Hi everyone, this is my first post so I apologise if I am breaking any form etiquette, I know how forums are.


Anyway, I am in the market for a netbook a secondary/backup laptop. I like the HPs mainly because of the keyboard, and since I will never be a complete fan of how small these things are for functional use, I don't feel the need to open up the bank account for these.

The most affordable ones I can find is the HP mini 110 [linux].

i have never used linux before.

for a references regarding prices...the HP is $490 or so [australian dollars]...while the Acer Aspire one is over $700

with all the same main specs.



i don't plan on doing anything other than typing up office documents emailing and surfing the net, and listening to music and watching videos.

how will this work?

i have heard that linux netbooks sometimes have toruble reading peripheral devices..like external hard drives and printers and such.

i also have a 3G mobile USB modem, that i use quite regularly..would this be a problem?

on the case [of the mobile modem] it says it is only workable with windows.

I have not encountered problems with external HDs.

For printers, you can check http://www.linuxfoundation.org/colla...s/openprinting to see if your model is supported; if your in the market for a printer, a HP is a safe choice. I have an Epson R300 that worked out of the box if I'm not mistaken and a HP1005 that required the download of a driver from the HP site.

Scanner is another issue that you might want to check. I haven't bothered yet to try to get my Epson 4400 going, but it's not really supported if I remember correctly what I've read. An old HP (3300?) was no issue but died

Without info about the USB modem, there is not much that one can say.

Be aware that office documents might look different (word versus oo-writer). I often encounter that a 1 page document becomes a 2 page document due to different font sizes.
Also excel formulas are not compatible.

The biggest issue with linux is the drivers... or so says a popular myth. With Linux, most drivers are either already installed or easily obtained from the repositories. I don't know which distro comes with the netbook you mentioned, but as a newbie, you're usually better off with Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Remember that a 'netbook' is not intended to be a 'computer' in the traditional sense as it has minimal resources. Also, try to stick with Intel chipsets as they're usually catered for by most operating systems.
(just my 2c worth)

Since you are buying your unit wuth Linux pre-installed all the software and driver issues should have been sorted out by the vendor
I just bought one HP Mini 110-1020NR PC for my wife , but it had MS something installed, after a few misfires I was able to install Ubuntu Remix with no problems
Good luck and if you have any problems, this is a good place to sort them out.
Joe