmart for $225. It's great. It has a backup of my desktop PC on it and I take it to town for the free WiFi and work on it. I also have a laptop, but I like the netbook.
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