Free Mini Netbook?

princessamy86

I know that going to the uni library is a great idea but I commute to uni-it's a 50 mile round trip, plus I work 4 days a week so I need to just be able to boot it up and get coursework done when I get in from work, need to connect to the internet for research, also e-books from the library. I don't need the mobile internet at all, it was purely for the free laptop that I was looking into it! I've found one on ebay which has been reconditioned for £109, it's a Dell Latitude one with a Pentium 3 Processor. Seems like this might be the best option, has anyone used one of these?

point3

Dell Outlet is a good place to look for "as new" machines with a 12-month warranty. They have loads of Mini 9 netbooks with XP on there at the moment - only have 8GB SSD storage though - they start at £175 including VAT, as there is an "£100 off" promotion running.

There were a couple of 15.6" Inspiron 2GHz Core Duo machines 20 minutes ago for £220ish, but they got wrenched from my basket!

Ex-works laptops can be a good buy if you know someone who works for the IT department of a large business. Any computer fairs at your uni? Take someone knowledgeable with you obviously.

point3

Oh, I think you would be better off with a full sized laptop for typing up your work rather than a mini netbook.

princessamy86

I thought a full size laptop would be better as well, it was just that the "free" offers seem to be all netbooks. I just can't afford to pay £175 at the moment, unfortunately no laptops floating around at work (I even asked if they would lend me one for a few weeks!)

asininity

Interest free credit card?

Sharra

Do you need a laptop as it would be much cheaper to get a basic desktop - you might even be able to get one on freecycle.
Also, I have a 12" laptop and I definitely wouldn't be able to do Uni work on a screen any smaller than this, I often struggle anyway with this one and end up using my old desktop. Just something to bear in mind as the netbooks are tiny and so any text on the screen is really weeny

macman

Firstly, if you give away the dongle to your sister, you had better trust her 100%, because if she goes over the monthly allowance you will be the one getting billed an extortionate amount for it. Secondly, make sure you insure the lappy, because if it gets nicked/damaged you will still have to pay the £20 per month for 2 years. After which it will not seem like such a bargain at all...over 2 years you are paying £480.
Netbooks do not have optical drives (CD/DVD drives) so anything you need to install has to be by other means, eg an external drive. And on most the keyboards and screens are not suitable for 'intensive' usage-they're intended really just for casual emailing and surfing. You would be better off with a recon or refurb laptop.