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Netbook woes ... and joys

Sakrysta

Sakrysta

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So, a few weeks ago, thanks to a blog post, I got a really good deal on a refurbished netbook. It's an Acer Aspire One, and I love it. It's light enough to carry around in my purse for email/surfing purposes.

HOWEVER, I have a couple complaints. First, the Home/End actions require the function key. WHAT??? I use Home and End ALL THE TIME. Couldn't they have relegated some other keys to the function combo and left my directional helpers alone? I actually ended up downloading KeyTweak and reassigning F9 & F10 to serve, but seriously, of all the keys on the keyboard to give secondary status, I think they could have come up with more reasonable choices!

And then there's the trackpad that insists on behaving like a scroll wheel at the most inconvenient times. I can't figure out how to turn off that function! I've never been good at differentiating gestures on a track pad. All I want the thing to do is move the mouse/cursor around the screen. Make the scrolling stop!

So anyway, all that to say, this is the place to vent your laptop/netbook frustrations. And feel free to gush about what you love about your mobile computing device!
 
Most people don't use the home or end keys, so that's probably why. That said I have an EeePC, and I love it. I also have the scrolling thing, but that is just when I put two fingers on the trackpad. It's really nice feature I think.

The only complain about mine is the lack of an optical drive. Of course that's perfectly understandable.
 
You know, I can't say I've ever used the Home and End keys. I probably wouldn't notice if they disappeared.

The scrolling on the touchpad takes some getting used to, but once I did it was very useful.

My biggest complaint about laptops is of course the crappy battery life. It insists you have 2 hours left until it runs out and then suddenly 5 minutes later the computer shuts down. Annoying.
 
My EeePC gets at least 5 hours of battery life (that's with Hulu and youtube going). With limited use it can get up to about 8 hours.
 
I'm amazed people don't use Home/End more. I use them to get to the top/bottom of webpages all the time. I also use them in conjunction with CTRL to select a block of text, or even by themselves to move within text. Maybe it's the keyboard junkie in me that really hates not having those keys. I avoid like the plague having to use the mouse for anything I can find a keyboard shortcut for. It really helps in laptop/netbook use, when the trackpad is driving you nuts and you don't want to hassle with hooking up a mouse.
 
Yeah, to do those things I usually use the scrolly wheel (forget what it's really called :lol:) on the mouse or the scroll feature on the pad. Or I will use the arrow keys sometimes.
 
Oh, I can't stand having to do that. Even PgUp & PgDn are too slow to get to top and bottom for me! ;) I have a DiNovo remote for my laptop that's connected to my TV, and it doesn't have home/end keys either. I get annoyed having to PgUp & PgDn whenever I need to get to the top/bottom of a web page. :D
 
I use Home/End all the time and I'd be pissed if they were missing. I try to use the mouse as little as possible. And I'll only use a trackpad at gunpoint.
 
Sakrysta said:
Oh, I can't stand having to do that. Even PgUp & PgDn are too slow to get to top and bottom for me! ;) I have a DiNovo remote for my laptop that's connected to my TV, and it doesn't have home/end keys either. I get annoyed having to PgUp & PgDn whenever I need to get to the top/bottom of a web page. :D
Click to expand...

This is part of the reason why I don't have Apple's wireless keyboard. It doesn't have a numeric keypad, and its extra keys like the arrows, PgUp/PgDn, etc., are too small.

I do find myself hoping Apple makes a netbook though. Sort of a super sized iPod Touch, using the same OS. I'd buy one if they did.
 
Mallory said:
I use Home/End all the time and I'd be pissed if they were missing. I try to use the mouse as little as possible. And I'll only use a trackpad at gunpoint.
Click to expand...
You just made me feel a lot better. I was starting to wonder if I was just weird. ;)
 
I think it is just a difference between people who use the keyboard and the mouse. I always have one hand on the mouse (unless I am typing), so it is easier to just use that instead of moving over to the keyboard.
 
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